Update 2 [May 31, 1:36 PM]: Please from now on include #FreedomFlotilla (trending globally now) as well as #Flotilla. Because #Flotilla has been up for so long, it actually failed to trend globally. (A topic has to rise sharply in a short period of time to trend globally). So, #Flotilla was trending almost in every local trend (Canada, Ireland, LA, NY, Chicago, etc) for over a day since yesterday. To go global, we suddenly included #FreedomFlotilla and it trended globally in a matter of minutes.

Buttom line: Include both to maintain local and global trends, or include #FreedomFlotilla only for now until further notice.

Update 1: Timing of trending has been changed to open-ended. The world has to know the Israeli murdering of Freedom Flotilla passengers and actions on the ground have to continue until siege is lifted. This is a strategic timing while international pressure maximizes on the Israeli siege of Gaza. Include #Flotilla in all your tweets from now on, share news about the #Flotilla everywhere and participate in actions near you.

Note: The trending on Sunday had unprecedented success and received extensive media attention for the first time. We trended almost everywhere all day long (Canada, London, UK, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Ireland, etc). Will post more on the story later.

Update: Timing of the trending was changed to ALL DAY on Sunday, May 30th, starting from 12pm Cairo Time, 5am Eastern with the suggestion of Nadine.

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Original Post:

Freedom Flotilla will sail to Gaza tomorrow (Sunday) and should reach Gaza in the afternoon or Monday morning to hopefully break the 3-year old siege once and for all. The Israeli army is threatening to arrest the participants (including several members of parliament from Europe and the Arab world and prominent human rights advocates) and sieze the cargo (about 10,000 tons of donated aid). We would like to do our part by getting #Flotilla trending on Twitter to get the world's attention.

New trending rules on Twitter emphasize the number of people participating, so we need as many participants as possible.

To join the campaign, follow the following simple steps:

1. Join the Flotille-Trending list at http://www.twibes.com/group/Flotilla-Trenders. (There is a link on the right hand side that says "Tweet to Join", click on it.) Then Follow All (link above the box to the right). This is so that you will see the tweets from the other members and would be able to retweet their tweets quickly.

2. Add a twibbon to your avatar to show support at http://twibbon.com/join/Freedom-Flotilla.

3. Tell your followers, and individually message the people you think would like to participate inviting them to this page.

4. On Sunday, May 30th, starting from 12pm Cairo Time, 5am Eastern, start tweeting fiercely and as fast as you can. Tweets has to include one and only one hashtag: #Flotilla. Please do not include any other hashtag in your tweets, otherwise your tweet will not count in the trending.

We are trying to get people's attention to the unfolding events, so concentrate on including information about the flotilla and the siege. Most importantly, include the following links in your tweets as they broadcast the events live:

http://GazaFreedomMarch.org/cms/en/flotilla.aspx

http://WitnessGaza.com

http://DigitalShip.shiptogaza.gr/

5. Keep an eye on the Flotilla-Trenders list page http://www.twibes.com/group/Flotilla-Trenders (to send messages to the page, include "Flotille-Trenders" in your tweet). We will be sending out an excel sheet with suggested tweets and links for fast tweeting, a twibbon, etc

Tweet @justicentric for questions and comments.

Note: If you haven't been there for it, we have trended #Gaza before. Take a look.