Help is just a post away

[1]

Help needed! My friend’s lookin for a home for her cutie-pie. Any suggestions/reference regarding pet homes, contact numbers, animal lovers, homes, etc is most welcome. Plz help us find a home for our Bonnie.

No, this is not an advert from a newspaper. This appeal was posted on Facebook to find Bonnie, a-year-old mongrel, a new home. Website developer Anupriya Karmakar didn’t set out to become a do-gooder by asking for help in the social networking arena. Instead, she just snubbed the traditional methods of making a plea such as messaging, direct mail and phone calls and satisfied her philanthropic urge on the Internet through a mode popular with generation next. Bonnie did find her new family and that too in a short span of time.
In this Facebook era, netizens believe that it doesn’t make sense to waste time texting or calling a definite set of people when help is just a post/tweet away and through which the whole world can be reached. From personal requests to appeals by organisations, the social networking world is abuzz with all kinds of support-related queries and updates. Asking for blood and adoption of destitute puppies are the most seen posts on Facebook and Twitter.
Websites such as MySpace, Twitter and Facebook are proving to be a perfect medium to spread the word about various non-profit and social causes. The idea is to convey fund-raising pitches to their friends and families and encouraging them to forward the appeals to their own contacts through various applications.
Recently Ambika Muttoo needed AB+ blood for her grandma. She updated her contacts about the need and left her number for interested parties to get in touch with her.
Fashion designer Shalein Bhatnagar immediately responded with his offer to donate blood. “I got the request from a common friend and I quickly dialled the number and was told that they have got a few units, but will get back in case they need more,” he says.
Social networking has changed the landscape of modern philanthropy. Its biggest benefit apart from being fast is that it helps one reach out to friends who don’t talk on a regular basis. You may not be in constant touch with them, but these sites keep you connected.
Boishali Sinha Massot, an artist and avid pet-lover helps find destitute animals homes through Facebook. She says, “We post the required information along with the photographs and if anybody shows interest in adopting a pet, then we co-ordinate with the person through mails.”
Tagging as a tool facilitates a healthy chain-reaction in letting others know what your friend’s friend is looking forward to. “These sites prove to be a huge help when you have to inform others about any happening in the city. So, in case of any blood donation camps, parades or candle light vigils, instead of sending personalised invites, just an update does the needful,” says Kabir Malhotra, who has taken up the cause for a minority section of society and manages an active community on Facebook.