Digital Disruption

The past few days have been a personal emotional roller coaster and has given me the opportunity to reflect on how social networks are fundamentally changing the way we individually and collectively share, collaborate and consume information and how we have the power to take collective action.

Let me share two experiences with you – one the tragic terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the other a social experiment in collective fund-raising.

1. Mumbai terrorist attacks: 

Although I live half a world away from India, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai over the past three days have been very personal to me. Beyond the global tragedy of the event,  I had several friends and family of friends who were innocent victims of the attacks – some miraculously escaped; some paid with their lives.

I, together with 10s of 1000s of others, searched for information on what was going on in Mumbai and found the following sources:

• A New York Times blogger providing eyewitness updates via his blog
• Twitter search using #Mumbai, #Chabad and #Nariman tags. This lead me to connect and share directly with people who shared my concerns and had something to say and contribute
• IBN live video streaming which gave a local view of what was going on
• Mumbai attacks Wikipedia page that grew organically over time
• Mumbaihelp blog that provided ongoing valuable contact information and lists of injured
• 1000s of Flickr and Youtube feeds

All of this connection, sharing and collaboration happened spontaneously.  People simply reached out in a time of need and started using the social tools at their disposal – Flickr, Youtube, blogs, wikipedia and Twitter. There was no government or corporation control or management, only the power of a global network of connected people.

Here’s the map showing the global distribution of 400+ people who interacted with me on Twitter and who clicked on links I provided. The countries in red indicate active connection, linking and sharing:

2. Tweetsgiving

A concerned group of people came together collectively to do something about the lack of schooling in Africa.  Through their  Epic Change, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,  they had the excellent idea of creating  a Twitter celebration of gratitude and giving called Tweetsgiving.

The goal was to raise $10,000 in 48 hours, using the power of the social web, to build a classroom in Tanzania.

TweetsGiving ran from Tuesday, 11.25.08 (12pm EST) to Thursday, 11.27.08 (12pm EST).

Thanks to the following group of people and 366 contributors on Twitter and beyond, Epic Change helped raise $10,696 in 48 hours!

It doesn’t end there. Here’s an excerpt from their site …

The Giving Continues

If you missed TweetsGiving 2008, don’t worry, you may still make a donation using the ChipIn widget, or at http://www.EpicChange.org/donate to support the work that Epic Change does transforming compelling stories into social change. Each $10 donation made through this widget will now add a book to the school’s first library, which you may inscribe with a personal tweet of gratitude.

In addition, as the holiday season approaches, we hope you’ll consider giving gifts from the Epic Change Gift Shop, which is a valuable source of income for our partner school in Tanzania. Epic Change cards and gifts feature the artwork of children at the school, award-winning photographer Tim Llewellyn and West Hollywood candle designer Timothy Jay.

Epic Change makes loans to changemakers like the school’s founder, Mama Lucy Kamptoni, then collaborates with them to transform their hopeful stories into the income they need to pay back loans and create sustainable income streams to support their efforts. By buying these gifts instead of fruitcake and toasters this year, you are directly supporting the efforts of a woman in Tanzania who used to sell chickens, and used her income to build a school that now serves 242 amazing kids like Gideon, Glory, Pius and many more. Please consider making a contribution today or buying a gift from the store!

Epic Change believes compelling stories are assets that hopeful people in need can use to transform their own communities. Just look at how much good your stories of gratitude have done, and imagine what else is possible.

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