Today (Sept. 23), more than a dozen Web-savvy taco lovers will converge on a Mexican restaurant patio in Brentwood, Tenn. to discuss the ways that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can be used to better the world.
It’s one of hundreds of “meetups” taking place across the globe during the first ever Social Good Day, an Internet-age holiday conceived by social media news breaker Mashable and business/charity brand RED.
Both companies are encouraging do-gooders to join an already scheduled meetup or to organize their own, where guests can dream up ways to use social media to solve the world’s most difficult issues.
Mashable and RED want you to think about potential society-changing applications for the Internet programs that connect you to your network of friends, acquaintances and ultimately the world, and then share your solutions with the world. What kind of foursquare badge would make people recycle? How can Facebook empower the elderly? Can Twitter be used to raise awareness of prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa?
“We want to hear everyone’s ideas,” says Angela Prout, manager of digital at RED. “Ideas on Twitter, on Facebook, what you want to do. It’s a matter of spreading awareness about causes by way of social networking and then thinking up online actions that can have offline results.”
Social Good Day is about action, the organizers maintain. We all know Facebook and similar platforms can be spectacular time wasters, turning users into ex-stalking, mouse-clicking screen junkies. But social media is the new media — a means by which more than 60 percent of Americans get their news everyday, according to CNN. The best part? With social media, the masses dictate what gets reported. If Mashable and RED (and Tonic) get their way, that will be responsible and actionable updates about what’s happening in the world.
“We do a lot of talking,” says Vadim Lavrusik, Mashable community manager. “We need to do more doing. There’s a lot of great solutions out there, but the goal is to bring people together to come up with innovative ones.”
Lavrusik says a Social Good Day meetup doesn’t have to be a town hall meeting or a Mexican food fiesta. “Even if it’s as small as three people coming together, that’s a success.” Find the meetup nearest you or start your own at Mashable’s Meetup page.
Coming up with a single good idea on your own is a success, too. Think you know how to rally sweatshop workers around foursquare or fight malaria through Facebook? Tweet your solution using the #socialgood hashtag to @mashable and/or @joinred.
Or put your idea into practice, and make the change you believe in today.
Image by Analyn via Wikimedia Commons.