Saturday, October 10, 2009

Could've Handled This Better, But Anyway...

All this Million-Dollar Twitter thing happened so fast, I still can't believe it.

Last Saturday a soccer team I own a part of, the Seattle Sounders FC, beat the Columbus Crew at home 1-0. Columbus hadn't lost a home game in 22 matches, and the victory all but assured us a spot in the playoffs. I was practically doing flips in my office while the game was on, and after the final whistle I acted like an idiot jumping around and pumping my fists as if I'd played the game myself instead of just watching it on TV.

I went on Twitter as soon as the game was over to publicly congratulate the team, and that's when I saw the @ from @Drew. He'd sent me a few more before that I guess, but I missed them. I was about 13,000 followers then and it was hard to see all the @'s I was getting. (Now I really can't keep track. If I see a specific request from someone in an @ reply nowadays it's just dumb luck.) He's this close to being an official cancer survivor and sent a link to an article about his effort to auction of his @Drew name and give the money to the Livestrong Foundation, Lance Armstrong's cancer charity. I was in a GREAT mood, so I tweeted him and bid $25,000 for the name.

By the way, I didn't care less about getting the @Drew twitter name, and still don't. It was a long, slow, steady climb to 13,000 followers and I wasn't about to change my name after all that.

Then I thought about it for a bit, and still in a great mood, upped it to $100,000 if I got 100,000 followers by the time he ended the auction of his Twitter name on November 9th.

Then, after a couple of days after that got a bit of publicity, I went crazy and made it a million for a million followers.

Now here's how I could've handled this better.

I should have just donated the money in the first place without doing the million-follower challenge. Yes, I guess it does "raise awareness" somewhat, but who wasn't aware of Livestrong and Lance Armstrong's fight against cancer? I think they were doing a pretty good job of raising their own awareness without me.

But instead, I think I made it a bit too much about me by making it a contest that benefits me in exchange for my donation. So there it is. My regret. Maybe I didn't make it too much about me. Maybe I just though up a fun way to raise money for a good cause. Whatever. I feel like I made it too much about me, so that's that.

But I'm glad so many people are participating in this. It is a lot of fun, isn't it? And it's cool watching the numbers go up every day. I'm glad the money is going to such a good cause. I'm glad @Drew's plan worked out. So it's all good in the neighborhood, as they say, except the small twinge of guilt about asking for a million followers in exchange for the donation. But I was pretty full of myself last weekend. I own a piece of an expansion team that kicked some serious ass last Saturday. They're probably going to make the playoffs.

So if you're put off by my method, blame them. :)

(And don't forget, tweeps! If I get one million followers by the end of 2009 I'll donate one million dollars to Livestrong. Anything less than a million, I'll prorate it. And it all started with Drew Olanoff, aka @Drew, who has cancer.)


92 comments:

  1. Wow your such a nice guy! i followed you and 1million followers is really looking like a possibilty!

    ~@mattbrox

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  2. Not only are you a fine example of a caring Clevelander, you are a fabulous human being! Anyone who detracts from your good deeds is a fool! So, don't worry about it. Celebrate the great things you do and know that you have far more admirers and fans than "hate-mongers"!!! Congratulations to your team! And, if it makes you feel better, consider your donation in honor of the "other" Drew -- Drew Olanoff (@Drew) -- as part of your drive to reach the $1 million target!!! Wishing you continued success.

    RAY (@DaneRay)
    Ray Chesnick
    rbc@juno.com

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  3. This is great that ur supporting @Drew! Way to go man! You've always been awesome!

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  4. Always appreciate when someone owns their shit in the twittersphere/blogosphere. Well done. Also appreciate your donation. My husband just finished chemo and has the all-clear so far.

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  5. Drew, Twitter needs what it can get to look good. If people can decide "Ok, I'll finally join Twitter because I can help LiveStrong by following DrewFromTV" because of it, that's cool. They feel good because they're donating a dollar by following you, and that's armchair easy.

    Also, just use the name change feature so you don't lose your followers, silly.

