Mashable has named today, September 23rd, Social Good Day. Since my local meetups still have yet to name a location, I’m assuming the events won’t be taking place. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I shared my thoughts on online benevolence and the immense opportunity that social media presents us with as we attempt to improve the world.
I’m going to intertwine the call to action, which is individually pinpointing solutions for change, with a great example of an entrepreneur that is already succeeding with nothing less than a brilliant charitable idea.
I would love for everyone to check out the website MyDunkTank.com.
MyDunkTank allows anybody to start a fundraiser for any cause through some sort of crazy action. This crazy action is essentially “a dare,” or something that most people wouldn’t want to do voluntarily. However, for the greater good and the charity or cause of their choice, people donate money in order to see this “dare” or unusual event take place.
Pretty ingenious, huh?
The reason why an idea like this works is because it’s fun and it benefits everybody involved. The charities raise money, the fundraiser gets a moment in the spotlight, and the donors get to see something that they would obviously pay money to see.
Since this concept is a website based on outrageous activities, the potential for social sharing and virality is heightened. If the video, photos, or written review of the “dare” gets shared throughout everyone’s networks with the tag of the cause or charity in tact, we’d all essentially be sharing positive thoughts with one another and hope for some sort of change.
I know there must be tons of similar ideas and other websites that are trying to reach the same goal, but with the Internet getting more saturated everyday, and its users’ attention spans dwindling, the big idea behind social good is to make the experience of giving fun and enjoyable. If we can successfully do that as a community, we can really make a difference for years to come.