Dodgy grammar, admittedly. But in the manner of Thunderbird 1 rising dramatically from its secret under-pond location on Tracy Island, the social media buzz I’ve been cultivating for The Salvation Army’s 149th anniversary today has been successfully launched.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been inviting/encouraging/nagging Salvation Army friends and supporters to sign up to a birthday greeting Thunderclap. The aim: to reach as many people on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr as possible.

In the event, we exceeded the 500-name goal quite considerably and, by virtue of the friends-of-friends multiplication factor, more than 673,000 people will have seen the birthday greeting. With a special Founders’ Day meeting and morning coffee/cake at The Salvation Army’s international headquarters, there’s been lots going on. Sufficient to merit a live text commentary, that I’ve been beavering away on all day.

Of course, the 149th anniversary is just a foretaste of the massive 150th birthday bonanza in July 2015. It’s going to be a frantically busy 12 months…