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  6. I think you did a fair thing by making this about yourself to the extent that you did. The catch for you though, is that your twit-pendents won't respect you so much if you don't speak to us honestly, as a real person. Respond to a dozen or so tweets a day when people ask you something real about your life. Don't become another advertiser. All the best though buddy. You rule!

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  7. Drew! So awesome! I am so happy for you and grateful for what you are doing. I tweeted your friend Ellen to spread the word, cause you know she has like 3 mil + followers on Twitter, but she must have thought I was pranking her. You need to go on her show! Best of luck! I am doing everything I know how to get the numbers up.
    Lots of Love,
    Diana, The Doggy Mommy
    @thedoggymommy on Twitter

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  8. What you're doing is for a good cause, Drew. Good luck!

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  9. Hey Drew,

    I think what you did, are doing, was simply perfect. Using you is what you created in your career for a good cause, you used your self to contribute to a cause worth so much to so many people.

    Everything you have done in your life you have done it for your self, and now have taken what you have done in your career to contribute back.

    Use all of you that you can, the more you do for your self, the more you can contribute. If you get those million followers, you can tell those million people about the wonderful cause you support directly every day, how is that for a contribution.

    I believe the moment we stop making things about our selves, the less we will beable to contribute, if we do not take, we can not give!

    I love your efforts, keep it going strong.

    Best Wishes,
    Rick Wilson - Edmonton,Alberta - Canada

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  10. I think its great Drew and I did not find it being about you at all.

    I'm now following you because of this and I went to the Livestrong Foundation website and read up on what they do... So how is that a bad thing?

    I also made my way to your blog and interacting over it. I cannot donate a million dollars but I will do what I can to help.

    thanks Drew
    @r_stouder

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  11. Hehe!
    Great stuff Drew, at least you're tweeting :P

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  12. Nearly every situation could have been handled differently when you look back after the situation has passed. You however still have acted yourself in an honorable manner.

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  13. Just a heads up Drew. I was wondering when I would be considered a Cancer Survivor. I asked that question at my oncologists and I was told, "As soon as you are diagnosed with cancer you are a Cancer Survivor" . There is no waiting time period after diagnosis before you become a survivor. As long as we are drawing breath we are "SURVIVORS".

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  14. why blame your soccer team? Why not #blamedrewscancer? :-P

    Seriously though, I think you're doing the right thing. Besides, even if you don't hit 1M followers by the end of the year, you don't have to NOT donate $1M

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  15. I wish I could have the generosity to help donate that kind of money, but its great for you to help the foundation in any way. I had no idea you owned a little slice of Seattle, and living in Washington my whole life, that seems pretty cool.. (Now that I know about it). I just started watching The Drew Carey show (again) from scratch; so working my way through season one. Anyway, tons of kudos for helping out a worthy cause!!

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  16. I think what you did is great. Is shows that if you can get all of us to care enough to get all of us to follow you so you can give one million, I can certainly take the time to give what I can. I think there are a lot of people out there that do not know about Livestrong. They see the braclets, but they do not KNOW what it is about. Just like Lance, sometimes you have you use your name to get people going. You are a good guy!

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  17. Hi Drew, greetings from Australia. I had not heard of the Livestrong Foundation before until this effort by you. I have heard of Lance Armstrong, and I love to offer support to cancer foundations. So I happily signed up to follow you. Keep up the great work mate.

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  18. I will poke @bethofalltrades again to see if she will poke @neilhimself and @ amandapalmer to RT your challenge. Please ignore any naysayers. This is a good thing. It raises awareness and each new follower can feel that they are via you making a contribution. I have always felt that you were one of the good guys. You do not dissappoint.

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  19. Drew, just to be clear, you're doing an awesome thing; sprucing it up with asking people to follow you is hardly putting anyone out. Don't second guess yourself for one second in thinking what you're doing isn't a good thing. How you could have played it better is great to acknowledge and reflect on a bit, but in the end, all the twits that follow you (myself included) are there because you upped the anti on why we'd follow someone.

