Author: differencesmag

Beauty’s In The Eye Of The Blogger

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Jessica Bender, please click here. 

Our relationship with the concept of beauty is a complex one – one moment you feel like the most gorgeous person in the world, and the next you’re cowering in a corner because you’re so ashamed of how you look. On average, only four percent of people believe they’re beautiful, and most of the blame can be given to forms of media like Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue or plastic women dominating the airwaves. However, as discussed on February 15th at The Changing Face of Technology: Click Here for Beauty, social media is redefining what beauty is.

According to the panelists, platforms like blogging and social networks are breaths of fresh air when it comes to talking about beauty. “Social media can give you a clearer idea about what’s beautiful,” says Art Markman, professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. “It gives people the opportunity to make them feel better about themselves…and provides the opportunity to think outside the box about beauty.”

beauty techFor a younger demographic, the opportunity to speak their minds about what’s beautiful is appreciated. “With younger [people],” Real Simple’s Beauty and Health Director Didi Gluck said, “there’s more acceptance of different standards of beauty because everybody has a voice where they can voice how they feel.”

Consumers typically find a community of their own to connect with, but beauty brands welcomes conversations about beauty and their products with open arms – in exchange for customer loyalty and future revenue. “The bloggers [who are avid consumers] who are taking over the online world tend to be normal women,” NewBeauty Magazine Editorial Video and Interactive Director Susan Yara begins. “They push the bottom line for a lot of brands…if they don’t trust or like you, they’re not going to buy from you.” More importantly, brands want to be a huge force on social networking sites like Twitter or Pinterest. For this very reason, Yara stresses, “Social media is making brands accountable, so [your brand doesn’t] want to be a bad boyfriend on social media.”

“A relationship with your neighborhood sells more than anything,” says Markman. “Brands have to develop a personality, so authenticity from top to bottom is key. [They] have to get out of the mode of constant advertising…[and] engage in real conversation [with their customer].”

The Power of Social Media in Education: #Latism

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here. 

Education and technology should not be viewed as two distinct entities, especially in today’s world. There are many ways that the younger demographic, K-12 age group, could benefit from having more of what would be considered “their world” incorporated into their everyday learning schedule. In the panel for “The Power of Social Media in Education” many topics were discussed especially those pertaining to just how much the Latin community needs a dose of technology in their day-to-day life.

For example, it is important that social media be used as a bridge between students, but equally as important is the need to involve parents. Social media should be a leverage to get a grassroots movement started within a community. Angelica Perez-Litwin identified the issue when she assessed that Latinos “need a lot more one on one contact and social media will be a good way to start that.” The use of social media is the perfect tool but it is only the beginning, different resources or mentorship programs have to come hand in hand with the upgrade in technology.

Mentorship programs are just one example of how using social media could really have a strong impact on a child’s life. Another example would be the use of Google, Google+, or Google Docs. All of these Google branches are being implemented in schools to help students work in groups, while still allowing the teacher to moderate who does what amount of work. They are all very user friendly and they demonstrate how technology could be used in the most positive way to complement, not supplement, what is taught the traditional way in class.

Nonetheless the most important point I took away form this particular panel is that many students might not be fully aware of all the resources that are available to them. The implantation of technology in less affluent school districts is not an easy feat, but it is not impossible either. Students in all areas of the world deserve the chance to incorporate the newest technologies into their educational world. Social media would be able to be a catalyst for change among these communities if only they were given the chance.

While many initiatives are being made to bring a technological revolution to communities that are lacking access to computers or internet, there is still a need for “new content to try and get Latino parents to help kids in their education” as stated by Jose Luis Rodriguez. The new content aimed at the Latino community has to be both geared to their necessities and understanding of their possible limitations. A implementation of both a grassroots form of communication coupled with social media seemed to be the verdict set out by all the panelists.

It’ll Be Cool to Text + Tweet in Class Soon

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Jessica Bender, please click here. You can watch the original SMW12 presentation on livestream. 

Teens are craving new ways of learning. With the average student sending 50 texts and watching five hours of YouTube per day, along with spending 31 hours a week on the Internet, more likely than not they’re going to get absorbed into what’s on a screen rather than what’s in a book.

Fortunately teachers and professors on most education levels are listening for new teaching methods and switching up their curriculum to cater to their kids’ new needs. Education experts at the dual panel/discussion The Future of Higher Education: Will Colleges Survive? and The Classroom of the Future: How Social Media Can Better Our Education System at Thomson Reuters dove head first into innovative new ways to engage students from middle school to graduate programs.

Eighth grade teacher/blogger Melissa Seideman is the model example of a socially savvy and tech friendly teacher pushing to make social media classroom-friendly. While most educators would have a problem with texting, Seideman encourages it; she says that it’s a perfect way to send out announcements and homework, and allows students to ask questions if they’re mute in class. Blogging is also a major part of her class structure, as it allows students to take ownership of their learning. The most surprising method of teaching she uses in the classroom, though, is Tweeting. With software like My Big Campus, her classes can have a dialogue while chatting about content in the classroom in 140 characters or less.

education

By the time you get started on your undergrad and graduate degrees, 2tor co-founders John Katzman and Jeremy Johnson think it’s vital for universities to focus on strengthening their online programs. With a huge majority of students interested in taking a semester online to accomplish other goals like studying abroad or interning, Katzman says that the goal of undergrad programs is to “make education more efficient”. It’s not effective if you throw in an online program just to have one, though. Katzman adds, “If you don’t think you can give a program as good online as in the classroom, why do it? If you can’t do it well, you shouldn’t.”

More than anything, though, all the panelists agreed that social media is essential for the education system because it builds a sense of community and collaboration. “In order to get a higher quality education, you need to interact and engage in conversation,” Johnson said. “It’s important to build a network of peers to help you after the education is done, so the college experience [is about] integrating yourself in society.”

Seideman stresses that “classrooms can be a media-rich environment.” If you give students the tools they need to be 21st century learners while having them connect with material using videos, music and social media, “students [will] be excited about going to class.”

Engaging in Conversation: The New Ghostwriter Panel

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here. 

The New Ghostwriter Panel included Aliza Licht, Terry Li, Sam Graham- Felsen, and was moderated by Todd Wasserman; to say it was incredible is an understatement. Each panelist is an expert in his or her field of interest and throughout the conversation it showed.

Mr. Graham-Felsen demonstrated extensive knowledge in the meshing of politics and social media, which ultimately transcended that niche and flowed into personal branding and the importance of authenticity. Having been a blogger for the Obama 2008 campaign, Sam understands how essential it is to have a voice that is all your own and to be able to have a candid conversation with those that interact with your material, a trait that the Obama campaign perfected. The ability to give a personal voice to the blog is what set Sam and the Obama campaign apart from any other organization that used ghostwriters, which is simply the middleman or filter between what the brand or politician wants to say and what you as a follower actually read or hear.

All the panelists opposed directly to the use of ghostwriters because it takes away the transparency of any brand and in specific Sam admitted to being a strong proponent of “cutting the divide between a company or politician and an audience”. Terry Li partially disagreed with the statement because he finds the ghostwriter to be useful if used wisely, like when someone has a speech written by someone else. Yet ghostwriting provides a specific dilemma because it takes away from the “social” side of social networking, it makes any young adult vulnerable to falling for the pretense that they are communicating with their favorite celebrity when they really are talking to his middleman.

Aliza Licht or @dkny as many might know her, has perfected the ability to remain authenticate, engage in conversation, and still represent the brand quite well, without having to resort to ghostwriting. An easy feat she admitted simply because while tweeting she is being herself. The key lies in the authenticity and the ability to create a flow of information; each young adult is aware of that natural flow because they take part of it every single time they use a social network. You engage with others on social networks assuming that it is personally them and although advertising might be involved subtly, like Terry Li and Bre.ad manage to do, you still feel like you are a part of a genuine conversation.

