Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Power of Social Media

On August 27, the middle school is completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  While I hope this provides us with some fun and laughs as well as increase knowledge about the disease and its effects, I want to spend some additional time discussing the immense power of social media. 

Too often we only focus on the negative impacts of social media.  Things that go viral are often negative or pointless.  This is neither.  With imagination and simplicity this campaign may have changed forever how we raise awareness and funding to special causes that more often than not go unnoticed. 

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge started with the story of one man, Pete Frates.  Using his story as an inspiration, a simple and direct fundraising idea was born.  It success has shocked everyone.  According to Wikipedia between the dates of July 29th and August 21st, $41.8 million dollars have been donated to aid ALS research and education compared to $1.8 million a year ago.  Between June 1st and August 13th 1.2 million videos have been posted to Facebook.  Lastly, between July 29 and August 17 there have been 2.2 million tweets. 


Why do you think the Ice Bucket Challenge has been so successful?  What did you learn about ALS this week?  

44 comments:

  1. I think it has been so successful because it has been spread across the world and people notice it and do it or donate.
    I learned from ALS last week was that it takes over your body and U cant use your body, only your brain works, and U can get ALS at ANY age.

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  2. I think the ice bucket challenge is so successful because of social media. Another contributing factor is that to some people it looks fun and they see celebrities doing it so they want to do it.I learned that as A.L.S progresses the ability to talk weakens. also the average time span for someone to live after they've been diagnosed with A.L.S is 2-5 years. Throughout the last year the A.L.S ice bucket challenge has raised over 41.8 million USD.

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  3. ALS is so succesful because People can really connect to it. People may not have it but they know how hard it could be to have als. Doing this makes everyone feel like they are helping a awful. Close to the end als the only thing you can move is your eyes and they will die because the lungs go out and you can't breathe. This disease is awful.

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  4. I think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is so popular on social media because people want to learn about a disease the kills 90% of the people it diagnoses and donate to research on that disease. Also, if something gets popular on social media, a lot of people are going to do it. A lot of people who know a person with the disease they would do anything to help the person they know and other people with it because they understand what people with ALS are dealing with. Mrs.G really taught us a lot this week and we watched a movie called 'Tuesdays with Morrie' about a man with ALS.

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  5. This challenge has been so succsessfull because when one person does it they nominate other people who nominate even more people and people find out about it and decide to donate. Last week when I got nominated I had no idea what it was. I went and searched it and found out a bunch. Then we talked about it at school. I learned how ALS affects you and what happens when you get it. You start to lose control of your body. It is so frusturating not being able to express yourself. I hope with all the money they are raising they find out more about this didease.

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  6. The Ice bucket challenge has been so successful because people are willing to do it and once you finish the challenge you have to challenge three others. This spreads the challenge until everyone know what ALS is and are donating money for research. I learned many things about ALS this week because before the ice bucket challenge I didn't even know what ALS was. One lesson that stuck with me was when we did an interactive exercise in class. All we did was sit in our chairs as if we had ALS. Mrs. G would walk by and brush a tissue on our face and we couldn't move to swat it away. We stayed stock still and weren't allowed to move our heads at all. It was so hard! I can't imagine having no choice and having to do that your whole life. It gave me only a slight understanding of what it was like, but that was enough to know how hard it is.

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  7. I think it has been so successful because people with loved ones who have ALS want to raise money to help stop this disease and cure people so they can have their life back to normal. I learned about ALS is that the first symptoms of ALS are losing strength or hard to talk clearly. It affects the nerves so you can't move accept for your eyes. 90% of people with ALS die within the first 5 years.

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  8. I think that the ALS ice bucket challenge is so successful because the social media has traveled to so many places. And I think that the part of challenging people that's when people are saying that will be fun and as Ben/Mr. Grant said that the hart of all learning is form experience I didn't even know about ALS until last week. Thank you Mr. Grant for showing me a new life

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  9. Part of the reason why I believe so many people have tried this challenge is because it is something simple and easy to do, and that the person who started it had been was famous, raising awareness was a big part of it as well. Since many people have social media, most were able to hear about this, and think: ¨That looks easy to do! Plus, I'm raising awareness for a good cause, that's not very noticed.¨

    This week, I learned about the affects of ALS, and the challenges that the patients that have this disease have to overcome. Learning about how the disease physically affects you was also interesting. What personally affected me the most, was trying to simulate the affects of this terrible disease. Doing the marshmallow challenge, and also sitting still in the chair for a LONG time.

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  10. Personally, my observation of why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been successful because knowing that ALS can happen kills people is devastating. I know that I had no idea about ALS before the Ice Bucket Challenge. The Ice Bucket Challenge raise awarness and money to find a cure. I learned that when you have the desies, your brain is still sharp but you cannot do a thing. You lose all control of your body. I think that it would be devastating to have ALS at first, but I do know that God has a plan for everyone, so I would become more faithful.

