When we can manage to look past the many downers and dangers of social media, it's inspiring to find the many more blessings hidden beneath it all. One such blessing is that social media can help save lives. Here's one way (among many other examples of natural disasters and Arab Springs, etc.) Facebook is helping to do so:
A new Facebook program provides military personnel, veterans and their families with customized resources when their content is flagged as harmful or suicidal.
It is an extension of a suicide prevention effort Facebook launched in December, which lets friends alert the social network when other users express suicidal thoughts by clicking a link next to the comment. Facebook sends an email with suicide prevention resources to the author of the comment. [Mashable]
Makes good sense. And it's one of the many possibilities opened up to us by having so many connections to each other and so much power at our fingertips.
And if it can help save lives, surely it can help save souls, too. It's fun to think about the many ways we could be doing this.
Even something as simple as going to Google and searching for people who are in need. Find them. Connect with them. Reach out to them. Help them. Give them a reason for your joy while you're at it.
You could also search Facebook public statuses on a site like this: statusfeed.net.
Or you can search Twitter's traffic, too: Here.
Sure, you'll have to wade through some garbage and some mean spirited people who need big hugs. But mixed in with all of that are a lot of people who have honest questions or misunderstandings about their faith. About the Catholic faith. And people who are grasping for God in funny looking ways. Who are struggling with meaning and purpose in their lives. Who are suffering and need help. People who the Holy Spirit just may prompt you to reach out to in the right way and at the right time in a non-creepy kind of non-stalkerish way.
Anyway, we are only just beginning to explore the power at our fingertips and how it can be used for Good. For God.
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Matt - Great food for thought. I think it’s nice to do what you’re suggesting in a spontaneous, non-stalkerish sort of way but I also think there can be a non-stalkerish sort of way to do so as a Church in a more organized, coordinated way. I think we as a Church need to do both but I’m concerned that we’re not doing any that I am aware of of the latter. There are tremendous economies of scale for taking a coordinated approach to this. In fact such coordination with regard to our listening and engagement efforts is something I’ve been advocating for quite some time. And we know there’s a way to “do” listening in a non-stalkerish yet organized fashion because for-profit organizations (like Southwest Airlines) and non-profit organizations (like Planner Parenthood) are already investing huge sums of cash and human resources on such efforts using social media monitoring with tools such as Radian6 and people within their organization trained on how to listen online and route items of importance to appropriate people within the organization for follow up. It may sound funny, but more and more organizations either have or are considering having a Chief Listening Officer who oversees listening efforts. Generally such officers are tasked with helping to bake listening into the DNA of the organization as a whole, not just its social media efforts. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/tinasharkey/2012/03/13/who-is-your-chief-listening-officer/) But with regard to social media efforts, you’ve got one person who oversees a listening team who identifies tweets, blog posts and conversations of importance and “front-line” employees (the CEO, a salesperson, a customer service person) who actually responds on behalf of the organization to those tweets. It’s important to keep in mind that such listening by these organizations is happening literally 24 hours a day and in some cases responses take place within minutes of the original post - often for purposes of damage control. A great example of what form this takes within some organizations is the Gatorade Mission Control Center (http://bootcampdigital.com/how-gatorade-monitors-social-media-with-“mission-control-center”/) Here’s my point: Listening is - by far - the most important organizational core competence for successful social media communications execution. Our Catholic Church ought to invest resources in organizing a global social media team with one of their chief responsibilities being…listening and conversation dispatch.
You have no idea what I went through to get this article that appeared on New Advent. Google apparently has taken control of what I can see and can’t see, what I can’t open and can open up. I found all sorts of things on my “google” page (22 items) that it “saved” for me without my permission. All items I will get to eventually, including a priest’s podcasts. Re: Facebook, I have used it in the past but other peoples’ stuff shows up on it. Don’t need to read about my sister’s breakfast, or someone else’s flirtation with “kaballah.” Bottom Line: thank God I could search your name and find this article.
Media more important than Church!
As a believer, journalist and writer my oppinion is that the media (not only newspapers, but Internet media like National Catholic Register, and social “societies” for example Facebook and Twitter) are more important for modern evangelisation and pastoral activity than classic Crurch, in the meaning of the building, where are organized Masses, and where a believer can pray. Jesus Christ is always where, the believers are. Primarly in their hearts, but why not also on Internet. God bless!
Cheers from Croatia,
Giancarlo Kravar
Good blog idea, but sketchy. I wish you had developed it more—more examples of saving lives; concrete examples of saving souls.
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