Social media (n.) – Websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and develop social and professional contacts.
This is how the social media revolution started. The first big step that carved the way for our world of social media was taken in August 2003 with the launch of Myspace, a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and Justin Timberlake. It was one of the first sites in which users could “connect” in the least literal sense of the word. That was the first step society took towards the revolutionary world of internet which we all know and love(?) today. However, Myspace is now thought of simply as an outdated version of Facebook.
Just six months after the creation of Myspace, the notorious Mark Zuckerberg introduced a site that would reinvent what it means to be social by founding Facebook, a name so common now that it is often used as a verb. Less than two years later, with the launch of Twitter, the popularity of the online world boomed with the added dimension of microblogging. With the rise of Twitter came increasing use of @Twitterhandles (Twitter users) and #hashtags (tags of things/people/events that are #trending).
Before the shift of connections and communication went from in-person to on-line, we all thought of the so-called hashtag as just a pound key. Tweets were still the sounds that birds made, not proper nouns used to signify Twitter statuses, as the 2003 version of Microsoft Word on your Dell Latitude will readily tell you. With over 500 million users and a market capitalization of almost $50 billion, Twitter established itself as the #nextbigthing. But the real question here is how we can make use of this technology that we have all grown accustomed to. How can we utilize Twitter to achieve a bigger picture?
Take a look back at the definition of social media in the beginning of this article. Is it missing something? Here’s another definition, where the insertion of a few subtle words add depth to the aforementioned definition.
Social media (n.) – Forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.
We can now easily use social media as true platforms for good by spreading personal messages of action, awareness, and advocacy.
More recently, as word of the Sandy Hook shooting spread, the entire nation was struck with a grieving shock. Minutes that felt like hours, and hours that felt like days, passed as the nation stood confused, remembering and praying for the 26 students and teachers who were killed. People tried to come together for the sake of the lost lives, feeling a need for urgent action. We wondered what would be the next step: how many more innocent lives will be taken until we do something to prevent violence?
As the government tried to answer these tough questions, people all around the country tried to find ways to help within their communities. As a result, #26ActsOfKindness was created. It serves as a movement in remembrance of the lives lost, an oath of action started by Ann Curry who took to social media asking people to commit 26 nice acts. From helping a friend out to donating to Girl Up, the possibilities of #26acts are endless. Even small acts count, for it only takes one to inspire millions of others.
Ann Curry’s original tweet read:
Imagine if we all committed to 20 acts of kindness for each child lost in Newtown? I’m in. RT #20Acts if YOU R in. #MTP #Supersoulsunday
— Ann Curry (@AnnCurry) December 16, 2012
Here’s another tweet from Ann Curry including an inspiring article she wrote on her thoughts behind the beginnings of #26acts.
Curated #26Acts #20Acts tweets across the nation, overseas re: acts of kindness tweets for Newtown. Inspiring: nbcnews.to/R2v7bV
— Ann Curry (@AnnCurry) December 18, 2012
As it only took one great idea and a hashtag symbol to start a world-wide movement, social media can evidently do more than update someone’s status with #eating@pberry. It can provide a basis for story-telling and exchanging meaningful ideas so that people are more educated about things happening all around the world, so that more action can be taken towards bettering our surroundings. Technology lays the foundation for galvanizing this global conversation of inspiration.
What will be your first act of kindness? Tweet it to us below and comment your other acts on our Sandy Hook memorial page!