Today, World AIDS Day, MSN is celebrating the launch of (RED)WIRE, (RED)’s new digital music magazine designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Some of the greatest artists on earth have contributed amazing songs to (RED)WIRE. To subscribe to (RED)WIRE or to get two issues free visit http://www.redwire.com/. And to join in the launch party and enjoy (RED)WIRE videos and music visit http://red.msn.com/. And remember, it takes just one person at a time to make a difference in this world. Make a difference today!

In addition to being a great cause, the (RED)WIRE site and the main (RED) site have some great design elements to check out.

Whether you drink Starbucks coffee or not, whether you agree with their business model or not, you have to admit that they’ve really nailed the art of communicating ideas and values using very simple presentation styles and dynamic, text-based messages (Garr Reynolds calls it Kinetic Typography). Very similar in style to the Girl Effect presentation I discussed earlier this month, these two presentations not only communicate a good message, they move people to action. And that’s the key to good presentations: moving people to action. Plus, I love the theming in both of these. Simple, clear, effective: “What if?“. So, enjoy these two “What if?” themed videos below and if you’re moved to action, do something about it. The first is for (STARBUCKS) RED: Starting today, November 27, every time you buy a special (STARBUCKS) RED product, a contribution will be made to the Global Fund, to help save lives in Africa. It’s all part of Starbucks commitment to give back to the communities where Starbucks does business, which is a key component of Starbucks Shared Planet. The second video was from Election Day and moves us to care about voting as much on November 5th (and all the time) as we did on November 4th. Enjoy and be inspired!  Read the rest of this post

T. Boone Pickens has an awesome four-minute presentation about his plan to save America’s energy future. Great topic. Great ideas. Great presentation. It’s the perfect combination of whiteboard simplicity mixed with some really connected and compelling graphics.

Boone’s message: “America is in a hole and it’s getting deeper every day. We import 70 percent of our oil at a cost of several hundred billion a year. I’ve been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil. On January 20, 2009, a new President gets sworn in. If we’re organized, we can convince Congress to make major changes toward cleaner, cheaper and domestic energy resources.To get this done, I need your help. Check out the plan. If you think it’s worth fighting for, please join our effort, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.”  Read the rest of this post

The Girl Effect: The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.  This is an amazing presentation and deeply profound. I hope after you watch it, you’re moved to action. And I hope you see that less is more when it comes to presentation design.

11/05/2008 UPDATE: Lots of people have emailed me asking how they can help and make a difference.  My recommendation is to check out Kiva: Loans that Change Lives.  Kiva lets you lend to a specific “entrepreneur” in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.