Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 |
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I wrote a post regarding my avatar
change on Collective-Thoughts. This post is a continuation of that. The
avatar I had chose at the end of that post didn’t work out. And since my 6 year
old daughter helped me come up with my final choice for an avatar I decided
to write this post in the form of a Child’s Story, "Goldilocks
and the Three Bears".
Image by Super
Dave Chen
TheNanny612 and the Three Avatars
TheNanny612 was a Young Lady who spent much of her days Social Networking.
She
had her own land in her part of the Web 2.0 World.
Normally this Social Media Lady would had been content to go about her usual
Social Networking, but on this day she chose instead to cut off her long curly
hair. Knowing that once she did this she would have to perform the duty of choosing
the right avatar for her part of the Web 2.0 World named Social
Desire.
It was on this day that TheNanny612 Avatar Journey began.
TheNanny612 didn’t think the duty of choosing
an avatar would be a difficult one. After all, what is the big deal, really?
An avatar simply is a picture to help members of Online Communities know who
you are…. is that really such a big deal?
So, TheNanny612 simply had her picture taken a few times with a cell phone.
She chose the best of the batch of pics, cropped it and sized it perfectly.
She made each picture into different sizes to easily accommodate the different
requirements at different Social Networking Communities. The smallest Avatar
size is 50×50 for Sphinn
and StumbleUpon uses
a 475×475 on its About
page.
TheNanny612 Avatar #1
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
She really liked this picture, but it was so dark. She didn’t realize how dark
until she had it resized to fit Sphinn’s
50×50 Avatar requirement. The size Avatar for Sphinn is so small & so dark
that it is terribly difficult to recognize who the picture is of….. That will
never do.
TheNanny612 sighed as she really thought this was going to be simple. "Oh
well.", she said as she moved on to the next stop.
She took a look at the first picture to see what the problem was and came up
with a few of things.
- To dark.
- Little Contrast. TheNanny612’s dark hair against the dark
chair. There was absolutely no contrast.
- The picture was taken with a Cell phone. The quality of
cell phone pictures aren’t always good enough to work with.
So, TheNanny612 decided that she needed to do things differently. She decided
to do everything completely opposite from what she did last time.
She dressed in a white blouse and sat on a light rug in front of a cherry stained
door. This is how the picture looked in its largest and smallest forms:
TheNanny612 Avatar #2
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
TheNanny612 was initially happy with this photograph. She likes the black and
white look and the contrast is nice. But, notice how the picture changes when
it is made smaller. The change in size makes it difficult to recognize that
its TheNanny612 at all. She began to think that there will be no
50×50 avatar that will be easy to recognize, but she knew that wasn’t true.
After all, her last 50×50 avatar was easy to recognize.
So, TheNanny612 went back on her search for the Perfect Avatar…. the Avatar
that was "Just Right."
The problems with the 2nd Avatar?? There were a few…
- It’s a lovely shot large, but when made smaller it is difficult
to recognize.
- The picture is simply to light. The black and white look
washes TheNanny612 out. She will not stand out compared to others which is
very important in Social Networking.
- The contrast problem in the 1st photograph caused TheNanny612 to dress
in light colors, but this did nothing for the photograph either.
TheNanny612 was truly frustrated. She asked out loud, "Why is this so
hard?" All of a sudden it came to her…. she needed to figure
out what made her original Avatar Memorable.
What made the Original TheNanny612 Avatar Memorable
- An
Unusual Head shot
- Sepia - I didn’t use Black & White….. Sepia added
a bit of color.
- Side Angle
- Not the entire head
- Nothing much else in the background.
More determined than ever TheNanny612 decided to stick with what seemed to
work with her original avatar. The most important thing to her was that the
avatar needed to look just as good small as it did large. And, up until this
point that had been TheNanny612’s struggle. She needed to stop posing so much
& get back to basics…. get back to what worked for her in the past.
TheNanny612 decided to hand the camera to her 6 year old daughter and allow
her daughter to snap a few random shots. Little did she know the perfect avatar
would be taken by the young child.
TheNanny612 went through all the photographs taken by her daughter that day.
She came across one that she felt would be a perfect fit if cropped just right.
This is what she came up with:
TheNanny612 Avatar #3
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
The first first Avatar was too dark, The 2nd Avatar was too light, and the
3rd Avatar was just right!!
With each Avatar mistake TheNanny612 learned something and the final Avatar
was the nicest in all the Land.
The Moral of this story…
Sometimes things don’t go well the first time around or even the 2nd.
But, as long as you make each a learning experience then the outcome is usually
good one.
The End.
Posted in Humor, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 |
Social Desire will be featuring
Guest Posts for the next few weeks. Today’s Featured Guest Post is
by Mark Dykeman.