    -Tony

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  20. I think you are the only person next to Craig Ferguson who comes across as an overall absolutely fun guy who IMHO can't do anything wrong. Ok maybe Alyson Hannigan. And Jim Parsons. And Jorge Garcia. Damn :-)

    Anyway:iIf anybody did criticize you for making this about yourself just ignore them. Really. The same people will start bothering you with tweets that they'll now unfollow you because you tweet too much about soccer, that you are selfish et. cetera. Just ignore them. It's hard sometimes, I know, especially when you yourself are in a bad mood. And compared to @ThatKevinSmith you don't pimp anything on your Twitter. To be honest the only thing you do pimp is MLS and I sincerely hope you efforts to get the World Cup will be rewarded. Moscow just raised the bar yesterday...

    But back to the charity thing: Ashton Kutcher started his race with CNN without donations and people didn't think he made an ass out of himself, did they? And what's 1 Million followers on Twitter anyway? People can unfollow you on Jan. 1st this way or the other. It doesn't cost them anything to simply follow you. Just a click. It's worth more than the millions of blog/forum/Usenet comments complaining about world hunger.

    If you ask me you should've just told us that you were so extremely happy about your team winning you upped the ante. Don't make excuses for having fun with this. You basically gave yourself a fun reason to give to charity and what could ever be wrong with that? @wilw sold 10 seats at his D&D table for 50 bucks a pop this week. And it's not like you needed Matt Damon to yell at you to give to his charity, right? (re: Entourage) ;-)

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  21. Drew! You are a class act! Keep it up!

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  22. Hey Drew, it's ok it's just your nature you are a generous person, thankyou for being so honest I have been a fan of yours since your days of doing standup here in Cleveland and that will never change........Don't feel you have to answer everything just pick 10-15 tweets and respond back or make a general one ........I will follow you no matter what, you have a fan for life in me.

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  23. Hey, you can just #blamedrewscancer and all is well.

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  24. Hey Drew,

    Don't worry so much about making it so much about you. I didn't look at it that way, and I'm sure most people didn't either. Like someone else said, I felt like I was right in there with you by clicking on "follow". I felt like I was helping give that money too, even if it didn't come directly out of my pocket. Posting and re-posting to all my followers asking them to follow you and help cancer gives me a warm fuzzy feeling every time I do it as well.

    One of the first things I do every time I log into Twitter is go check to see how high that number's gotten while I was "away". In fact, I was disappointed that I missed the 50,000 mark because I so wanted to post "Whoa-oh, we're halfway there..." (just because I'm a big Bon Jovi fan...hehehe) So, you can look forward to that at 500,000 now...lol.

    I think you're an awesome guy and a good role model for your son! Keep just being YOU, that's the greatest thing you can ever do.

    ~T

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  25. The "too much about me" thing? Nah. It's just a fun thing and I can't imagine there are too many people who have a problem with anything where the end result is a million dollar donation to fight cancer. Talked about it on my radio show and the general consensus was "Aww...what a nice guy." All good Drew.

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  26. A great cause and it's fun watching your numbers go up, knowing that each follower is a dollar towards the fight against cancer. Love how you're keeping it real.

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  27. Hey Drew,

    I think this is AWESOME what you're doing. And don't feel guilty about asking for followers - it's a fun addition to it and I think you deserve a few followers :)

    Good luck on 1 million!

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  28. Drew,

    You're being too hard on yourself. The million mark was a great idea and brought many folks to the table to learn and understand just a bit more about cancer.

    Our daughter is a survivor - twice. Once for thyroid and another for leukemia. Speaking from my perspective, you've been nothing but generous and humble throughout.

    John

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  29. I started following you a few weeks ago (when the number of followers was pretty low). Do not feel bad about the 1 mil followers thing. I remember when @Aplusk wanted the most followers-and got them. Your adding the Livestrong donation makes your effort even more rewarding. True charity from the heart is always good. The cancer patients who receive the benefit will certainly be appreciative of your donation.

