The Tweeathon Is On Hold

Due to some issues with my personal life, the Hyde and Geek / Kids Need to Read Tweetathon is on hold for now. I am still planning on holding the event but, at this time, I don't know when that's going to be.

Stay tuned to this page for more info and thanks for understanding.

Calling All Geeks! (The 2012 Edition)

For the last two years, I've hosted a fun (and often funny) experiment that I call the Hyde and Geek/Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon. The idea is that I will sit in front of my computer and tweet every ten minutes for 36 hours straight with no sleep and, after a while, very little sanity. All of this is done to help raise money for charity. In this case, the charity is Kids Need to Read, an organization dedicated to getting books into the hands of kids. For the past two events, I have (barely) managed to stay awake through the entirety of the event with a little help from energy drinks and a lot of  support from the good people on Twitter. In addition to keeping me awake, those same Twitter friends and followers have so far donated nearly $3500 for charity over the course of a now cumulative 72 hours!

Now, while it's a little later in the year than I would've liked due to a very busy schedule, the gears are beginning to turn on the 2013 edition of the Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon!

Last year, a lot of geek related businesses helped me to raise funds by giving away prizes like gift certificates to ThinkGeek, soaps from Luxury Lane and Geek Soap, tickets to Geek Girl Con, books from Crossed Genres, and many many more!

That's where you come in.

I'm looking to geeky businesses of all stripes who would like to help out a great cause and get exposure for their business at the same time. What I'm looking for are prize donations of any sort that I can give away to those who donate to the Tweetathon. This can be anything from gift baskets, samples of your wares, gift cards, random junk you have lying around your office, or just about anything else you can think of that somebody out there might want. In return, you'll get the name of your business plastered all over the charity page once I set that up, this blog as I post about the event, your name and business promoted throughout the Tweetathon, my eternal and undying gratitude, and most importantly... you'll be helping an awesome cause.

I'm also looking for anyone who has a blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, or any other online soapbox who would be willing to help me promote this thing so that we can blow it out of the water again!

If any of the above sounds like you, send an e-mail to Scott (that's me) at swank_stuff@yahoo.com or DM me at @hydeandgeek on Twitter.

2011 Tweetathon Prize Winners!

First off, thanks again to everyone who donated! You are all winners in my book! But alas! I only have so many prizes to give away. So without further ado...

The winners of the 2011 Hyde and Geek Kids Need to Read Tweetathon prizes are...

$100 ThinkGeek gift certificates: Amy Ratcliffe, Chris C. and Shane and Sarah

(2) 2-day Geek Girl Con weekend passes: Annie Boyle

Geek Soap prize pack: A CS Supporter of Reading

Luxury Lane Soap prize pack: J2Metal

Little Professor Book Center prize pack: Minimate Factory

Crossed Genres prize pack: LukaIsntLuka

Geeky Knit brown toque: Karen Zadina

Geeky Knit Ravenclaw toque: shinyswoots

CthulhuChick Tiny Cthulhu: JentheTiny

Jayne Cobb hat from Wobbly Wear: SpaceMonkeyX

The Real Ghostbusters vol. 1 DVD from Hyde and Geek: Kelly Redwine

And remember that all prize winners get official Hyde and Geek buttons from Who's Got the Button?

The 36 Hour Tweetathon is Over

Update (May 23, 2011): I have e-mailed all of the prize winners. Since not all of them have replied, I will postpone the official posting of prizes here until I've heard back from all the winners. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.

The 2011 Hyde and Geek / Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon is officially over with a final tally of $1354.

Thank you to everyone who donated, retweeted, blogged, and otherwise helped out. Thank you to the wonderful sponsors who donated prizes. This event was a spectacular success! For those who donated, I will use the random number generator at random.org to select prize winners and those winners will be emailed this coming weekend. I will make a public announcement of all the prize winners on the this blog on Monday, May 23. For now... I'm off to get some much needed sleep! G'nite all!

Note: The donation page will still accept donations for a limited time, but the official Tweetathon is OVER and new donations will NOT be eligible for prizes.

The 36 Hour Tweetathon Begins!

THE 2011 HYDE AND GEEK / KIDS NEED TO READ TWEETATHON IS OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY!!! DONATE TO CHARITY, WIN PRIZES, AND GET YOUR GEEK ON!

Join in the fun by following @hydeandgeek on Twitter now!

CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL DONATION PAGE

So what exactly is this 36 Hour Tweetathon?
Good question! The Tweetathon is a geek-centric charity event to benefit Kids Need to Read. KNTR is an awesome charity organization that gives books to needy libraries, reading programs, and sponsors those same programs. The way that the Tweetathon works is that I'll be tweeting at least once every 10 minutes from now until midnight on Friday, May 20th (all times Eastern) on my Twitter account at @hydeandgeek to raise both money and awareness for KNTR. You can help out by donating or by retweeting, blogging, Facebooking, e-mailing, and spreading the word about the event however you can. The bonus? YOU CAN WIN SWEET PRIZES! (For a full list of how and what you can win, check out the Prize page.)

What can you expect during the event?
I will be posting geeky goodness all around. I will post photos, links, maybe do some livetweeting commentary on some Instant Netflix movies (with fellow Twitter-folk joining in I'm sure). It'll be a blast! If you're tweeting about the event, use the hashtag #36hourtweetathon so that everyone can follow along.

Better yet... you can help out a great cause by donating to Kids Need to Read!

For full details, check out the 36 Hour Tweetathon FAQ page and our official list of sponsors.

Related Links:
The 36 Hour Tweetathon Donation Page
Kids Need to Read
Kids Need to Read on Twitter
Kids Need to Read on Facebook
Hyde and Geek on Twitter
Hyde and Geek on Facebook

The List of Prizes for the 2011 KNTR Tweetathon is Here!

Pfew! I finally got around to tallying all the awesome goodies from this year's Hyde and Geek/Kids Need to Read  36 Hour Tweetathon.

You can check out the full list of prizes below!

Find out about the Tweetathon, Kids Need to Read by reading the FAQ!

So how do you win these spectacular prizes? You win them by donating to the Tweetathon. If you wish to be entered to win prizes DO NOT click the box to hide your e-mail address from the page creator when donating. This information will only go to me for prize purposes and will NOT be seen by the public. However, if you hide your e-mail address, you will not be eligible for prizes as I won't have any way to contact you. After the Tweetathon ends on Friday at midnight, I will use a random number generator to select the winners from everyone who donated and left their e-mail address.

And, while you're here, don't forget to check out the list of awesome geeky sponsors and, of course, Kids Need to Read.

ThinkGeek:

(3) $100 ThinkGeek gift certificates

Geek Girl Con:

(2) 2-day weekend passes

Geek Soap:

(1) Geek Soap prize pack including...

        (1) D20 on a Rope

  (1) Dr. Who

  (1) N64

  (1) NES

(1) Donkey Kong Barrel

Luxury Lane Soap:

(1) soap prize pack including…

(1) I want to Bathe (X-Files UFO)

(1) Epic Soap Wars (Star Wars)

(1) puzzle soap set

(1) LEGO mini fig set

Little Professor Book Center:

(1) book prize pack including…

(1) Medusa's Mirror Cthulhu ring

(1) proof copy of Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things

(1) Horns by Joe Hill

(1) Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

(1) The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry

Crossed Genres:

(1) Crossed Genres book prize pack including…

(1) Crossed Genres Year One

(1) Crossed Genres Year Two

(1) A Festival of Skeletons by RJ Astruc

Geeky Knit:

(1) toaster toque

(1) Ravenclaw toque

CthulhuChick:

(1) Tiny Cthulhu

Wobbly Wear:

(1) Jayne Cobb hat

Who's Got the Button?:

Hyde and Geek buttons (included with every prize!)

Hyde and Geek:

(1) The Real Ghostbusters vol. 1 DVD

Kids Need to Read Tweetathon Date Announced!

The 2011 Kids Need to Read 36-Hour Tweetathon is officially going to take place from Thursday, May 19th at noon through Friday, May 20th at midnight.

For those who missed out on the fun in 2010, I'll recap the basic idea. (More details can be found in the FAQ.) I will be sitting in front of my computer for 36 hours straight and tweeting at least once every 10 minutes for the duration of that time to encourage people to donate money to Kids Need to Read through a charity page that will be set up specifically for the Tweetathon. What will I do for 36 hours? That's sort of random. Last year, I asked geek trivia questions, posted photos (some of them embarrassing) and made a general fool of myself. This year, well... we'll just see how it goes, shall we?

Just be sure to follow me on Twitter so you don't miss out on all the geeky fun!

As for why, I would do this... it's because, as an avid reader and future teacher, I absolutely love the ideas behind Kids Need to Read. If you haven't head of them before, Kids Need to Read is a charity organization that provides books and reading programs to underfunded libraries, schools, and literacy programs. (For the Browncoats among you, it was co-founded by none other than Capt. Tightpants himself, Firefly's Nathan Fillion!) To find out more about KNTR, check out the Tweetathon FAQ or visit the KNTR official site.

I had a blast in 2010 and, with the help of a lot of awesome geeks on Twitter, raised nearly $2000 for Kids Need to Read! The 2011 Tweetathon is going to be bigger and better all around! I have prizes lined up from all sorts of geeky outlets around the world! (Click here for the full list of sponsors.) "What sort of prizes?" you ask. I will be posting a full list of prizes very soon.

