The absolute best way to market & advertise your green or sustainable business, company, organization or initiative is through social media and networking. That is what we do: we create content for you to publish and share across the web.

It is such a natural way to share your information....and that is the goal - to give your information away, in order to gain an audience. People ask us all the time "How do I go viral?" Our answer is almost always "Share, to G.A.I.N." (Give it Away Now).

Online communities are created to specifically connecting people....and they will be the defacto meeting place. Websites? Thats so 2009....You will soon all have a million websites......sort of, 'mini-websites,' as widgets on these social networks. (Interested?)

So all it takes to rally around issues like clean energy, climate change, or health care reform is an internet connection. Yay.

Meanwhile, with all the sustainable social networks  out there, it’s tough to understand which online community is worth your invested time. Thankfully there are companies like the cut company that can help you there too, but choosing the right online community can ensure that you get the most impact for your efforts.

Top 10 Green Social Networks 

Below you can find are the top 10 most influential, active, and interesting social networks for Green causes.

Care2 was launched in 1998 by Randy Paynter who had the idea to harness the power of the Internet to make the world a better place. Who would thunk. Care2 first began as a online email and ecard service which donated a percentage of revenues to environmental nonprofits. It has since evolved into an interactive online community with nearly 12M+ members. On Care2 you can support a variety of  social causes, from animal welfare to women’s rights, by donating money, signing petitions, joining an interest group, informing others or simply staying informed.

STATS: 50 employees, 9 million users and 400 non profit partners.

Change.org is the leading online community for social change. Change.org began by providing a clever way for people to connect around positive change -  you would type in the change(s) you wanted to create in the world and you be able to find others in the community who were tagged with those same causes. The site has since evolved into providing daily news and information about current issues, with calls to action, by doing things like connecting with nonprofits.

STATS: Founded by Stanford graduate Ben Rattray in 2005, Change.org is a profitable social entrepreneurship based in San Francisco, CA

WiserEarth is a free online community space connecting the people, nonprofits and businesses working toward a just and sustainable world. A brainchild of Paul Hawken’s Natural Capital Institute, it was built on a wiki platform that supports the world’s most detailed classification of issue areas related to social justice and environmental restoration. Here you will find the world’s largest free and editable international directory of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and socially responsible organizations (110,000 in 243 countries, territories, and sovereign islands) – nice!

STATS: In the spirit of the Wiki, WiserEarth is open source, with content publicly available for use under the Creative Commons license.

11thhouraction.com was inspired by popular  documentary film “The 11th Hour” (Leonardo Dicaprio). It’s an environmentally focused social network aimed at empowering and inspiring individuals and communities to engage in planet-saving actions.

STATS: Users can sign up, create a blog, create their own environmental action campaigns, or commit to a personal action, like carpooling or recycling. Actions get plotted on a global map.

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DoSomething.org encourages teens to take positive social action through volunteerism, while offering small grants to start their own projects. To start a DoSomething "club", one would need 5 friends to also apply - then, DoSomething.org will provide resources, online infrastructure, opportunities to do good, and even fund your projects. Goodbye Grownups!?

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With a mission to transform teenagers and young adults (ages 13-30) into young leaders of today, Taking It Global is yet another great youth oriented social network.

Taking It Global provides a collaborative learning community that allows youth across the world to access global opportunities and cross-cultural connections. Taking It Global provides tools for educators, which helps facilitate research and learning opportunities through workshops and webinars.

STATS: Taking It Global has reached 14 million young people across 12 languages.

Holistic Local is a social network with a LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability) orientation, focusing on connecting people who are into spirituality, health, the environment and local conscious living. Members can discover transformational workshops, participate in a holistic marketplace, access articles & e-books, and connect with thousands of new age members. Om!

STATS: Holistic Local was launched in June 2005 as a business directory for holistic, green and alternative businesses and has since grown to over 4,000 listings worldwide.

The Gaia Community claims to be different from other social networks. You have to “apply” to join, although “applying” is no different than registering for free as on every other social network. Before you are allowed in, you must also click on this affirmation “I recognize that Gaia is creating an online sanctuary for personal development and, in the spirit of this, I commit to honoring the Terms of Use.” The Gaia Community aims to inspire and empower you to realize your own brilliant purpose and discover who you truly are. In addition to finding and connecting with other spiritually aware members, you may even find your soulmate!?

STATS: "It’s a Magic Carpet Ride where everyday I get to connect with wonderful people and ideas from around the world."

The nag is a tongue in cheek UK based site. First you start by ranting – get it off your chest. After you’ve let it all out, then you suggest solutions. After that, get out and do something! So while you’re ranting about the evils of bottled water in restaurants, it may actually occur to you in the midst of it all to ask for tap?

STATS: The Nag is convinced that "we" can do things better. They love innovation, and new ways of working and thinking.

Lime.com – is all about "healthy living with a green twist". Lime TV features videos from holistic health luminaries like Deepak Chopra and celebrity yogis like Rodney Yee. You can also listen to wide selection of Green lifestyle podcasts on topics such as herbal remedies, fitness, and meditation. Who would have thought that online Enlightenment was possible?

Know of any other great green social networks? Send your picks to the cut company.

Need help with creating awesome content for these social networks? Contact us!