Ten years ago today, the Twitter hashtag was born with a very simple tweet. [...] And while Twitter is celebrating today by promoting the rise of popular, non-political hashtags like #FollowFriday, #NowPlaying and #ThrowbackThursday, the hashtag’s most meaningful contribution in the U.S. and abroad has been its ability to rally the internet around more serious ideas and issues.

As ISIS make gains in Iraq and declare an Islamic caliphate, media activists embedded along the front lines and their global support networks, the media mujahedeen, valorize their achievements in HD video and Hollywood film style posters which are distributed via social media. 

One small "hashtag" fueled by a big dream has spread from the West Coast to the East Coast, inspiring everyone -- kids, parents, even celebrities -- to pack lunchbags for those in need. The idea behind this nationwide grassroots movement, dubbed Hashtag Lunchbag, is quite simple: Gather a group of your friends to pack lunches, pass those lunches out to people living on the streets of your neighborhood, and then document your efforts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to inspire others to do the same.