Alex and Max at The Promise

Last week, a team from Pencils of Promise attended the Think Social #Promise conference.  Alex shares her thoughts and observations on the overall experience and how brands can create good through social media.

We got to take part in another fabulous event last week – the Think Social #Promise Conference on corporate social responsibility and social media. It was my first real introduction to social media so I was prepared to take a lot of information in and learn all I can about the topic.

The conference was more than just a great learning opportunity though; it was an all day affair that facilitated networking and included a variety of spotlight presentations and panels that were incredibly fascinating.

I was very impressed with the caliber of companies and industries represented, from Nokia to PepsiCo to MTV to Timberland. We got to meet and hear from some really inspiring people whose passion for change and innovation was infectious — from executive members of PepsiCo to the founder of Facebook and even philanthropist Edward Norton.

Think Social set a challenge for each company or individual present at the conference to make a social media #promise. Throughout the day people would tweet their #promise on the twitter page projected to the entire audience. Pencils of Promise made a #promise that $20 will buy all school supplies for one year for 20 students and their teacher! MTV made a “#promise” to fight against sexting and other digital abuses facing teenagers. Timberland made an ambitious #promise to plant 5 million trees in Haiti and China in 5 years!

This experience alone is just another testament to the various opportunities afforded to us as PoP interns — it is more than just what we have to offer to PoP, it is about engaging with our socially conscious peers, learning from each other and strengthening our skills in some of the innovative things our generation will lead and become a part of.

This is all so exciting and I am very much enjoying the ride!