Stephan Reed — The American Nightmare

Another amazing bgsu blog

Posts Tagged Twitter

Speak With Substance, Avoid Superficial Conversation

Dec 4

Posted by Stephan Reed in Uncategorized | No Comments

I have come to the realization that our common conversations have become incredibly superficial and lack depth and substance.

While watching the film “God Bless America,” the protagonist, Frank, goes on a tirade about this subject. “Nobody talks about anything anymore. When was the last time you had a real conversation without someone texting or looking at a screen or a monitor over your head?”

Why do we shy away from talking about our feelings, aspirations, religious convictions and/or things that aren’t entertainment or sports? I’m not saying there is anything wrong with popular culture-based talks or sport chats, but try and think critically about what you have seen and speak original thoughts. Don’t just spew what you read online or heard on TV.

Some of my closest friendships were spawned from spontaneous, personal conversations. One doesn’t have to pour their soul out to a stranger, but opening up shouldn’t strike fear into their heart.

Everyone has a history. Every individual has a unique story. Each person you come across probably possesses the memory of an experience that you would find intriguing.

There aren’t many things better than those long, all-night conversations with someone. The ones in which you can feel the friendship forming into a long-lasting bond. The ones where you think “I should probably go to sleep,” but your friend has you so encompassed and on the edge of your seat that you throw the ideas of morning exhaustion out the window and listen onward.

You’re completely engaged. Your phone doesn’t matter.

When you listen, it feels great for both parties. You retain the knowledge about this person and feel a deeper connection with them, while they feel special and unique because they have someone who will actively listen to them without texting mid conversation.

We live in a society where all of our thoughts and ideas are posted on social media, yet we can’t talk to people. Social media seems to be taking the “social” aspects out of our daily lives.

Instead of posting about how angry you are at your professor or subtweeting about your friend, try talking to them about it. Hell, they may even commend you for taking the initiative to attack the issue head on. Instead of posting a Facebook status containing lyrics that you relate to, bring the song up in conversation with the person who inspired the thoughtful connection. The song will never sound the same again.

Feelings. Dreams. Personal history. These are the things we should be talking about, not Miley Cyrus’ new haircut or what your ex said about you on Twitter.

Superficial chatter is a plague. It keeps us from talking about stuff that truly matters. These issues get overshadowed by “pop-politics.” There’s always the typical conversations about abortion, the death penalty and gun control, but why don’t we talk about the conflict between the University’s Faculty Association and the Administration or the on campus smoking ban that is being discussed?

It is doubtful that we can control the hot topic issues of the nation, but we can have a say in the problems that are in our own backyard.

I strongly urge everyone out there to strike up a real conversation with that one person who catches your eye in the Union or the girl who sits by you in class with the sweet Attack Attack! bookbag or the professor who makes you feel like a human being and not just another kid in class.

It’s the last week of classes. Take a chance.

What’s the worst that can happen? They could look at you weird and you will never have to see them again.

What’s the best that can happen?

You could have a new friend for life.

 

 

 

 

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Cool Kid Club of Social Media

Nov 16

Posted by Stephan Reed in News Related | No Comments

One may think that using a social media outlet to talk about social media is redundant, but honestly, is there any better way to explain how to use a web tool other than using it effectively?

The Twitter account @socialmediaclub has been tweeting, retweeting and demonstrating how to optimize social media since February of 2007. However, the organization has been around and exploring various social media since 2006.

Social Media Club is a California-based group that is dedicated to trying out new social media techniques and technology,  tackling key conflicts in the real of social media and reporting their findings to whoever is interested. The club now has more than 300 chapters across the nation. They have given computers and gadgets to local schools and are funded solely on donations.

This non-profit organization looks to scoop any up and coming sites that surface. Their Twitter start date alone is proof that they are ahead of the game on any social media technology they can find. Had Twitter not played out so well, they would have reported their findings and found the new media that was most effective.

The Twitter account for the group tweets links related to social media ethics, seminars and tips for businesses and personal users. They even have a book club series on which users can promote various social media-based books to by using #SMCbooks.

@socialmediaclub keeps users connected by tweeting interesting content daily and interacting with its audience. Every so often, the group will invite a prominent social media expert or author aboard and users can tweet questions to them. Those questions are then answered via Twitter, of course.

I would also like to note that their follower to following ratio. They follow more than 75,000 people and have almost 122,000 followers. The ration looks a bit one-sided, but when you note how many people they are following and how large the group is, that ratio is relatively modest.

My only problem I have with the Twitter site itself is the amount of tweets they have per day. In total, they have almost 16, 500 tweets. That is quite a few daily. However, Twitter comes with a handy-dandy “turn off retweets” function that allows you to just see their original content and tips. If you do not wish to flood your Twitter feed with social media tips, but would still like the insight, I recommend bookmarking this page.

I would say that the Social Media Club is effective in their efforts. One may see them as social media nerds, but I see them as the cool kids club of social media.

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Bloomberg Blooms During Hurricane Sandy

Nov 1

Posted by Stephan Reed in News Related | 1 Comment

If tragedy were to strike Bowling Green, I can honestly say that I would want someone to model an emergency response team after Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s response to Hurricane Sandy.

On a day-to-day basis, Mayor Bloomberg updates his 350,000+ followers about big news events, health tips and other happenings, but his Twitter account served as something more this past week. Before, during and after Hurricane Sandy hit, his account was a method of emergency response.

Days before Sandy started scaring the citizens on the East Coast, Bloomberg was sending out warning tweets. His account (whether it was actually him or just someone who runs his account) tweeted preparation tips for the storm. Not only did he tweet his own preparation ideas, he linked to other accounts and websites to get the word out to his people.

During the storm, the Mayor kept his citizens informed. Even though millions were without power, they still had their phones for a few hours and satellite Internet connection. He posted tweets about evacuation plans and talked about which areas had the most damage. Not only did he give helpful and informational insights, he gave condolences as well.

While Sandy was wrecking his territory, every tweet from Bloomberg had a mini-URL attached. These links brought users to helpful pages with updates on the storm and even personal video messages. In this way, he made himself seem human to the people who needed a human touch.

Sandy left behind a great deal of destruction. Bloomberg posted updates and positive messages to keep his people looking up. “NYC has been through a lot in the last 11 years: Hurricane Irene, a transit strike, a blackout and more. We’ll get through this too #Sandy” was one of my favorite motivational tweets.

He kept businesspeople in the loop by explaining what the New York Stock Exchange was doing in response to the storm, but he also kept parents informed with school delays and closures. He had the whole demographic in mind the whole time.

All in all, Bloomberg did a fantastic job while responding to Hurricane Sandy. He helped citizens of NYC prepare for the storm, he rode it out with them and helped motivate them to get back on their feet. He never left them in the dark.

Posting of Youtube videos and personal messages offered the human touch that the people needed and the informational links gave them something solid to hold on to.

Good on you, Mayor Bloomberg. You’re the type of mayor NYC needs.

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Don’t Understimate the Abilities of a Fresh College Grad

Sep 14

Posted by Stephan Reed in News Related | 3 Comments

There I am, my first day on the job as Ford Motor Company’s newest social media correspondent, an organization known for its good social media etiquette. I sit at my desk, performing each task to a t in order to not mess up and disappoint my boss.  Every word is triple checked. Every phrase is carefully thought out and delicately formulated. I know, going into this job, that if I mess up, then I’ll be out of a job, out of a pay check and desperate to find a company that didn’t catch my social media mishap.

This is how I, a typical young, college-educated potential employee thinks. I feel the Digital Entrepreneur list underestimates the mentality of a young employee. I know that many of my friends, and myself, can be quite goofy and immature, but when the time calls for it, we can transform into responsible adults. While hanging out on the weekends, one may be incredibly silly, but when at work, the professional is put guard up and that individual becomes the rational human being that he or she has trained to be. After all, we didn’t work through four years of school just to mess around on the job.

However, I don’t believe a company should hire someone and put them in full control of all the social media accounts right away. They have to learn what the company is about. They have to understand the audience they are appealing to. They have to know there is something to lose. Putting someone who has at least a years’ worth experience with the company would be optimal.

I do like the point the article makes about having a few people know the account information for the business. Suppose the hypothetical social media correspondent gets fired for some reason, changing the password should be done before that employee actually get their notice to insure they don’t “go postal” on your social media accounts.