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  30. Excellent post, Drew. Great example of an authentic blog post...I understand your regret and I think its a good reflection on your character. But, don't let it bother you much, stuff happens the way it happens and this situation creates a lot of public fun, engages a serious number of people in a good cause, creates positive publicity for @Drew, LiveStrong and Twitter...a very good way to leverage your celebrity. Oh, and congrats to the Sounders!

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  31. Followed on tweet when I saw this challenge Drew. Anything that helps the fight against this evil disease is the right thing to do. I lost my dad to lung cancer in 2006, while I was pregnant with my first son. I've participated in relay for life and daffodil days ever since. There has definitely been a benefit to me in doing so.

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  32. Hey Drew,

    It's refreshing to see a celebrity actually realize the world doesn't revolve around them. I commend your donation, and like the fact that if you don't reach the million you will still give something significant. You will be the only "celebrity" that I will follow on Twitter.

    Cheers,

    -Gabe (@KidsAreHeroes)

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  33. I think worrying about it makes it more about you than doing it! Be glad that you have the opportunity to raise awareness AND contribute. most of us normal folk could easily make the pledge knowing its a safe bet nobody is going to take notice. I also think once you hit the mark, which looks like a sure thing on both counts, you should challenge your followers to match you ($1 each) for added benefit. I for one am in! Keep up the good work and funny tweets.

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  34. I always loved your work as an actor and comedian, especially on Whose Line. After jumping on the Twitter bandwagon and seeing you talk about yourself and things you care about with the level of honesty and "yourself-ness" that you do though, it made me, and doubtlessly thousands more, respect you much more as a person. I've been following your feed for a while now and it's just great to see you open up as a person, whether it's chatting with others or listing #videogamesyouregretbuying (that list made me laugh my ass off, by the way).
    I see no reason to feel ashamed about the whole "followers for donations" thing, it really does give more exposure to the cause and gives Twitter in general a nice reputation boost, in a sense.

    Hell, after all this, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if you donated a million regardless of your follower count at the end of the year.

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  35. You know, you could challenge your followers to each donate $1, then, if you hit the million follower mark, and each follower gives the $1, you double the donation to $2 million. Then, the follower thing doesn't seem so self-centered, does it?

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  36. Thanks for your honest blog post! You're doing a good thing. And if it gets publicity for you and Livestrong, so much the better. :-)

    Also, you should consider using a 3rd party Twitter client to help organize your Tweets so you don't miss those @'s. I like www.hootsuite.com because it's web based and you can get to it from any computer. And it would let you view your @TPIRHost tweets at the same time. Here's a link to a review of Hootsuite and some other Twitter clients: http://tinyurl.com/ylrbs4k

    Keep up the good work! God bless! :-)

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  37. great man ...
    but if there is another people who doesnt love money to death ... the world will be a beter place .
    :)

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  38. I think what you are doing is amazing, and see no reason for you to feel guilty for setting the challenge. It just makes it more fun. Congrats on your team winning.

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  39. Drew, I think what you are doing is awesome...wish I had a million to give, congrats on your team.

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  40. Drew, You're doing what you do best - making people smile with frequent gut laughs added in! And you're a celebrity, so no matter what you do it's going to be a little bit about you, so get over it. It is what it is and you're doing a great thing and people are having fun.

    p.s. My son Conor is a cancer survivor, he's now 9 soon to be 10, and I can tell you from experience that laughter and fun is goooood medicine!!! Thank you for providing it to us in our darkest hour, 7 years ago, we miss you on prime time!

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  41. Thank you for that insightful explanation. I thought
    the million followers number itself was the goal and was against my perceived public persona of you. I wondered "Why does Drew want a million followers? What will he do with a million followers?"

    Now I know. And yes, I immediately followed you as soon as @lancearmstrongceo forwarded the challenge. So there you go.

    And my hubby lost his mom, dad and sister to cancer. He has 2 other sisters who survived cancer, and he works for Novartis in oncology for Gleevec. So though I'm undoubtedly biased about this cause, I must say that you COULD NOT have picked a better cause to back. So thanks!

