Category Archives: Social Media

ELECTION 2016: FOR THE LOVE OF FACEBOOK, MAKE IT STOP!

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I spent the first half of this week sick in bed with little physical or mental tolerance for well… anything. Between work and personal life, I normally spend a significant amount of time online on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But this week? I barely touched it. At the most, I would pick up my phone and open the Facebook app immediately out of habit (Damn that muscle memory!) and quickly close it before I got sucked into the abyss.

I know what you’re thinking. I LOVE social media. It’s my life. How could I, of all people, want to avoid Facebook?

Seriously, people. I get that the future of our nation is important, but can we give it a rest? As of today there are 282 days left until Election Day. I don’t know about you, but I don’t relish the thought of 282 more days of anger, hatred, and pointless Facebook fights.

I mean, social media isn’t just a pastime. It’s my job.

So how am I going to survive this?

Facebook Unfollow

That’s right. If you didn’t already know, Facebook has this really great option called UNFOLLOW.

Don’t want to see anything from that weird cousin who LOVES Trump and his hateful comment of the day?
Unfollow.

Have you had your fill of that co-worker who posts ALL of Sarah Palin’s crazed ramblings?
Unfollow.

Are you even tired of that friend who shares far too many articles about your own political party?
Unfollow.

The point is, your Facebook News Feed is yours. No one else’s. It’s yours.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed by the posts of any friend, no matter how close you may be in real life, then why should you continue to put up with a barrage of posts that bring you stress? Just unfollow those friends.

No, you’re not unfriending them.

No, they won’t get a notification to let them know you have unfollowed them.

You are, however, choosing to take control of what you see when you log in to Facebook. I would venture to guess that none of us log in to Facebook hoping to get mad or frustrated. So why keep letting that happen?

Here’s how to UNFOLLOW from your phone:

FROM THE FRIEND’S PROFILE PAGE
If you are already following the friend (which you probably are), simply click the drop down arrow by FOLLOW and select UNFOLLOW.

FROM A SPECIFIC POST
Click the dropdown arrow in the top right corner of the post.
Select UNFOLLOW (FRIEND NAME). As the prompt says, you’ll stop seeing posts but stay friends.

In any case, you can still see their posts at any time by going directly to their profile and reading at your convenience. All you really do by unfollowing is remove their posts from your News Feed.

Again, your News Feed is yours. Isn’t it time you reclaimed it and made Facebook a happier experience again?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go purge my News Feed of everything about Martin Shkreli. Ugh.

QUESTION:
Have you used UNFOLLOW on Facebook?
If YES, what made you do it?
If NO, why not?

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

How We Survived the Blizzard of 2015

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Wow! It was a rough night, but we all survived it.

Even the most calm and organized person wasn’t truly prepared for the events that transpired in the wee hours of the morning. We all sat clutching our cell phones in fear as we watched the inevitable happen, and we were powerless to do anything about it. It just happened.

Facebook and Instagram were BOTH down simultaneously for approximately one hour.

What?

Oh yeah. There was a blizzard, too.

But did you miss what I said?

Facebook and Instagram were BOTH down simultaneously for approximately one hour.

I even heard that the popular dating site Tinder was down as well. I mean, it felt like we were seeing the End of Days here, people!

Oh yeah. And there was a snowstorm, too.

But alas, Twitter was up and functioning, so we all had a place to go and vent…

… about Facebook and Twitter being down.

Here are some of my favorite tweets from the night:

 

TODAY’S QUESTION: Be honest. Were you having a little bit of withdrawal when Facebook and Instagram went down? Or did you even notice?

What are you doing to pass the time as we recover from this storm. No… the real one. With snow and wind? Yeah. That one.

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

 


How to Make Facebook a Happier Place in 60 Seconds

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Can you believe it? It’s almost Thanksgiving already!

Before you know it, our Facebook news feeds will be flooded with everyone stopping to reflect on things for which they are grateful in their lives. And let’s be honest… after surviving the increased political rantings of the elections earlier this month, won’t it be nice to have something positive to look at?

But don’t worry – it’s not long until Black Friday when all the thankfulness starts to fade away and the unadulterated rage and fury of holiday shopping will restore the anger to Facebook.

Because of the nature of my business, I spend a large portion of my day on various social media sites. And even though we all need to vent sometimes (inconsiderate people who don’t use their turn signals and slow people who clog up self-checkout lines are my biggest pet peeves), sometimes enough is enough! We’ve all got that friend on Facebook who does nothing but complain, right?

Unfriending them seems a bit harsh, especially if they are a good friend who just magically turns into a black hole of emotional need online… but did you know there is an option to still be friends but not see their posts?

It’s the UNFOLLOW feature.

 

Here’s how to unfollow someone in a few easy steps:

  • Go to the Facebook profile of the offending (or is it offensive?) party.
  • If you are viewing Facebook on the full site (desktop or laptop), look towards the bottom right corner of their cover photo on the top of the profile. There should be a box that says “Following” with a checkmark next to it. Click the dropdown arrow next to Friends. Click this box and the checkmark will go away.

 

  • If you are viewing Facebook on the mobile app, you will see a Friends icon under their profile picture. (insert screenshot) Click on that and then click Unfollow.

 

  • ENJOY LIFE!!!

And that’s it! You will still be friends with this negative time-suck on Facebook, but your NewsFeed will be purged of their draining ramblings.

Yeah. You’re welcome.

TODAY’S QUESTION: Have you Unfollowed someone on Facebook yet? If so, what made you do it. If not, what are you waiting for?

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

 

The ‘Social’ in Social Media

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Today”s post is a guest blog from Arline Melzer of Picture Perfections Video and Life Story Production.

I’m a business owner who previously spent 15 years in the corporate world.  Most of my corporate work life took place without the benefit of Social Media, but I got to thinking…

Did business ever take place without being social?

Perhaps my corporate experience doesn’t speak for everyone, but I worked for one of the biggest corporations in the world, GE, and then a small 50-person company that grew rapidly through mergers and acquistions.  There was very little I did in these companies that did not involve other people, whether they were casino fellow employees or clients.  Much of my work included solving problems and developing and communicating solutions, managing a customer service department at GE Capital and then later at a software company, managing developers, writers and quality assurance colleagues .

But was it Social?

You bet!  Face to face meetings, conferences, and after hours activities were all social.  Some were ‘team building,’ but we knew inherently that our relationships with people were the most important part of our work lives.

We all know how technology has helped change the way we communicate, but that hasn’t changed the need to have relationships.  What’s evolved is just the way we ‘socialize’ with our colleagues and even some friends.  I know some colleagues, who haven’t quite made the leap, and to those, I recommend Brian Bish.  Not only does he help show you easy ways to make the technical leap, he makes it ‘social!

 

Arline Melzer, owner of Picture Perfections, is a film producer with a passion to help small businesses with their online video presence, and to help generations preserve and celebrate the times of their lives.

Connect with Picture Perfections on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter!

 

Organizing the Organizer on Social Media

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Today’s post is a guest blog from Matt Baier of Matt Baier Organizing.

My memory is poor. I mean bad. Oh, I remember stupid crap like cigarette ads on TV from the ‘60’s, but important stuff? I studied four languages and can’t remember ANY of them. So since I can’t rely on my memory, I rely on systems, so much so that I made setting up systems, my life calling, as a professional organizer. I find myself needing systems for everything and social media is no exception.

 

This guest post is really a testimonial for Brian Bish, my social media architect. I knew I couldn’t get social media to work for me unless I got an expert to set up a system for me.

Brian started by getting me clear on what type of audiences I am seeking. For me, that’s mostly busy moms and realtors. He recommended that I go a little heavier on businesses and business groups on Linked in, non-business on Facebook, and everything on Twitter. That’s a loose guideline, not a rigid formula.

Of course, rigid formulas are so much easier. They don’t require thought. That’s good for me. I figured I’d start with a formula and throw in loose interactions, when I have time for them.

The answer to that formula can be summarized in two words: Hoot Suite. Brian impressed upon me the possibility of devoting just one small block of time to devote to social media every week. That really appealed to me, as I don’t have the time to be on social media ALL the time. An hour over a beer at Coalhouse Pizza every Sunday afternoon, allows me to cover my audiences with a carpet bombing of social media all week, thanks to HootSuite.

With HootSuite, I can schedule posts on Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter from one source. Brian recommended a quote every day. Smart guy. Quotes always get a lot of responses. I choose to do quotes at 9:30am to ALL social media.

Next up, something for the busy moms. At 10:05, I schedule a post find related to parenting, time management, life hacks, recycling, etc. on Facebook and Twitter. At 10:30 I send out a general organizing blog, again on Facebook and Twittter. That’s where I will schedule my own bi-weekly blog. By the way, I always include Twitter in my posts. Brian says you can never Tweet too much.

At 10:55 I always have something for the realtors on Linked In and Twitter. It will be a post related to home staging, real estate, architecture, unusual homes, or interior design. I will then do a retweet at 3:00 and 4:00pm.

