Twitter has its own set of rules and regulations, but one thing it does not restrict is freedom of speech. From celebrities to athletes to regular everyday Joes and Janes, it is common for people to publish profanity-laced posts on the microblogging site. Thanks to a new charitable initiative, these users now have a way to put their potty mouths to good use.

Introducing Charity Swear Box

Charity Swear Box, produced by Fueled Mobile Design and Development is a website that helps people raise money for several good causes. Though web-based, it works in a similar manner as the swear box you may find incorporated in the typical office environment. The most important aspect to note is that the initiative is entirely built around activity on the popular social networking service Twitter.

All a user needs is a Twitter account to sign up and use the site for free. From there, they enter their username in the search box on the home page, and have Charity Swear Box scan their previous tweets to check for the inclusion of curse words. Once a total is calculated, the system recommends an amount for a user to donate to their preferred charity. The current amount is $1 per swear word, though it can be adjusted to be higher or lower. A total and suggested amount is added up at the end of each month, but users can donate as many times as they wish.

Charity and Social Media Trending

Charity Swear Box is fun a way to put curse words to better use on Twitter, but this tool and similar concepts could soon become regulars on the marketing front. This is a trend we started to see more of in 2011, and one that looks like it has carried over into 2012 as well.

Omaha Steaks just rolled out the “Ultimate Burger Experience,” a social media campaign that is leveraging Facebook to raise funds for charities. The initiative revolves around a game that lets players build their own dream burger and assign it to one of four well known charitable organizations. They then promote their super sandwich through social media, and collect votes from their friends on Facebook. Omaha Steaks is donating $25,000 to the charity that receives the most votes.

Another interesting example comes from Charity Greetings, a UK organization that helps consumers send digital greeting cards and raise money for their favorite charities in the process. Last year, the firm launched its Incentive Sharing Tool, a feature it touts as an excellent addition to any social sharing strategy. With the Incentive Sharing Tool, users who purchase a greeting card from Charity Greetings can secure 50% off their next order and their friend’s first order by sharing news of their purchase with friends.

Charity Greeting has designed the tool so users can easily spread the word via popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as email.

If you visit SwearBox.com today, you will see that the site has raised more than $40,000. The owners say it is averaging around $100 per day. There is also a UK version called Swear Jar, both of which are a part of Fueled’s 50/50 effort designed to raise money for famine relief in East Africa.

Even if your company maintains a foul language-free environment, you can still join in on the fun. The site has a swear dictionary that identifies all the terms the system looks for in past tweets. While there are plenty of well known bad words, there are also quite a few that are borderline, and not so bad at all. Whether or not the PG version is as fun is for companies to decide.