Twitter Donates Promoted Trend to 'One Boston'

Entertainers, athletes and ordinary citizens aren't the only ones aiding Boston residents after Monday afternoon's deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon. Twitter lent a helping hand of its own on Tuesday in the form of a donated promoted trend on the microblogging network.
That's the #OneBoston hashtag you can see at the top of Twitter's list of worldwide trends.

The hashtag has been used as a rallying cray for support for the city since Monday's bombings. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino on Tuesday announced the formation of the The One Fund, a organization that takes donations and seeks "to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013."

Twitter's hope is that the promoted trend will increase the amount of eyeballs — and dollars — that go toward the newly established fund. It should also get more users around the world thinking of other ways to help the city and its residents.

The promoted trend is no small gesture, either. Brands are said to pay around $200,000 per day for a promoted trend.

Twitter announced the donation with this Tuesday afternoon tweet:

We've provided the City of Boston the Promoted Trend today free of charge through Twitter Ads for Good. Learn more: bit.ly/171q0O9
— Twitter Good (@TwitterGood) April 16, 2013

Two bombs went off near the finish line of Monday's race, killing three people and injuring 176.

Since then, support for victims and survivors has poured in from all over. Hundreds of local residents offered couches, beds, showers and more in a stirring Google Doc. Cities including New York paid tribute with public displays. And the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated honors first responders to the attack.
 
Do you think Twitter's promoted trend donation can have an impact? Let us know in the comments.