Image by Steve
& Jemma Copley
Everyone’s got a Top Ten list, an 8 step guide, or some other how-to post to
succeeding in social media.
This isn’t one of those posts. Not exactly. Not really.
OK, maybe a little bit.
What I’ve done is to take each letter of the alphabet and try to find one or
two words that can be used to describe social media. I’ve tried to cover many
of the important points and aspects of social media that I’ve picked up through
my own activities. I hope you enjoy and find it useful.
The A – Z listing for social media
Ask/Acquire – social media is a place where we can ask
questions and acquire knowledge; there are tons of great resources out there.
Bold – push yourself and test your limits. Try things
that might have scared you in the past, either due to lack of confidence or
experience. Be bold!
Communicate – it’s all about the conversations.
Demonstrate – show people what you know; help educate
them. (note: I was very tempted to use the word "desire" here…
)
Evaluate – absorb everything you can, but keep a critical
eye open. As you meet different people you’ll gradually get a sense of who knows
their stuff and who doesn’t. Don’t accept advice blindly – think it over
and make up your own mind.
Friend – "friend" has become a verb in social
media, where you give or are given permission to share stuff with other people.
It’s a key component of social media, hence the word "social".
Give – contribute to the body of knowledge with your
own thoughts, ideas, tips, tricks, critiques, and others. It’s not valuable
if you keep it to yourself.
Help – as per give, take the time to do favors for other
people. Answer their questions; show examples. You get a lot back from this,
even if it doesn’t happen immediately.
Ideas – social media contains some of the coolest parts
of higher education – the discussion and refinement of ideas.
Join – if you’re going to be social, join groups that
interest you. It’s all about relationships.
Knowledge/Learn – this K and L go together like peanut
butter and jelly; learn stuff, increase your knowledge.
Mentor – help a beginner and you could have a good friend
for life.
Name – names are important, doubly so in social media.
Meet people, remember their names. They’ll do the same for you!
Open – be as transparent as you can. Consider different
points of view, as well. Speak respectfully, but freely.
Passion – that burning sensation isn’t an, um, infection,
it’s the power of love and desire when you discover something that you love
to do.
Question – questions drive social media. Why? Because
we all want to find answers!
Reveal – tell the world about yourself to the extent
that you feel comfortable to do so. People want to know something about their
follow social mediaites!
Share – as with giving, sharing means doing things that
don’t just benefit yourself, they benefit other people as well. Give credit
where credit is due and share the rewards!
Teach – again, show people what you know and we all
benefit.
Understand – this is critical, because language is an
imperfect means of communication. It can be very easy to misinterpret someone
else’s writing, especially if it hits an emotional hot button. Make sure your
reactions are tempered by understanding so that you know what was really meant
within a communication.
Vigor – show some life there, sparky!
World – it’s a big world out there and social media
will expose you to places that you never knew existed.
X-Ray – look inside and see what’s really happening.
Don’t be fooled by exteriors or pretenses. Get the real story.
Yearn – satisfy those self- actual cravings, at least
temporarily, through social media participation. But stay hungry – there’s
always more.
Zen – practice, be mindful, and learn constantly as
a path to enlightenment (of sorts). You might not become a spiritual master,
but these principles can still lead to fulfillment in social media.
Social media from A – Z – there it is. I hope you were paying attention
because there’s a test coming up!
(Of course, the test never ends… )
If you enjoyed this post check out more of Mark Dykeman’s work at Broadcasting
Brain, his blog about communication and social media.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Humor, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Tips and Tutorials, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 |
This Featured Guest Post is by James Duthie of Online Marketing Banter
Image by dmax3270
Do onto others as you would do to yourself. It’s a fine philosophy to
live by. The laws of karma state that our personal actions & behaviour influence
future experiences. In other words, we’re responsible for our own destinies
and the ultimate happiness & success we achieve. I can’t think of
any other environment in which karma is more relevant than social media…
Free is the new currency of the Internet. Social media is a perfect example.
How many people make real money from blogging? Very few. Yet every day millions
of bloggers produce content for free distribution. Why? Because they believe
in karma. They believe that giving their content away will lead to positive
future outcomes, whether they be business or personal.
Social news communities such as Digg and Sphinn are even better examples of
karma in action. A selfless attitude is expected within social news communities.
Good karma can only be earned by dedicating free time to positive community
activities such as:
- Submitting content that the community values
- Creating relationships with other community members
- Contributing to blogs of community members via comments & guest posts
- Reading and voting for your friends’ content
- Adding meaningful insights to conversations within the community
- Asking for nothing in turn for your positive contributions
People who succeed in social media embrace the principles of good karma. They
don’t ask for support from the community, but they receive it anyway because
of the positive contribution they make.
