Reflection #3: The Ice Bucket Challenge

With the rise of social media we can see how companies, non-profits, and multi-billion dollar corporations will use it to spread a message. These social media campaigns can be as simple as a click on a video (or advertisement before a video on YouTube) or have a video talking about the product itself. However, social media campaigns can be spread by people in ways that the company did not think was possible. In 2014, the ALSA created a social media challenge in which people pour a bucket (or more) of water full of ice over their bodies to simulate the effects of ALS. At first we saw the challenge spreading through Facebook, mainly by friends challenging other friends in order to get them to pour very cold water on each other. However this challenge spread throughout the world and it went from the "ordinary" person to big name celebrities taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. The use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube were all used in the campaign and helped millions of people view the challenges and then post their Ice Bucket Challenge video on whatever social media site they like the best. The challenge even had politicians and business leaders take part like current President Donald Trump or WWE CEO Vince McMahon. This gave the challenge a bit more publicity and their videos now have millions of views. We can see how the ice bucket challenge was extremely useful in bringing awareness to ALS and the research for a cure as well as showing how everyone can take part in a big social movement, no matter their social status.

http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxDAyUiXphg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMg3Na1Rl80