Younger employees should not be treated as incompetent. They can learn the niche audiences of the business and ways of communicating to them within a decent amount of time, especially if that was their educated specialty. I don’t believe you should give a young employee or new hire complete control of the accounts, but don’t be afraid to let them do a job they have trained years for.

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What does a deleted post really say?

Sep 6

Posted by Stephan Reed in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

It’s late. You had a bit too much to drink or maybe you’re just irritable because of fatigue, but you decide to log into Facebook and respond to your ex’s post about her new relationship or you really let your boss have it for making you stay late. You let your true colors show — and they are not beautiful.

You wake up in the morning and your phone is blowing up from notifications about your post. You promptly delete your post, pretend it didn’t happen and continue on with your day.

That post was deleted and never happened … right?

Wrong. Even if you delete a Tweet or remove a Facebook post, it was still read and has been archived.

When a user posts on another’s wall, the receiving user gets an email with the text of that post. This is proof or evidence. If you tweeted an ill-tempered tweet — or any tweet actually — it has been archived by the Library of Congress. If someone follows you to his or her phone, your angry tweet is saved as a SMS text. 

Suppose what you said online could be considered threatening; if someone was truly offended and wanted to report you, saving the evidence is as easy as a quick keyboard command to screenshot your post.

I know this latter archive technique because I used it once. Someone I knew threw water balloons at my car and put a Frosty on my windshield. I was unhappy, so I browsed Facebook and found the culprit because they didn’t think before they posted. I “screenshotted” what she said before she deleted it and made her clean up my car or else I would get police involved.

Suppose an organization begins to delete negative posts on their page, there will be some backlash. (Unnecessarily vulgar and explicit posts are fair game for deleting, especially if stated in the About section of the page.) These posters will ban together, spam the page and continue to do so until the organization addresses the problem and fixes it. People don’t like it when you ignore their criticisms, let alone delete them.

Deleting posts show weakness either way. If you said something dumb, take responsibility for it. If someone posts a negative critique on your page, respond to it in a mature way.

 

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Stalking, creeping and ethical business tactics

Aug 29

Posted by Stephan Reed in News Related | No Comments

Imagine a situation in which a crazy ex-partner is logging into your Facebook or Twitter account and proceeds to read through all of your personal messages and rifles through pages and pages of comments and pictures just to find something incriminating. In this case, you would never give this person your password and email. However, as times begin to change and social media becomes more prevalent, employers are taking the role of the hypothetical ex-partner and asking to gain access to social media profiles of their potential employees.

How ethical is this form of surveillance? It depends on the circumstance. If a job requires strict privacy, then you shouldn’t have many social media profiles to begin with. In fact, the members of the Ohio State football team were asked to ditched their Twitter accounts for the betterment of their team and to privatize any sort of conflicts that may arise. Suppose someone was beginning their career as a CIA agent, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to tweet and have his or her location published online for all to see. However, if someone is applying to be a waitress at Bob Evan’s, they really should not have to give up their social media rights.

Personally, I have ran into a few problems with social media in the workplace. On one occasion, I tweeted a frustrated tweet during my on-the-clock hours and I was scolded for it. Even though I did not directly cite my job as the reason for my rage, I still was told not to put anything on a site that could reflect poorly on the organization. Of course I thought this was excessive because I was on the receiving end of punishment, but as I watch others fall into the same trouble, I continue to see this as an irrational form of restriction. When I tweeted my controversially tweet, I received no feedback on it. No retweets. No texts. No replies. It was just me voicing my anger in the moment.

I believe organizations are too sensitive when it comes to social media, but that doesn’t mean I endorse someone slandering their own company. I am all for a quick scan through of a potential employee’s profile. If a complete stranger can find out certain information, there is no harm in having your future employer check you out before an interview. When an employer asks for a password, that is a breach of privacy and trust. If this becomes the norm, then how far could this progress? Could an employer potentially ask for you to hand over your phone for review? At what point are we supposed to draw the line?

A quick skim through won’t hurt. Filtering your opinions about your job and ridiculous party antics should be normal, but invasion of privacy should not be.

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