Newbies in particular need to display the strongest faith in social media karma,
because the karmic circle takes time to turn. In my case it has taken months
of participation within Sphinn before the good karma returned some personal
rewards. But good things come to those who wait…
Social media karma in action
About a month ago I crossed paths with a blogger named Robin Cannon. Robin
manages Fog of Eternity,
a blog dedicated to web design, social media and online marketing. Like me Robin
is fairly new to the game, and is still establishing his blog and audience.
I liked Robin’s work and quickly subscribed to his blog. I also began
to submit his work to Sphinn and StumbleUpon because his stuff was well written
and deserved a broader audience.
According to Robin, it was my social media support that helped give his blog
the kick start it needed. A number of my Stumbles helped him generated thousands
of visitors a day (who ever knew my Stumbles were so powerful…?). Before
long that momentum grew and he was averaging over a thousand visits a week.
In fact, in just a couple of weeks he had far surpassed my own traffic levels.
Robin has thanked me a number of times for the social media love I gave him.
He didn’t need to. After all, social media submission also shines the
limelight on the submitter if it goes hot… But despite that, Robin made me
a special offer recently. Noticing that my own blog design was a little uninspired,
Robin offered his design skills to help give it a little spark. As someone without
an iota of design experience or skill, this offer was like gold to me!
And that, my friends, is the circle of social media karma in action.
Robin never asked me for social media support, but I gave it anyway because
his work was great quality. I would never have dreamed of asking Robin to redesign
my blog, but he offered anyway out of goodwill.
If you’re not succeeding in social media, perhaps you should take a look
at your own behaviour… Are you exuding an aura of good karma…?
Author Bio:
James Duthie is an Australian
digital marketing expert. He writes on all things social media, blogging,
SEO & digital marketing at his blog - Online Marketing Banter. Subscribe
to hear more of his ramblings here.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Social Media, Social Networking, Sphinn | 13 Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008 |
Social Desire will be featuring
Guest Posts for the next few weeks. Today’s Featured Guest Post is by Chris Estes. He is a Frequent blogster at SEO by Chris
When I set out to help Shana I couldn’t come up with a topic. Topic block
or writers block plagues lots of bloggers. If you are like me you want to write
something people want to read or add value to the subject. That is often hard
to do. I had a manager
that was always asking “how does this add value?” Not all post add
value, like this post, sometimes it is about the status quo.
A while back problogger posted “How
to have a Constant Stream of Blogging Ideas”. In the article the authors
acknowledge that everyday print newspapers aren’t filled with exciting
or breaking news. The difference between bloggers and newspapers is typically
bloggers are lone writers and do not have a staff to write articles like newspapers.
So occasionally a generic blog post is necessary.
Problogger talks about setting up a blogging plan. On your calendar put two
headings. 1. Post topic 2. Topic title. The topic title should be something
that you can write about at any given time, generic topics if you will. Then
follow the schedule and write it. But what about the breaking news and other
off plan topics? Write them too and post them but still stick with the blogging
calendar. Don’t substitute trade or move your calendar around. Post the
planned topics on the days you plan and make the other breaking news flashes
bonus post.
When setting up your calendar the topics can be hard to come up with. Do what
I do. Pick one of your friends that aren’t tech savvy, my parents make
good partners for me, and bounce Ideas off of them. The less tech savvy seem
to always have an interesting take on your subject material. I get more of my
posting ideas from explaining what I do than what they suggest to write about.
I hope you enjoyed the post and follow more of my post at Search
Engine Optimization by Chris. I wanted to speak to Shana’s heart felt
story about keeping her illness private and away from public view. I understand
her situation with conditions of my own. Since I get to use SocialDesire.com
as my own for a post I would like to give the greatest gift of charity we can
do as marketers with a link. Because it will benefit me personally I charity
link to the American
Sleep Association (ASA).
See now you have A blog post Idea. Post a snippet of information about your
charity and why you are giving them this link. Then once you put the post up
come back and comment about it and share the link to your post. Giving back
will only take you a couple seconds and plus it makes you look good.
Happy blogging!
The author Chris Estes is a Frequent blogster at SEO
by Chris and has started a new business in Birmingham, AL – Birmingham
Search Engine Optimization
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Link Love, Social Media | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 |
Social Desire will be featuring
Guest Posts for the next few weeks. Today’s Featured Guest Post is by Peter
Newsome of SiteMost.
Image by Lady-bug
Offline Reality Online
When I catch-up with friends we’ll usually talk about the highlights
of our week, we’ll have a whinge about the things that got under our skin
and we will vocalise our opinions some of the current events that we feel strongly
about.
Take away the face-to-face interaction, convert the speech to text (although
not in every case thanks to how easy it is to create and share audio and video
content) and you have a blog.
When I get home from work, I’ll look through the cupboards and fridge
and work-out what I’m going to make for dinner. Once I’ve made a
decision, I’ll usually vocalise this to myself - “Tonight I’m
going to make spaghetti bolognese!” (yes, I know that talking to yourself
is the first sign of insanity and a lot of my friends already think I am a little
insane).
I’ll also continue talking to myself as I prepare the meal “a little
bit of oregano, a dash of wine…” and as the TV is usually on in
the other room, I’ll often make comments about the day’s stories
“Interest rates are up again, there’s still conflict in the Middle
East and Britney Spears did what?!?”
The above examples of small conversations that we have with ourselves everyday
could easily be seen by having a quick skim through Twitter logs.
When you’re at school, the more friends you have, the ‘cooler’
you are – aka MySpace, Facebook
etc. etc.
Take away the cheesy voice-over and Benny Hill music from ‘Funniest Home
Videos’ and I’ve just described at least a third of YouTube’s
content.
My mother sticks little yellow Post-It notes on the side of her computer monitor
listing websites she’s found and wants to remember how to get back to
them – if she understood what I was talking about when I tried to teach
her about del.icio.us
For your daily dose of tabloid news in an online format you don’t need
to look much further than Digg.
And just like you’ll need Amy Winehouse throwing-up on your shoes if you
want your pic in the tabloids, you’ll also need some Social
Media Celebrity Endorsement if you want your articles to appear on the front-page
of Digg.
So as you can see, most online social media has been inspired by something
offline (even if the inspiration was far from the examples above, you still
get the general idea). The only problem is that there is still a very big disconnect
between the real and the virtual worlds.
It’s like comparing reality TV with actual reality. I don’t know
who’s reality it is, but I can’t recall the last time someone locked
me in a house with a bunch of strangers and recorded my every move whilst making
me perform challenges like eating worms or pouring spiders on my head, or watched
me painfully sing karaoke, or become a model, or survive on a desert island
or made me lose half my body weight etc. etc.
Sure, it might be entertaining, but it certainly isn’t what happens to
you and I on a daily basis.
I’ve met bloggers that write well, seem quite entertaining and have hundreds
of subscribers but in person they are very shy and introverted or waaaay over
the top and are incredibly annoying to have a conversation with.
Whereas other bloggers that only have a handful of regular readers have been
charming, interesting and insightful when I’ve met them face-to-face.
There was a guy I went to school with who still lives with his parents, works
for the local government in an accounting role, hasn’t changed one little
bit from the weedy, nerdy, annoying guy from senior school… but his Facebook
page says he has 300+ friends.
Now I’m not trying to say that one’s online persona is inversely
proportional to how popular they are offline… there are some really great
people that I’ve met who are very popular both online and offline.
Although I think that we should observe how the online world has taken most
of its inspiration from the real world and as it continues to do this, there
will become a requirement for social media mavens to genuinely be as interesting
and insightful in reality as they are online. Otherwise they may find that the
virtual reputation they’ve worked so hard to build won’t hold-up
as the two worlds (offline and online) become one.
If you enjoyed this Guest Post you can check out more of Peter’s work at SiteMost.
And, while you are at it subscribe to the SiteMost
Feed.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 26th, 2008 |
Image by gruntzooki
A couple of months ago I
briefly mentioned that I had a Chronic Illness. It was something that was
very difficult for me to do as I was afraid that mentioning it would make me
look weak. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but if you have ever met me or
if we ever spoke for any length of time you would understand why. I am a perfectionist…..
an over achiever. Showing this side of me is not an easy thing for me to do.
Would I feel any less about anybody else if I heard they had a chronic
illness?? Of course not. Why then am I so hard on myself?? That answer, my friends,
is a whole other story.
Not too long ago a
friend of mine told me to ask for help. My response was, "I just
can’t. It’s way too difficult." He told me that not asking
people for help was a selfish thing to do.
What?? How could this be? In my mind not asking for help was me
being tough…. me being selfless. How would anyone think that me "toughing
it out" be selfish??
It took me a couple months into my Lupus Flair, two months of "toughing
it out", to realize what Edward meant when he said that I was being
selfish for not asking for help. But, I believe I have figured it out
and I’m ready to no longer be selfish.
In the next few days you will notice Guest Posts on Social Desire. As painful
as it was for me to ask, I posted a Tweet requesting guest blog posts about
Social Media and Web 2.0. I was thrilled to find quite a few bloggers ready
and willing to help me out.
