USA TODAY launches online community, "Kindness: New Ways We Give and Volunteer"

We could joke and call it Philanthropy-Light. Or Giving-Digest. But our nation's top-selling newspaper has launched its newest online community, and its theme is charity, good causes, giving, and giving back.

No small audience: the print and online editions of USA TODAY reach more than 5 million a day. Here's how they're positioning the online community:

Kindness is your daily source of inspiration and guide to making a difference in fresh and exciting ways, no matter where you are. Each day, this site will unearth unique stories of giving with exclusive interviews, fresh takes on news stories, plenty of tips, and links to interesting resources. But we're also building a community, and we look forward to hearing from you.

The community can be found here. You can see a lot there, but of course, you have to register and all that to participate in commenting, connecting, blogging, posting in (or creating) forums ... the usual social networking stuff. But it's all under the USA TODAY brand. No doubt there will be an on-going promotion of it. Who knows? Maybe it will become a generalized philanthropy portal for those who are interested, attracting donors and organizations alike.

(USA TODAY also published its third annual philanthropy section in the newspaper, entitled "Sharing in the USA.")

Customer Service Week, October 5-9

In 1992 the U.S. Congress proclaimed Customer Service Week a nationally recognized event, celebrated annually during the first full week in October.

Of course, this makes about as much sense as having a seperate Customer Service Department. EVERY week should be Customer Service Week, just as responsibility for customer service should rest with everyone in your organization, not just one department. For your organization, providing really great customer service can be THE difference between thriving and going extinct.

There are lots of ways to encourage a culture of service in your organization. Ways that won't work include:

Writing a memo
Making a speech
Imposing new behavior standards ("Smile, dammit!")

Genuine change happens when people buy in. A way to start that is to have a simple conversation about it.

So on this occasion, let me offer you something for free. Here's an exercise to help you get the conversation started. Use it at your next staff meeting, or even in the lunch room.

There's two pages of quotes about customer service, meeting needs, reputation, and trust(they're all related, you know). Have people read through the quotes and then, in pairs or small groups, share which one they most responded to. I can almost guarantee an enthusiastic conversation will ensue, and perhaps some altered notions about who is responsible for keeping the customer.

Get your free copy: simply click here to sign up. Give me your name and email, and I'll send you the exercise right away.

And remember what Lewis Carol said:

One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really
worth doing is what we do for others.