Veterans Day Tributes — Social Media Style

Yesterday many Americans used social media outlets to thanks and remember our Veterans.  My favorite social media tribute was the Mental Floss’ blog on “Dogs Welcoming Home Soldiers”, a series of canines caught loving their vet ( not their  veterinarian) on video.  Here’s my favorite vide0 (also found on the Boing Boing blog)…

…now I know the barking gets to be a little much after a while, but it brought a tear to my eye.

Put all of the cute dog videos aside, this holiday really gave me a new perspective on the use of social media and this concept of building a community online – in this case, those wanting to honor our past and present soldiers.  Think about it.  Many Americans did not have the day off work yesterday.  Therefore, we were not able to participate in the traditional Veterans Day celebrations: speeches, ceremonies, and parades – actual events that take place in a town, or physical community.  Instead, social media provided an opportunity to pay tribute; whether it be with a “Happy Veterans Day” tribute on Facebook or Twitter, a blog posting about a special Veteran in their lives, or videos to capture great soldier moments (as we saw earlier).

Another great example of this type of tribute was Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill’s Twitter feed.  In the morning, she put out her own Veterans Day tribute and encouraged her followers to let her know if there is a special Missouri vet that they would like her to give a shout out to.  How awesome!

With that, I hope you all were able to pay tribute on Veterans Day in your own way.  Happy (Belated) Veterans Day!