Please bear with me as I rest a bit longer. God willing I will be heading back
into my Lupus Remission shortly and I will be back "full force". In
the meantime, please enjoy Social Desire’s guest posts. And, if you would like
to be featured as a Guest Blogger on Social Desire please contact
me.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 11 Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 |
Image by BdwayDiva1
Are Texting & Social Media Platforms causing teens to lack in Interpersonal
Communicative Skills?
I received a text from my oldest son last week that was very disturbing. He
was obviously too freaked out to discuss the topic with me face-to-face and
instead chose to tell me this uncomfortable piece of information via text messaging.
I feel I’m a very "with it" mom when it comes to
these things. Especially since being involved in Social Media is pretty much what
I specialize in. But, after this particular text I was left wondering….
“Are teens today lacking in Interpersonal and Communicative Skills?”
Generations have been dealing with the change in Technology for Decades…
- Rock-n-Roll
- Television
- Record Players
- VCR’s
- Telephones
- Computer’s
- Internet
- eMail
- Cell phones
- Web 2.0
- etc…
I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for any generation to make the transition and
today’s generation is no exception. I use text myself, but I don’t use it to
replace normal everyday conversation, but it appears that many of our teens
do. Many of
my friends and
colleagues I spend
time with
online have
children and
I’m very curious
of their thoughts on this…
Is Mobile Technology and Social Media taking away what our Children
should be learning during face-to-face Communication?
When I was a teen growing up I was forced to discuss things with my parents
face-to-face….. even the uncomfortable discussions. And, through each of these
discussions, as difficult as they were, they each were a learning experience.
Could Instant Messaging and Text be robbing our children from learning
some social skills?
Teens are breaking up with boyfriends and girlfriends over text…. and this
is completely normal. These uncomfortable discussions that all of us hated to
have were all a learning experience for me. Mostly, I learned tact and empathy.
Are our children growing up more selfish & cold because they can
avoid these conversations entirely?
I was never an overly brave teen. I didn’t have as much confidence in myself
as others and this made confrontation much more difficult for me. If I had social
media platforms and mobile devices available to me back then I’m positive I
would have been using them instead of how I had to deal with things.
Maybe I wouldn’t have succumb to peer pressure. Maybe I would have been braver
in what I told my peers…. in saying, "No!!". Or, maybe I would have
dealt with confrontation in ways that maybe teens are dealing with it now…
"text and Instant Messaging".
This might not sound like a major issue, but after the text from my oldest
son I’m not so sure about that.
I believe that many of the uncomfortable situations and confrontations I dealt
with growing up taught me many things and made me into the person I am now.
Who knows…. maybe I’m reading too much into this. But, I really don’t think so.
Teen Crushes
As I mentioned earlier I lacked a certain amount of confidence growing up,
so certain things were especially difficult for me. For example, telling a boy
I liked him. I remember having crushes growing up and the boy never knew. By
the time I was in Junior High I was still extremely nervous to tell a boy I
liked him, but I would try very hard to push through the fear. Making a point
to talk to him, pausing by his locker, dropping something nearby to see if he
would pick it up, and dialing the phone to call him. I say dialing the phone
because unless one of my friends was calling for me I don’t think I ever stayed
on the phone long enough to talk to the boy. Most of the time I would dial the
phone number and once someone answered I would hand up. Thank Goodness this
was before *69…. otherwise, I would have been busted for sure.
How would Texting & Social Media changed this process?
Well, I wouldn’t have had to be brave and start a discussion… Simple texts
are so much easier than real words. I would no long have to worry about blushing
in front of a boy. He wouldn’t even have to know how nervous I was. There is no
way via text he could hear my shaky voice, see my knees tap together from nerves
or see me blush from fear. This fact would have given me the confidence to flirt
via text.
What learning experience would I have missed out on? Over
the years of pushing through my fear of talking to guys I built confidence.
I learned what worked for me and what didn’t work for me. I realized that guys
thought I was sweet when I blushed. Actually, over the years I wasn’t nervous
to talk to most guys at all. My confidence increased enough that I could easily
talk to a guy. Would teen develop this confidence if they were doing all interaction
between themselves and guys via digital methods?
Breaking up with a guy
Okay, if telling a guy I liked him wasn’t bad enough….. breaking up with
him was so much worse!! I hated making someone unhappy or feel bad about themselves.
I am still horrible at that, but disappointment is a fact of life and dealing
with it is part of it. Break ups can be some of the most difficult conversations
to have, but to move to the next relationship… break-ups must be done.
Many of my friends were broken up with by notes in school. I was mortified
by this and fortunate enough that this never happened to me. However, in High
School I was in the middle of a long distance relationship, so all of our communication
was via phone and "snail mail". We would see each other only on weekends.
How would a Break-up have been different if I had text or Social Media Platforms?
