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December 12, 2012 In: Awesome, Chive Everywhere, High-Res

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Yesterday was a watershed moment in theCHIVE's history. It marked a day when years of work to bring all of our charity in-house came to fruition. After officially launching Chive Charities, it took the Chivers only 6 hours to eclipse the single largest financial goal we've ever set. We could not have pulled all this off without y'all. You proved to the world that the flash-mob charity model is here to stay and, most importantly, you forever changed the course of a little girl's life for the better.

Zoe and her family were at theCHIVE offices all day. We all sat around the TV watching as the totals came in - kinda' like election day only without all the bullshit. The Lush family was more or less in shock for the first couple hours but it gave way to the most genuine excitement I've ever seen. And finally, gratitude. Zoe's family has asked me to thank the Chivers from the bottom of their hearts. It's been a long hard road for them, and finally now you've brought a light to a dark corner.

Even though Zoe's campaign is closed, hundreds of Chivers have emailed us asking to donate to Zoe. If you'd like to send them anything personally. Here is the address:

Curtis, Chelsea, and Zoe Lush
21342 Compass Ln.
Huntington Beach, CA 92646

Because we have brought everything in-house, we must account for every expenditure that we make. We itemize Zoe's specific needs and set the financial goal based on that. The IRS guidelines force us to be more rigid with our campaigns and that's ok. The days of soaring past our goals are over but our days of helping more people have just begun. Enter the Chive Charities Fund.

There is an important component to yesterday's Chive Charities inaugural launch that I want to make everybody aware of. As many of you know, I receive dozens of emails everyday from Chivers who seek out theCHIVE for help. I still read all of these stories personally. What I've noticed is that many Chivers need a small amount to make a big difference.

For example: Let's say there is a Chivette mother of three. Her apartment burned down recently and she's back home living with her mom. She emails me and just needs help getting back on her feet, $5,000 would do the trick. She doesn't want any more than that.

Now if I launched a major campaign on theCHIVE homepage asking the Chivers to donate to this woman, you'd build her a mansion in the Hamptons, and probably a boathouse out back. It's the amazing flaw inherent in theCHIVER's prodigious capacity for giving, you won't stop until the machine breaks.

The Chive Fund exists to support people in need of smaller generosities than the headline campaigns, help underfunded campaigns meet their goals, and build support that allows Chive Charities to operate (currently 1 awesome employee). Leo and I will never receive a paycheck from Chive Charities.

By becoming a Charity Chiver at one of our 4 levels or making a one-time donation to the Chive Fund, you are helping champion the underdogs. There are a number of cool perks you receive for becoming a member, not least of which is getting your hands on those awesome Chive Charity shirts we're all wearing in these photos as well as first-look at all the 'impossible shirts'.

Or you can simply make a one-time donation.

Chive Charities will be our lasting legacy. I will now be able to read these emails from worthy individuals who just need a little help and offer more than a few kind words of support. With your help I can now offer real help. We'll be sure to bring you the stories of the Chivers you help with The Fund on theCHIVE.

Lastly, I can't thank you enough for what you've done yesterday. Not only did you help Zoe, but across the globe now, we've helped achieve a greater understanding of a misunderstood disorder. Only good things can come from that. The world is slowly getting 10% happier.

Donate to the Chive Charities Fund RIGHT HERE.

Now please enjoy a gallery of yesterday's events...

Zoe is not mentally disabled. She was, on some level, aware of the gravity of the situation. She clapped when we hit each $10,000 level and signed goodbye to all of us when she left.

Thanks again, Chivers.

Donate to the Chive Charities Fund RIGHT HERE.

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CNET Reporters' Roundtable Podcast Reporters' Roundtable: Holiday tech buying update by Rafe Needleman December 2, 2011 1:10 PM PST Follow @rafe

We are in the middle of the holiday buying season right now, between the first rush of gift-buying that happened on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and the "Oh, crap, I need to start buying presents!" feeling that happens in about a week.

This is the most important month for the consumer tech economy, but this December will be different from all the ones that came before it.

Why? Mobile devices, online shopping, social networking, improved analytics, changing tax laws, and changing behaviors among both buyers and sellers, among other reasons. Today we are talking about how the gadget economy is evolving.

My guests are: Claire Cain Miller, a reporter at The New York Times who's been writing about this topic, and a returning guest to the Roundtable; and Mike Fridgen, CEO of one of my favorite tech startups, Decide.com. This company runs a service that can tell you if the price of a tech item you're looking at is good today and if it will be going up or down in the near future.

Ep. 102: Holiday tech buying update

Listen now:Download today's podcast

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Discussion points:

First, the numbers: How'd the gadget industry do at the opening of this season?

How has gadget shopping and buying changed in the last five years?

Related storiesCyber Monday Sales Give Retailers a Holiday Shopping Boost (NY Times) A Look at Apple's Spot-the-Shopper Technology (NY Times) Decide.com: For gadget buyers, timing is everything BlackLocus levels online prices

Is the store as we know it dying? Are stores becoming just showcases for people with smartphones?

Will online and offline pricing models merge?

WalMart may be known as a heartland company, but Walmart.com is here in Silicon Valley. Why?

Why are Best Buy prices so ridiculously high?

Who's most aggressive in dynamic pricing?

How can smaller retailers compete, online?

Impact of deals and coupons, or of social networks?

Apple stores: Why do they work? Why don't other companies do this right? (Sony tried...)

Impact of sales tax changes.

Advice: Best mobile tools for smart shoppers? Best sites?

Rafe Needleman Rafe reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business. Feeling lucky? Send pitches to rafe@cnet.com. And watch Rafe's tech issues podcast, Reporters' Roundtable, every Friday.

Follow @rafe Topics: Podcasts Tags: Commerce, Roundtable, Cyber Monday, Buying, Gadgets, Black Friday, Retail