Why Your Relationship & Social Media Won’t Mix…
April 26th, 2012 by Tech StaffRelationships are hard enough. But the rise of social media — where sharing private moments is encouraged, and provocative and confessional postings can help build a following — has created a new source of friction for couples: what is fair game for sharing with the world?
If one half of a couple is not interested in broadcasting the details of a botched dinner or romantic weekend, Facebook postings or tweets can create irritation, embarrassment, miscommunication and bruised egos.
After a few relationship-testing episodes, some spouses have started insisting that their partners ask for approval before posting comments and photographs that include them. Couples also are talking through rules as early as the first date (a kind of social media prenup) about what is O.K. to share. Even tweeting about something as seemingly innocent as a house repair can become a lesson in boundary-setting.
“There is a standard negotiation that takes place in lots of relationships, but now there are multiple audiences watching,” said Lee Rainie, the director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, which explores technology and human behavior. “There will be awkward moments, even more so if that negotiation is played out in public.”
Interviews with more than a dozen couples suggest that disagreements over how much to share are common.
Check out real life stories of couples and their relationship / social media ups and downs here…
THE RULES: How To Avoid Getting Fired By Twitter & Facebook!
March 26th, 2012 by ChristenFor years it’s been gaining more and more attention – employees getting fired for foul use of social media networks such as Twitter & Facebook. Can you imagine being – Ashley Payne, the teacher who was fired, because of a photo of her on Facebook with friends holding a glass of wine? Getting fired because of shady dealings on social media is more real than ever before. If you’ve ever wondered what you can or can’t do online that’ll keep your name clear on the “misuse of social media” wall – don’t worry, we have you fairly covered. Here “THE RULES” better known as a list of things you should do (or not do) in online venues like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and More…
RULE #10 – Don’t disclose personal information that you are not comfortable having out there. Birthdates are a crucial piece of information used to identify people that might be better left out of your profile.
RULE #9 – Steer clear of accessing Facebook/Twitter on your work computer during office hours unless you have permission to do so. How about, don’t use it at work unless you know it will get you paid. Commission sales people are less likely to get in trouble over this than someone working in the accounting department.
RULE #8 – Monitor your information. Google your name often, set up alerts and let people know what your expectations are for personal information. Let your close friends know where you stand so there are fewer issues. This is especially important for the photo junkies who like posting potentially embarrassing photos that may have you in one or more of them.
RULE #7 – Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t feel comfortable posting or discussing in the lunchroom at work. Some people got busted for posting photographs of things that went on at parties. DEFINITELY A NO-NO!
RULE #6 – Remove shady comments posted by others that can possibly get you into trouble. You have control over what people post on your page or what you retweet. Edit them directly or ask whoever posted them to remove them.
RULE #5 – Raise your privacy settings. Be mindful that these settings only prevent the average user from digging out the information. Assume there is a chance that the information can still leak out.
RULE #4 – Do not EVER admit to anything even remotely resembling a crime. Cops and prosecutors know how to use Facebook as well as anyone. (Dumbest Social Media Criminals anyone?) You’ll have a hard time undoing such an admission, even if done as a joke. If your boss doesn’t really like you, Facebook might become a good place to turn to find dirt that can be used to get rid of you.
RULE #3 – Be considerate of others when you are posting things. If your friend just started a new job as a Whitehouse intern, don’t start posting stuff that won’t make it past the watchdogs.
RULE #2 – Don’t discuss confidential stuff online. If you aren’t sure, err on the side of caution. Don’t be afraid to ask someone before going ahead and posting something.
RULE #1 – Be careful if you mix your personal and business online. People often make the mistake of carelessly mixing personal and business contacts. Be somewhat more conservative with your business than your personal contacts to minimize this source of potential problems.
If you like your job and don’t want to get trumped out of it, be careful how you use Facebook or one or the many tools like it. Use these above suggestions and your profile will become positively enhanced. Many employers, including the CIA, are turning to these tools as part of their recruiting arsenal. If you use them well, you might be hearing “You’re Hired.” – use them poorly & Donald Trump won’t be the only boss coining that famous phrase – “YOU’RE FIRED.”
Talk That Talk: Four Social Media Types To Avoid (According To Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare & Instagram)
March 23rd, 2012 by ChristenWe have come a long way in this brave new world of social media. Just when you think society has got over the taboo of online dating (according to match.com the ratio to men vs women online in search of finding someone is 52:48) a new form of online courtship has emerged, social-freakin-media. In a mobile world where one has access to hundreds of friends, associates and more via their smartphone, it’s no wonder that more relationships are formed & broken because of socializing online.
Have you ever heard any of the following phrases before?
“Take a twitpic so I know it’s real.” | “I can’t believe she DM’d that ratchet mess!” | “OMG! Did you see that instagram pic?”
If you still think social media is an all ages playground where all is played fair, think again and make sure you check out the first in this list social media types to avoid.
The “Stunner” -
Facebook: On Facebook, the “Stunner” usually “friends” whomever will accept their friend request. They typically look at having a large amount of “friends” (be it strangers or not) as a status symbol of social popularity. Once given a large enough audience, the “Stunner” will immediately begin “stunner showmanship” of bragging on jewelry, cars, money or anything else that he/she believes will get them noticed online. (In rare occasions, the “Stunner” will resort to using inspirational quotes just to receive status “LIKES” online.)
Twitter - Tweets filled with Hip Hop lyrics, Twitpics of watches, bling, money & designer labels… (see a pattern here…) 80% of the people they follow are rappers, video vixens, etc and 75% of they’re tweets consists of “Follow Me” pleas and #FollowBack hashtags.
FourSquare - They usually check in to places that establish some sort of status, ie hotels, four star restaurants, designer shops etc. “Yo! I’m poppin bottles at the club” “We’re out here buying out the mall” “You know how I do it, Presidential suite baby!” etc.
Instagram – The “Stunner” (typically male) timeline is filled with all photos of watches, bling, money & designer labels. The follower/follow ratio is usually 1:6 – with the “Stunner” following a lot more people than the amount of followers he has. “Stunners” can sometimes be identified by the types of people he follows on Instagram (Hint: They rarely ever follow fully-clothed women… but we’ll tackle that “social media type” specifically next time.)
Social media doesn’t have to be scary…Check out these Top 10 Tips on enjoying social media time online…
1. Be Aware (and sometimes beware) of New Technologies…
2. Do NOT post anything that will damage the reputation of yourself, friends or family.
3. Get Followers the Positive Way!
4. Share Opinions – but don’t be judgmental.
5. Show The Real You!
6. Engage With online friends, but Only Positively.
7. Be Careful What You Share!
8. Never Share Access To Your Accounts
9. If you share it, it’s there forever. (The delete button doesn’t always do what you think…)
10. Own Your Social Media Identity
To be continued…
What are your tips to enjoying social media? How do you identify social media “friends” versus social media “fakes”? Can you guess the remaining Social Media Types To Avoid?
The previous post is the justified opinion of the author and is not necessarily the beliefs of the Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram or the advertisers/sponsors of DivasandDorks.com.
Every 60 seconds in social media…{INFOGRAPHIC}
March 13th, 2012 by ChristenIf you’re a lover of connecting via social media, then you’re not alone. Did you know: There are over 175,000 tweets sent every 60 seconds? If you think that’s a lot – you’ll never guess which social media site sees the most action every minute of the day! Check out the infographic below and let us know which site sees the most action from you daily…
Do you visit any of these sites more than the others? Which social media site is your favorite?
Facebook Friday: What Your Friends Want You To Know…
January 13th, 2012 by ChristenFollow Friday, Make Friends on Facebook and learn what your friends really what you to know. Looking for more “LIKES” on your comments? Try thinking a little more positively during certain times of the day and see the difference it’ll make.
Do you pay attention to the amount of “LIKES” or comments you get on Facebook? Does a lot of “LIKES” matter to you?
Uncover 5 Ways To Take Control Of Your (Online) Life
January 2nd, 2012 by ChristenHappy New Year!
Last year was filled with more social media advances than ever before! We went from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Foursquare, blah, blah, blah and blah. We’ve already uncovered how social media affects your brain and daily activity. (Read: Is Your Mind Being Ruined By Social Media Use?) It seems that keeping up with social media has become more of an obsessive chore, than an easy way to keep tabs with friends & family online. Add that on top of mobile versions of these platforms and now with emails, texts, Tweets and Facebook requests, many are starting to feel that their handheld devices and lap tops have bombarded their lives.
What if I told you that there are five simple steps that I’ll be using to take control of my online life (while keeping up with my productivity)? Check out these simple steps to gaining your social media freedom and I hope you join me on this ride for an easier and simpler online user experience in 2012.
5. Choose Your Tools Wisely.
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, Instagram….With so many platforms out there, you have more than enough to choose from. Pick and choose where you want to exist. You don’t have to be on every social media site, choosing one or two might be the right choice. Don’t forget that basic email, text messaging & a good ole fashion phonecall is still a great way to connect. You can communicate just as well with mostly everyone via these personal mediums versus the next great social platform just waiting to be created.
4. Stick With A Time Limit.
Create a time limit that will keep your online use productive and to a minimum. You can be extremely more productive when you have a specific purpose online versus checking your status updates every 5 mins. Next time you log onto your favorite social site, set up 45 minutes or some predetermined amount of time, then close it. Then get back to work, (see how easy it could be?)
3. Don’t Just Be Online…Be Proactive.
Don’t assume the world is going to tell you where to go or what to do. Search out information for yourself, be aware that websites – such as Google – might be noticing where you search if you are logged in to a Gmail account, for example. Logging out of Google before you search and clearing your cache keeps them from sending you more unwanted information.