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  42. Nicely done. :)
    As the daughter, sister and friend to too many cancer survivors and victims, I believe the ends will justify your means. (And I get to be a teeny bit smug that I signed on when you were only at 23K - see, benefits all of us in some little way.)

    Your lovely little blog post cements the overall impression you present to the public and reinforces our family motto:
    Always be the good guy.

    Cheers!
    Christina (minneapolis, mn)

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  43. to kill the guilt, just donate $1 for each follower earned...I mean, if you don't make it to a million, does Livestrong get $0? THAT would be guilt-worthy. I was already a follower, but re-tweeted my best! Way to go raising awareness!

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  44. I followed! Nothing wrong with wanting a million followers.. :)

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  45. I have to admit I started following you on Twitter to help meet the @drew challenge. That I loved watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" while I was recovering from my cancer treatment (once it stopped hurting to laugh) played in a little.

    Now I'm going to keep following you because it's clear you're a cool guy!

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  46. I don't care how you did it, just that you made the offer. I follow Drew, and you too. But, how about dividing the money between Livsestrong, and another, less well known cancer foundation. I am currently undergoing treatment for melanoma, one of the hardest to beat. 20 treatments first month, then treatments three times a week for a year. And, I'm doing it without insurance! Anyway, don't be hating yourself, you are doing something wonderful. I expect you will give a million even if you don't get that many followers!

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  47. Yes, you could've quietly donated and be done. But you're using your celebrity powers for good (not evil-lol) and it's fun. @Livestrong gets even more publicty and in the end, who loses?

    CANCER!

    I lost my mom to it and would like to see a cure in my lifetime if not sooner.

    Thanks for upping the ante. Here's a thought, why not turn it around to your followers and ask for us to give a donation, as well. If you hit 1 mil and we all give at least $1 that would sure rock @Livestrong..

    just sayin'..

    Thanks, Drew!
    ~Melissa
    @fullcircle_mel

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  48. Drew, I've long been your fan and miss Whose Line. It was great to find you on Twitter and it happened for no other reason than the donation x followers publicity. So don't feel guilty at all, anyways you're doing an amazing thing, one way or the other.

    Rafael (from Brazil)

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  49. I think you were carried away in your happiness and enthusiasum, and sometimes that's a good thing! I started following you, and I'm encouraging everyone I tweet with to follow you too. Thanks for sharing your big heart!
    Sue

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  50. Came over from fatcyclist, who linked from his blog to your twitter challenge. So I signed up for twitter to follow you and help out LiveStrong. Good Luck!

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  51. You're interacting with your audience positively for a serious cause. My family has a cancer patient and so we support anything that generates awareness and gets people thinking and donating to a cause. All NPO's need support so you're getting a lot more done than you give yourself credit for. Keep up the good work Mr Carey you're doing a damn fine job and I will continue to tweet to my facebook friends about following you!

    Books out!

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  52. I hardly see how you benefit from having 100,000+ twitter followers; if anything your page is well on its way to becoming an unmanagable mess, lol. Anyone holding anything against you is a grade "A" knucklehead - sorry to use such strong language but they really have it coming. ::shakes fist::

    Betsy

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  53. Sure, you could had just out right donated which many people do every day. But a million dollars is a lot of money and by asking for others to perform a simple step to achieve this goal is not asking a lot or thinking of "you".

    Companies do this all the, buy our product and we will give X to X.

    I don't see a problem with it.

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  54. Thank you Drew for all that you have done not only for this cause but for the city of Seattle as well. We have long needed the Rave Green here in the Emerald city and the last few months have been great. I have always liked you as an entertainer and these past few months you have not dissapointed as a human being as well. Keep up the good works and Give us all your FULL 90.

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  55. Don't judge yourself so harshly; you are decent, generous guy! You have a big heart and give, give, give while so many others in your position do nothing. Be proud of yourself. We love you! :)

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  56. Kudos to you, Drew! Good luck in your quest!