What makes a break-up so difficult is the confrontation. It’s
usually not an easy conversation because many times the other person feels a
bit under attack or defensive. Texting a break-up (which let me just state….
is cowardly and never okay in my book) erases any face-to-face contact. No confrontation.
As a matter of fact you don’t have to answer any further calls or texts. This
is an easy way out. There is something to be said about "closure",
people!! How the heck do you get closure from a text or instant message? Unless,
of course, the entire relationship was done via text or Instant Message then
a break up should NOT be done in this fashion. I couldn’t imagine
sending a text like….
"Have I told you just now how much I’m in love with U???
No??
Chew on it, have a nice life… "
Check out these other "Break-up
Texts" . They are unreal!!
But, texts like the one above are being sent to innocent
(or not so innocent) boys and girls everyday.
What I have learned from having to break up in a face-to-face
way…
- Break-ups hurt
- Break-ups are an end to something that you might not be ready for
- tact
- empathy
- sensitivity
Dealing with Friends and Social Life in High School
I know that Social Life in High School means a lot to teens. It meant a lot
to me and still means a lot to kids. But, I also know that the peer pressure
and saying, "No" can be a sticky situation. I would never want to
go back and do high school over again due to the peer pressure I experienced.
I dealt with the peer pressure the face-to-face way, but how are the kids dealing
with it now-a-days?
Teens are using Social Media Platforms to deal with Peer Pressure.
They use text and instant messaging to say what’s on their minds. It not as
confrontational. Sounds less threatening, right? Nope!! To get revenge these
teens sometimes are using malicious ways to deal with their anger such as YouTube
videos, MySpace & Facebook public messages, non-private instant messaging
and other embarrassing ways. My thoughts are that because of the convenience
of social media ways of dealing that these same platforms are giving teens a
convenient & easy way to get revenge. This is making Peer Pressure tons
worse than it was when I was growing up.
What I have learned from dealing with Peer pressure face-to-face?
- knowing you have to deal with them face-to-face makes you be choosy who
is your friend
- Over time I realized what/who makes me happy
- I don’t always have to say, "Yes" to everything
- Could shut down the peer voices after school…. with text, Instant Messaging
& other Social Media platforms this is much more difficult.
I’m wondering if the lack of closure causes a teen’s need for revenge?
Could it be that communicating verbally face-to-face with someone forces closure?
Maybe with text and instant message there is no "end".
Telling Parents Bad News
I would like to think that conversations with parents hasn’t changed much since
I was growing up. But, even I know that’s not the case. I already admitted that
my son text me a message that he should have talked to me about in person. Why
did he do this? Because he felt it would be easier.
Was it? Well, probably. Temporarily anyway. And, probably by the time he approached
me in person I calmed down quite a bit. Did he learn as much from the whole
experience…. I’m not so sure.
And, I have some fond memories of when I was growing up of conversations with
my mother. I also have some memories of scary conversations with my mom. But,
bottom line…. they were face-to-face conversations. They were banter back
and forth that I believe made a difference in my life. Not only did I learn
something from it, but I also bonded with my mom. And, there is one other thing
that it left me with… something I can smile at later. Embarrassing situations
that I can smile at because I survived. Something I can laugh at by myself or
conversing with my sister.
I look back on those moments with my mom fondly…. now. However,
had I had the opportunity to get out of a sticky situation in an easier fashion
I totally would have.
Which brings to me back to the question, " Are teens today lacking
interpersonal communicative skills?"
What do teens have a fear of??
- Confrontation
- Rejection
- Disappointment
- Failure
- Embarrassment
What are they missing out learning??
- tact
- sensitivity
- empathy
- respect
- anger management
- communication skills
I asked the following question to my friends on Twitter, "What would have
been different 4 you had you had text & IM as teen? How would Break-ups,
dating, peer pressure been different?" This were some of the answer I received:
Click on the image to see in full size & with Profile Links
What are your thoughts? Are teens today lacking interpersonal communicative
skills?
Posted in Facebook, Parenting, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 21 Comments »
Thursday, April 17th, 2008 |
Image by Miky
Jpeg
I have been a little disappointed in Facebook lately. Well, maybe not Facebook directly, but instead some of the people that I have agreed to Facebook Friendships. And, due to the tactics these people are using on Facebook to pass the word about things they feel strongly about has caused me to not spend as much time on FaceBook in general.
In case you aren’t aware…. it was only a few months back that I was
singing my praises about Facebook. I spent a lot of time there. I was able
to do my social networking in ways that I couldn’t do in other Social Media
arenas. I love Social Networking in all different ways, but what is so cool
about Facebook is some of the very
cool Applications that Facebook has. Some of these applications helped me
interact with fellow marketers and bloggers that I didn’t know too well before facebook,
but due to the fun networking via these applications caused me to take a closer
look at their websites and blogs. But, recently something has started to happen
that has not happened to me in this last year of using Facebook until recently….
