GOORAMA!

At Mashable, we believe technology and community are key to making our world a better place. This is a concept we discuss daily and will be exploring further at our upcoming Social Good Summit.

Today we’re happy to further that belief by co-launching a new initiative called #GivingTuesday — marking Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 as a day to give back. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become cultural traditions in the United States, and this is an opportunity to ensure philanthropy gets the attention it deserves, too.

Our goal is simple: #GivingTuesday will not collect money; we want to encourage Americans to take collaborative action to improve their local communities and give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support.

The holidays have always been a time for giving. With organizations like the UN Foundation, 92Y and (RED), we hope to further this idea by creating a framework that inspires people and companies to action, much like Black Friday and Cyber Monday have created a framework for retailers to sell merchandise.

This #GivingTuesday, Mashable is committing to volunteer with youth to teach digital literacy, and we want you to get involved, too!

As a community, we can make this the biggest giving season yet. We at Mashable and our community — the Connected Generation — talk a lot about social good. This is an opportunity for us to use our collective voice to make a difference together.

So, what can you do?

• Organize a special campaign to support your favorite cause.

• Commit to volunteer on #GivingTuesday.

• Ask your employer to get involved by either matching employee contributions on #GivingTuesday or dedicating that day to volunteerism.

• And much more. #GivingTuesday is a collaborative day owned by the community. You can go to GivingTuesday.org to find out how to get involved

This has the potential to spark a meaningful digital movement with real world impact during the holiday seasons. At Mashable, we are excited to start planning this project and we hope that you’ll join us. Stay tuned — we will keep you updated with our plans at Mashable.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hidesy

Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/13/givingtuesday/