Thoughtpick: A unique perspective of the Web and social media...
A unique perspective of the Web and social media...

November 12, 2009

20 Top Fun & Motivational Facebook Status Updates!

Whether Facebook is evil or not is a rather controversial issue which will never result in an utterly black or white solution! Yet, despite that debate, Facebook has an undeniable power to be an educational and motivational tool which can bring smiles and motivation into our daily lives.

Therefore, I have prepared for you a list of my Top 20 Facebook status updates guaranteed to lift your spirits and make you think outside the box!

Status Updates

Status Updates

  1. “Every Once in a While we find that One Song which Understands us Perfectly…”
  2. If takers give more and givers take more… a lot of the problems would be solved! It’s all about balance!
  3. This is so true: You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts. -Khalil Gibran
  4. Don’t take life too seriously!! and don’t worry about what’s hidden for u in the future.. always remember, it just can’t get worse!! :)
  5. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment ~ Buddha
  6. Like it or not, this is the new game rules!!!! [read full article >>]
Filed under: Offbeat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 5:00 pm

November 5, 2009

5 Ways for Using Social Media to Bring about World Change!

“Make it a rule… never to lie down at night without being able to say, “I have made one human being at least a little wiser, a little happier or a little better this day.” – Charles Kingsley.

As beautiful as this quote is in meaning, sadly, regardless of how hard we try and due to our heavily loaded, work burdened and responsibility strained lifestyles, we always find ourselves lacking in the “giving” and “charity” departments.

"Unity" by Sonia Jimenez

"Unity" by Sonia Jimenez

However, it goes without saying that when there is a will, there is a way and social media might just be the solution to our time deprived schedules, especially when it comes to dedicating time to causes whether they be charity related or otherwise.

Therefore, the questions that need to be asked at this stage are the following: Is social media sufficient for bringing about change worldwide? Which social media channels and tools are actively involved in promoting causes? And how do we make the best of these in the little time we have within our daily routine?

The Power of Social Media Lies Within its Viral Element

Whether we are trying to bring an end racism, promote environmental awareness, protect children’s rights or achieve any other cause, I tremendously believe in the power that social media possesses in its ability to make things happen simply because social media is very viral!

Depending on the platform you choose to subscribe to and use, I bet there is always a way to get your cause related message across to your audience way faster than any news channel or regular billboard campaign!

The key is the geographically dispersed multi-cultural educated and intellectual audience and the ability to build trust and attract them to listen and even play a role in making a change.

5 Fast, Simple & Efficient Ways for Using Social Media to Bring about World Change:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead.

  1. Make use of the Power of Tweets: Twitter is a popular social media channels with millions of users spread world wide. Make your tweets count! A few cause related tweets daily posted by each of us can make a difference: at least we feel united at some level! Example: #haleighcummings Support Awareness • Pls RT • 3 Missing Children • add a #twibbon to your avatar now! – http://bit.ly/2KzCdm [read full article >>]

August 13, 2009

Social Media & NGOs: Crossing Boundaries & Building Bridges!

Can social media help Non-Governmental Organizations achieve their humane goals and reach their charitable objectives? How could social media be utilized efficiently and effectively in order to promote noble causes and humanitarian concerns? Could social media negatively harm the messages that NGOs try to spread throughout the world?

A Brief Introduction

In one of my recent posts, I discussed, in details, my thoughts about the great power that social media possesses in addition to my sincere faith that it has the ability to pave the path for world peace. The thought reoccurred to me yesterday in a rather different face and form: the power social media has to cross boundaries and build bridges especially in relation to the humanitarian causes that hundreds of NGOs peruse.

Jump on! Image By: Matt Hamm

Jump on! Image By: Matt Hamm

After the usual extensive research cycle every idea of mine needs to go through, I found myself able to list a hundred reasons why social media should be embraced by NGOs and how it could highly be benefited from in order to harness collective collaboration and bring about change.

Social Media & It’s Power…

We all know, for a fact, that the “new web” has transformed the way people interact and even the way they think! We also realize how social media platforms are now occupying a vital portion of many organizational and business strategies at different levels. Day by day, the need for utilizing these technologies for non profits is becoming more evident.

Social media platforms seem to have the ability to help NGOs through various ways, namely:

  • Providing various strategic tools for engagement.
  • Creating a means for building relationships with stakeholders and communities.
  • Promoting networking and fundraising.
  • Facilitating campaigning to a large, and sometimes even targeted, audience.
  • Allowing for more space to spread the word at a cheaper cost.
  • Reaching younger generations and having higher chances of getting them involved.
  • Transparently telling a story through sound and visuals.

[read full article >>]

July 6, 2009

Social Media: The New Path to World Peace & An End to Racism?

Will world peace always be a “Utopian” dream? Is open unrestricted communication, amongst different cultures and across unlimited boarders, the way to  achieve world peace? Are social media platforms and services slowly paving the path to a better, more peaceful tomorrow for all?

World peace is a concept which all religions call for and yet seems to be almost unachievable taking into consideration the vast variety of global issues and world wide problems we are facing every single day at an incremental rate!

In theory, world peace is “an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or peoples. It is the professed ambition of many past and present world leaders.” Leaders aside, there seems to be a great power which accompanies a greater responsibility when it comes to nations and their peoples. Enter the role of social media.

Twitter Visitors Country Rank

Twitter Visitors Country Rank

Through monitoring my followers’ updates, I was quite shocked to find out that probably all of their tweets were utterly unbiased and even more so of an understanding and forgiving nature. Most of my followers actively try, continuously, to spread advice, tips and words of love, peace, awareness, motivation and unity although their ages, ethnicity, race, backgrounds, social status, traditions and country of origin may widely differ.

I was intrigued to find out more, therefore, through Twitter search, I made an effort to look for some of the global controversial topics using keyword search in efforts to see if what my followers are doing applies to every other Twitter user or not.

I searched a few hundred tweets for certain sensitive and racist keywords and our humble results were impressive: