Archive for the ‘social media’ Category

I wish someone here in the United States would do a survey of teachers to find out if something similar is happening to teachers in the United States. An article cites Facebook bullying is on the rise, and that teachers have been physically attacked by parents. Schools are wasting resources checking out social networking sites, looking for the threats.

Is anyone surprised? Are you appalled?

What happened to a teacher being a true expert in her field? What happened to the automatic respect that came with being a teacher?

I know that students aren’t respectful of teachers. That’s part of the act of growing up. It’s easy to be disrespectful to someone you spend 7 hours a day with. But in the past, the parents were there to support the teacher, holding their children to a high standard that they would enforce at home.

When I was a kid (yeah, I sound old old old), if the school called, I was in trouble. Instantly. My side of the story didn’t matter. A teacher had to take the time to call and that was enough of a reason to get punished. Now teachers have to deal with threats and cyber bullying?! By parents?!

I’m not always supportive of the educational system, because I think it’s inherently flawed. But I am supportive of individual teachers. I wish they were less tentative when giving out detentions. If they believe my kid deserves a detention, then they do. End of the story. I am trying to be 100% supportive.

Currently, there is dissention over the firing of the elementary school principal in my district. My initial reaction was: good riddance. I’ve not been a fan of this principal since the day she took over. But I have been supportive. I’m surprised at the number of people who are protesting her firing, which is one year shy of retirement. She continues to be the principal, but has been asked to leave at the end of the school year. The school board is not saying what caused the firing, citing confidentiality policies.

Since my experiences with this woman have been less than positive, I’ve wondered about the people speaking out to the media about their disagreement. We had the same principal. They find her supportive and loving. I did not.

But it all boils down to perception, doesn’t it? And people act on their perceptions. It’s when these perceptions become public that they can cause problems.

I’ve let my feelings known about the principal to very few people. Mostly my non-school friends have heard my rants and offered the cajoling words and support I needed. I treated this woman respectfully and tried to be supportive. I certainly never communicated any negative feelings about her to my children! I know that speaking ill of any adult in front of my children ruins any chances they have of forming their own opinions. I don’t feel the need to have my children agree with me 100% of the time.

I never would have spoken ill about her on the internet, where nothing is really secret.

Perception. That’s what I take into account. The boys all had experiences with a teacher (she was Aaron’s homeroom teacher at one point) and I adored her. She taught the way I wish all teachers would teach: firmly and strictly. Kids knew the rules and knew the consequences of breaking these rules. Even when I was substitute teaching at the school, I would seek her out because I found her so warm and loving.

I was sad to hear another parent complaining about her. The mother said she didn’t like that the teacher never got on the floor with the kids and always made them come to her. Physical limitations prevented the teacher from being as active as some other teachers. The mother felt the kids were missing out.

Then another mother came forward singing the teacher’s praises. Her main reason for being so enamored: that the teacher sat down and always dealt with the kids on their own level.

Perception, once again.

That’s the lesson, isn’t it? To know that our own perceptions are clouded by personal feeling and our histories. When we go off and broadcast negative things about anyone, especially cyberlly, they can’t be undone. They are floating out there for anyone and everyone to see. Even if done anonymously, they can wreak havoc on our communities.

I hope this is a lesson learned by our society as quickly as possibly. Stop. Count to 10 before you take hold of your keyboard…

 

My blogger friend, Jessica, got dumped. So pop on over to her blog and give her a virtual hug. Plus stay awhile and read all her posts because they are hilarious!

When I read her post, I was reminded of the many ways I’ve been dumped. Some were easy. Some were dramatic. Some scarred me for life.

I’m fairly certain that the dumpers went on with their lives without another thought. My evidence: I had a chance, many years later, to discuss a dumping with the dumper. The dumping left me with residual feelings that still remain today. The dumper didn’t even remember the dumping.

I think that’s how a lot of breakups go. And why breaking up via text, email, and, I’m guessing, other social networking sites is so easy. The dumper doesn’t have to directly encounter the devastation and anger they wreak upon the dumpee. They get away clean and easy. One simple click and the internet delivers the devastation. Another click and the dumpee is unfriended or unfollowed or blocked, and life goes on.

