During history class, we as students, learned about several social change movements; women’s rights, civil rights, gay rights. I just can’t help but wonder, how in the world did these major movements accumulate so many people? How did they spread the word? Social media has done wonders for causes and movements. An individual can make one post and it can spread like wildfire; shares, likes, and comments accumulate in a matter of minutes. The same goes for creating groups; a group pertaining to raising money for an accident victim or even a social event generates thousands of members and can be networked to thousands and thousands of people. Social media is by far, the fastest way to get the word out and network.
I’ve seen several people post and share movement or cause posts, groups, and even hashtags. Some posts and groups have consumed my newsfeeds and others I’ve only seen once or twice. I have participated in a few causes that involved severe accidents or deaths of people in my hometown and their families are trying to raise money for hospital or funeral costs. Two good friends of mine are going on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic next month and they had shirts made in order to raise money to cover the costs of their trip; I shared their posts and encouraged my friends to donate.
I believe starting a social media cause or movement and avidly posting and sharing is an amazing and fast way to spread your story, and this is the sole reason why people start these movements. If I had something extraordinary, heart-felt, or was affected by some sort of terrible tragedy, I would turn to social media immediately. I think organizations can benefit from the prosperity and wealth social media has to offer, especially nonprofit organizations. However, it will only work if the movement is an emotional, passionate, and cause-worthy movement. People will not want to get involved if an organization is simply trying to gain likes or followers. The cause actually has to mean something to hundreds of thousands of people.
erindandprthings 
I think its amazing how social media can bring awareness to us about things like you mentioned, such as fundraising efforts. I got a post on my FB last week from an ex-boyfriend from high school saying his friend had received the worst news possible and there was a link to make donations to help with hospital costs. It is cool how there are avenues now where we can raise money quickly. One day I had a post from a friend who was tagged and being thanked for making a generous contribution to a certain walk. It made me want to make a donation!
And even more prevalent is all of the awareness that is spread on the world wide web about the causes that are near and dear to our friends. I guess that by association, we tend to care for these causes too, because we like our friends and share common interests with them. : )
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I definitely believe that organizations can benefit from from social media. But sometimes I do think that some organizations are in it just to gain like and followers. Or even just to make money.
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I think it is a great way to utilize social media for local causes as you have stated and I find that a great way to raise awareness.
Your last paragraph really stood out to me because I think it is nonsense when people are only trying to get likes and followers for no specific goal or purpose. I agree with you that it has to have a heartfelt meaning, if not hten what is the ultimate goal. your post was very good and had a lot of good insight to it!
Social media is really by far the fastest way to generate a following for a movement. I really cannot think of a better way to gain support for your cause. I almost wish there was something I could find that I was passionate about to join, I think it would make me feel like I was a part of something big.
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Social Media is truly like a wildfire! If it is a good cause, once it starts there is not limit. It’s great because it can really educate people on topics that they had no idea about before.
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It is true that social media the biggest way to spread word fast. It is interesting that you say that to gain attention and followers, a movement must be about something people are heartfelt about. It makes me wonder if activism may just be a way for people to “jump on the bandwagon” to be a part of a cause just for the sake of it. It could be (in some cases) that a lot of the reason movements are so popular is that people are just doing what they think everyone else is.
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I agree in that the cause has to mean something for it to make an impact on social media. However, I think that using social media to get likes and followers is a good idea too. People need to be aware of the organization and the only way to do that is to spread the word about it.
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I definitely think that a meaningful cause can utilize social media to spread the word and gain attention and followers. I believe that organizations with good intention will do this to the best of their abilities and accomplish what they are set out to do. It is definitely always good to keep a consistent view point and fight hard for what you believe in.
I love when you said, “If I had something extraordinary, heart-felt, or was affected by some sort of terrible tragedy, I would turn to social media immediately.” I think that is a great way to describe how I feel on the matter as well! I think when used correctly, it is such a great tool to bring awareness on a cause/movement.
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