ALS Ice Bucket Challenge shows power of social media

If you haven’t participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, you have most definitely heard of it, and if you somehow managed to not hear about it, please welcome me to the rock you must reside under.  Whatever your feelings on the challenge are, one thing is for sure, the social media engine that drove the challenge is one powerful machine.

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The origins of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge are relatively unknown.  It is hard to pinpoint who the first person to dump freezing water on their head was, or which individual coined the hashtag involved with the widespread endeavor.  ne thing that is easy to see however, is the effect everything had.

Thanks to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, donations were given in amounts ranging from less than a dollar to over $200,000.  Celebrities and business moguls alike participated alongside everyday joes participated in dumping water, raising awareness, and making donations.

Sometimes, social media falls victim to stereotypes that no good comes from such websites; it is a vehicle for addiction, relationship struggle, and the like.  However, the often overlooked, is just how powerful social media can be.

Facebook, Instgram, and Twitter can be held most responsible for the word of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge spreading.  Thanks to those companies, over 16 million people saw both Bill Gates and Charlie Sheen participate in the challenge.  16 million people were introduced to a foundation they otherwise may not have known of, and they were urged to act.

While it is more than fair to assume a handful of participants saw the ALS Ice Bucket challenge as little more than a popularity video or publicity stunt, many more found a way to make a positive impact.

The graph below shows the rise in traffic for ALSA.org while Jimmy Wales, the man behind Wikipedia, also decided to share some information.

SimilarWeb

So while there are always those people out looking to use social media for something less than respectable, and those out looking to jump in on the trending fun, there are also a lot of good-natured people in the world looking to make a difference.  Well done people, well done.