Man's social media experiment raising funds for cancer
Nights have been quiet in the Harris household these past three months. Clark Harris and his wife spend hours in the same room and never say a word to each other.
Continue reading the rest of "Man's social media experiment raising funds for cancer" by Athens Banner-Herald
Tweeting and Facebook chatting are another story. Harris has used only social media sites to speak to anyone since May.
As the 29-year-old Atlanta resident has found out, there are some conversations that online chats just don't do justice.
"I haven't gotten to tell (my wife) I love her in nearly a third of our first year of marriage," Harris said via a Facebook chat. "She has been in a big transition phase of her life, so it has been difficult not being able to have a normal conversation."
Harris is not talking to his wife, family and other loved ones for 100 days in an effort to raise money for cancer research. Cancer already has taken loved ones away from him and his family.
Clark's mother, Ruth, died from chronic lymphocytic leukemia last year. While she fought her battle, Clark raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by a Team in Training Century Ride, a 100-mile bike ride.
While his mother fought cancer for 10 years, Clark's brother, CP, was diagnosed with an aggressive type of sarcoma - a triton tumor - in 2006. CP won his battle.
"His strength and enduring positive outlook serve as an inspiration on my endeavor," Harris said on his website, www.socialmediaexperiment.com.
Harris wanted to raise more money for cancer research, and he wanted a bigger challenge. He came up with the idea of not talking for a month. It would be his way to silence cancer.
Some cards had to fall in place to make his experiment possible, he said. Harris and his business partner run a social media agency that promotes businesses online through sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Harris' wife got behind the idea - Clark admits she was skeptical at first - and gave him the go-ahead to extend the experiment to 100 days.
Clark can communicate via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and Google Chat. E-mails, writing, text messaging
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