In January of 2009, the idea for Twollars was conceived.

Twollars at its core is a currency of appreciation. Think of it as a new way to thank people on Twitter. The idea emerged when we noticed the incredible amount of social energy on Twitter; people helping one another, sharing links and content, giving advice and tips etc.

However, there was no way to capture and store all this positive energy. We realized that if we could give this energy a symbolic form, a currency (Twollar), we could harness it, make it flow and be passed on to others. This symbolic currency or Twollar could then be exchanged for ‘real’ money.

Thus, the Twollars idea was born. We wanted a ‘thank you’ to be something that could last beyond the brief act of saying thanks. But even more exciting and uplifting was realization that by capturing the ‘thank you’ and converting it into a Twollar, it could be used to directly help others in need by converting Twollars in to ‘real’ currencies, such as dollars, Euros, pounds etc.

Twollars is a simple concept. It’s fun, it’s free and it’s designed to do good. People give you Twollars as a way of saying ‘thank you’. Then you donate your Twollars to charity. The Twollars you donate are converted by businesses and individuals into ‘real’ currencies to help raise money for charity.

From the beginning, we felt that it was important that the only way Twollars could be converted into ‘real’ currency is through donations to good causes. To enable this, we created an ecosystem on Twollars where charities can start campaigns on Twitter to raise funds. They can also use their websites and blogs to encourage Twollar donations.
Our vision was that many charities would be represented on the Twollars website. Users could choose which charity to support. They could easily do this by simply donating their Twollars to their charity of choice.

If you are on Twitter you can join Twollars today. Everyone on Twitter starts with 50 Twollars. There is no need to register or login; you can just start tweeting them e.g. @tkpleslie 5 Twollars to thank you for introducing us to @scobleizer. If you are not yet on Twitter, you are missing out. So, be sure to join.

Twitter is an excellent platform for this activity because it allows even the smallest charity to reach a large audience. We hope to get hundreds or perhaps thousands of charities using Twollars and at the same time raising awareness of their causes through Twitter.
So how does a charity actually get Dollars (or Euros or Pounds)?

Charities can exchange their Twollars with businesses, corporations, organisations and individuals that choose to donate ‘real’ currency to them. In effect, they are selling their Twollars.

Like any currency, Twollars are not infinite in number. Each Twitter user starts with only fifty Twollars. But what do you do when you run out of Twollars? How you do get more?
One obvious answer is that users should be able to get more Twollars from those businesses who bought Twollars from charities. So we introduced a way where businesses can reward and thank their users and customers with Twollars. Thus, Twollars can again start flowing back to Twitter users, and then on to charities where more funds can be raised. With each cycle, Twollars do more good.

To enable this Twollar exchange on Websites, Twollars has an application programming interface (API) which allows Twollars to be integrated with applications, widgets and websites.

For example, consider the following scenario: You gave all your Twollars to friends and charities and would like to do more good. Just visit the website of any business that chooses to buy Twollars. You can even pick the website that bought them from your favourite charity. When you visit the site you get a Twollar. Or you receive Twollars because you left a comment on their blog. Get Twollars because you … there are lots of options. We really encourage you to be creative and think of as many ways that the community can develop and share Twollars.

Everyone wins. Websites and businesses can engage with their customers and reward them. Charities raise awareness and receive much needed ‘real’ currency donations in exchange for Twollars.

And as a Twollar user, you have the real satisfaction of knowing that you have increased the amount of positive energy and good in the world!