After recently completing a social justice program offered at Grand
Valley State, I learned about inequality within our society, but also
examples of how subtle markers of who we are as a community can often go
undetected. Sometimes, they need a voice to lift them to the surface.
One topic that stood out for me was that as the times change, so do the tools for messaging.
The old school pleasures of storytelling through a well-crafted
handwritten letter or a whimsical postcard mailed from a far-off land
are still powerful, but modern forms of communication are delivering
fascinating new ways to message an organized thought.
I was reminded of this when I joined the world in gazing at the recent
social upheavals in Egypt and Libya. We didn't rely solely upon the
television for information. We followed the events on our iPads,
handhelds and computer screens. Messages were flashed in real time from
people, often on the other side of the world, using social media
platforms like Twitter to communicate with all of us.
We often find out about these developments because of a tiny symbol. The
hashtag (or #), when placed in action, packs a lot of power on the
Twitter platform.
It is easy to put into play and anyone can do it since no knowledge of coding is necessary.
Simply use the tiny # symbol and then type immediately after that
whatever descriptor you feel is necessary. It is an easy way to gather
and place one's thoughts in the collective Twitterverse. It is one of
the simplest forms of organizing a message.
Now before my Grand Rapids Social Media friends let out a Twitter 101
groan, let me share why this is important for our community.
Before the adoption and implementation of the hashtag, our tweets just
flew by with no means to easily organize a thought on any given topic.
The hashtag coding system, when managed by the group, allows anyone to quickly get up to speed on any given topic.
So, I started thinking that as we move into a new era, a time where
regular citizens become the watchdogs of our region, isn't it time to
expand beyond the simple #GRmi or #GrandRapids tags that people have
used for some time to organize our region?
For example, while I recognize that I am a member of #GrandRapids, I am
also a Creston neighborhood resident (#CrestonGR). Why not begin to
pinpoint these markers of where we are -- like a neighborhood within our
city -- for those on the outside who may be seeking new places to call
home or maybe play? This tool for organizing lets people know with
greater detail exactly where the action or news is happening.
We would gain stronger neighborhood visibility in West Michigan, but we
could also begin to highlight the uniqueness or characteristics of our
region. We would also help people feel more connected, based on shared
space created through the usage of a hashtag. Imagine the # as a way to
help people find others in their community.
If you follow the newly launched #mypoints, you'll discover that Earth Week is a great time to launch our homegrown
MyGRCityPoints -- a single-stream recycling initiative that rewards neighborhoods and not just the individual for their recycling efforts.
Rather than create a simple contest about how much stuff you personally
redirect from the landfill to reuse, program builds within is the
encouragement of the individual to talk with their neighbors about the
program.
The idea for this model came through meetings under the guidance of city
hall and community members, but was executed through local groups and
businesses like Local First, The Image Shoppe and Atomic Object. The
idea evolved to become a group collective doing the most good for the
community, as a community.
The program encourages you to recycle by handing out points with plenty
of rewards to choose from and redeem at local businesses. In other
cities, they have adopted similar programs that tended to focus on big
box shops, leaving the local businesses, in many ways, out in the cold.
Since USA Today will be recognizing Grand Rapids as one of the Top 10
greenest cities on Earth Day this year (An RG Scoop!), we, as a
community, can sharpen that focus for the rest of the world by using the
hashtag in our postings. This will help to highlight who we are and
also identify what types of programs are working in our community.
I am quite certain that by organizing our unique properties and programs
from within our community, people typing #GrandRapids into a Google
search will get real time tweets about our city.
The next time you want to use the #GrandRapids hashtag, think about
adding another descriptor that will make someone dive a little deeper
into our community.
The world needs innovators and the city's MyGRCityPoints program, which
is just in the very first steps, shows that we, as a community, are
willing to take bold steps in leadership for a greener world by
implementing practices that are good for our time, our environment and
our neighborhoods.
The little symbol that could is really changing things all over the world and we are all innovative members of this community.
Where do you call home?
Tommy Allen
Lifestyle Editor
#mypoints #CrestonGR
Email:
[email protected]
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