Twitter is almost entirely awful but every now and then, it does deliver something nice. This week, it delivered for Ollie, a boy who’s turning 9 years old. Ollie’s dad Christopher took to Twitter, asking for some positive affirmation for his son, who was being bullied by another boy.
https://twitter.com/Hopenlesmyth/status/880317173612380160
It’s the sort of desperate tweet that could have just faded into the ether, but Twitter’s algorithm did its work and before you can say “ignore the haters,” Ollie was pulling in some birthday messages from some mighty high profile folks.
First came this BBC correspondent.
Happy 9th birthday Ollie! ??May the ☀️ shine on your hopes and dreams today and every single day ahead.
— Matt Taylor (@MetMattTaylor) June 29, 2017
Then came this little soccer team you may have heard of, with a tempting offer.
Happy birthday, Ollie! ?
Fancy coming to see us in September? Let us know and we'll make it happen. ?
— England (@England) June 29, 2017
Ricky Boleto is a big TV personality on the BBC across the pond.
@Hopenlesmyth happy birthday Ollie! (For next week) Ricky and Leah from CBBC Newsround. pic.twitter.com/F7uVS0GVly
— Ricky Boleto (@rickyboleto) June 29, 2017
And Jake Humphries is a famed sports broadcaster.
— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) June 29, 2017
There were famous Olympians…
DM me your private details and maybe on his birthday I can meet you guys and give Ollie some Olympic team GB kit?
— Tom Bosworth (@TomBosworth) June 29, 2017
A whole village …
And even a certain Oscar winning actor.
Hey Ollie, heard it was your birthday. 9 years old eh? Congratulations, Happy Birthday !!
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) June 29, 2017
It all added up to a pretty memorable birthday for Ollie, and prompted this heartfelt thanks from Ollie’s mom.
https://twitter.com/Hopenlesmyth/status/880458092307238912
https://twitter.com/Hopenlesmyth/status/880458633921822722
https://twitter.com/Hopenlesmyth/status/880459131752255489
Oh, and on behalf of all of us here at RELEVANT, happy birthday, Ollie.
