Social Media – Page 3

July 22, 2011

Determined to be the Solution

There are a lot of reasons people blog about Shaun King. He’s an entrepreneur. He’s a distinct voice in social media. He’s a walking miracle. He’s an advocate for courage.

This is not the first time I have blogged about Shaun. I first blogged about him because, late at night, a friend said, “if you are not, please pay attention to the tweets from Shaun right now.” What I saw moved me. It changed me. But it was in the middle of the night. I was afraid so many people would miss the moving message. I put that post on my tumblr blog, which I use more for personal and non-tech topics.

I am again sharing the story of what this “broken man” is doing in the world today. At least he posted this in the middle of the day. But broken up in the crowded twitter stream, I felt something got lost. I read it and wept.

I am choosing to put this on my business blog for four reasons.

He is using social media to communicate, connect and raise awareness for a cause — 7 of them, in fact.
I think it is important to highlight when someone is being effective in their social efforts. We can learn from what others are doing.
I’ve not looked at data to support this, but I would bet that more of my professional blog followers are using geolocation services like Foursquare. Next time you check into a food place, remember Shaun’s reason #1 (read on to see what I’m talking about).
I want the people and businesses that follow me to be aware of causes and problems in our world. I want them to understand that even if you can’t help by giving, you can help by reposting this story on your FB, twitter, LinkedIn, G+, e-mail lists, and anywhere you think people will read it. In Shaun’s words, “YOU have WAY more potential to radically change the world than you know. “

Historically I avoid topics that are “touchy.” I want you to read this not from any political standing, not from any religious perspective, but as a human being. Read his words and absorb the gravity of suffering that he is describing. Read his words and connect with some fellow human beings who are living in hell.

The following series of tweets are from @ShaunKing

Seriously powerful and moving.

<—-Blowing off the dust from my soapbox. Get ready. If you have truth allergies unfollow me for the next 15 minutes.

Is this mic on?

Right now. @ this moment. THOUSANDS of people (particularly babies) are dying of dehydration & starvation in Somalia. Worst famine in 30 yrs

Let me break down what is happening and give us all insight in to what we can do. Possibly the worst humanitarian crisis in our lifetime…

5 factors have caused what now equates to millions of people being severely malnourished and scores of needless deaths. Here they are…

First off, let me say that you need to care about this. We are citizens of this world & babies & pregnant moms are dying in droves.

5 Reasons why a Famine was just declared in Somalia (first in decades)…

5. The love of money is the root of all evil. Wherever starvation of this magnitude exists so does great corruption. Corrupt gov. there.

4. Three years ago Somalia barred ALL aid/relief organizations from the country. All of them.

3. Somalia (and the surrounding region) is experiencing a ONCE IN A LIFETIME drought. Bone dry. Everywhere. As far as you can go.

2. One million Somalians have, by foot started to flee the country, but found out that almost nobody wants them or can handle them.

Finally, the final reason this famine exists is personal…

1. A famine exists in Somalia b/c you & I don’t care enough. We eat like hogs & throw away half full bottles of water & ignore the world.

At the end of this conversation I will give you 4 news sources to read & 4 solutions, but let me press my case for a minute.

I believe that God holds us accountable for what we do with what we know. You & I pretend way too much like we’re giving the world our best.

Are you listening? It’s about to get real.

I read this article. It hurt me. Moms and their families were starving to death and had no water so they started walking from Somalia to…

Kenya. It was brutal and harder than they expected. Took many moms 4 weeks to walk it. Thousands died on the walk alone. What i am about…

to say broke me down. Unable to carry their kids, mothers regularly sat their dying babies down and left them on the road. The journalist…

said that on 3 occasions he saw women near death show up @ the Kenyan border w/ dead babies strapped to their backs.

Let me give you four articles to read. You have to see this for yourself. It’s awful, but we can make a difference.

Please retweet my tweets and let’s begin making this crisis known. Please begin educating others with what I am telling you. It matters

Babies like him are arriving in the Dadaab Refugee camp in droves. They mainly die once they arrive. http://twitpic.com/5tkgyk

LA Times Article today from Robin Dixon on Somalia:http://t.co/tpq2c7N

The best articles on the famine/drought in Somalia are coming from Al Jazeera. They have people there. http://t.co/ZruuLRq

Please look @ all 15 of these pictures from Somalia in the NY Times. This is OUR WORLD! http://t.co/982NQTq

We are discussing starting an @TwitChange campaign for Somalia. Something bigger than we’ve ever done.

Here are the 4 organizations that I know are on the ground in Somalia and particularly in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya (Ground Zero).

Doctors w/o Borders. They are on the frontlines w/ the famine in Somalia. http://t.co/dmZSB1x

UNICEF is there right now doing great work. http://t.co/F3zWoVv

OXFAM is giving the crisis in Somalia their best shot:http://t.co/gwBuCs9

That’s all for now. Please be determined to be the solution for Somalia & people that are hurting all over the world. Be courageous. -Shaun

Follow him on www.TellTheMountainToMove.org/

July 10, 2011

Xoom Test Drive

(This article originally appeared in the Evansville Business Journal )

With less than a month on the market, I was given the opportunity to test drive a Motorola Xoom. This tablet has a lot of veryinteresting features that make it more desirable in some ways than an ipad2. Ifyou’re an Apple fan, and are used to Mac products, you might be more comfortablewith an ipad.

This tablet is comparable in price, processor and screensize. The resolution on the Xoom is slightly higher, and it has a 32 GB microSD, expandable memory that you can’t get with the ipad2.

The cameras arenotable better. While the addition of a backcamera with the release of the ipad2 was a big selling point, it was also a biglet down in the quality of camera. Thefront camera on the Xoom is a two MP and the back camera has a full five MP. Ifthe camera is important to you, the Xoom will win your heart.

Another big benefit ofthe Xoom is its ability to support flash within the web browser. If you do alot of browsing on your tablet, this might be a very important feature for you.Another feature that sets Xoom apart from the ipad2 is the extra ports.

The Xoomhas a micro USB 2.0 and an HDMI out, so if you’re into playing angry birds, youcan connect your Xoom to your 32 inch flat screen, and play some big angrybirds.

While Evansville is not on a 4G network at this time, the Xoomwill be capable of data transfer on this faster network when it does arrive. Ifyou travel, chances are many places you currently go are already equipped withthis faster network.
While we’re talking about the network, you can buy an ipad2 currentlywith no additional contract for a data plan. If you decide you need one you canpurchase it for the month or months you’ll need it. The Xoom isn’t currentlyoffered with a WiFi-only option.

After using this tablet for a few weeks, Ihave to say I really appreciate being on a data plan, as opposed to only havinga device that accesses the information I need when I’m near WiFi. If thenetwork was detected, and I had previously joined to that network, thetransition from 3G to WiFi was seamless.

There are a variety of ways in which I could use this tabletas an e-reader. It came with an application called “Books.” This was verysimilar to the “Kindle” app, which was also available for this tablet.

The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library has a system online that allows you to checkout e-books. You have to use their application called “Overdrive.” You simplygo to the EVPL website and enter your library card number. You open the bookwith this application, which is very similar most other readers. If you have atablet, whether it’s an ipad or a Xoom, I strongly encourage you to try thise-book borrowing system.

When the iPad was first released, many of the applicationsin the Apple market would work on their tablet. It took some time for thedevelopers to catch up and create a variety of applications that werespecifically for the larger screen, but it eventually did happen. The same istrue in the Android market. There are currently only a handful of apps that arespecifically designed for a tablet on the Honeycomb system, but just as theApple market caught up, I fully anticipate that developers will have the Androidmarket caught up in no time.

Watching TV episodes, like Fringe for example, directly fromtheir website, was done with ease. The sound and video were incredible, and theoverall use of the Xoom as multimedia player left me very impressed. ~~I wasdisappointed to learn that Netflix, at this time, will not play on Android devices. They’re working to remedy this issue~~. You can as of June, watch Netflix on the Xoom! There are still issues with viewing content from Hulu.

My overall experience with the Xoom tablet left me veryimpressed with this device. If you’re that Mac user who’s more comfortable withApple products, and are hesitant to transfer because of the loss of music, besure to check out Double Twist, the itunes for Android, that will seamlesslyimport all your itunes.

June 13, 2011

“The Creed Official” : Rules for online (and offline)

You know how a quote from a person long dead can sometimes apply to today’s current situation, even though nothing that involves the current situation was even invented at the time of the original speech?

I had one of those moments this past week.I was volunteering at Patchwork Central last week, and every day as we read “The Creed Official” out loud, I kept thinking how appropriately it fits our online lives.

“The Creed Official”

Listen and be safe

Online LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN… it’s never all about you. Listen for feedback and ideas from your customers. Listen to what people are saying about your competitors. Listen to what people need, and develop accordingly.

Follow directions and stay with your group

This is my favorite. Most online platforms have terms of service, or directions that you must follow. Many companies don’t follow the guidelines on facbook in particular.

Be nice and respectful

Yes, if a company truly deserves to be called out, call them out, but do so with respect. As BGKahuna said, Let’s Cut People Some Slack.

Use good manners

This is one I’ve wanted to touch on for a while. If someone talks to you, it’s good manners to reply. If they say or do something nice, it’s good manners to say thank you. Many businesses using social think it’s another way to share a message with its consumers, and it is. The difference is, consumers are talking back. Are you listening and using good manners, or ignoring the people who keep you in business?

Have a good attitude

No one likes a whiner. If you’re always telling the world how bad your life is, who would want to be near you? If your employees have a poor attitude online, what does that say about you and your company? (Do you even know what they’re saying?)

Be respectful of others’ art

This goes for any type of content. Don’t plagiarize someone’s blog, use photos without credit, or disrespect someone online. First, it just makes you look bad. Second, there can be very real and serious consequences.

Keep your hands to yourself

Don’t be a creeper. I tease many friends that they are “twitter voyeurs.” By this I mean they rarely tweet, they just use twitter to get news and updates. Don’t be creepy online.

Do your best and have fun

It doesn’t matter if you’re not great at composing tweets or blogs at first. Start small, ask for help, do your best, and have fun!

Use nice words – no cursing

I’ve seen people tweet their way out of a job because of the vulgarities of their twitter stream. I’ve seen teachers and youth leaders be poor examples to kids, with foul posts. Really, if you are trying to build your brand online, (See Branding Yourself for more on how to do that.) refrain from overly harsh language.

June 3, 2011

4 ways to Use Your Influence to Help

Like is good, but show the love

As more and more people flock to social media sites, like facebook, twittter, and youtube to get daily and in some cases hourly dose and over doses of information input, so too are businesses and not for profits following along. Go where the people are right?

As one of the people that not for profits are following to your favorite social site in hopes to get your attention, how can you use your influence to help?

Like is not enough

Ok, you band, youth group, club, church or other not for profit is on facebook and they asked you to like them. Great. But that’s not enough. Granted they’re going to have to provide good content and keep you informed. But other than just seeing it in your stream, what good does this do them?

1. Share

If they share you share. Whether it’s a blog on the latest update, a picture of a cool event, or a link to a story written about them, share it on your platforms. And while you’re at it switch it up. If you want to truly leverage your influence, take what your NFP posted on fb and share it on twitter, or Linkedin. By mixing up the platforms you help your cause reach a greater audience both for that event or post and for greater awareness.

2. Support by attending

Was that a call to action they posted? Attend the event as a participant. If you use geolocation, check in and let people know your there and the details they need to do the same. Post pictures of you and the event on your social platforms.

3. Offer to help

Contact your NFP and ask if you can help. Sometimes one more set of hands is exactly what is needed. Offer your connections. Maybe it is an event that needs businesses to sponsor or support it. Offer to contact a few of your connections to present the opportunity. Just as in selling, a warm introduction is always more profitable than a cold call. Don’t forget to post pictures.

4. Tell your story

Why do you support them? What did they do to win you over? If you, a family member or close friend has been impacted by a service or program from your favorite NFP, consider telling your story. Post it on your personal, or company blog. Don’t have one? Write it out anyway, and send it to them.

No matter how you do it, do more than like.

May 15, 2011

Social Media in the Classroom

In an article by the New York Times

this week, they discuss one of the biggest challenges I see every time I enter a classroom. I’m not a professor. I teach people of all ages to use social media to do whatever they’re doing in life better: In the classroom, to learn. Outside the classroom, to get a job, and to become the best in their industry or field. Every time I walk into a classroom however, I get the same frustrating tag at the end of an introduction, “It’s time to learn, turn off your phones and laptops.” I usually tell them to turn them back on.

In this article, they discuss the use of “backchannels” – or conversations driven by technology (twitter, and other chatting platforms) where students are free to ask and answer questions of the teacher and their peers without having to be embarrassed by speaking out loud in front of the whole class. One student stated:

“When you type something down, it’s a lot easier to say what I feel.”

Isn’t that what you strive for, a way to encourage classroom participation?

Sugato Chakravarty, who lectures about personal finance at Purdue University,said before the backchannel tools:

“I could never get people to speak up.” “Everybody’s intimidated.” “It’s clear to me,” he added, “that absent this kind of social media interaction, there are things students think about that normally they’d never say.”

What are your students thinking, but not saying?

The students who’ve been allowed to express themselves in a way that’s comfortable to them, digitally, have shared with us how they feel. In their own words:

“Everybody is heard in our class,” ~Leah Postman, 17.

“It’s made me see my peers as more intelligent, seeing their thought process and begin to understand them on a deeper level.” ~Janae Smith, 17

That would do it for me, but I’m not a professor. Yes, there are fears and risks to deal with. But what else is holding you back? What can we do to convince you to overcome these fears and give your students an opportunity to be heard?

Again the students say it best:

“We tend to have the attitude that someone else will do it. But what happens when everyone thinks the same as you?”

“It only takes one individual to change,” another typed.

“If you want something to change you have to be willing to be that voice.”

“It really shows the impact one change can make,” a third student wrote.

“I agree with Katie!” someone added. “This class has given us a voice!”

Please post your comments. Tell me what we (the Social Media Club Education Advisory Board) can do to help you overcome your fear, answer questions, offer support…. So that you can give a voice to one student more who might just be the voice that can make a difference in your class room, to a peer, or to make a major change in the world?

Join us as we discuss this topic on the regular weekly twitter chat: #smcedu Mon 12:30pm

Not sure how to participate in a twitter chat? Here is a simple guide on how to participate in a twitter chat .