To celebrate Social Media Day on June 30, 2014, Mashable asked our followers on Twitter to engage in #1Connection, an experiment that spanned the entire globe.
The aim of #1Connection was to celebrate the unique ability of social media to connect us with people who we would never normally meet, and to help people expand their network by one meaningful connection. By tweeting out the hashtag, users were entered to be matched with a single person who shared their interests. We called this experiment "pen pals for the digital age."
The response was immediate and enthusiastic. As word of #1Connection spread on Twitter, more and more users shared why they wanted to be a part of the movement. By the time we reached our cutoff date, thousands of people had participated.
.@mashable's #1Connection is kind of a great, simple thing in this big bad social media world: http://t.co/4fmhEuc5Au— Chelsea Diana (@ChelseaDiana_) June 13, 2014
A new way to think about social media connections. One is just as valuable as 1,000. The global experiment #1Connection is underway. Neat.— Caleb Werth (@werthc) June 16, 2014
I am digging the idea behind @mashable's #1Connection. It makes social truly social.— Sean Parker (@spikep) June 17, 2014
After Mashable collected all the entries, we worked with Twitter's Developer and Platform Relations team and Twitter for News to match users based on the topics about which they were tweeting. On June 30, Social Media Day, we notified everyone of their matches.
Participants were paired up with new connections both around the world and in their own backyard. Some were professionally aligned, while others enjoyed the same hobbies, food and television shows. Some users were even matched up with social-media influencers they admire. At the end of our global experiment, thousands of new connections had been created.
@buffalogal Hey there! Yeah it's neat; the world seems way smaller now-maybe alien tweet-pals next? Happy #SMDay to you too! :) #1connection— Sharon Stephen (@sharond_s) July 1, 2014
That's really exciting! If I'm the wrong Liz, I'm going to pretend I don't know: ;-) Enjoy your #SMDay as well! @MrSilverScott @mashable— Liz Evangelatos (@AskForLiz) June 30, 2014
@JamieMaeCheng @mashSMday My thoughts exactly! Small world :) #SMDay #SanDiego— Melissa Do (@melissado) June 30, 2014
@LKlieger !!!! Dude the match was perfect. IT’s my favorite show on TV! I was @LouiseBelcherFX for Halloween!— Christina Warren (@film_girl) June 30, 2014
Hi @soshanau! And thanks, @mashSMday, @mashable this is SO COOL.— Ankita (@bitxia) June 30, 2014
@ciarastevens33 @MrDrewScott @mashable I try to follow everyone. :) Hope that you're having a beautiful day!— Jessica Mezo (@missjessicamezo) June 30, 2014
@k_mccasland happy social media day! So cool that #1connection connected us!— Pete Cashmore (@petecashmore) June 30, 2014
@LincDK likewise! I look forward to discussing common interests. Always nice to meet fellow opera lovers!— natalyn bradshaw (@npbradshaw) June 30, 2014
@alfabettezoupe and to you, miles away from Queensland, Australia. Spending #smday working out what we have in common #1connection ;)— T.Dame (@Tracy_Austin) June 30, 2014