Joe and his wife Susan are proud to have gotten involved with Equitas, Inc on a project to build clean-water wells in Malawi.

Equitas, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Charlotte, North Carolina that exists to be the catalyst for grassroots movements focused on providing relief and advocacy in three primary areas: poverty, clean water, and HIV/AIDS. Currently Steven Cook, the founder of Equitas is in Malawi to oversee the construction of three new wells in three separate villages.

Over on the official Equitas blog, you can read about how Joe and Susan as well as Mike and Kelly Parsons got involved in the project starting with some interactions on Twitter and a simple cup of coffee. What a difference 10 minutes can make.

If you would like to get involved with Equitas or donate to one of their projects visit their website.

from the Unnecessary Quotes blog

You’ve heard about the ‘Long Tail’ and how the web has brought out millions and millions of small communities. And its true.  Maybe there’s not a huge group of left handed people in your stores buying left-handed notebooks… But there are entire communities online devoted to being left-handed.  There’s blogs and groups for power parachuting, noodling, and even a blog devoted “unnecessary quotes”.

The point is, there is no better time to get engaged in an online community or build one of your own.  The most important thing is to get out there and do some research on your industry.  Is there already an online community out there?  Can you contribute expertise or add value to the community?  If so, DO IT.  Just don’t be That Guy (you know, the one who thinks that online communities are just a way to advertise for free). You’ll find that contributing your expertise, or helping to solve a problem DOES affect your bottom line.

Some great places to start: Google Blog Search – Twitter Search – Alltop - LinkedIn.

What’s the craziest online community you’ve seen out there?