National Coming Out Day is October 11 each year. Last year thousands of social media users joined the #CountMeOut Campaign, and this year aims to be even bigger.

The campaign, started by organizers who wish to remain anonymous, was intentionally conceived as an ambush using social media, without any ties to organizations, companies, individuals or entities of any kind – it is just simply a call for any members of, or supporters of, the LGBT community to give their profile photo on whatever social media platforms they use to the campaign by colorizing it in a rainbow and writing the word “out” or “ally” on it.

Every image counts. Altering a photo is easy to do (instructions on how to alter your profile photo are below), and when added together with all the other photos, creates a (brightly-colored) unifying moment for members of the LGBT community and our allies.

How to alter your photo;

1. In a new tab or window, go here: Pixlr

2. In the tool bar at the top, select “Adjustment,” then select the last option on the drop down menu, which is “Color Lookup.”

3. In the window that appears, select the fourth color arrangement (which should be a rainbow).

4. On the left side of the editor, click on the Type Tool, which is represented by a button with “A” on it, then click anywhere on your image and type how you identify (“OUT” or “ALLY”) in any font you want, either black or white.

5. In the top tool bar, click “File,” then “Save.”

Don’t forget to make this awesome new image your profile photo on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and all other social media platforms. Be sure to use #CountMeOut tags, and spread the word to your friends. Photos from around the web can be viewed on the National Coming Out Day Count Me Out Facebook Page – add your photo as well!

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