Have you recently been “seeing red” on Facebook? Does it seem like suddenly all of your friends have pictures of two little pink lines? Well, worry not, it’s no bug or hacker- it’s just the latest social media & social justice movement gone viral. In this case, the profile pictures express solidarity with the Human Rights Campaign in the wake of the Supreme Court voting on the future of same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, an estimated 2.7 million users changed their profile photos to some iteration of this logo, spreading the word about their cause.
Facebook Data Science researcher Eytan Bakshy stated: “For a long time, when people stood up for a cause and weren’t all physically standing shoulder to shoulder, the size of their impact wasn’t immediately apparent. But today, we can see the spread of an idea online in greater detail than ever before. That’s data well worth finding.”
Will this have any effect on the decisions of the Supreme Court justices? It may be too soon to tell. But this viral campaign definitely goes to show that, with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, it is now easier than ever to show support for causes that you feel strongly about.
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But there’s always a silver lining. The sun is shining later in the day. There’s time to go outside – to garden, to play with kids or pets, or just to read in the shade. Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, you don’t have to wear three layers of outerwear every time you leave the house… life is good.
So you think it’s hard to fit your thoughts into 140 characters? How about 117? Twitter has recently revamped its t.co link wrapper, which will extend the length of wrapped links from 20 to 22 characters – meaning that your commentary on the link will have to be shortened.
Did you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week last week? Unfortunately, we confess, we forgot to blog about it until today. Luckily, however, being kind doesn’t have an expiration date. Here are some random acts of kindness that you can do any day of the year.
VINE
Since the event’s inception, IHOP has raised more than $10 million to support charities. Today, you can enjoy a free short stack of Buttermilk pancakes at IHOP. In return for the free pancakes, you will be asked to consider leaving a donation for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals© or other designated local charities.
After seeing my daughter safely get onto the school bus, I shut the front door quickly. A check of the weather app showed it was 16 degrees (but “it feels like 4″). I shivered and put on a heavy sweatshirt, then got to work.
Damn my old high school friend and her new boyfriend “Having the best time ever in sunny Jamaica!”
It’s a New Year. With a new year come new goals, new ideas, and new trends. So what is on the horizon in terms of social media? Yes, Twitter and Facebook will remain in the forefront – sharing millions of thoughts, ideas, and opinions (sometimes in 140 characters or less). But let’s take a moment to open our eyes to the visual and our ears to the aural, and let’s see what we find…
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