If I read a post at anytime during the week that inspires me, I will comment and interact with the poster. Brian tells me this is the most important part of Social Media. Yeah, I’m terrible at it. I suppose it’s because I don’t find anyone as interesting as me. Also, I’m lazy.

Another great piece of advice from Brian that I ignore, is to comment on trending topics, which is a challenge for the terminally unhip, like me. I suppose realizing the problem is the first step.

Oh, and hash tags, that’s so easy. Why can’t I remember to include hash tags on Twitter (and now on Facebook)? Oh yeah, it’s because I have a bad memory.

Don’t get me wrong. I really don’t enjoy beating myself up. I guess the points I’m making are:

1. Don’t be afraid to just dive in to social media,
2. Find a way to make it work for you
3. be patient and unafraid to make adjustments

Despite my social media shortcomings, I have had a couple clients tell me that the reason they hired me was because they saw me all over social media. Not too shabby. Now what did that cost me? (Come on memory!) Oh yeah, NOTHING. Well, maybe a beer at Coalhouse, but somehow I can live with that.

I should add one final point, which is: get help. There’s a lot to know with this social media stuff and odds are very good that you’ve got better things to spend your time, energy, and frustration on, so trust your social media needs to an expert that will save you of all three.

Trust Brian Bish. I do.

 

Matt Baier is the owner of Matt Baier Organizing, who’s team of organizers, who can be relied upon to get you expertly organized, quickly but safely, throughout Fairfield and Westchester counties. Check out Matt Baier Organizing and see how they work.

 


Three TRICKS to Make Your Halloween a TREAT!

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Oh, how I love those words! Seriously… without a doubt, Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Extravagant costumes, make-up, candy, and mischief… what’s not to like?

Since we don’t yet have a way to download my favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups online (Come on, 3D printers! Get on it!), I’ve decided instead to treat you all with some social media reminders to keep the monsters away… Well, away from your profiles at least.

1. “You’re wearing WHAT?”
Yes, we know that Halloween is the one day each year to be whatever you want to be. And TRUST me, I know very well that a scandalous costume is the BEST costume. But you DO know that everyone has a camera on their phones these days, right? You might want to check out the PRIVACY SETTINGS on Facebook and check the settings on who can tag you in photos. You want to be President someday? Well, you won”t be once THAT costume pic leaks!

 

2. “Hey! I never said that!”
Here we are online… on social networks. You got that first word, right? Social?
And when you share something on a social site, people see it. Sure, you can delete it, but that doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t have a saved copy of your words. (Trust me. I’ll gladly call out my friends with screenshots of past posts. Go on… ask them. I”ll wait.) Take a minute and THINK before you post. Otherwise, your own words just might come crawling back from the dead to haunt you like a zombie…

 

3. “You are SO getting egged!”
And lastly, if you’re the house that gives out bad candy for trick-or-treat, you better be ready for some kid to tweet about it. So unless you’re in the mood to scrub cracked eggs off of your house, you might just want to turn off that front porch light and call it a night. Otherwise, you might see THIS at your door…

 

There. Now you”ve got a few tips to help keep your Halloween safe.

Which of these tips was most helpful for you? Have your own tip to share?

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

 

MONDAY MUSINGS: Stop it, Miley!

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I’ll admit it.

I didn’t watch the MTV Video Music Awards. Nope. No VMAs for me.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE music. And I love a good awards show. But in my opinion, it’s been a long time since MTV has delivered a “good awards show”.  So yeah… I’m pretty much at a point in my life where the VMAs just don”t warrant a timeslot in my schedule.

Of course I was curious to see Lady Gaga’s performance. And yes, I was maybe even a little curious to see the *NSYNC reunion. (Don’t judge me.) But not curious enough to tune in to what has become one of the biggest televised train wrecks in current history.

And THANK YOU, Miley Cyrus for reinforcing my decision not to watch.

Social Media exploded this morning with comments of shock and disgust at her performance. So against my better judgement, I watched the video of her performance and learned the following:

  • Duck Face is a horrible phenomenon, but Miley Tongue Face? So much worse.
  • Every young performer will go through a  period of rebellion where they try to declare their sexual independence. However, Madonna and (frighteningly) even Britney Spears did it much better.
  • Miley Cyrus’ stylist was either on vacation or should be fired immediately.
  • Her PR Agent obviously has forgotten about Social Media.

Yes, I know that “There is no such thing as bad publicity”, but wow… That was SO much bad publicity that it sort of burned my eyeballs a little to watch it.

Remember, we live in a world now where everyone is a news reporter. Just look at the sea of cell phones in the crowd.

