Gossip for Good

From the time we’re little we’re reminded about the power of the spoken word. I grew up in Middletown, which is a very small town, and many of the residents in the town have families that have lived here for generations. So as you can imagine, everyone knows everyone’s business. My parents, who both came from multi-generational Middletown families (that sounds important doesn’t it?), could easily keep me on the straight and narrow with one threatening sentence “Remember, Leigh, word travels fast.”

Now, I feel it’s important to mention that my brother was much more likely to get into trouble than I was – I was a pretty squeaky clean kid. But just like any kid, I talked about other girls I was mad at and was left behind occasionally when my friends “forgot” to tell me about something they were all doing together. My parents reminded me that gossip was not nice and that if I didn’t have something nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. Even when I was the one being talked about, they taught me to take the high road and not strike back. It’s not an easy lesson to put into practice, but it’s one I’ve tried to follow throughout my life.

As the technology age has evolved, you don’t have to live in a small town for word to travel fast. Today, word travels faster than we ever imagined possible. All the sudden that awful outfit you wore out on Friday night is not just the discussion among your friends, it’s the topic of gossip for anyone on Facebook or who has a cell phone that can receive pictures. In one flat second, your small town fashion faux pas can become a national disaster. That’s scary.

However, technology has also enabled another type of gossip – a type that I like to call “Gossip for Good”. With so many people online, the Internet has become a very powerful place to spread all kinds of positive messages too, like the life-saving message “Feel Your Boobies.” Many physical obstacles have been removed through the virtual qualities of technology. The useful and positive messages that travel on the “information superhighway” are reaching people we never before could reach in ways that previously were only possible in The Jetsons cartoon.

Feel Your Boobies has embraced technology as a primary way for spreading its message. Last year we received testimonials from women who believe the Feel Your Boobies campaign saved their life. Many of them were touched by our campaign through the power of the Internet. Now that’s “Gossip for Good” – spread the word…fast!

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Did you know National Feel Your Boobies Week is October 14-21? Join the Remind-A-Thon to help us remind 1Million people on Twitter to "feel their boobies"...now that's gossip for GOOD.

Watch the video on our home page now.