Blogs. Facebook. Flickr. RSS Feeds. YouTube. Twitter. Virtual Words. You've probably heard of many of these social media sites and tools – but, if you're like most of us, you might still be trying to figure out how to wrap your head around all of it.

The Web has changed the way people communicate, and continues to morph with the evolution of social media, or "Web 2.0." Social media democratizes information, allowing people to change from simply being content readers to actually being content publishers. A shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, social media is rooted in conversations between authors, people and peers.

Child Advocates has joined the ranks of many other organizations using social media as an additional avenue for communication. As we build our online community, we continue to spread the word about what we do and further the reach of the CAI brand in order to recruit more volunteers and donors for the organization.

We’ve dipped into social media with a CAI presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube – and we want you to get in on the action! Here’s how:

If you already have a Facebook profile ...

Friend us!: Write on our wall, check out our photo albums, even collect a few pieces of flair.

Add the Causes application and then add CAI as your Cause: once you've added Child Advocates, Inc., you can pledge to recruit your Facebook friends, check out our weekly discussion topics, see our Part-Time Heroes ads and more.

If not ... check out our quick tutorial on how to create one today!

Those of you who already have a profile on LinkedIn can join the CAI group! The CAI logo will display on your page and you'll belong to a network of LinkedIn members who support Child Advocates. Don't have a LinkedIn profile? Sign up to join the professsional network today.

Are you a MySpacer? Type "Child Advocates, Inc." in the search field upon clicking this link to add Child Advocates' MySpace Cause to your existing profile.

You don't have to join or be a member of YouTube to view content on this video-sharing site. Check out Child Advocates's Channel to watch our PSA spots, event videos and more!

We hope you'll find a way to connect with CAI on Web 2.0 as we continue to build our online community. Let your friends and family know about CAI's social media presence too - the more awareness we can generate, the more potential volunteers and donors we can reach with our message.