As a part of the younger demographic this is how you want to develop all your personal branding ventures after because between Aliza’s personal touch, Sam’s lens in storytelling and engagement, and Terry’s ability to create an unrecognizable divide between interaction and promotion, you are able to find a perfect equilibrium to propel your own personal brand.. During the Q&A plenty of the answers provided were geared toward young adults and advice was given. For instance if what you want is to be a strong influence in social media a key is to provide material not seen before or to truly engage in conversation, not just disseminate information. The topic of the panel might have been ghostwriting but the advice shared here goes beyond who sends out twitter messages, it is about a personal brand, and by personal I mean YOU!

Girls Like Rachel Lloyd Can Turn Trauma Into Activism

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Jessica Bender, please click here. 

You wouldn’t think that Rachel Lloyd had been through any hardships just by looking at her. Decked out in an animal print cardigan and fiery red pants, the executive director and founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS)was the model for how powerful women should appear. When Lloyd strutted up to the podium at her own keynote at Thomson Reuters on Tuesday afternoon, she had a certain air of confidence to her, one that you can gain when you go through a traumatic experience like she has.

Lloyd is living proof that any girl, regardless of race or income, can be a victim of trafficking. For a good chunk of time in her teens (until she was 19), she was struggling to get out of the sex trafficking industry. When she eventually found a way out, she wanted to do nothing more than help other trafficking victims. “Squares would treat [these victims] like they didn’t belong,” Lloyd began. “If [society] didn’t change public perception about the way girls were being treated, nothing was going to change.”

With only a computer and $30, Lloyd started GEMS in the comfort of her own apartment in 1998. Although she first started to spread awareness about trafficking using typical grassroots techniques (petitioning, picketing, handing out flyers, etc.), Lloyd wanted to get the word out in a more creative fashion.

rachel-lloyd1

A book and a documentary put out by Lloyd and GEMS completely changed the future of the non-profit. Starting with the book Breaking the Silence, GEMS members told their heart-wrenching stories using personal stories, prose, photography and other forms of art. What really got GEMS the attention it rightfully deserved, though, was the film Very Young Girls. According to the non-profit site:

Very Young Girls is an exposé of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls in New York City as they are sold on the streets by pimps and treated as adult criminals by police. The film follows barely adolescent girls in real time, using vérité and intimate interviews with them, documenting their struggles and triumphs as they seek to exit the commercial sex industry. The film also uses startling footage shot by pimps themselves, giving a rare glimpse into how the cycle of exploitation begins for many women.

While the film had success at film festivals across the country, the documentary exploded on premium cable channel Showtime. Lloyd admitted that praise came from the strangest places, since the filmed aired during the late night on TV – even drug dealers in Rachel’s neighborhood raved about the movie to her!

Success may not have come overnight for the organization, but their achievements are undeniable. GEMS is currently the largest non-profit in the country working with sexually trafficked young women. They mentor over 300 girls each year through recovery and leadership programs, and currently have three distinct housing programs, providing the girls with services they need to conquer life.

GEMS’ current project has Lloyd hoping that sexual exploitation awareness will hit the mainstream. In partnership with trafficking organizations Free the Slaves and Polaris Project, mtvU’s Against Our Will Campaign was launched in September 2011. The campaign’s main focus is to empower college students to learn more about modern-day slavery and inspire them to take action to end trafficking for good. While being on mtvU is a big stepping stone, Lloyd dreams of getting the campaign on MTV by the end of the year.

You Don’t Have to Be a Sinner to Be Social Media Savvy

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Jessica Bender, please click here. You can watch the SMW NYC event on livestream here. 

Being a social butterfly takes a lot of energy; along with constantly juggling your Facebook and Tumblr feeds, you have to make sure to be smart about what you’re doing on your beloved social networks. Add another thing to your list of things to be concerned about – you might be a social media sinner, and you might not even know it.

