Social Media Saves a Dog in Need

I thought I understood that anything can be accomplished over the internet, but I never imagined that it could save a dog in desperate need of help.

 Meet Teddy:

Teddy post-surgery as seen on austinpetsalive.org

He was picked up from Ben White Blvd. with two broken elbows. Luckily, Austin Pets Alive came to the rescue within minutes and put their social media to work.

They posted Teddy's tragedy to their facebook and blog, and raised $1,500 within 30 minutes! By the next morning, they had enough for his surgery, $3,000.

While it was the dedicated supporters and volunteers of APA! that made Teddy's survival possible, it was social media that facilitated the quick response necessary to save him. 

It's amazing, and APA! continues to rescue other dogs the same way.  

APA's social media illustrates the power of social media, and more importantly the interactive nature of social networks like facebook and blogs that allow for real time responses. Can you imagine what might have happened to Teddy if this were 6 years ago, before the evolution of social media began?

This story points to the immense benefits social media can have for an organization, particularly nonprofits who depend on volunteers and supporters to stay afloat. APA's facebook and blog are more than just a promotional tool, it is what links them to their lifeblood.

Their social media makes the experience of donating online personal for each supporter because they provide detailed bios and updated stories about their animals in need. For example, someone who donated to Teddy can see their contribution at work through the progress he made in recovery, like this video or follow up story.

I think it's safe to say that this story exemplifies the effectiveness of social media when its power is unleashed for a positive social cause; and since my last post focused on the negative consequence of social media, I thought it only fair to play the advocate in this week's post.

Can you imagine what social media could do if it were applied more often to the goals of socially responsible organizations and businesses? It has the potential to move the world forward in an unprecedented way.

One Tweet Gone Wrong

Have you ever updated your status or tweeted something you immediately wished you hadn't? I'm sure we all have. The tempting nature of real time updates allows any of our thoughts to be published to the web in a matter of seconds.

You can share your excitement, boredom or rage with your friends, family and co-workers the instant you are experiencing it. Awesome, right?

Wrong. Status updates and tweets can turn you into your biggest enemy if you are not careful.

A recent story about an unlucky tweeter loosing her job points to the danger of sharing feelings in real time. The now unemployed woman accidentally tweeted a personal tweet to her company's twitter account, which happens to be the news station KTVX-TV, the ABC station in Salt Lake.

The mistake is easy to make for anyone managing multiple twitter accounts, and could be harmless depending on the tweet. However, this tweet was not as easily forgotten as it was erased.

Tweet from a KTVX-TV employee as seen on lostremote.com

Of course the station quickly deleted the post and issued an apology. But what about the poor tweeter? One minute she is tweeting what she thinks is an innocent expression of her discontent, and the next she is fired!

If anyone was unaware of the power of the internet before, take this as a primary example.

This instance highlights an ongoing debate about the privacy of social media, and directs attention to the question of whether or not employers should have full access to their employees facebook and twitter accounts.

Regardless of the debate, one truth remains: facebook and twitter accounts are voluntarily set up by their account holders, for the most part. Therefore, any tweets, status updates, pictures or personal information that is volunteered by the account holder is fair game for any one who has access to the web.

This truth cannot be stressed enough to those who, like the tweeter from the story, enjoy updating their status and twitter accounts without thinking twice about the post. But situations like these are increasing, and it is important for everyone to censor what they post before it is too late.

Remembers, it is the "world wide web" for a reason. Don't let your social media get the best of you.

If you liked this blog post, view another take on the story.