2. Have A Plan, Purpose & Just Do It.
Quite often when you immerse yourself with these technologies, you can get into a very passive use of them – you look at Facebook and Twitter or RSS feeds and we let that information flow over us. You should know what it is you want to find before you start surfing can help you manage your time spent online. Don’t let the rest of the world tell you what you want.
1. Find Your Spot And Get It All In One Spot.
Many online tools allow a user to display several sites as widgets, all on one screen. Have you ever heard of NetVibes? It has an easy to read interface and it allows you to log onto all your secured sites at once. In a single browser, you can bring in a widget for your Facebook stream, one for Twitter and you can bring in your email and more. It gives you a bird’s eye view of what’s going on in your social circles without you falling lost within the rabbit hole.
I’m on my way to a simpler way of socializing online. What about you? What would you add to this list of making social media more manageable?
Is Your Mind Being Ruined By Social Media Use? (Infographic)
December 28th, 2011 by ChristenWe spend countless hours on social media, from Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and more…that’s a lot! Check out this infographic that shows us exactly how our obsessive social media use is actually taking a toll on the brain.
Take Photos? Like Instagram? Check Out These Five Photo Sharing Tricks!
October 19th, 2011 by ChristenEveryone loves the photo-sharing app Instagram, but did you know that you can enhance your experience with these photo sharing tricks?
“What kind of edible plant is this? Wait, Is it even edible?”
1. Edit your photos and create cool effects with other iPhone camera apps. My favorites include: Outcolor, ArtCamera, Photogene, Diptic, Pinhole Cam and ColorSplash. If you didn’t realize it, there’s a lot of editing you can do from your iPhone.
“My piggy bank is smarter than Bank of America”
2. Caption this. Offer an opportunity for people in your network to write the caption for your photo or photos. Just include a mention in your own caption to encourage the feedback.
“Yes I follow Starbucks. In spirit and in truth.”
3. Follow your favorite brands and organizations. Many times you’ll get cool “behind the scenes” photos and connect with brand managers in a fun environment. You’ll need to search the app for user names to find them. (NOTE: I follow most of the brands on Twitter and was able to locate them from Instragram’s “find friends” feature.)
Posing with great bloggers celebrating ‘More Birthdays’ with the American Cancer Society.
4. Hashtag it. You might know the hashtag from Twitter and it’s making its way in to other networks. Instragram is no exception. You can add hashtags to your captions and share them on other social networks, like Twitter and Facebook. You can also search for others using the same hashtag. I use this as a way to find other people to follow, especially if the hashtag indicates a shared interest or commonality.
5. Got A Lot of Followers? Give em THANKS! How? Use the Instragram application, Statigram. To log in, enter your Instragram user name and password. It will take a few minutes to pull up your data, but it’s worth the wait. Once your information appears, scroll down to find your top follower information. Select “Snapshot this” and enter your email address.
I love sharing and checking out creative photos on Instagram — Want to see more Instagram flicks from DivasandDorks? Find us in your Instagram app & we look forward to sharing photos with you soon!
Burberry Brings The Runway To Twitter…
September 19th, 2011 by ChristenJust off the D&D Top Tech Picks For New York Fashion Week – Burberry announces it’s plans to simulcast it’s runway collection via Twitter later today.
According to Mashable.com after having staged 3D and shoppable livestreams in past seasons, Burberry is once again stepping up its game to bring its runway collection to the largest online audience possible.
The London-based fashion house has partnered with Twitter to develop what the two companies are calling a “Tweetwalk.” Backstage Twitpics of every look will be taken and shared with the brand’s followers on Twitter before the models hit the runway beginning at 4 p.m. BT (11 a.m. ET). In other words, Burberry’s Twitter followers will see the collection moments before anyone else.
Want to see the show LIVE? Click the image below…
MTV VJ hopeful launches online campaign
August 26th, 2011 by Christen
MTV VJ hopeful Carolyn W. aka Wawa has her eyes on the prize of becoming next MTV Iggy and she’s using the power of social media to get her there. What is an MTV Iggy, you ask?
MTV IGGY is a new MTV brand focused on global music and pop culture. From Chinese punk to Indian rock to Senegalese rap to Colombian electro, a MTV subsidiary constantly on the lookout for amazing musicians who will be the next XX, MIA, Akon, or Jay Sean.…they catch them now before everyone else does! MTV Iggy is also on TV with on-air programming can be seen on MTV channels around the world. MTV Iggy’s spotlight global emerging music, exclusive artist performances and interviews, and pop culture trends.
Atlanta native,world traveler, adventurer and social media maven Wawa has launched a full social media campaign vying for the job of MTV Iggy and she needs your help. Check her out & support her efforts on Facebook & Twitter and stay tuned to see her make the ranks among the MTV greats.
Instagram Photos
-
Gallery
