I thought you guys would appreciate something altogether new.

The Acer Guy has been sitting here for the past three years building up a community of supporters all helping Acer customers out across the world. We’ve gained a lot of traction and have done more than I ever imagined for the social media cause. Thing is I’ve been thinking that there’s a lot more to social media than sorting out personal issues and expanding Acer’s brand footprint.

And now I think I’ve found it.

A few days ago I received a mail from Emily Penn, former Operations Manager of the Earthrace Promotional World Tour and currently involved in Sustainable Coastlines Initiative, and it just got my mind racing.

As a community, we can do a lot more than merely helping “ourselves”. Ideally, now we’ve accumulated this kind of presence and authority on the web, we should expand our generosity and embrace causes that deserve attention and, as it was the first letter of its kind to arrive in my inbox, and therefore can rightfully claim to be the official wake up call, Earthrace is a great place to start. My goal here, then, is to convince “the powers that be” to provide Emily with an Aspire Timeline notebook in return for updates on her initiatives which I will publish on this blog.

And if they accept Emily, then I might be able to convince them to take a look at providing the Earthrace team with Timelines. I mean, it’s Acer’s “greenest” notebook to date and it lasts a full 8 hours without a charge which might come in handy on board. It’s absolutely perfect for them…

Well that’s Plan A, anyway.

As a taste of what these guys do or what Earthrace is, for those of you who don’t know yet, have a look at this video.


But it doesn’t end there. My intention is to use this platform to help send Acer computers to schools and non-profit charitable organizations operating in the world’s poorest countries.

I’ll be writing more on this in the next couple of posts as it’s not as straightforward as you’d think…

In the meantime, here’s Emily’s letter:

Dear Michael,

I wanted to inform you of the amazing journey my TravelMate 8100 has had over the past four years and the missions it has empowered me to achieve. I am so impressed with what it has endured that I would recommend an Acer to anyone. But as I start work as a volunteer on a new project my trusty notebook, increasingly the nerve-centre of my activities, is finally coming to the end of an epic lifespan. It would be fantastic if Acer could sponsor a new notebook to help me to continue with my environmental and community campaigns. In return I hope that the story of my Acer Notebook could benefit your business.

My Acer Notebook has survived some very challenging conditions – the ultimate test for a piece of technical equipment. With me, it has travelled 25,000 nautical miles around the world on Earthrace – the wave-piercing trimaran that holds the world record for circumnavigation of the globe. Left running while the boat is pounded by waves, to enable vital comms, its impact resistance has been outstanding. Used intensively for demanding programs, in 40 degree centigrade temperatures and exposed to sea air, I am amazed by the resilience of this machine. Most importantly, its reliability has enabled me to work effectively for an incredibly worthwhile cause.

Earthrace, running on 100% biodiesel, strives to promote renewable fuels and raise environmental awareness around the world. During the promotional world tour a quarter of a million people walked through the boat, everyone of them seeing me working on my Acer Notebook on the navigator’s desk in the helm. As Operations Manager my Acer Notebook was an essential tool to connect with the world, produce press releases/promotional material/images/3D CAD models and present information/films to thousands of sponsors/students/organisations around the world. A few images are attached.

I write this email as I embark on a new project. I am currently in Tonga working on a waste management strategy for the remote Ha’apai Islands with recently established New Zealand based NGO and registered charity Sustainable Coastlines. There is a severe waste disposal problem on these tiny islands where, unsuitable for landfill sites, burning is currently the only option. The health and environmental implications of this are detrimental to the future generations, ecosystems and climate. It is necessary for waste to be removed to the main island for safe disposal and recycling. This is an issue I feel very passionate about and am currently working, unpaid, to educate students and raise awareness in the community in order to resolve. I have spent the past two weeks meeting officials, village officers, schools, organisations again using my Notebook to present information to gain support. Unfortunately the hard drive can’t quite keep up with the films, the speakers are muffled, the USB ports are temperamental and the screen momentarily blacks out. My essential tool is very much due a replacement. It would be fantastic if you could help and I would be pleased to provide whatever information you need to use the story of my Acer Notebooks for the benefit of your business.

From looking at your website, you seem like the best person to send this too. If not, please could you give me the contact details for who I should contact? I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Emily
–
Emily Penn
Operations Manager
Sustainable Coastlines Ha’apai Islands Coastal Clean-up Event and Waste Management Programme
www.sustainablecoastlines.com

August 2008 – July 2009
Operations Manager
Earthrace Promotional World Tour
www.earthrace.net