You Learn Something New Everyday

Hello readers! To be honest, I drew a blank when I was thinking of ideas for my post this week. Sometimes I feel that the topics relating to social media are repetitive, and I don't want to bore you all with things you've already heard about.

As a desperate attempt to find an intriguing topic to write this post about, I simply searched "social media" on Google. After scrolling down for a bit, something caught my eye. I found an article from Reader's Digest entitled "5 Weird Negative Effects of Social Media on Your Brain". I decided to click on it and see what it was all about.

This article, written by Damon Beres, isn't that recent but I found it to be very relatable and relevant. Five "weird negative effects" that social media has on your brain are listed out within the article, and I felt a little embarrassed that I agree with pretty much all of them!

1. It might make you spend more money

2. It alters your appetite 
-I can definitely relate to this one. Whenever my friends post pictures of their food on Instagram, I immediately start to crave that food. I even follow an Instagram account called "Best Foods" that posts pictures of food multiple times a day!

3. It messes with your ability to think independently
-Unfortunately I can see how this is true. I've definitely "liked" certain posts because I saw that so many of my friends were. I don't like to follow what other people are doing but this is something I think I was doing without even realizing!

4.It hurts your self-esteem
-I can't say that I've ever been genuinely upset if I didn't get a lot of likes on a photo, because I don't need other people liking my pictures to feel good about them. I usually post things because I like them. However, I definitely get excited when I DO get a lot of likes on a picture!

5. It can "butcher" real-life conversations
-Like technology in general, I think social media makes it harder to communicate in person. It's easier to say something when you aren't face-to-face. Luckily, I still feel comfortable talking to people in person, but I've met many people who have lots to say online but won't say a word in person.

I hope you guys found these facts interesting like I did. Social media really does affect us in weird ways! Just searching a few key terms on Google led to me finding this- you really do learn something new everyday :)

Photo Source

Social Media Fail by Red Cross

A few weeks ago in class, we discussed social media etiquette and standards of behavior for companies to follow. It's important for companies to not only be active on social media sites, but to make sure they are posting appropriately. Our professor showed us some social media "fails" from various companies. Some were quite inappropriate and offensive, but others had me laughing hysterically.

Many of the fails were on Twitter. In class, we discussed the specific etiquette for Twitter, and some of the tips are crucial for companies to follow:

• Don't over-hashtag your tweet
• Don't only discuss your company
• Don't send automatic direct messages to people that don't follow you
• Don't hijack another company's hashtag
• Don't stuff your tweets with keywords

In addition to all of these helpful tips our professor went over in class,it is very important that employees do not accidentally confuse their personal Twitter accounts with the company Twitter account. This can lead to some pretty awkward and unprofessional tweets being sent out.

I came across a pretty bad Twitter fail done by American Red Cross, and I thought this would be perfect to share this week on my blog. 

"30 Of the Most Epic Social Media Fails EVER"

As you can see, this tweet made the Red Cross look really bad. The employee who ran their Twitter page forgot to log out of the company account, and accidentally posted this inappropriate tweet referencing alcohol. This probably isn't something an organization like the Red Cross should ever post about, especially since their mission is to provide services to people in need!

It's important for companies to use social media sites, as long as they are posting appropriately! They need to be very careful what they are posting, because it can affect their reputation and image to potential and current customers. No one wants to see tweets about "getting slizzred" on the American Red Cross page!

Social Media is Making the World Less Social

Prince Ea, a rapper, has recently posted a video on his Facebook about the negative side of social media. His video has gone viral and has been viewed 24,748,657 times. After one of my Facebook friends shared a BuzzFeed article about the video, I decided to watch it myself. This video was very moving and definitely hit home for me, especially since I find myself addicted to technology and social media.

Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?

One part of the video that really got me was when he said that the touch screens we are using are actually making us "lose touch". There have been so many times that I am in a room full of people, yet catch myself staring down at my phone screen and not paying attention to the people physically near me.

He also called Facebook an "Anti-Social Network", and when you think about it, this couldn't be more true. Instead of getting out there and getting to know people in person, people hide behind their technology. There are so many people that I am "friends" with on Facebook that I probably wouldn't even say hi to if I walked by them.

Social media is actually hurting our society, and it is only going to get worse as time goes on. I think this is just the beginning of the "Generation of Media Over-stimulation" (as Prince Ea calls it in the video). I feel that my age group is so addicted to social media, and it wasn't even as popular when we were extremely young. I have cousins who are in third grade who use Snapchat regularly and are addicted to their iPhones. I can't imagine how bad these generations will be by the time they reach my age!

I hope you all got as much out of this video as I did! It makes me want to shut off my phone and enjoy the world around me. We don't realize how much we are missing out on when we're glued to our phones and other technology.

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What's this "Yik Yak" all About?

Yik Yak is a new social media platform where users can post anything they want, anonymously. I like to think of it as an "anonymous Twitter". This platform is known as "hyper-local", meaning that it will only show posts that are from users within 5 miles of you.

This new and popular app was created by two Furman University students, Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. In just three months, this app has become extremely popular and now has over 100,000 users. Over 15,000 "yaks" (or posts) are put up each day.

The app has become increasingly popular on college campuses, and I have actually downloaded it myself. I don't check it as frequently as I check Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, but if I am bored I'll scroll through. In my opinion, the app is used very immaturely. The majority of the posts I see are inappropriate and about sex, drugs, or alcohol. Some of the posts are funny though, especially if I know what the person is talking about or referring to.

http://www.netfamilynews.org/34982

On the right is a picture of the Yik Yak logo. The left picture is a screenshot from my phone of what the app looks like. This can also give you a glimpse of what types of things people "yak", and in this case it is people from the local area and WNE!






Yik Yak in a Negative Light 
There have been a few bullying issues already because of this app. Since posts are anonymous, it is very easy for people to post mean and nasty things. According to MassLive, "critics have compared it to the on-line equivalent of graffiti found in a bathroom stall".

In addition to bullying, people have even used Yik Yak to post threats. Just this week, there was a threat posted by someone in Ludlow (right near here!). Ludlow High School teamed up with the Ludlow Police Department to take action and arrest the individual.

Given all of this information, I do not think Yik Yak will ever become as popular of a social platform as Twitter or Facebook. It will most likely stay around and remain popular for a few more months, and then students will probably get bored with it and move on to the newest app. The bullying and threat issues will probably keep people from continuing to use this app as well.


Sources:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/heres_a_question_what_the_heck.html

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/yik-yak-is-an-anonymous-messaging-app-aimed-at-college-campuses/