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  11. I believe that the reason that this has become so successful is because it is something fun for all ages and also this was posted on so many social media sites where people of all ages are listening to what is going on. This week when we learned about ALS is that it scars the nerves in your body causing messages from your brain to stop and not make it to parts of your body. I am glad that I learned so much about ALS this week because now I have a greater understanding.

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  12. I think that the ice bucket challenge is so successful because of social media. Peter Frates has made a big difference because he told his friends that he wants to have everyone know about it and he would like to have everyone focused and joined in. He also wants everyone to raise money and try to find out a way to help everyone that has ALS and get something to make it a little more better. When i say social media i am saying that everyone gets on the computer or what ever they are on and see that someone has nominated them. This week i learned that ALS is not just a disease it is a sickness that makes people come together and actually create more money. A:amyotrophic,L:lateral, S:sclerosis. The a means the weakness of the bones. the l is sideways. and the s is scar.

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  13. I think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has really impacted the United States. I think that people do this challenge because it sounds like a fun activity to do. If it was for say, ALS Garbage can challenge, no one would really do it. It is just the fact that getting freezing and wet in the summer is going to get you likes as well as feeling good about yourself about doing something nice to the ALS research. So really, getting wet in the summer is something a lot of people would want to do. I going to be honest now, I had no clue about what this challenge was. In the comments in David's challenge, he nominated me. I didn't have a clue about what ALS was, but I just did it anyways. I actually first knew about it when Mr. Grant and Mrs. Governale told me about it.

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  14. I think one of has been so successful because dumping ice water on your head is something people want to watch. Yet when people learn more about it, they have a greater apprection for it. I learned how difficult it is to be paralized

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  15. Obviously, the ice bucket challenge has become extremely successful. But a lot of people just do it for fun, without even knowing what it is for. Honestly, I know that is what I did, and now that I know the story behind it, I feel kind of guilty for doing it so carelessly. So then there is the question, how did this become so successful. I think that this trend has become so popular because it is so simple. It such an easy and simple idea, but at the same time it is so symbolic. In our health class, we did some things to try and stimulate what an ALS patient feels like on a regular basis. One of the things we did was sit still, as if we were not able to move anything in our body except our eyes. It was only 7 minutes, but it felt more like 30. After doing that experiment, I had so much more sympathy for the people with the disease. This ice bucket challenge has been so successful because after people learn even a little bit about it, you understand what you are doing it for, and then you think, "Well, it's just a simple action that can make a huge difference in someone's life. When you donate to the ALS research, you are supporting the efforts to find a cure for the disease. It is also a chain, so it catches on extremely quickly. If you are nominate, you post a video of it on social media then nominate three more people. OVerall, I think that the ice bucket challenge is an amazing form of fundraising and raising awareness, and it has helped the research efforts immensely.

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  16. I think the Ice Bucket Challenge has been so successful, because of social media. Social Media has influenced the way people think and what they do. In the Ice Bucket Challenge you nominate 3 people, and then they nominate another 3, each. In Health class, when we studied ALS, the things that I remembered most were when we actually did them. For 7 minutes, it was hard for the whole class to only move their eyes, imagine what it would be like for about 2-5 years. Another thing that we did was talking with marshmallows in their mouth, that was pretty frustrating. And the last one that we watched was when Connor showed us how eating would be. Social media has had a big impact on ALS, in a good way.

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  17. I think the ALS ice bucket challenge has been successful because people know that there is no cure and everyone knows that everyone who has ALS will eventually die. So people are doing the ice bucket challenge to raise money for research for this terrible diseased. I learned that if you have ALS your speech won't become audible, you will become paralyzed and eventually suffocate.

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  18. The ALS ice bucket challenge has affected basically the World. I think the ALS ice bucket challenge has been so successful for many reasons.Not only because so many celebrities have participated but because so many people have heard of and wanted to do it or donate to the cause. It has raised so much awareness about the debilitating disease.I have learned a lot about this disease this week. Learned that even though your body isn't working properly your mind is still as smart as it ever was. I also learned that one of the first symptoms is muscle weakness. I hope that the ALS ice bucket challenge will raise enough money to find a cure to this horrible disease.