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  57. Drew, what you are doing is way more than a lot of people are doing. Making it a million person festival does NOT make it about you, it lets people effectively give a dollar for taking a simple action. Everyone knows you've done great things for charity.

    Oh and by the way (on a technical note), we'll swap user names, not accounts. Meaning, your followers stay put, so do your tweets.

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  58. A soccer fan and a Livestrong advocate! You are my idol.

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  59. Ya know Drew, all of us have 20/20 vision when we're looking in hindsight. I just want to say thank you for DOING something. If all of us would actually do something instead of only talk about it- even if that 'something' was a simple smile and direct look in the eyes of your local grocery store's cashier - this world would be a much better place. :)

    So thank you - you are appreciated!

    Many Blessings,
    Dee
    http://www.healingourworld.net/

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  60. Thank you for giving back, Drew! You are a great guy and your heart is in the right place.

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  61. Hey Drew ... it says a lot that you have the awareness to realize that charity activities are as much about 'me' as they are about charity. If one really wants to do good without being rewarded for it ... then just donate anonymously.

    But who among us doesn't secretly -want- to have the congratulations? It's a rare person who can do the act of generosity without needing to be acknowledged for it.

    So ... it's cool that you see this; cool that you are still pursuing the act of goodness with this bit of understanding.

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  62. Dude, I hadn't heard of this 'million' business. I hit follow 'cause I think you're funny. The million is a bonus and everything.... but.. I followed because I wanted to is what I'm saying. Not just because it was for a good cause. Anyhoo....

    Yikes to you trying to keep up with a million followers tweeting at you. Eek!

    But good luck, man! Good cause.

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  63. Drew,

    You need to understand something about those of us in the global LIVESTRONG Army. Especially for those of us who have been blessed with never having had cancer personally, let alone those that have fought or are fighting cancer, we THRIVE on being thrown "impossible" challenges. To an extent, we are all masochists. We love to say, "Oh, yeah, [cancer/absurd fundraising goal/insane distance to run or ride/or whatever insurmountable odd we're up against]? I'm going to kick your arse into tomorrow!" Perhaps, because so many of us follow Lance Armstrong's path of never quitting, wanting our "moment" akin to the Tour de France (on a scale we can handle)? I don't know.

    So, while you may feel guilty, let me assure you, you are feeding right into our need to kick it through the goal posts. You've presented us challenge-takers with a new challenge.

    And it makes us feel a part of your donation.

    Sadly, in these economic times, many of us only have our bodies to dedicate to the cause, as vehicles to raise "other people's money" by participating in LIVESTRONG Challenges and Grassroots efforts. We can't, necessarily write the checks we ask others to give.

    The more we can participate in an activity, it's like we all have a hand in turning in that check.

    I'll never be able to write a $1,000,000 check to LIVESTRONG. And I'll never ride the Tour de France. And, I pray, that my 2 cancer "false alarms", and 3 grandparents taken by cancer, will be the closest that I ever get to having cancer myself.

    But don't tell me that I can't do my part in writing a $1,000,000 check for LIVESTRONG. Don't tell me that I can't ride the equivalent of one stage of the Tour de France in a day.

    Although, I wouldn't mind if you told me I'll never have cancer and that all I'll ever be able to do is to fight cancer into oblivion from afar.

    And, don't forget. I know how excited Drew Olanoff must be getting seeing your numbers going up. I know I get excited. And he needs all the positive energy he can get right now.

    So, thank you, Drew, for your generosity and letting us take part.

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  64. Hey Drew,
    I've been a fan since season 1 of The Drew Carey show. (which I own on DVD and wish I could get all the following seasons on DVD as well!!!!)
    You are a guy who when I see an article about it is usually because you are being generous to others, not because you are self promoting.
    I REALLY love watching you on The Price is Right. Honestly, they couldn't have picked anyone better to do that show after Bob.
    Don't even REMOTELY feel bad about the million follower push on Twitter. We know your heart is in the right place with this. I think it's awesome what you are doing!
    Thanks again buddy for all the laughs (Go pick up Dirty Jokes and Beer, everyone! it's a great read!) You are a class act!

