Hootsuite says that Mr. Rogers said “to look for the helpers” in times of tragedy, and so they set about examining how social media does just that. Here is their list of 6 ways that social media helps the helpers in any dire situation:
1. Responding to and Coping with Tragedy
When two explosions claimed the lives of at least three people and injured over 150 others at the Boston Marathon on April 15th, social media erupted. Much of this was the shock and sadness you would expect after such an inexplicable tragedy.
But there were also numerous examples of people and communities coming together to respond and help as best they could.
For many, it was simply sharing informational tweets from the Boston Police.
For others, it involved sharing the phone numbers and addresses of local blood banks where they could go donate.
For an inspiring number of others, it was about opening up their homes to anyone in the area who may have been in need of shelter.
2. Offering Charity To Those In Need
For the many who rushed to give blood to the Boston Red Cross, and those who donated to campaigns for Japan and Haiti, social media has become a catalyst for charitable donations. From a grassroots effort by redditors to raise over $80,000 for an orphanage in Kenya, to the over $200,000 college fund raised for a 9-year-old named Caine after an inspiring video.
3. Opening New Lines of Communication
When a redditor with hearing loss lost her job and was forced to dip into money she was saving to buy a hearing aid, she took to the web forum to vent her frustrations. Reading about her difficult situation, another redditor stepped in and purchased her the hearing aid, quickly improving her quality of life and motivating her to go back to school. These two people would almost surely have never met or interacted without the connections that the social web provides.
See the others in the list of six and read more about each:
HootSuite Blog.
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