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Spotlight

Terrific Twitter Trio of the Week: Charitable Musicians

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Lots of musicians tweet — but all that Twitters is not gold.

That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)

This week’s winners have huge followings on Twitter — and huge hearts as well. Check out what they’re doing to help #Haiti and other causes.

  • Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden
    @JoelMadden

    Why You Should Follow: The Good Charlotte frontman (and Goodwill ambassador for UNICEF) has been active in the Haiti earthquake relief effort since Day 1, raising and donating money, lending his DJ skills to benefit concerts, and even appearing on CNN’s Larry King Live to talk about the disaster and what people can do to help. He and wife @nicolerichie have been tweeting nonstop, too, providing followers with information on where and what to donate and encouraging everyone to get involved and help out in whatever small way they can. After all, as Madden tweeted just a few days ago, “We are blessed to have the lives we do.”

    Best Tweet of the Week: “I will travel to #Haiti later this year w/UNICEF to show you where your donations went, and what is still needed for the future.”

  • Maxwell
    @_MAXWELL_

    Why You Should Follow: The neo-soul artist — whose mother is Haitian — is in “frantic motion to assist and aid” those affected by the recent earthquakes in Haiti, according to a recent tweet. This means working with Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti foundation to raise money for the near-demolished country and meeting with former President Bill Clinton to discuss “a relief effort of MAJOR proportions.” Though his mind is “somewhere between despair and hope,” he encourages his followers to do whatever they can to help “raise this love up from the rubble.” He recently appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Jean and Rihanna to raise awareness about the situation in Haiti — and announced that his song “Fistful of Tears” would be available for download on Oprah’s Web site until Friday afternoon. If you purchase it by the end of today, all proceeds will go toward the relief effort.

    Best Tweet of the Week: “all we can do is pray that every penny goes to every person and attendant on site in HAITI #HelpHaiti”

  • Santigold
    @Santigold

    Why You Should Follow: Santigold focuses her charitable efforts on other parts of the world. Recently, she joined fellow singer Lupe Fiasco, actors Jessica Biel and Emile Hirsch, and several others on a treacherous climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money and awareness for the global clean water crisis. The expedition, called Summit on the Summit, will be the subject of an MTV documentary airing this March, but if you’re eager to know how the climb went, just check out Santigold’s Twitter page — she documented all 19,340 feet in tweets (and somehow managed to stay positive and happy even when cold, damp, exhausted, and peeing behind rocks). When she reached the top of the mountain on January 14, she wrote, “Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was the hardest physical endeavor of my life. It was amazing in so many ways, but I never want to do it again! : )” Then, just two hours later, she tweeted, “On a plane now headed to Ethiopia to visit refugee camps. Will keep you posted when I can.” She’s back in Los Angeles now, but still very much involved with Summit on the Summit’s clean water efforts — expect lots of tweets on how to help out.

    Best Tweet of the Week: “I’m back!!!! (and twittering at 8am). I got bored of dreaming about hiking!”