As The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, gained its 50 millionth Facebook fan, it also announced a social media plan to encourage users to find simple ways to make the world a happier place. Coca-Cola’s Facebook community will give individuals with ideas that enable people to become more active, give to others, be social or engage in other activities associated with increased happiness an opportunity to work with Coca-Cola and its Facebook fans to develop bigger ideas to spread happiness worldwide.

"Throughout its history, Coca-Cola has always had a role in bringing simple moments of happiness to people around the world every day," said Joe Tripodi, chief marketing and commercial leadership officer of The Coca-Cola Co., in a statement. "Today, we have an engaged global community more than 50 million strong connected through Facebook. This provides an opportunity to engage our most supportive and enthusiastic fans in a quest to find ways to make the world a happier place."

Fans can declare their commitment to spreading happiness by using Coca-Cola’s Sharing Happiness app on its Facebook page. Once registered with the app, fans can directly participate by influencing and shaping the ideas and rallying the larger community behind a social innovation, the company says. Coca-Cola will support the selected group concept and visionary behind the idea by providing access to teams that will help propel the project. The ultimate outcome, to be piloted in 2013, could be a new invention, a cause or even a social application — something that can harness the power of the Facebook community to spread happiness around the world, the company says.

"Coca-Cola understands the value of communicating directly with its most ardent supporters in an authentic way that helps make the world more open and connected," said Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, in a statement. "This new program is the next step in fan culture, and we are glad to support Coca-Cola in this effort."