After deciding to take a plunge into the #Kimbits social media world (in particular Twitter!!!), I’ve familiarized myself with the power of the hashtag. After learning to play piano as a child, I understood the # symbol to represent a sharp note. Through my formative education years, the # symbol took on another meaning: short-hand for the word “number” (e.g. Apt #1411). But Twitter proved to me that the # symbol possesses a lot of power on social media – the hashtag symbol identifies a keyword that is recognizable for SEO (still don’t know how or even WHAT search engine optimization is…).
12 years ago, the United States witnessed a monumental moment in history: the election of the first ever black President, Barack Obama. His campaign motto was simple but powerfully meaningful: “Yes We Can!” We. A simple 2-letter word that is pregnant with so many other positive values: unity, co-operation, synergy, partnership, sharing, family, care, love. It became one of my most favourite words through Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. And formed one of my first ever hashtags: #YesWeCan.
Fast forward to today: another day of quarantine lockdown when the concept of “we” has been attacked. By Trump. By COVID-19. By selfishness. By greed. By impatience. By tribalism. By racism. By… the concept of “me.”
I started to literally do some belly-button gazing – until I remembered one of my friends recommending the Netflix movie “Becoming,” which profiles the book with the same title written by Michelle Obama. After a riveting 90-minute journey, the former U.S. First Lady not only reminded me about how important it was to believe in the power of “We,” but challenged me personally to do better with my life WITH others. Like the actual married Obama couple, the two hashtags for each respective Obama were stronger when combined together as one: #BecomingYesWeCan!
Citizens of the world, DO NOT listen to the narratives of those that seek to divide us, attack us, make us feel less than the powerful people that we are truly destined to be. DO NOT let those who wish to use and manipulate you convince you to follow your self-centred impulses and gluttonous desires. DO NOT follow leaders who ignore the truth of science, reject the facts of numbers, and deny the proof of evidence.
Experience the power of the hashtag # for yourself: hashtag these words and phrases in your next social media post and see what you get as a response:
#UnitedWeStand #DividedWeFall #StrongerTogether #Synergy #PeopleOverProfit #WEnotMe #BECOMINGYESWECAN!!!