The Only Thing Better than #SocialMedia is Using it for #SocialGood

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Have you heard this passage before?

“Work for a cause,

not for applause.

Live life to express,

not to impress.

Don’t strive to make your presence noticed,

just make your absence felt.”

This quote so fitting because the author isn’t even credited for creating it.  It’s attributed to “unknown” and odds are, he or she wanted it that way.

CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

In this look-at-me world, especially in Social Media, we’re all pre-occupied with ourselves.  Whether we’re pushing our own agendas or surveying how we stack up against the competition, our natural instinct propels us to worry about things like…  “Did my Klout score go up or down today?”  “How many likes did I get on that post?”  “Ughh, only two people retweeted that last tweet”  “My blog is so much better than Spin Sucks, why don’t I get as many comments” … but really, in the grand scheme of things, it’s all BS.  In the past 10 days, after being a part of a couple group efforts promoting other people’s causes, my outlook has been changed forever.  I didn’t organize these events, wasn’t in the forefront, or get any publicity from it.  I had no skin in the game aside from my tweeting prowess – but that’s the beauty of it.  It made those previous questions meaningless.

#BEWBLUV

It feels good to help other people, even if It’s as simple as bringing a smile to someone’s face.  Because of the power of using Social Media for good, most of Twitter now knows about Brandie MacCallum’s world famous bewbs.  I can’t get into the “secret” details, but Margie Clayman & company played the role of Paul Revere and gathered the troops to support one of our finest soldiers, Brandie (aka @lttlewys). Despite all the Debbie Downers saying that “you can’t MAKE something trend” a group of hundreds (maybe thousands) did, in fact, get the #BewbLuv tag trending in 5 countries and 7 US cities.  Read more about Brandie kicking cancer’s ass and the story of BewbLuv on her blog.

#PROJECTFORGIVE

The other campaign that caught my attention was #ProjectForgive.  You probably know the story, but in case you don’t, here’s a quick synopsis.  A father’s choice to forgive the drunk driver who killed his family has touched countless people.  It’s a really powerful story, you can read more about it and help make the planned documentary a reality on their website Project: Forgive.  It’s another, now “classic”, case of using social media for good.  Two friends of the So Genius blog actually spearheaded the Social Media efforts in fundraising for this project. 

TWO  COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS

Jackie Bigford and Kimberly Reynolds hit their marketing campaign out of the park and reached their Kickstarter Goal of $100,000 much more quickly than anticipated.  I’ve gotten to know Jackie fairly well over the past year and she dedicates her life to helping others.  Whether it’s the dolphins, the Global Village Foundation she volunteers for, or her friends; we know that we can count on Jackie in a time of need.  As for Kim, she’s certainly a rising star in social media and an established entrepreneur.  I almost feel that this will be Kimmy-overkill since Michael Q Todd just featured her on his blog and the UK Digital Business journal did a write up on her, but what the heck, she’s worth it. So, to celebrate their accomplishments and to give best wishes for their new partnership, Savvy Media Marketing, we’re proud to present dual So Genius Awards for their achievements in Social Media.

Yeah yeah, we’re In the social media world, and the projects I wrote about were “old news” because it happened over a  week ago.  But you know what? There’s no expiration date on helping other people. If you haven’t yet used your powers for good, what are you waiting for?  After you’re finished giving props to Jackie and Kimberly, think about some causes you’re passionate about and start donating your Social Media Prowess for good.