"Chain Messages."
I’m not sure if Chain Messages is what this "thing" is actually called.
But, this is what I’m going to call it. Chain Messages reminds me of a chain
mail, but is is done through Facebook Applications. These Chain Messages are
rude, forceful and threatening and I’m more than a little bit irritated that
they have entered my
Facebook space.
Here is an example of a message I received earlier today that has me so upset.
I have removed a couple things from this screen shot. I removed the name of
the person who sent me this FunWall post. I have also removed the name of my
Facebook Friends from the "forward to:" section.
Now, this isn’t the first Chain Message I received, but this one really has
me bothered. I’ll get into the reasons why this particular Chain Message has
me irked, but in the meantime let me list what makes a Chain Letter a Chain
Letter, so we can compare the Old Fashioned Chain Letter to this Chain Letter
2.0.
Wikipedia tells me
that a Chain Letter is…
"A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to induce
the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them
on to as many recipients as possible… Common methods used in chain letters
include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes,
and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck
or even physical violence or death if he or she "breaks the chain"
and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter."
Wow, that definition sounds very much like the FunWall Post I received above.
Let’s check out another. The following is from FraudBureau.com.
Here they explain the Anatomy of a Chain Letter.
"Every chain letter is comprised of three components:
* The hook. The letter will try to grab your attention so
that you will read the rest of it. Some common themes are "Get Rich Quick",
to appeal to our desire to make money or "Virus Alert" to hook us
by arousing our fears.
* The threat. Once you are hooked, the letter arouses your
fears by telling you about the terrible things that will happen if you do
not continue to keep the chain in tact. The threat is usually realistic enough
to get you to continue the chain.
* The request. The request is usually the demand to distribute
the letter to as many individuals as possible. "
Ahhh, so there are three components to every chain Letter. Very interesting.
Well, Let’s see if there are three components to this Facebook Chain Message…
The Hook - "Someone will either call you
or talk to you and tell you that they love you."
Not a get rich scheme, but definitely something that many people are
desperately looking for.
The Threat - "I better not see anyone breaking this one or
see deleted." Well, I know this is not a specific threat,
but it is an empty threat at least. It is playing on the fear of many people
with social networking…. not having other’s support.
The Request - "These are ribbons for Soldiers fighting in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Pass it on to everyone and Pray." Definitely
works on the emotions of many.
Hmmmm…. very interesting. Seems like this FunWall Post has all the makings
of a Chain Letter to me. Dress it up whatever way you want to, but it is what
it is… a chain letter.
What has me so upset about this particular Chain Message is the fact that it
plays on the emotions of many people. We all know and love someone who is helping
fight wars in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. And, this message is using our emotions
to get us to do what they want us to do.
You know what really gets me is that I might have helped passing around the
support ribbons to my Facebook friends had I not felt threatened. But, after
reading the entire FunWall post I didn’t want any part of it. I wonder how many
others who received this same FunWall post felt the same way I did and didn’t
forward the message to their Facebook friends as well.
And, that brings us to another topic which I won’t delve to far into at this
time….. friends made online. Should they have the same qualities of real life
friends? OF COURSE!!! The social skills and etiquette
that your mother and father taught you should still apply online. No parent
in their right mind would teach their children the skills of threatening their
friends. So, if you wouldn’t treat your friends in the real world with
threats then don’t do it online.
You want to be my friend online?? Stop threatening me!!
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0 | 15 Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 |
In the past few days I’ve noticed a few changes on StumbleUpon. They aren’t
huge changes, but changes none-the-less. These changes appear on your own StumbleUpon
page. What is cool about these changes is that you have a choice. You can choose to keep things
the same as they have been or change the way your Favorites page looks. And, deciding between keeping things like they once
were or changing it to the new display depends whether you are more visual or
not.
If you take a look on your Favorite Page on StumbleUpon and you have it set
to the standard view it should look something like this:
Now, take a look at the right section of this page. You will notice a section
that looks like this:
If you click on the link that says, "Show thumbnails" your Favorite
page on StumbleUpon will now look something like this:
Pretty cool, huh?! But, it can be changed even more still. Visually, I like
the way the above thumbnails looks on my favorites page. But, maybe for you this
way is too wordy and you would like to see more Thumbnails. Not a problem. You
will notice that there is a section that says, "Display: List Grid".
