The Magic of Social Media

Last night I experienced what can only b referred to as the magic of the internet. I think some people are afraid of the internet. They say you can't believe what you read/watch/hear. Beware of cat fishing. It's not a place to really meet people. 

Well, they're wrong! 

Last night I celebrated Eid al-fitr, the end of Ramadan, with 300 other people from the internet at a "stranger's" house. Don't believe me? Well luckily there is a video about it! All thanks to Nas Daily. 

Who is Nas? In his words, he is just a "hairy kid who wants to live the best possible life and put it on Facebook in one minute videos." So he does; and he has also created an amazingly strong internet-based community filled with people from all over the world!

But how do you get people to go from simply being friends ON the internet to becoming friends FROM the internet? According to Nas, you invite 1.5 million people to celebrate Eid with your family at your home in Arraba! 

I know a lot of people who dislike social media, and I can understand some of their reason's why. Facebook is increasingly filled with anger and political rants. Instagram can feel like a parade of vanity where people fish for compliments on the form of likes on their selfies. 

But social media is also potentially extremely powerful in positive ways. It is through social media that the ice bucket challenge raised over $100 million dollars for ALS awareness and research. It is through social media that young Egyptians and Tunisians cultivated revolutionary movements in the 2008 Arab Spring. And it is through social media that I found myself in a random Arab village in northern Israel with 300 other people from all over Israel and the world to celebrate Eid al-fitr. 

These are the kind of examples that make me so excited to be a social media professional. Through Facebook I've found a female travel support group, the place I live, and even Mindy!

So as Nas says in his video, "For the 1% chance of something bad happening...don't miss the 100% chance of something great happening!" And thank you Nas and your family for taking that chance, opening your home to hundreds of strangers, feeding us, and giving us the cultural experience of a lifetime!

Eid Sa'id! (Happy Eid! Something I learned to say from one of my new friends I made last night.)