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Social good. Feel-good.

No one likes a troll and unfortunately our beloved social platforms are full of them. Today I read a story that really touched me - it started off heart-wrenching and evolved into the perfect example of the beauty of social media.

Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules), an advocate for The Free Thought Project in LA, saw a troll had posted a couple photos of a man dancing at a bar in London and then another photo of him no longer dancing, but hanging his head low with the caption “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing”, body shaming him brutally.

This fueled her to start a Twitter campaign to find him - #finddancingman - and then she and some other wonderful humans planned a big party in his honour and set up a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to fly him out to LA. So far they’ve raised over $40,000!

He was found and the story has touched thousands of people who have been tweeting @DancingManFound words of support and hopes of party invites. So far the party’s ambassadors include celebs such as Pharrell Williams, Andrew W.K., and Moby, who has offered to DJ.

This guy is now going to experience a party most people can only dream of and the internet couldn't be happier for him. Social media wins this one!

(Photo cred - @Dancingmanfound)

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#SmearForSmear

A fun social media campaign has been launched to raise awareness around cervical cancer prevention. Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust knows all to well the importance of women going for pap smears - 8 women in the UK per day being diagnosed with the disease.

Yep, everyone hopes for ALS Challenge kind of campaign success, and although it's early to tell whether it'll pick up, they're off to a good start with fun selfie-based nominations and a Stephen Fry endorsement. I wish them all the luck and will definitely be uploading my own #SmearForSmear.

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Parents - are you #ShareAware?

A few months ago I wrote an article about the importance of teaching kids and teenagers about the potential dangers the surround social media. The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) recently launched a social media campaign aiming to do exactly that - Be Share Aware.

With the help of some clever animation, we're reminded of some of the reasons it's so important to educate the younger generations on their internet use. 

It's really great to see a campaign like this getting so much national attention. Awareness is spreading - well done NSPCC!

Check it out here and share it with your parent friends!

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#FEELNOSHAME

Today I was lucky enough to volunteer for an awesome organisation, NAT - the UK's leading HIV and AIDS awareness charity. I helped attendees find their way around the World AIDS Day event at London's City Hall, was moved by the voices of Joyful Noise choir, and was inspired hearing leading doctors, charity heads, research specialists, and people living with HIV, talk about their current focus'.

There was a lot of emphasis on stigma and the need for education - the biggest hurdles in the fight to eliminate HIV transmission. The lack of education on not just HIV, but sexual health in general, can be lethal - literally - and that's not just in the 3rd world. We in the 1st world are very guilty of ignorance around the subject.

In NAT's research reports discussed today, there were some very scary statistics. For example, "28% of the public identify one or more incorrect routes of transmission (up from 18% in 2010)." These "incorrect routes" included things like spitting, kissing, coughing, sneezing, and sharing a glass. (!!)

Prince Harry's HIV awareness charity, Sentebale, has launched a social media campaign for World AIDS Day with the hashtag #FeelNoShame - aiming to destroy these dangerous stigmas by telling people not to be ashamed of their illnesses, and encouraging them to talk about them freely and get treatment.

It's a great campaign - be sure to check it out here and maybe even share a secret of your own!

Do your part to help raise awareness and save lives. NAT have a tonne of great information on their site so please educate yourself and help put an end to stigma. 

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WHAT'S YOUR SOCIAL PERSONALITY?

When you look at your social you should see personality, content, and conversations that reflect your brand’s values and goals.

Having a personality and tone-of-voice reflective of your values and goals will strengthen your brand and help people understand what it is that you are aiming to achieve.

A quick trick that a branding genius friend of mine once showed me - brainstorm with your team about who might play you in a movie. What actor would you want to be the poster child for your organization?

I tend to think of Google as a Robert Downy Jr. type, Lululemon - a little bit Jennifer Lawrence. Maybe your brand is a brilliant and beautiful Natalie Portman, a sassy Sophia Vergara, or an inspiring and empowering Malala Yousafzai.

Once you've found your fit, create content and start conversations with them in mind and then before you know it, you’ve got a voice that will help you stand out.

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SOCIAL MEDIA ETIQUETTE FOR KIDS (NOT DUMMIES)

I've had numerous discussions with friends about being thankful social media arrived long after our teen years were over. I wince thinking of the things I may have posted based on my love of Teen Beat, and crop tops. 

Natural teen immaturity and hormonal craziness mixed in with public forums containing millions of users is a recipe for disaster, as we've seen in many cases.

With some businesses HR and university admissions departments taking the "Big Brother" route, cleverly scoping applicants on their social media accounts, it's more important than ever for teens to understand the possible repercussions of posting inappropriate content on social media platforms.

Thankfully, a shift has been detected. In a recent New York Times article, it was reported that a college in Atlanta that used to receive numerous applications from cringe-worthy email addresses containing inappropriate words, is seeing it happen much less often. Is it because young millennials and Generation Z are being more mindful of their future and way they represent themselves?

I guess there are always going to be generational issues as technology improves - some people are going to learn the dos and don'ts the hard way. It seems though, that there's a need for these lessons to be taught in high schools and even elementary schools. Of course parents should be talking to their kids about the consequences of public inappropriateness, but I think the chance that these mistakes could have a negative impact on future university admission or jobs, means that the conversation needs to become more of a priority.

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Join the #buysocial revolution - celebrate and buy from social enterprises this Social Enterprise Day! #socentday http://thndr.it/1x68rKb

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#BUYSOCIAL

I grew up in a city that understands the importance of shopping and buying local - supporting the independent artisan rather than the corporate giant. It's a mentality that has stuck with me through the years and makes me feel good about the way I shop.

I live in a great bit of London that allows me to shop this way pretty much every day of the week and although it's sometimes difficult (and expensive), I try to practice it as often as possible.

Social Enterprise UK has an excellent campaign that they launched in late 2013 around a similar concept but focuses on buying from social enterprises. In case that term is a little alien to you, here`s a crash course - social enterprises are businesses who's profit strategy is to invest in individuals, communities, or the environment. Their purposes are to improve lives rather than to make bazillions of dollars for their shareholders. Awesome, right?

This past September, Social Enterprise UK launched their first #SocialSaturday - a day to celebrate and buy from social enterprises. They got some pretty great support from the Prime Minister as well as celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, and from what I understand it was a success. With awareness growing about the importance of buying local and from socents, I'm looking forward to seeing what next year's Social Saturday brings. Check out their campaign video and website to see how you can better spend your money with one of the over 70,000 UK social enterprises. And for those of you in Canada - have a look here.