The most important lesson from this is…

Remember to always be responsible for your actions. If you’re going to go a little crazy in the public eye, be ready for the backlash.

Your fans (if you have any left Miley) will be waiting for your statement. Let’s see how this plays out.

Oh wait… it’s Miley Cyrus we’re talking about. I just remember I have other things to do.

Like ANYTHING else.

Are You Choosing To Be Negative?

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(Artwork by Randy Bish)

You may have noticed that I often start my day online with a positive, motivational quote.

So what does that have to do with social media? Why post quotes if they’re not directly about social media?

Well, the first (and far less important) answer to that question is a business who ONLY posts about their business shows no personality, and that frankly becomes boring!

But the REAL answer is this:

I want to do whatever I can to bring some positivity to this world each and every day!

That’s it. That’s the answer.

The horrible tragedy this week at the Boston marathon was a sobering reminder of the evil that exists in the world. And the violence continued throughout the night last night and early this morning with more explosions, gunfire, and the fatal shooting of an MIT police officer.

Throughout this week, both the news media and social media have been flooded with bloody images and heartbreaking stories. And though the news this week has been especially brutal, there is always negativity out there. It may be in the form of another news story, online bullying, or even something as simple as a friend with chronically negative status updates and tweets.

With so much out there, it’s easy to fall into this trap. But remember – for every one shooter, there are hundreds of heroes. For every bully, there are multitudes of friends. And though we will all have our bad days, there will always be people surrounding us to make it better.

So each morning, I make the choice to do my small part by posting one positive and motivational quote on my social media profiles. It may be the tiniest gesture, but I truly believe we all have a responsibility to make this world a better place, and this is one simple way I can do just that.

So… let’s make a change! What actions can YOU take today to spread positivity?

SOUND OFF in the comments below!

 

Social Media Gets Offensive!

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Let’s be honest. We all have friends on Facebook that might get a little bit… well, out of control in one way or another, right?

Seriously. You”re thinking of at least one or two of your Facebook friends right now.

In my last blog, I shared my list of 5 Things NOT to do on Facebook. So it’s no surprise how much I LOVE these Social Media Citations that I purchased from my friends at Mirth In A Box. (If you love these like I do, get your own here!)

 

So… Which of these offenses are you guilty of?

Which one is your biggest pet peeve with your friends?

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

 

 

Will Social Media Make Me Watch The Super Bowl?

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It’s almost SUPER BOWL time!!!

Yes. If you know me at all, you know that I am pretty much… well… “Sports Illiterate”. Seriously, I’m pretty much the guy that might yell out “Homerun!” at a party on Sunday and get pelted by flying Buffalo wings from angry fans. But mix in social media, and I’m there!

With that in mind, I’m pleased to share that this year’s Super Bowl has enough social media fun to keep me interested.

Whether you’re a real sports fan, the spouse who is dragged along to the parties, or a techie kind of guy like me, you won’t want to miss out on some of this!

Of course you can do the traditional things like following your favorite team and players on Facebook and Twitter, but here are some other fun highlights:

Coke Chase Coke is always in the action for Super Bowl commercials, and this year is no different with CokeChase.com. When you visit the Coke Chase website, you can view the first part of a commercial where Showgirls, Badlanders, and Cowboys rush through the desert towards a large bottle of coke.

And the interactive element? You get to choose which team you want to win the race AND you get to choose to “sabotage” one of the other teams. Go vote now! Tomorrow the winning ending will be revealed during the Super Bowl.

 

LikeBowl Which team do you want to win? Go to LikeBowl.com and “Like” and “Share” your favorite team to help them score in this poll!

 

VineBowl Twitter’s new service Vine gets in the action this year with VineBowl. Fans are encouraged to create 6-second looping videos to answer the question – Whose fans are louder?

 

Shazam Remember Shazam? It’s the smartphone app that you “listens” to music and tells you the name of the song and artist. They may not be talked about very often lately, but this year they are in the game (so to speak) by making Super Bowl commercials more interactive. Use Shazam during the game to unlock special offers and more content.

 

Mobile Viewing For the first time ever, this year’s Super Bowl will be streamed for mobile devices at www.cbssports.com. Of course everyone prefers to watch on the big screen, but when you access the game on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, you can pick your own camera view! No… really. How’s that for technology hard at work?

 

So let’s bring on the game and score a social media homeru… um… TOUCHDOWN!

After all, did you know that 60% of people watching the Super Bowl will be on their mobile devices during the game?

What about you? Which of the items above interest you the most? Any others you want to share?

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS!