I want to share news about a project I've been deeply involved in the past few months which may provide some new ways for mission driven organizations to combine news and social networking to raise awareness for their causes and improve their effectiveness.

Yesterday, NewsCloud launched a new Facebook application called Hot Dish in partnership with Grist.org, the leading online environmental news source. Hot Dish allows Facebook users to read, discuss, post and share news about climate change, the most serious issue facing our planet.

16- to 25-year old U.S. residents who participate in the Hot Dish Action Team can earn points through online and offline actions and compete for rewards. Top eligible participants can win a grand prize trip for two to the Arctic from Quark Expeditions, an Amazon Kindle 2, a "green" Apple MacBook and much more. Prizes will be awarded each week through May 3, 2009. Please read the official rules for full eligibility details.

Organizers, be sure to check out the list of challenges in the Hot Dish action team. We are trying to use new and innovative strategies for engaging young people in Facebook and in their own community.

The Hot Dish application is part of a study being conducted by University of Minnesota researchers to find new ways of engaging young people in current events inside social networks such as Facebook. The research is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The research results will be published later this year. The software behind Hot Dish will be released to the open source community at the end of the project.