If you’re desperate to run to confession to have your soul detoxed, don’t freak out too much. According to a survey conducted by marketing-communications brand JWT, 71 percent of people over the age of 18 have committed at least one social media sin. On top of that, the average person is guilty of doing two sins out of seven.

So, let’s get to the bottom of this. What, exactly, are the seven social media sins? Answer: they are much like the seven deadly sins we’re all very familiar with. The rundown of the scorching sins are:

1. Greed of social media attention

2. Gluttonous towards consumption of online and social content

3. Lust and desire – think of spending too much time sexting with your boy/girlfriend of the week or watching too much Internet porn

4. Social media enabling you to be a lazy bum

5. Acting angry or lashing out towards people on your social network

6. Social media arrogance

7. Jealousy towards what other people in your network are doing

The topic of teens’ sins on social networks came up heavily during the How and Why We Share: The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media panel on February 16th at JWT Headquarters. Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen Magazine, Ann Shoket, knows first-hand about teens’ online behavior, since she and her team interact with teenage girls all the time. “[It’s great] that girls have a voice and can make a mark,” Shoket comments. “[However}, teens have to be incredibly smart about their own PR and making their own image.” If they’re not, teens are going to abuse their power of free speech and spew obscenities and TMI facts that their followers don’t want to hear.

Another problem that teens may face thanks to their social media use is acting shallow about practically anything they encounter. “Liking something has become such a shallow act,” said JWT Digital Strategist Jinal Shah. “Blogging’s better because it pushes people to think and get into a conversation.” More importantly than that, it enables readers of blog posts to construct new and original thoughts upon reading a piece of stellar writing. That’s definitely something that most teeny-boppers have a hard time doing on Twitter, with the very-limited character space and all.

It’s evident what the Big Baddie of Social Media is, though; the utterly despicable act of trolling and cyber bullying (or, as Shoket prefers to call it, “digital drama”). It feels like every day a new story comes out about teens being tortured by their peers or complete strangers on the Internet.

The perfect example of Internet trolling at its worst (at least in my eyes) was the sad situation involving Florida tween Jessi Slaughter. If you don’t know about this, let me clue you in. 11 year-old Jessi liked to post semi-inappropriate videos and self-portraits on MySpace and YouTube. This would usually go unnoticed and ignored by everybody except her friends. Unfortunately, a poster from the infamously trollish 4chan picked up on one of her videos and posted it all over the site. The Team of Trolls couldn’t help but harass her from all sides, from calling her names via email and IM to sending her death threats via text. Long story short, the trauma of the online harassment landed her in several mental institutions.

Cyber bullying may be hard to defeat, but it’s not immortal. For instance, Seventeen launched a social media campaign called Delete Digital Drama last summer to fight back against it using Facebook and Twitter badges to start the conversation. With a growing community of teens against this harsh form of bullying, it should be harder to get away with harassing people on each other’s Facebook walls.

Now that you’ve been enlightened of your possible online wrongdoings, it’s now up to you to check yourself before you go off being a social media menace. You’ll feel a heck of a lot better not being a troublemaking troll or a jealous lazy bum.

Get to know us and get yourself a paper writing service friend who will be completing papers for you cheap and fast!

College Students at SMW…or Not

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here. 

Taking on Social Media Week NYC for the first time was everything I expected and much more. Nonetheless, I could not help but noticing that there was an obvious lack of college students at the events I attended. I am both a current college student and new to the entire #SMWNYC experience. As a result, I inferred that the lack of college students might be rooted on the fact that they don’t know what to expect or that they are unaware of how insightful it is into any kind of career path to be a part of this conversation.

Social media is not just a tool to communicate with your friends or to find out what your favorite celebrity is doing, they actually might not even be the one tweeting figured that one out in the Ghostwriter panel. If used to its fullest potential social media has the power to change our world, think Arab Spring or OWS, but on a smaller scale it can also change the amount of networking connections we establish. Social Media Week really helps to put this power in perspective regardless of the event you attend. I attended events that varied from Sports, Gaming, and Social Media to an event focused on Education, and I learned something from each of them.

