Te Ururoa Flavell MP for Waiariki www.waiariki.maori.nz

I am constantly in awe of the power of the social network, especially Facebook. I have two Facebook pages myself; one being a personal one to connect me with close friends and family around the globe, and another is more of a public page with about 5400 friends.

It's really interesting to see some of the types of pages that pop up when I'm browsing through, or seeing and hearing about what others are looking at on there.

Of course, there are negative pages, which I am often alerted to as well; the stereotyping of certain ethnicities and pages that encourage negative behaviour, such as the neknominate phase, recently causing numerous hospital admissions and even fatalities.

But I would like to think, by and large, the positive pages outweigh those that incite negative behaviour. I enjoy hearing about and seeing the pages that encourage people to assist others in need. There has been a number of these recently I've been drawn to; The Koha Shed, Pay It Forward, Love Soup, and numerous other pages set up in many towns to assist people who are in need, and whose members practise the kaupapa of manaakitanga, by sharing or giving what they don't need with those who are in need.

It's really great to see, and there are also lots of fundraiser or help pages set up for those with illnesses, or those who have lost homes and possessions in fires. The willingness to help from members and the community who join these pages is amazing. It warms the heart to know even in times of hardship, we have communities who care enough for strangers to offer up money, kai and items.

It's funny too, seeing the random things put out there; people asking for directions in strange towns, people looking for tickets to the Sevens, or the NRL Nines. Just last week, someone in Rotorua wanted to surprise her son for his birthday, to go to the Nines, but there were only very expensive tickets left online. She put the tono (request) on Facebook, and coincidentally one of my friends was selling tickets, so the connection was made and it was a very happy outcome for the young boy's birthday – all within a couple of hours. What is the moral of the story?

I guess I am saying: for all the negative things that go on in our cyber world, I'd like to think there are twice as many good things happening.

I see them all the time and it's a welcome change from the sometimes-stressful and tense environments I'm often in. I want to also commend those people who run the pages like Pay it Forward, and The Koha Shed. These people go to great lengths to co-ordinate helping others they don't even know without reward, and sometimes at a cost to themselves.

They are true heroes of our communities, and they deserve a big pat on the back. If you want to follow me online, or give feedback to my articles, find me here www.facebook.com/teururoa or twitter www.twitter.com/teururoaflavell