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  65. Feh, it's damned decent of you to prorate it up to a million bucks (like $900,000 for 900,000 followers would be a kick in the teeth or something). That's not making it about you, it's allowing the public to *contribute* to the donation. Although, yeah, still all your money. Nope, you're good here, Drew.

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  66. Nah, don't get too self-conscious about the way you're doing this. I understand your concern, but for crap sake, you're donating a heavy sum of money. It'd be pretty hard to accuse you of vanity in light of what you're doing. You're right, it does raise awareness, and it makes folks feel like they're helping out in a small way. Overall aside from disecting it more than necessary, it's actually a pretty clever approach. No doubt you'll see 1 million.

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  67. Libertarianism only can work if charity plays a big part. Nice to see anyone putting his money where his values are.

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  68. me and both my cats are following you =^..^=

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  69. This is Enigma4ever of WatergateSummer(longtime blogger,http://watergatesummer.blogspot.com) also @watergatesummer on tweet land...

    I wanted to thank you for bringing/promoting Soccer to Seattle- I lived there for many years - and friends there are so happy with it being a big thing....now I live in Cleveland....

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  70. I find it tragic that so many people who miraculously find their way into the spotlight get so blinded by the light that they forget they're still just people.

    You've never forgotten that, Drew. I've always loved that about you...and this post just reinforces it. You care. You genuinely care about how your words or actions affect others.

    I was already a follower, long before this idea. But I think it's great. You have the means to donate a huge chunk of change. Seeking followers in exchange for that donation can raise awareness and cause others to look into their hearts (and pockets). And for those that don't really have a monumental sum to give, following you can make them feel like they somehow helped. (Even if you would've given the money anyway.)

    Quit kicking yourself and just keep being you!

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  71. I think a shift of perspective might be what you need, Drew. You haven't "made this about you" at all, what you've done is used your own status and celebrity to draw attention to and directly benefit somebody else. Of course the buzz is going to increase your own reach, but hey, it's internet-buzz, not real-world buzz. Internet-buzz wanes quickly :-)

    Instead of just saying "hi, yeah, here's a million bucks, seeya" you said "hi, yeah, i'm gonna try and get a million people aware of your cause, and donate a dollar for each of them."

    If I were the charitable organisation concerned, I know which I'd prefer.

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  72. Drew ~ the fact that you're worrying if it's all about you is the reason it isn't all about you. I wish more people would follow your example.

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  73. Howdy, Drew.

    Look, I'm going to be honest; you post WAY too much for me to keep on my twitter account (@brianboyko). I mean, I've got my friends, the stuff I do for social media at work (I'm a pro-blogger by day,) my improv buddies, my photography/videography buddies... and it's like... you're posting so much that you're crowding all of the guys who actually know I exist off of the Twitter page.

    So my choices are that I have to create a separate twitter account for you, which I'll never check, really, let's be honest, OR I have to unsubscribe from @DrewFromTV. But I feel guilty doing that, so I'm just going to send you a dollar. Should I just send that to Drew Carry c/o TPIR fanmail, or what?

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  74. Hi Drew! I just got hold of all of this from Ecorazzi and without any of your explanations, thought it was just a GREAT idea! Social networking these days brings on more and more awareness to lots of issues & causes, so feel blessed you are in the stream...in a really good way!

    Andrea
    PS. Follow me on twitter! dreybird

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  75. Don't worry, we can just unfollow you after you donate the money. *pats on head*

    I feel proud for following you. My bit for the foundation and im a long long way away.

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  76. I think lots of people assume famous actors just swim in their money and horde it all to themselves. It is nice to see the action that you are taking. It sets a great example. You handled yourself with class. This is a great cause. Keep up the good work. Success will follow nice guys like you.