There is a lens through which you are able to see different industries and their use of social media that you are just not able to get in a classroom. Listening to different panelists speak on how essential it is to market yourself as a brand and to really use social media as a leverage to establish connections is valuable advice. The tips and facts I learned throughout SMW resonated deeply because they were all techniques I could implement in the present to help me become a well-rounded candidate when it comes to entering the workforce.

College students might think it is a little too early to be attending events that are filled with established social media personalities, but I personally believe that this is the best time for that. Being exposed to so many successful people is not only motivation itself, but it is also an opportunity to network and pick the brains of those that have already traveled the path. It might be slightly intimidating at first to be the youngest and probably only student in an event filled with experts in a specific area, but it is also eye opening. By attending these events as a student or a person in the industry you really show that you are interested in learning more and have a true desire to experience social media first hand and to its full potential.

To see people speak on their experiences with social media and just exactly how it has helped them get to where they are is inspirational. Even more interesting and insightful is to learn how social media is implemented in everything from fashion to politics. All the events really build on the fact that social media is not only here, but it’s here to stay. I think it would only benefit students to take part in these events because they will be able to handle their online brands appropriately, learn how exactly social media affects their career of interest, and ultimately enjoy meeting such incredible experts in social media.

The New Face of Social Good: How To Make Your Own Social Media Magic!

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Opal Vadham, please click here. 

What do you get when you put a Managing Editor, A Director of Global Marketing, 3 Founders, and A supermodel in one panel? A whole lot of inspiration, and not one seat left unattended. 30 Floors above Times Square, people were excited and anxious to hear about the panel that was about to take place. It was none other than the highly anticipated panel that was all over our Twitter feeds-The New Face of Social Good: How To Make Your Own Social Media Magic! Hosted by none other than my favorite organization She’s the First (who we have previously featured on our website.)

The event started out with an introduction from supermodel Alek Wek who She’s the First connected with through Twitter. I was lucky enough to meet her before and she specifically said she was completely against getting on twitter, the only technology she could use is email and that was good for her. But after many people persuaded her she caved in and joined in November, and since then she says it’s such a positive thing that raises awareness, it’s an outlet that we take for granted because countries like Africa don’t have it. I had to ask her, since I am at a She’s the First sponsored event what she is the first in her family to do and she says she’s the first to be a model (even though her mom at first told her NO), and her memoir is translated in up to 10 languages. And my favorite question of all- her advice to all of our readers out there-“Be YOURSELF. Even though sometimes you feel shy, there are people who are going to love you and identify with you and grow with you. One thing I thought to myself is that I couldn’t do this as long as I did if I wasn’t myself with the people who knew me. Be Yourself, Believe in yourself, and even though some people won’t, if you have few good friends you can count on your fingers, you’re set. ” 

After Aleks incredible introduction the panel which featured Adam Braun founder of Pencils of Promise, Susan McPherson director of global marketing firm at Fenton Communications, Michael Radparvar cofounder of Holstee, Tammy Tibbetts founder of She’s the First, and was moderated by none other than Mashable’s Managing Director Emily Banks. All of the panelists agreed that Social Media changed their life. The advice that was given was priceless, Michael said there is nothing more important then the first people you work with, and you love them like a marriage because you end up spending countless of hours with them. Adam said it’s okay not to start something; you can still be the head of marketing or the head of something. Find what you’re most passionate about, and seek work within it. And Susan made a great point about there are 3 times as many non-profits there were 10 years ago, but far less income. One of the best quotes of the nights was “A good tweet is like a good headline, it’s what grabs you to read the article, has to be catchy, that way your twitter is like your own magazine publication.”- Tammy Tibbetts The panelists agreed that the two biggest things of social media is transparency and storytelling. 

Adam Braun also took few minutes to answer questions for our Differences readers, he told me that a lot of hard work goes into overnight successes but if you believe in something relentlessly, it will happen. He also gave the advice for our teens to find your passion and find an organization out there and work with them, and if it feels right, you know you’re doing the right thing.

