HP wants you to stick to your New Year’s resolutions this year. To help you get off to a good start, the company is asking people to send in New Year’s tweets. Once HP has gathered enough tweets, these messages will be printed on a number of very colorful balloons. In turn, the balloons will be sent into the air from Monday to Thursday from 11am to 4pm (Dubai time). The many colored balloons will be set loose at the HP office in Dubai.

In order to have your tweet considered for the TwitterWisher program (as HP is calling the initiative), you must send HP your tweet at http://www.hptwitterwisher.com/. The idea is to gather tweets from all over the world in a global support effort to help people from all walks of life attain their New Year goals. While HP’s idea is a fun one (and many people have already signed up), there are some concerns surrounding this campaign.

Environmental Woes

Many people who have heard about the TwitterWisher program are a bit worried that thousands of balloons will land in the ocean. This could cause a lot of pollution, possible wildlife problems, and other environmental woes. Seemingly, HP didn’t consider the green angle when coming up with this new marketing plan, though no press is bad press, right? Still, some wish that HP would have chosen a different method of sending out worldly messages (it does take balloons quite a long time to disintegrate).

If you are able to push the environmental concerns aside, HP’s idea is kind of a neat one. When was the last time you heard about someone sending out messages from all over the world? Short of putting a note in a bottle, these kinds of global events never occur. Since the New Year is all about making new starts and beginning new things, HP’s TwitterWisher campaign is something that many people seeking inspiration might want to hold onto.

How to Take Part

If you think that HP is doing something good with the TwitterWisher campaign, you can check out the website link listed above. Once on the site, you will have to tell HP what your Twitter wish is by entering your wish into the existing Twitter box on the site. Once you hit “Tweet,” your message will be sent out via your Twitter account (you’ll have to grant HP permission to use your account).
After the balloons have been sent out, people who find various balloons can track that balloon by entering a tracking number on the TwitterWisher site.

So, for example, if you happen to see a balloon wash up on a beach, check that balloon to see if it has a tracking number and a tweet. Once you enter a number, HP will notify the person who sent the tweet. One has to wonder how far these balloons will go once they are set free. Environmental concerns aside, the notion that your NY wish could be sent to another part of the world and read by someone is a notion that brings about all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings.