#BBCtrending: Market Basket's unlikely social success
- Published
Protesters now take advantage of both old-fashioned signs and digital means of demonstration
#MarketBasket has been trending in the north-eastern US to show support for striking shop workers.
Just a few months ago, however, some protest leaders didn't even know what a hashtag was.
The Boston Globe reports that both the employees and the management at Market Basket, a family-owned grocery currently under fire for releasing its beloved chief executive officer, were not well versed in social media.
The company had email but rarely used it, and did not have a website until after the controversy began this summer.
"When you work in a supermarket, the colleague you need to talk to is never more than a few aisles away," writes the Globe. , external
Protesters were communicating via flip phones and getting the message out with hand-printed signs until anonymous supporters started a webpage, external and Facebook group, external. The Facebook group now has almost 80,000 followers. The #MarketBasket hashtag, as well as the locations of some scheduled protests, have been trending in the Boston area.
The BBC's Kim Gittleson travelled to Boston to report on the standoff between Market Basket's owners and employees that has left shelves empty and customers conflicted.
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