During a heated Blog World keynote about the Death and Rebirth of Journalism, a CNN journalist told Blog World attendees to include the hashtag #beatcancer on all their social media updates for the next 24 hours. The request is part of a goal to distribute the largest mass message in social media history, which will be monitored by Radian6 and recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records.

So why should you participate? (other than to be part of a pretty sweet experiment…) Well, it turns out that PayPal/Ebay and Millers Brewing Company have each pledged a penny for every use of #beatcancer. All the money raised will be donated to non-profit cancer organizations accredited by the American Cancer Society. These organizations include smaller foundations such as Alex’s Lemonade, Bright Pink and Spirit Jump. The experiment will show everyone, skeptics and enthusiasts alike, the power that social media has for doing good.

#Beatcancer aims to prove once and for all that social media can be more that just a tool for marketing or inane conversations.

As of right now, 1 PM on October 16, the #beatcancer has reached the top spot of trending topics on Twitter and has been mentioned over 17,098 times. If you’d like to see the growth of the movement in the remaining 19 hours, you can track the number of mentions on the official #beatcancer website.

Personally, I love this experiment. I cannot wait to see the reach of the PR professionals, marketing directors, advertising executives, bloggers, social media enthusiasts, techies and new media influencers, who are attending Blog World.

So please, dear readers, utilize your Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Myspace, anything, to share this message with your friends, families and colleagues. Together, we can work to #beatcancer and hopefully inspire others to use social media for good.