The Royal British Legion uses the noise of social media to help mark the Two Minute Silence on Remembrance Sunday

In a unique digital initiative, The Royal British Legion will become the first UK organisation to use the Thunderclap social media tool. The Thunderclap, which lets users opt-in to automatically issue an identical social media message at a designated future moment as thousands of others, will be used to encourage the UK’s 10 million Twitter and 33 million Facebook users to observe the Two Minute Silence on Remembrance Sunday (11am on Sunday 11 November).

On the morning of Sunday 11 November, in advance of the traditional Two Minute Silence at 11am, a ‘stockpile’ of tweets and updates made by British social media users will be unleashed in a simultaneous expression of support across British social media channels. This first British use of the American technology platform forms part of the 2012 Remembrance commemorations and the Legion is determined that by encouraging everyone to join in one simultaneous social media message, few will forget to remember the fallen.

Helen Hill, Head of Remembrance at The Royal British Legion comments, “We hope to create the largest ever show of online Remembrance by using the communicative power of social media to remind millions of Britons that they have a very personal opportunity to honour the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

How to take part in The Royal British Legion Two Minute Silence Thunderclap and how it will work

• Visit the Thunderclap page. Visitors will be shown the tweet/message that will be issued at 9am on the morning of Sunday 11 November:

    I’ll be remembering the fallen at 11 o’clock #2MinuteSilence #LestWeForget

• People can then support the effort by clicking to authorise their Twitter and Facebook accounts to send this message simultaneously on Sunday 11 November with every other participant.

• That’s it! If the visitor has opted-in to participate, Thunderclap will automatically send out the message at 9am on 11 November.

• If the visitor has opted-in to support, their Twitter and/or Facebook feed will automatically display the message:

    I won’t forget to Remember on 11.11.11 Will you? #2MinuteSilence

    and contain a link to the Two Minute Silence Thunderclap page to encourage other people to participate in the initiative.

At 9am on the morning of Sunday 11 November, in advance of the Two Minute Silence, the user’s Twitter and/or Facebook account will automatically issue the message “I’ll be remembering the fallen at 11 o’clock #2MinuteSilence #LestWeForget”. The message will be further amplified and shared as the user’s social media followers retweet, like, or share their friend’s message, contributing to the overall awareness of the objective to use the noise of social media to encourage a silence in memory of the fallen.

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Jonny Mardling

Jonny Mardling is the Editor of The History Herald. He has a keen interest in Second World War and Cold War history, and with a great grandfather who was killed during the Battle of the Somme, he also has a fascination with First World War history.

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