By the time the dumper does the actual dumping, chances are they’ve already disconnected from the relationship. Sometimes they are already involved with someone else. Whether that is the case, they have emotionally disconnected with the dumpee. Why not give themselves the easy way out?

Because the easy way isn’t always the right way. Sometimes you need to be a descent human being and do it in person or at least by voice on the phone. Email, text, instant message, or direct message are just cowardly.

What do you think? Is it or isn’t it appropriate to break up using technology as a buffer?!

 

OK, they’re not all gone. But I’ve misplaced some!

There were people I once interacted with on Twitter and via blogs that aren’t around as much any more. Or they’re completely gone.

I know some of them get lost in the followers I have accumulated. Maybe having a Twitter army isn’t the greatest idea. It just might be too hard to pay attention to thousands of people at once.

But some of them have just…disappeared.

Blogs lie dormant. Posts wither on the vine when the newest one is months old. I want to flick away the cobwebs as I make my way through old posts.

I wonder what has happened? Did they get bored? Did life become overwhelming? I hope it’s something like that.

I worry, though, that something tragic has taken them from me. Sickness? Troubles?

Blogging is a vast club, and I know we can’t keep track of all our tribe. I just wish we could so I’d never have to say goodbye again!

About once a month my boyfriend threatens to cancel his Facebook account. I’m not quite sure whom the threats are pointed to, but they are certainly made.

He does not tweet. He has never checked in on FourSquare. I once started to create a LinkedIn profile for him until he freaked out mid-process. “You mean I have to connect with my coworkers?” he cried. “I don’t want them to know I’m on here!”

Tommy doesn’t really “get” social media. And when I say that, I mean he just really doesn’t give a crap about it. This is kind of humorous considering the fact that we share a bathroom, split chores, and French kiss regularly – and my job involves social media all day, everyday.

I’m such a social media dork that Tommy always assumes I’m tweeting if I’m looking at my phone. So what if 90 percent of the time he’s right? For all he knows I’m writing a text or sending an email.

We were once standing in line to order brunch. I, of course, checked in on FourSquare. Tommy watched me for a minute and said, “You know, I read an article that said these location applications were just a fad. I don’t really get the point of them.”

I know it seems silly, but I kind of felt like I was being poked in the sternum. You know, when a person gets in your face and starts pointing at you, accusingly. That’s what it felt like. I went into a two-minute dissertation about how geo-caching was changing the way businesses could communicate to customers, discover demographic information and monetize communities. At the end Tommy just looked at me and said, “Meh. I still don’t see the point.”

Tommy is part of the population that doesn’t quite “get what I do.” He’s like my dad, who, in a desperate attempt to understand my line of work so he can explain it to his colleagues says, “So . . . you do things on the Facebook, right?”

Sometimes it’s odd being so into social media and marketing and dating someone who just isn’t. Social media work is typically a 24/7 job. Tommy can quit thinking about disposable surgical equipment at any time. I think he secretly thinks I’m silly, but he wouldn’t ever say it because then I’d stop sleeping with him.

For as much as Tommy doesn’t like Facebook and Twitter, he is awfully supportive of me. And more importantly, we share one common love: food. Our jobs are what make us individuals. But our love of food makes our relationship tick.

By far our favorite thing to do as a couple is to go out to eat. The second favorite thing to do is cook together.  We are a couple bound by the calories we share, the restaurants we review and the dishes we savor. We both just really, really love food. This has been a huge asset in my current job. I can’t go home and talk to him about the latest FourSquare promotion I’m trying at a store, but I can talk to him about the kick ass beer festival that we get to attend for my job. And when we’re there we’ll talk about the construction of the food and the flavor of the beer, and we’ll be happy.

One day I think that Tommy and I will have something more in common than love of eating. He’s been reading my tweets online and asking me about them when I come home. He says it’s his way of keeping track of me throughout the day. I think Tommy is even considering getting his OWN Twitter account. I’m not holding my breath, but then again, he still hasn’t canceled his Facebook.

Lindsay Baish is a social media marketer physically living in Houston, Texas but emotionally living in Chicago. She is currently the Social Media Manager for Landry’s Restaurants, Inc and writes Practically Social, a blog about social media and restaurants. She also writes another much less serious blog about living in Texas called It’s Hot as Hell Out Here.

