Lost Dog: #FindTesla Shows the Power of Social Media

Marcy Jarreau tells the story of the search for Tesla in the following email:

Alex Berg, the artistic director at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater on Franklin Avenue, lost his dog [on Dec. 28, 2012].

The community response (primarily through Twitter) has been amazing, with hundreds of volunteers combing the hills around Silver Lake, Echo Park and Los Feliz in search of a medium-sized poodle mix with floppy ears named Tesla.

The hashtag #FindTesla has been sent around like crazy, with retweets coming from celebrities like Rich Eisen, Gillian Jacobs and Ryan Adams.

The #FindTesla team has been hard at work raising awareness with flyers, shelter cold calls, and even using masking tape to tag walls--all in hopes of bringing Tesla home.

Wednesday night, they received a warm mention from KOST, with Tesla getting her very own song dedication.

In the six days since Tesla has gone missing, her searchers have even reunited a different white poodle mix named Snow with their rightful owners.

This story offers a great angle on community organization at the local level and using social media for a common good.

In the attached gallery are images of Tesla, the #FindTesla masking tape tag, and a few photos of the #FindTesla headquarters (Alex Berg's apartment), where real-time maps are being used to document confirmed Tesla sightings and coordinate the more than 100 local volunteers (many of whom are complete strangers) to maximize their ground coverage and potential impact.

But, at the end of the day, all any of us want to do is bring Tesla home.

For more information or to join in the efforts, readers can check the #FindTesla hashtag on Twitter, or follow @ActuallyBerg directly.

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