Throughout the event many people were also tweeting and connected because they were apart of changing a girls life. The Think Cloud agreed to donate a dollar to every tweet with the hash tag SMWMagic, and at the end of the night 1,137 #SMWMagic tweets generated 1,725,630 impressions, reaching audience of 621,260 followers! All of us were apart of something bigger than the event itself, we sponsored Eli’s senior year of high school in Tanzania!

It’s so funny because around a month ago I had a meeting with Tammy and she was telling me about all the exciting upcoming events she was in the process of doing. And I remember her specifically telling me about this Social Media Week event and all she had planned for it. And to see it all come to life, all run smoothly without a glitch was incredible. It was the most popular Social Media Week event, and I can honestly say the most inspiring as well.

Sports, Gaming, and Social Media

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here. 

 

Watching any kind of sports game has always been considered a very social experience, but in the last few years that social experience has transitioned more and more into a social media experience. Many of the questions that were addressed in the first half of the panel had to do with social media and whether its involvement in sports would take away from the integrity of the sporting event. The overall verdict was that a balance needed to be reached between physical “in the moment” interaction and virtual interaction with sporting events.

Sports networks have begun to use mass relevance as the perfect gateway to incorporate social media into the sports experience. They have also been using mass relevance as the perfect way to bridge the gap between those experiencing the event live and those tuning in through other platforms. The advantage to this particular kind of interaction is the conversation that emerges as a result. Many young adults are as plugged in to the TV set as they are to their smart phones while watching sports; the use of mass relevance really allows their voice to be heard regardless of where they are watching the event from.

Social media has also been incorporated into the everyday life of sports through its athletes. MLS, NBA, NFL, MLB, and the NHL all have athletes that connect to their audience through Twitter and although that interaction really helps leverage the brand as a whole, its most important contribution is the relationship it establishes. The use of social media cuts out the middleman that tends to exist between a fan and his favorite athlete. For the young adult demographic it is monumental to be able to speak or share thoughts with your favorite athlete or sports personality through Twitter, Google+, or any other social media platform.

The integration of social media into the sporting event really assists each sporting channel because as stated in the panel “fans are the insider perspective of games”, a lens you can get no where else. As a result, the Millennial generation can relate more to a game if they are also able to capture the moment and update their friends about it. The best aspect of being able to use social media through the season is that it is also as easy to get information during off-season, a win-win for both the sports brands and the sports aficionados.

The same theory of social media interaction in sports events is found in the gaming world. The gaming world might even be using it to a greater extent because it is their only base to be able to compare how good they are versus how good everyone else. Nonetheless the idea is the same, if social media was incorporated correctly and information was not only stated but used to start conversations the sports industry and it’s audience would benefit endlessly from it.

The Conscientious Teen’s Guide to Using the Internet for Good

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This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Jessica Bender, please click here. 

There’s no doubt about it; the typical American teenager is obsessed with the Internet. According to a 2011 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, the vast majority of teenagers ages 12 to 17 (a whopping 95 percent) are now online. Most teens are addicted to watching epic feats of kitten talents on YouTube or reading up on old-school Nickelodeon cartoons on Wikipedia, but a lot don’t know that they can use their Internet skills to do good.

With the exponential growth of teenage social responsibility and activism over the past few years, the apathetic teen is slowly becoming extinct. Heck, you even have a better shot of getting into the college of your dreams if you even volunteer (according to a survey conducted by teen-centric non-profit DoSomething.org)! Want to get in on the do-gooder action? We know the best places for you to get inspired and get started on your quest to become a young social activist.

If you’re attached to your cell phone…you can get inspiration on ways to volunteer to your mobile! DoSomething.org sends out weekly volunteering ideas once a week to over 35,000 teens, so you have the power to make a difference right in your text inbox! Sign up by texting “DoSomething” to 30644 or registering your cell number here.