That's it for now. Stay tuned to this blog for more details.

Related links:
Hyde and Geek on Twitter
Kids Need to Read

Geeks Unite for Japan!

If it weren't for Japan, we'd have no Nintendo, anime, giant robots, Godzilla, or sushi. In case you've been living under a rock (or stuck playing the latest Call of Duty) for the past week, Japan was recently devestated by an enormous 8.9 earthquake, followed by many aftershocks and tsunamis with death tolls currently topping at over 10,000. It is now in threat of a nuclear meltdown.

In reponse, our good friends at The Geek Girls Network have teamed up with Mercy Corps to help aid Japan in its time of need.

I saw the strength and passion of my fellow geeks last season with my Kids Need to Read tweetathon so I know that we can do this! Let's help 'em out!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW!

Engage!

Updated: As an added bonus, Who's Got the Button? will donate 10% of all button sales this week to the Geeks with Heart drive.

Related links:
Geek Girls Network
Mercy Corps

Calling All Geeks!

Last Summer I did an experiment that I called the Hyde and Geek/Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon. The idea was that I'd sit in front of my computer and tweet every ten minutes to help raise money for charity. In this case, the charity was Kids Need to Read, an organization dedicated to getting books in the hands of kids. I managed to stay awake through the event  (thanks to a ton of Red Bull), had a ton of fun, and my awesome Twitter friends and followers rose to the challenge and raised nearly $2000 for charity!

Last season's Tweetathon was such a success that I've decided to do it again! In fact, I'm considering making it an annual event. But to the point of this post...

Last year, my good Twitter-pal, Brian Truitt of USA Weekend helped me out by giving away a copy of The Losers on DVD to one random Twitter-ite who helped to promote the Tweetathon through some retweets. So, as I began planning this year's event, I thought to myself "What if other geeks and friends would like to help out by giving prizes?"

That's where you come in.

I'm looking to geeky businesses of all stripes who would like to help out a great cause and get exposure for their business at the same time. What I'm looking for are prize donations of any sort that I can give away during and after the Tweetathon. This can be anything from gift baskets, samples of your wares, gift cards, random junk you have lying around your office, or just about anything else you can think of that somebody out there might want. In return, you'll get the name of your business plastered all over the charity page once I set that up, this blog as I post about the event, your name and business promoted throughout the Tweetathon, and my eternal and undying gratitude.

I'm also looking for anyone who has a blog, a website, Facebook, Twitter, or any other online soapbox who would be willing to help me promote this thing so that we can blow it out of the water again!

If any of the above sounds like you, send an e-mail to Scott (that's me) at swank_stuff@yahoo.com or DM me at @hydeandgeek on Twitter.

Buy a Calendar for Charity and Help KNTR

My pal Bone McGraw (aka Kris) and some of his friends have created a calendar that they're selling to raise cash for various charities.

Recently, Bone came to me and asked if I'd help to promote the calendar and maybe provide a picture (I'm Mr. August BTW). I agreed on the grounds that he give some of the proceeds to my favorite charity: Kids Need to Read. Bone agreed and, if he sells at least 1000 copies, he will donate $500 to KNTR.

So check out the calendar below and help out some great causes!

The Kids Need to Read 36 Hour Tweetathon

Update: The Tweetathon is now OVER! However, the page will remain live for a while so you may still be able to CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

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Followers of my Twitter will know that I am a huge Browncoat (that's a fan of the TV show Firefly for the uninitiated). One day around a year ago, Firefly star Nathan Fillion tweeted about a charity that he co-founded called Kids Need to Read.

As a Browncoat, I took a look at the charity. Then, as a reader, a father, and an elementary school teacher-in-training, I fell in love with the Kids Need to Read mission to provide books to underprivileged schools and reading programs.

To assist them in their goal, I am holding a 36 hour charity tweetathon this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, August 3rd and 4th in an attempt to raise $4000 for charity. That means that, beginning at 10am EST on Tuesday, I will be sitting at my computer on Twitter and tweeting at least once every 10 minutes for the duration of 36 hours straight. That means no sleep and no cheating by using Twitter from my phone or iPod. I haven't stayed awake for 36 hours straight in almost two decades so, if you're following me on Twitter, be prepared for some insane drivel to be spouted after the 20 hour mark or so.

How can you help with this event? Just follow me on Twitter, retweet my links during the tweetathon to help spread the word and, most importantly, donate! CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW! Also, if you have any inside lines to celebrities on Twitter to help spread the word, that would help immensely. I set my goal high for this event and I have no doubt that my geeky followers on Twitter will help me to blow this one out of the water!

Now buckle in, folks! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

And again... Click here to donate!

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Related links:

The Kids Need to Read official site

Follow Kids Need to Read on Twitter

Follow Scott (Hyde & Geek) on Twitter