How Dearborn Woman's Twitter Handle Quenched Flint's Thirst

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DEARBORN, MI – Diana Hussein didn’t give much thought to her Twitter handle — @DietDrPepper — when she chose it in the early days of the site in 2009.

A can of her favorite soft drink was within reach at her desk, so that’s what the 29-year-old communications specialist from Dearborn chose as a moniker.

Seven years, 1,800 followers and too many tweets to count later, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group reached out “pretty aggressively” about giving up the Twitter handle, Hussein said.

The company's representatives offered Hussein some official swag as a consolation for the handle she had used to tweet about Detroit sports, cats and culture.

Swag?

"I wasn't sure what I was going to do at first,” Hussein told the Detroit Free Press. “Just about everyone I spoke to told me that I shouldn't just give them the handle. Especially not just for 'swag.' "

She asked: How about donating a truckload of water to Flint?

Residents of the city of 100,000 have been using bottled water for drinking, cooking and other needs since dangerous levels of lead were discovered in the city’s water supply. The company agreed and earlier this month delivered 41,000 bottles of water — about $5,000 worth — to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to be distributed in Flint.

More Recent Flint Water Crisis News

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“As long as you’re bold, there is a way to make things happen if you are given those opportunities,” Hussein told The Detroit News.

Hussein’s bold move made her a hero in her Twitter network — by the way, she’s @HeyaDiana now — and a media darling.

“Not all heroes wear capes!” Emmanuel Acho wrote, retweeting a link from ABC News about the story.

“Thank you for your generosity and wit, @HeyaDiana,” Michigan Senate Democratic leader Jim Ananich, who represents the 27th District, tweeted. “We appreciate it as we move through the #FlintWaterCrisis.”

Below are some of the other tweets that have filled Hussein’s feed.

If you want to be a hero — and your Twitter handle isn’t something you can parlay into a donation of water for Flint — here’s more about how you can help: