That most American holiday, Thanksgiving, is upon us. Lots of you are turning to Twitter to express gratitude for the things you feel most grateful for this year — and it turns out that besides being an easy way to give thanks, Twitter is a useful tool for discovering more ways to give back. Food banks and volunteer organizations are tweeting about how people can give back this Thanksgiving season. You’ll find lots of opportunities to support a wide range of community needs.Read more…

As Hurricane Sandy bears down on the east coast of the U.S., here’s a roundup of accounts suggested by local and state government officials you can follow to get real-time emergency information, plus tips for using Twitter during a crisis.

In the event that power (and the Internet) are down, you can still get alerts from accounts on Twitter using your mobile device through text messaging (SMS):Read more…