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  19. I think that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been so successful because it's not like other donation challenges. It doesn't just say "donate to ALS", it really gets people involved. When people find out about this, people thing it'll be really fun, and, it's for a good cause. Sadly, though, very few people who do the Ice Bucket Challenge know what ALS really is. But, when they see this challenge, lots of people will probably learn more about it, because they want to know what they're donating to. I also think the Ice Bucket Challenge has really thrived because it involved social media. Almost everyone I know is on social media, be it Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or even email. Everyone is "in tune" to what is going on in the world, right from their phone. That is why I think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has spread like a disease. And, because of it, hundreds of people now know about ALS. I personally have learned that ALS is a horrible disease that pretty much makes you completely immobile, but your brain is still as sharp as a tack. it so sad because people with ALS become completely entombed in their own bodies, and there is no cure. If you get the disease, you are going to die within the next 2-5 years. It is horrible, but luckily, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has really spread the knowledge about the disease, and millions of dollars have been raised for research.

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  20. I think the ALS ice bucket challenge has been so successful because people know it's is for such a great cause. People can also have fun by doing in cause in most places it is hot and dumping ice cold water on yourself can be fun. In the past week I have learned so much about ALS. I have learned how painful it can be cause you're sort of a mind trapped inside a body. It would be so frustrating to have and even to watch a loved one get it. You can die in 2-5 years, some people live longer, but not most. You are also most likely to get it in between ages 45-55 but for some that's not the case. I hope in the end the ALS ice bucket challenge gets its overall goal and finds a cure for ALS.

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  21. I think it has been so successful because it is so simple - you dump a bucket of cold water on your head. The movement was supported by celebrities that I felt genuinely cared. The thing that stuck in my mind was how you are just trapped. You can't talk, you can't move. You just sit.

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  22. I think that it is so secsessful because it has a really good meaning. I have learned that ALS effects people from the age 45-55 and that in the end you can not move any muscels. I hope that in a couple years they have a cur for ALS.

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  23. I think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been so successful because people that are well known have been diagnosed with this horrible disease and people are finally listening and understanding that we need to raise awareness.

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  24. I think The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been so successful because its different. People usually would do a fun run and raise money that way, but his stood out. Its not something people would have to go sign up for. The Ice Bucket Challenge you can just do. Its very good at raising awareness because famous people with 3.8 million followers on istagram do it and those people think its cool so they go do it. I love the fact that its helped raise awareness I think someday they will have a cure if people keep talking about it. I learned so much like it only affects 30,00 people a year. It causes scaring in the nervous system. I hope we can find a cure.

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  25. I think that video was wonderful. Like Mr. Grant said in class it takes only one person to start a movement. I think it is so successful because a lot of people think its a fun way to bring awareness to this horrible disease. This week I learned a lot about ALS. I learned that it basically entraps you in your own body. Over time scar tissue develops over muscles and you cant move any part of your body. It truly deserves awareness.

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    1. with my experience I loved the idea of people dunking themselves in ice water. I have learned so much about the disease and I had no clue what it was about before. You only have 2-5 years to live and we have no research at all to cure it. You don't need to videotape yourself donating money that you don't have, but you are sill raising awareness. It is also really simple

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  27. I think the ice bucket challenge has been so successful because it has been spreading all over the world for research for ALS and also for finding how you get it I think it is cool that we are doing the ice bucket challenge because it is raising awarness for ALS. What I think I learned about ALS is that it is progressive, and degenerative.

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  28. The reason the als ice bucket challange is so popular is because it started out with baseball players. After that all athletes did it then celebertys then just average joes like you and me started doing it.This week I learned what ALS stood for and how the ice bucket challange started.

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  29. I think the ice bucket is so successful because it shows awareness. It was something so popular that is just caught on. Who new something so small could be so big. I learned that ALS is a disease that stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is a scar in the tissue that doesn't allow you to move certain parts of your body.

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  30. I am sure that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is so successful because it involves more than a check and a little piece of paper that says you donated. Real, authentic people who are just like you and me donate. A dollar, one thousand dollars, nothing at all. It doesn't matter. because you are still raising awareness by dumping water on your head. If I cared enough to do the challenge, I think you would too. This week I learned that ALS is a fatal disease, There is no slim chance. When you have ALS you cannot talk, or move. One thing I can't believe is that this disease will kill you and had almost no awareness, other than others who weren't fatal, but had so much awareness.

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  31. ALS is successful because people look it up now that they see the ice bucket challenge everywhere. ALS is where scar tissue forms in the nerves. Over 2-5 years the body completly shuts down and the victim dies. It is terrifing

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  32. I personally think the ALS Ice bucket challenge has become such a big deal because of social media. I know that the challenge wouldnt be very successful without social media because a lot of people completed the challenge because it was trending on social media pages. It is good that it is being done but I think we need to learn about the horrific disease before we do the challenge. I also think the challenge is so big because of the man Pete Frates. He has inspired so many people to do the challenge because he is such an amazing person. I learned that ALS is a disease that enables a person to move there body after a period of time. The message your brain sends to the part of your body you want to move is blocked by scar tissue. This is a very bad disease and people have started to realize that and started to learn about the disease,donate,and do the ice bucket challenge.