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  77. Hey, I don't think you did anything in the wrong way here. It's a fun little thing to do, and I'm guessing that by doing it this way, you are going to be doing a lot more than just donating the million dollars. I'm going to guess that a significant number of those million followers are going to do even more than just follow you - maybe going and making a donation to the cause themselves. And even though Livestrong hardly needs additional facetime in the media to be known about, it is always going to help. Doing things this way with twitter definitely increases the media time for the Livestrong organization, a lot more than a "simple" million dollar donation would have. So just like everyone else here, I want to say thank you for doing something like this and keep up the good work.

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  78. Wow. I found you through the whole @Drew twitter thing and I'm glad I did. You sound like a nice/kind person, The world needs more of those. Teach this type of kindness to your new little stepson and you've done everything you need to do. Cheers!

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  79. Hi,

    Ok, I'll follow you to help with the cause.
    But for the next million of followers that you get, the money is for me :-)

    Have a nice weekend,

    José

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  80. It's pretty obvious you only have good intentions from all of this but I thought of a way that might alleviate any guilt you feel about upping it to one million followers. Why not put forward the $100k you already pledged as a goal completed with the other $900k being a new goal to aim for? Just my thoughts, nothing more :)

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  81. Drew, at the end of the day you're doing a good thing, and that matters most. Coming from an angst ridden Catholic background I feel your pain about how and why one does "good" or "charitable" things. Bottom line you're helping folks out that need help and you have the ability to make a difference. And you're right in that this does help raise awareness. Plus, people can get involved and help out without having to donate money if they don't have the money to give. I've even highlighted your pledge on my blog www.PoliticalThoughtsNow.com. And, if you don't reach the 1 million follower mark you can always say, "to heck with it," and donate a million dollars anyway. Good luck and good job.

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  82. THIS is really cool. I actually like the 1 Million for 1 Million concept. It's a fun thing to do. It draws attention for the cause and let's the world see what a great guy you are. (always a good thing...)

    Besides, guilt is overrated.

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  83. Hi Drew,
    Happy you are a cancer survivor. I enjoy The Price Is Right and you are a great host. Many Blessings for you and this is really a kind hearted thing to do. I hope you get the million twitter followers. My dear grandma died of cancer and I miss her so much. Take good care! :-)

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  84. You made it too much about you?!?! There is no such thing. I know everything is all about me, so why shouldn't it be about you? Especially on your OWN Twitter. :)

    Congratulations on such generosity. I will keep it in mind when we do the MS walk in the spring. ;)

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  85. Man, you're raising awareness -- not just money. This is great publicity for the cause. It's worth more than the million bucks.

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  86. Drew -if you would have just donated the $1million dollars, that would have been awesome - HOWEVER -by making it a "Project" you have all of us in the Social Trenches/Interwebs tweeting, retweeting, campaigning - some are happy to help, some are frustrated by the seemingly lack of interest, some use their influence to create interest, some use their own methodology, some judge, and some people who want it to happen even judge the people who are trying to help - but it doesn't matter - ALL of it raises the AWARENESS and we don't just need $ to beat cancer, we need $ and awareness and ingenuity and combined synergistic forward movement.

    We are going to do this project work together - and more people will be aware than ever before.

    Thx for joining in on @drew's forward motion.

    Zane Aveton
    @zaneology

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  87. Thank you Drew for doing this, I am a cancer survivor in treatment and really appreciate what you are doing. You ROCK!!!!

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  88. I had an idea that sprung off of your idea.

    So Haiti is now in trouble and you found out that people like to participate in worthy causes.

    I do not know who would go for this but the idea is if people tweet about haiti in a particular hash tag group, sponsors will donate 1 dollar per tweet. and if the hashtag goes to number 1 for a number of days, the sponsors will donate a million per day. I like the follower thing, great idea btw. With api's I can create a tracking program which will track the number of tweets on any given subject.

    Anyways something to think about.

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  89. you should by the DrewTube.com domain name. Imagine the possibilities... you could rule the world, or maybe the internet world, or maybe just the internet video world, or at least compete somewhat with funnyordie.com

    I can tell you're excited.

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