#ReclaimSocial for positive stories of social good, urges Lightful

Tech-for-good platform Lightful has launched a campaign to "reclaim social media for good", inviting individuals, charities and organisations to post at least one positive message a day on social media. Backed by organisations including Comic Relief, NCVO, the Institute of Fundraising and Whizz-Kidz, the campaign calls for an end to the overwhelming negativity on social media, the fake news and hate-filled trolling of individuals. The message reached an estimated 10 million people on social media alone within the first five hours. The online campaign was triggered with a Thunderclap in which multiple people and organisations 'donated' a campaign message to be sent at the same time via their Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr accounts. Lightful has its own positive message of taking action to counter the negativity. It argues that charities, social enterprises and individuals themselves often have some of the best, most positive and most powerful stories to share on social media. The campaign's tagline was “There's too much negativity on social media nowadays. Let's reclaim social media for good”. The message was even presented to delegates at Davos recently. Ruth Owen OBE, CEO of Whizz-Kidz, said: “Social media is hugely important for many of the young wheelchair users we support, not only for connecting with their friends but also the wider world. "What’s more, Whizz-Kidz sees social media as a vital tool for raising the voice of young disabled people and challenging negative perceptions of disability, and for us #ReclaimSocial is an opportunity to celebrate the individuals and organisations using these platforms to effect positive change.” https://twitter.com/LondonKirsty/status/960927675568271362 https://twitter.com/HomeD2D/status/960913528411643905 https://twitter.com/GemmaPettmanPR/status/960903873778069505 https://twitter.com/WhizzKidz/status/960860637017489408   Billboard coverage The campaign was amplified by digital OOH specialist Outdoor Plus, who donated six digital roadside screens for the message, reaching an audience of approximately 1.7 million people in locations across London, including Euston Underpass, Greenwich and Wembley Way. The screens are also sharing some of the latest live tweets of people using #ReclaimSocial, providing a real-time view of how people are engaging with the campaign. Political support coincided The campaign launched on the same day that Theresa May addressed a group of people in Manchester to mark the centenary of some women in the UK securing the vote. She said: “Social media... should be a force for good... but it is often being exploited and abused often anonymously”. http://ift.tt/2E74rC6   Best stories to tell Vinay Nair, CEO & Co-Founder of Lightful, explained why the campaign had been launched. He said: “Charities and social enterprises have some of the best stories to tell, which is why we’re delighted to help grow the potential of using social media for social good – we certainly need that to happen now more than ever. We are humbled to see so many people getting behind the #ReclaimSocial movement, and this feels like just the beginning." Lightful was founded in 2015 "to revolutionise the way charities and social enterprises drive genuine positive action through social media". It was set up by Vinay Nair (CEO), Carlos Miranda (Chairman) and Johnny Murnane (COO), from Ireland, the US and Ireland respectively.    WATCH: Vinay Nair introduce #ReclaimSocial    

from UK Fundraising http://ift.tt/2ElbcUf