It should look something like the following image:
Right now your StumbleUpon Favorite page is probably on the default display,
List. Click on Grid to see the display change
to list your favorites as a grid using Thumbnails. It will look something like
this:
For example, when I stumbled the post, "Treating
Your Blog as a Business: 8 Aspects to Consider" it lists the screen
shot of the entire web page and It’s easier for me to look at the thumbnail
and know it is a DailyBlogTips
post. It probably has a screen shot of the entire web page because there is
no other image on that post. However, when I stumbled Brent
Csutoras‘ post, "Digg’s
April Fools… The Joke is on You!" the thumbnail on my StumbleUpon
favorites page is the image of Brent’s "digg-fools-buttons photo".
This could make just the thumbnails display on my favorites page more difficult
for me in the days to come to figure out what I stumbled without having the
description there too.
I DIG that I have choices on how I would like to see my StumbleUpon Favorites.
I love the way my Favorites look on one page. Visually, it looks awesome!! But,
I’m not sure if this is the best way for me to keep my StumbleUpon favorites
page. Again, it looks great!! But, it is hard for me to figure out what website
it is by the Thumbnails. Some Thumbnails are easier to figure it out than others.
Some of the Thumbnails are screen shots of the web page… making it easier for
me to figure out what favorite it is. However, some of the thumbnails are images
from the web page itself. Even though this too is cool it isn’t very easy for
me to always figure out which StumbleUpon favorite I stumbled.
Bottom line…. I love that I have choices. Which display do I enjoy the most?
The answer is, "I’m not sure, yet". For right now I’m toggling back
and forth between different displays until I figure it out. So far, it appears
that I’m leaning towards to the traditional basic original version of no thumbnails.
But, that is probably because I’m not really good with sudden change and I need
to work myself into it a bit. I’m usually a very visual person, so I’m guessing
that eventually when I get more use to it I will be using the Display page with
the Thumbnails in the List form.
What about you? What StumbleUpon Favorites Display are you using?
StumbleUpon
stumbleupon-tips
stumblupon-tutorials
Posted in Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 Basics | 18 Comments »
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 |
I have a little secret…. I’m the tooth fairy. It’s true. And, guess what
else?! I’m also Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, and Cupid.
Last week my 6 year old daughter, Hannah lost one of her front teeth and just
yesterday she lost the other front tooth. She is missing both of her front teeth
and as I stare at her beautiful face and her cute smile I realize how special this time is for her…. and for me for that matter. I haven’t seen her gums like this since she was an infant. And, it reminds me that she is growing up and how quickly the time goes.
So, as I do with all of my children when they lose a tooth I become the tooth
fairy. I grab my wings, tiara and wand from my "special closet". These
items sit next to my Santa, Easter Bunny, Cupid as they do for most parents.
These are roles that I am proud to hold and it got me thinking….
How has the introduction of Web 2.0 changed these Special Days for the Kids?
How Web 2.0 adds Pizzazz to our Children’s Holidays
Tooth Fairy
Easter & the Easter Bunny
St. Valentine’s Day & Cupid
- Try and Catch
Cupid
- St. Valentine’s Online
Kissing Game - I virtually kissed a frog to find out if I will spend my
days in the castle…. I found out that the frog turned into a gross gator.
YUK!!
- Kids can ask The Love
Duck questions and get answers.
- Kids can make a Virtual
Valentine’s Cake for their Friends or for their Parents.
Christmas & Santa Claus
Web 2.0 isn’t going to change the fact that usually around 8 years of age children
start wondering if these characters are real or not. It’s sad, but it’s true…..
children will figure it out. I actually had this discussion on Twitter
earlier today and found some interesting
ways that children found out that these Holiday Characters weren’t who they
thought they were. They were, in fact, their parents. There is no interactive
website that will change this fact. The only thing we can do is help our children
believe in the imaginary for as long as we can.
All of the above amazing Web 2.0 methods for kids to enjoy the Holidays doesn’t
change the fact that Parents will remain involved in helping their children
believe in the "Imaginary". But, I believe that these sites add a
bit to the excitement of the holidays. And, it doesn’t mean that as a parent
I am not going to stick to tradition…. I enjoy my many roles as a Mom. And,
my dress-up clothes are not going anywhere!! I loved dressing up as a child
and I still love dressing as an adult…. I wouldn’t change that for the World.
So, as I hang up my Tooth Fairy Wings, Tiara and Wand until the next missing
tooth in my household I am already dusting off my Easter Bunny Suit, pulling
out the plastic eggs, baskets and easter grass from the closet. But, I can guarantee
that a little Easter 2.0 will be on the way too…. nothing like a good Online
Easter Egg Hung to prepare the Kids for the real thing.
web 2.0 holidays kids children holiday fun games activities tooth+fairy easter valentines easter+bunny
Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 8 Comments »
