Think Twitter is a waste of time? Think again.

By David Dennis Jr.
Contributing Columnist

George Zimmerman saw a young Black teenager in a hoodie and followed him through a dark neighborhood in Florida. A fight ensued and Zimmerman killed Martin. We all remember this part of the story. We also remember the trial. The chaos. The disappointment. And the media circus. Do you also remember how juror B37 wanted co capitalize on the insanity by signing a book deal? Wonder what happened to that book deal?

It got killed. And Twitter killed it.

For many reading this, Twitter is just another weird thing your kids do on the Internet. Maybe your company tweets to promote its newest happenings or products, but for so many, it’s just a method of social media that gets celebrities in trouble when they say something racist or dumb. What you may not know is that Twitter is becoming a new frontier for activism and social change, especially amongst the Black community.

This is where the Zimmerman juror comes in. Once people on Twitter got word that juror B37 wanted to capitalize on a miscarriage of justice by writing a book, a few enterprising souls gathered on Twitter to destroy the proposal. On Twitter user with the username @MoreAndAgain, found the writer’s agent and used social media to get people to write and call the office. By the end of the night, B37’s agent released this statement:

“After careful consideration regarding the proposed book project with Zimmerman Juror B37, I have decided to rescind my offer of representation in the exploration of a book based upon this case.”

This all happened in July and the juror has yet to secure any other book deal offers. The agent and juror B37 learned something that the rest of the country is quickly discovering: African Americans are mobilizing on Twitter and using it as a method for change.

Businesses are learning about Twitter’s impacts and assigning concrete economic figures to just how impactful a tweet or a series of tweets are for a brand. It’s becoming corporate America’s nightmare to have a particular brand or company bashed by thousands or millions on Twitter. African Americans in particular are ahead of the social media curve, starting “hashtags” or international “trending topics” whenever they see a wrong that needs righting.

For instance, one of the reasons Paula Deen was dropped from her television contract was because tweets — largely by the African-American population —lambasted Deen for her racist comments. Corporations gauge their popularity by the volume and tone of reactions via Twitter and if there is a large ground­swell of negative reaction, you can bet the company will alter its approach.

Twitter has been used to organize boycotts and rallies across the country and its changed the way companies and public figures engage with the Black community. It’s also no coincidence that movies like 12 Years A Slave or Fruitvale Stat­ion rose in popularity during the era of Twitter. Even a comedian like Kevin Hart, who grew his brand through social media and was a B-list celebrity at best, was able to reach superstardom thanks to his popularity on Twitter — largely in the Black community.

Years ago, as social media exploded, there was a fear that it was creating a new economic divide between the haves and have-nots, leaving the Black community behind. As is usually the case, we proved the pundits wrong and are using social media to drive national conversations. We’re manipulating the programs to demand equality and let people know we have voices that need to be heard.

Sure, your teenage may be on Twitter or Facebook just to post selfies. And there’s definitely a potential to ruin a career or livelihood by being reckless on social media. We’ve seen celebrities do just that. However, when used responsibly, social media has been an effective way to unite voices in the Black community for common goals.

The Civil Rights Movement worked to impact businesses through damaging their economics with boycotts, sit-ins and protests. Now, decades later, we’ve found a way to tell businesses that if they offend or wrong our community, we will hit their pocketbooks. So don’t just dismiss Twitter. Give it a chance because we’re making a lot of important noise there.

This article originally published in the March 17, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.