Here at Mashable, the week kicked off with conversations about social good with the Social Good Summit serving as the platform for a three-day global conversation. Activists, humanitarians, entrepreneurs and CEOs all discussed how social media can affect positive change on a global scale. The conversation even broke a world record: It was the largest conversation around a single topic to ever occur in one day.
As 92nd Street Y President Stuart J. Ellman pointed out, one important message from the summit was that “social media and technology are not agents of change. They are just tools. We the connected people are the agents of change.†This week on Mashable we saw different examples of how we can use these tools. While technology can bring beautiful innovation, it can also promote the rapid dissemination of prejudice. Our community provided insightful commentary around the disparate ways social media can both bring us together and drive us apart.
Even though we are more globally connected than ever before, some old rivalries continue to keep readers engaged in debate. Google and Apple products continue to face off, while the struggling underdogs Blackberry and Myspace are throwing their hats back in the ring.
Adding insult to injury, Google Maps this week unveiled an underwater “street view†feature that met an overwhelmingly positive response.
Facebook caused a social media maelstrom when some users reported that private messages prior to 2010 had become publicly visible. Although Facebook claimed no such leak had occurred, our readers had different opinions. We also discovered an alleged bug on Facebook that keeps posts from being erased. While Facebook combatted accusations that it was releasing private information, Justin Timberlake was bringing Myspace back with a redesign for the social networking website that once reigned supreme.
But no matter the platform you’re using, ultimately the greatest social media blunders are purely the result of human failings. Our readers shared some of the most memorable social media gaffes of the past few years.
However, in addition to providing us with a platform on which to screw up, the Internet also gives us a chance to learn from our mistakes. This week, the Reddit community was schooled by a Sikh woman who responded to a photo someone had posted of her as a joke. The original poster saw her response, reconsidered his original post and publicly apologized for his actions. See the gallery above for our community’s reactions.
Our readers are a vital part of the Mashable experience. We encourage you to be a part of the ongoing conversation by joining Mashable Follow and brushing up on our community guidelines. Next week you might be featured in our weekly rundown of the top discussions!
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