Since I will be attending my first blogging/social media conference (BlogWorld) in three weeks in Vegas, I have sat down and asked myself, “How can I make this opportunity work in my favor and see positive results?” After asking myself this question I began to think of a strategy that I could put into place to help give me the answer to my question. I immediately came up with aspects which I have turned into The GALCS Strategy. Hope you enjoy.

Are you planning to attend a Social Media or Blogging conference anytime soon and want to see positive results? Have you been to a conference and wondered why you get negative results out of it? I have a strategy to aide you in seeing positive results called The GALCS Strategy.

GREET - Just be you. Say hello and don’t be shy. Have an open mind while getting acquainted.

Ask Questions - Have a list of questions compiled that you would like to ask. Don’t be afraid to ask a question. The only dumb question is one not asked. By asking questions, it shows interest in the product or service and you get an answer.

Listen - Keep your ears open. Never interrupt. Help’s you decide what is right for you.

Connect – Now you’re ready to decide if the connection is there from evaluating the information in the past steps. If so, you’re ready to move on to the next step.

Succeed - Congratulations! If you made it this far, you have had positive results and the strategy worked.

The strategy I have talked about needs to be taken in steps. You will either make it to the end or you wont. This strategy can be used at a conference as you visit a booth at the expo or when you come in contact with a potential employer. I hope you find this strategy one you can have positive results with. If so, let me know in a comment.

Jason Houck is the author of the Weigh Your Mind blog.

Over at BloggersUnite, it’s World Gratitude Day. I’m a big believer in being grateful for what you have. It’s really changed my outlook on life to concentrate on the great things I have instead of the things I want.

Sometimes I use an app to list the things I’m grateful for. Or a notebook. Or I just do it in my head. I believe the logic in physically recording your gratitude list stems from the idea that when you’re feeling less than grateful you can go back and review these lists.

Today I’ll limit my gratitude to the things I am grateful for regarding technology.

1. Twitter. OK, it sounds geeky, but getting busy on Twitter has changed how I blog, write, engage with people on the Internet. I love the real time interactions you can have! Plus, I have gotten so much help with so many different things! Ask a question, surely someone has an answer! Plus, constantly writing in 140 word blurbs has really helped with self-editting! Gone are extraneous words!
2. Facebook. I think Facebook has strengthened connections with family from far away. I like hearing about the daily minutia of my relatives’ lives.
3. My blog. I like to gaze upon it, and pet the screen! You think I’m kidding… I love that I write and people comment. I love that I write and people read!
4. #blogchat. If you’re not familiar with this Twitter event, you need to check it out. Sunday at 8pm, bloggers from all over gather to discuss blogging. If you’re new or established, there’s a place for you here. It moves fast, but you can get a transcript of the chat to peruse at your own pace.
5. Itunes. I have thousands of songs on my computer and my Ipod Touch. Gone are CDs, cassettes, albums, and 45s. I’m showing my age here. Young people, feel free to Google these archaic terms!
6. Google. I’ve actually written about Google before. I think it’s amazing that you can type in anything and it spits back relevant and sometimes not so relevant websites. Yesterday I Googled nose piercing care, nose jewelry, how to cook a pot roast…those are just the things I remember!

There’s my top six–it was going to be five, but I cannot be stopped sometimes! What are you grateful for today? Tell me three things!

Jason at Weigh Your Mind issued a challenge to complete this Social Media Blank Mad Libs style! You should do it too!

The most important thing about Twitter is relationships.

I prefer Twitter over everything on Facebook.

The most common mistake on Linkedin is unknown to me.

In the next 5 years, I predict social media will still going strong.

The most positive result I have seen from social media is finding new sources for news, blog to read for entertainment, and readers for my blog.

I use social media to entertain, be entertained, and to stay informed.

The social media platform I use the most is Twitter because I like the on-going interaction.

I consider Twitter to be fun and informative.

I think the social games on Facebook are time wasters.

On Linkedin, I flounder, trying to figure out what I am supposed to be doing with it.

What are your answers?