facebook stories

ORIGINAL CONTENT

Facebook is:

a)  a platform for our aunts to tell us how they really feel

b)  a place to stalk the cute guy from your Bio class

c)  a conduit for the world that can make connections in ways we never knew possible

d)  all of the above 

The answer is D, but let's focus on C. With over 1 billion users, Facebook is more than a social platform—it's a bridge between lives that can make a difference, big or small.

But in a space crowded with likes and requests, how can we remind people of social media's deeper impact?

Facebook Stories aimed to do just that with a series of videos highlighting personal tales of connection that Facebook has made possible over the years. My team traveled the world to capture three stories of hope, triumph and togetherness.

Humans of New York

In NYC we met a photographer who wants to change the way people think about strangers. 

Brandon Stanton moved to New York in 2010. As an amateur photographer, he was fascinated by the crowds of characters throughout the city. He began to take street portraits of the people he met and share them in an album on his timeline named, Humans of New York.

As his photos started to gain a following, he created a Facebook Page that started a movement. There are “Humans of …” Facebook Pages for nearly every major city in the world, while the HONY photographer himself is something of a celebrity on the streets of New York. Brandon’s Facebook community of more than 14.6 million people is more than just an audience. Together, they have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

The Knowledge

In London we met an aspiring cabbie working with his peers online to ace "The Knowledge", an intimidating and age-old exam. 

After spending 15 years in jail, Patric McGuinness is now a leader in his community who volunteers with at risk kids and always advocates for the power of a second chance.

Given his own second chance, Patric has decided to study for The Knowledge, an intense series of written and oral exams taken to be certified as a London cab driver. The test requires cabbies-in-training to memorize thousands of the city’s streets, and can take some hopefuls years to complete.

To practice for the exam, the “Knowledge Boys” and “Knowledge Girls” have created a Facebook Group to serve as a forum and support system where they provide tips and encouragement to one another as they study.

The Librarian / El Bibliotecario

In Guatemala we met a librarian who is keeping the Mayan language alive on Facebook, and inspiring his community to preserve their roots. 

The small Guatemalan village of San Juan La Laguna is only accessible by one lone road or by boat. 

While townspeople began using Facebook on feature phones a few years ago, there are only a few Internet cafes in town, and they charge, so the village’s sole library is the only place to log on to a desktop for free. There, librarian Yisrael Quic uses Facebook to inspire digital literacy and the preservation of the Mayan language.

Using a Facebook Page, and most recently, a Facebook Group dedicated to communicating in the local Mayan language, Yisrael is fighting to bring one of the most valuable parts of his community’s history into its future.