You would have to be living under a rock if you have not seen or heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. If you do find yourself underground, allow me to explain in a nut shell what this craze is. The Ice Bucket Challenge, a global phenomenon, asks you to pour a bucket of ice water over your head or donate to the cause, in this case it being ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. You may be nominated by coworkers, family or friends and have twenty-four hours to accept the challenge or donate and in turn nominate your own. In most cases, a donation and ice water are happening jointly.
The first batch of challenges started popping up on Facebook and Twitter feeds around the end of July. And in a short span of two weeks, one couldn’t hop on a social media site without scrolling through dozens of videos of the challenge. Of course with any social experiment, there will be naysayers and negative feedback, but for the most part this is an amazing testament of just how far and fast social outlets reach.
Things that we can take away from this social sensation…?
• Everyone is willing to make themselves an easy mark when it comes to good causes
• No matter how small you may feel, all it takes is one video and a “share” to a make a big difference
• It may be time to accept that Social Media is a primary way to reach out to the world and isn’t going anywhere for a very long time
Whether it is personal or business – this way of connecting to the outside world works and it works quickly. We can use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for a multitude of reasons now, not to just spy on friends from high school. Valuable relationships are being created and if the Ice Bucket Challenge shows us anything, Social Media provides the perfect tool to promote, encourage, and expose ideas that may just make the world a better place.