Putting the “API” in “Giving”

Cloudy, with a chance of Clinton.

I spent the entire day at Dreamforce. Thus, I read nothing related to dummies or Twitter applications. I did get to see Stevie Wonder and President Bill Clinton speak to about 20,000 people. Both were unbelievably inspiring, and made me more focused than even on being part of a re-emerging thought economy in the United States.

“We’ve got to get back in the tomorrow business.”
President Bill Clinton– Dreamforce 2010 Keynote

The economic and education stats that President Clinton shared concerning where we rank in relation to the rest of the world were staggering. In a room full of people who could make a direct impact on helping business get back to business, I think the message was pitch-perfect and perfectly timed.

The fact that President Clinton was there highlights a broader focus Salesforce.com founder, chairman, and CEO Marc Benioff places on giving. I love the passion Mr. Benioff has for this, and would love an opportunity to combine it with a larger philanthropic effort at Twitter. The Salesforce.com Foundation, Intel Foundation, Google.org, all of these are projects successful companies have built into their business models to do more than just focus on making profits; they are making good.

It reminds me of a book I read while still working in Florida: Robert H. Frank’s What Price the Moral High Ground?. The basic premise is that doing well and doing good are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they go hand-in-hand. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, and an idea I’d like to implement at Twitter, if I ever get there. Until then, it’s back to the book.

By the way, Twitter VP of product, and all-around nice guy, Jason Goldman announced at Le Web that he is leaving at the end of the month. I’m not going anywhere, and will see you on the ‘morrow, on the Web.