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  33. ALS has become so successful because of one person, Pete Frates. Social media has gone CRAZY about the ice bucket challenge. It is different than a normal fundraiser, it does not just say hey donate to ALS it's saying hey come do this challenge and be part of all of the people who have done it. I have learned so much about ALS from Mrs.G. I'm so glad that we are trying to find a cure.

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  34. I think that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is so popular because it is different. Most charity fundraising asks directly for money for that cause. This one is different, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge gives you an option, this fundraiser says you can either dump a cold bucket of ice water over your head or donate. So how this challenge works is you get challenged or just do it then challenge three other people. This goes on and on until lots have donated and/or done the challenge. This week I have learned about the tragedies of this disease. Not only does this disease paralyze you then kill you, but it does it slowly. This disease is horrible.

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  35. I think that ALS has changed many live and shown people how important a disease can be and if you don't care about the people who have it the world will never find a cure for it. We can't only care about the big problem you have to care about the smaller ones and that will really impact the people who have it and their families. This disease isn't as small as some people think. It is very serious if you get ALS, you get trapped in your body when your brain is still very sharp and you can't do anything about it.

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  36. I think the ice bucket challenge has been so successful because its not like donating just money like other donations have been. They made it fun for all ages to do. After one person sees it on a social media pages others want to start doing it. Plus if your nominated within twenty-four hours or you have to donate $100. Its like the domino affect. Thats why I think the ALS ice bucket challenge has been so successful. ALS is a disease where 2-5 years you can die. Slowly you become paralyzed but your brain is sharp you lose nothing. I've learned that this has been a very horrible and sad disease. I hope someday we will figure out the cause.

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  37. The ice bucket challenge has been successful because of the fact that it is fun, short, easy, and it's for a good cause. People love a good challenge and a good reason to do the challenge. Everyone is willing to do something good especially if it has something fun accompanying it. Honestly, this is the first time I have heard of the ice bucket challenge (I'm not big on social media) so I have learned a lot. At first when I heard the name I figured that it was just some people who dumped ice on their head and made it viral. Then I learned that it is for a very good cause and our teacher had an activity that simulated the symptoms of ALS. I think this is a good cause and I am happy to be participating in this challenge.

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  38. I think that the ALS ice bucket challenge is so successful because people like to post things about themselves, and they like to post themselves doing something "cool". A lot of people had fun doing it, and some people "donate", not by giving money, but by raising awareness. There is something about dumping freezing water on your head that is entertaining and funny. A lot of celebrities have been doing it, and that makes it all the more popular. Some people do it for the cause though, which is a great one. It has spread like wildfire because you nominate more people, and they nominate more. I have learned so much more than I could type right now. Before Mrs.G taught us, I had no idea what it even was! I knew that people dumped water over their heads, but I didn't know what for. Sitting still and pretending we had ALS was especially hard because I started getting back spasms, but I can't imagine sitting like that all day.

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  39. I think that the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is so successful because people that in our society who are thought of as cool did it. Also, anyone can do it. You don't even need to donate to help the cause. Also, since so many people have done it, people are more motivated to do it. You can even tell people to do it so that it keeps spreading. This has also raised a lot of money. 48 million dollars. That is a lot of money and just because some people dump water on there heads. Thanks to our health teacher, I have learned so much about ALS. I learned that it is a disease that attacks the nervous system and that it is not contagious. In health, we also tried sitting still for ten minute. It was very uncomfortable and I can imagine doing it all day.

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  40. The Ice Bucket challenge is so successful because its fun.I learned that you just love your ability to move. You don't loose any of you knowledge.

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  41. The ALS ice bucket challenge has become so successful partly because so many famous people have accepted the challenge. Also, the fact that you nominate three other people keeps the ball rolling. Most importantly, so many people want to help find a cure for ALS once they know how serious the disease is. We need to find a cure for this serious diseases that so many people are dying from today. I learned that when you have ALS everything in your body breaks down, but your mind stays sharp. In other words, your mind is trapped in a body that doesn't work. usually, the last organ in your body that stops working is your lungs.

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  42. It he ALS ice bucket challenge has become so successful because it is a fun thing to do and people like to post things on the internet. This week I learned about ALS at first a barely knew what it was and I also learned how it affects the different parts of your body.

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  43. I think the ALS ice bucket challenge is so successful because of social media. if there was no social media there would be no day to spread this. Another reason why is because kids see it and want to get involved so they try it and it keeps on continuing. I learned that ALS is one of if not the most devastating diseases. Even though you can't move or talk, your mind is still sharp as a tack. I learned from ALS not to take my life for granted because it could always be worse.

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