I like seeing a company or brand embrace online tools, and I get even more excited when they do it in a completely unique and interesting way.

Anyone can create a Facebook account and start Tweeting about the product they sell. But it's always fascinating to see someone step outside the box and think of something different. The Metro Toronto Zoo has done exactly that using Twitter. Well not so much using Twitter, as asking you to use Twitter to help their cause.

They've started a page called Polar Tweets, urging people to post or repost environmental information in the hopes of educating people about global warming and keeping it a hot topic (pardon the pun). The genius comes from the graphical representation of a polar bear precariously perched on a tag cloud (meant to symbolize ice). The less we talk about the environment and the problems it faces, the less real estate for the polar bear to stand on.

It's a pretty amazing idea, and one that I think deserves some attention. Not just for the importance of the cause, but because of the clever way they've figured out a totally different way to use Twitter and hashtags.