New service harnesses Twitter for charity fundraising

19 May 2009

TwitterA new service aimed at raising money for charities through social networking website Twitter has been launched.

Good.ly allows users to recommend products or services for others to purchase via their "tweet" updates.

The majority of the commission on bought items will go to the designated charity, of which users can so far choose between Dogs Trust and Crisis.

Alicia Navarro, inventor of the new service, commented: "I'm a huge fan of Twitter but I really wanted to use it for something a bit more useful.

"I had already developed most of the technology for a commercial version [of Good.ly] so it was relatively simple to alter it for Twitter."

The website also shortens web addresses so they can fit into the 140-character tweets.

Crisis works with homeless people in the UK, providing food, services and advice for those struggling to find housing.

Dogs Trust is the UK's largest dog welfare charity, finding homes for thousands of canine pets through its work each year.

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