For the YouTube addicts…make your voice heard with your webcam. When it comes to important social issues, an audience will always exist. While you’re recording, make sure to keep it short, simple, and fun! Check out crowd-source initiatives like the It Gets Better Project and We Stop Hate to get you started on your quest to become a socially responsibly YouTube sensation.

It’s okay if you overshare on your social networks…if you’re sharing the right content. Instead of updating your statuses with tales of unrequited love, try to share stories and content on Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn about issues you truly care about. Your followers will thank you for the breath of fresh air on their feeds.

Glued to your Tumblr dashboard? There’s tons of non-profits and charities that post and reblog mega-cool content revolving around social good and making a difference. Their inspiration and feel-good posts will also probably make your heart grow a few sizes bigger, so it’s probably a good idea to follow what they’re doing. Some of my fave non-profits that are invading Tumblr include The Trevor Project, To Write Love on Her Arms, She’s the First, and UNICEF.

Can’t stop Tweeting? Use your Twitter account as a platform to promote issues and causes you’re passionate about in 140 characters or less. Three things to keep in mind while being a thoughtful Tweetheart:

1. Hashtag keywords when Tweeting so your Tweets show up easier in searches.

2. When Tweeting an article you want to share, make sure to refer back to the source’s Twitter handle. They’ll appreciate you taking notice of their content and might follow you back as a result.

3. Don’t Tweet or retweet too much – that’ll drive your followers absolutely crazy.

That being said, there’s a plethora of organizations and social good sites just aching for more followers. Mashable and GOOD have lists of organizations for you to follow and worship.

Youth and Social Media

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This post is the second in a series by SMWNYC media partner, Differences Magazine. Written by Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker. Learn more about Differences Magazine and see the original post here.

This is an exciting time to be a young person interested in media! With the advent of mobile technology devices and the growth of social media platforms, many youth have access not only to consume media more easily and quickly but also to make media and share it. As access to both the consumption and creation of media has risen, so have the challenges and opportunities.

Challenges to youth in this new age of quick and easy social media come in both the consumption of media and in the creation of media. One of the greatest challenges that youth face in negotiating new media revolves around sex. With the average adolescent watching television for 12 hours per week and using the Internet for 12.5 hours per week, exposure to media that depicts unhealthy sexual practices and attitudes is highly likely. Not only is pornography more accessible than ever, but also even mainstream media tends to depict sexual behaviors without any mention of risk or responsibility. This creates a very real challenge for youth who may be relying on media to provide them with guidance and information about sexuality and sexual practices.

From cyber bullying to sexting, social media opens up avenues for problems in social relationships that did not exist twenty years ago. As teens and tweens use more mediated forms of communication, the chance for miscommunication expands exponentially. Between texting and social media sites such as Facebook and Tumblr, youth communicate more easily with friends outside of school and extracurricular activities. But because of the lack of traditional social cues such as body language and facial expression, many will end up arguing with friends over issues that may not have arisen if they had been talking to one another face to face. And, of course, the danger of being victimized by an adult predator is always lurking when youth use social media to communicate with people who are unknown to them in real life. Children who use mobile technology to share sexy photos of himself or herself with a friend may find that the ease of sharing pictures leads what they thought were private to become public. Arguments, sexy photos and conversation, and bullying that begin through social media can expand into real life and cause devastating social problems for young people.

These challenges of media use and accessibility are very real, and youth need guidance from trusted adults to learn how to negotiate them in order to make the most out of the opportunities that increased access creates. But, along with these challenges come opportunities for youth to increase their knowledge and skills and to share their own ideas more broadly.

A new wave of learning through social media has opened up doors for young people to learn everything from foreign languages to how to write computer code and everything in between. This kind of access to knowledge and skill development is completely new, and in some ways youth benefit more than adults because of their familiarity with new media and their openness to using it as a source of learning.

Social networking sites and the use of wireless communication programs allow real time conversations with someone from a distance. This provides the opportunity to continue relationships that in the past would gave been too distant and to build new relationships with friends from around the world. This open line of communication builds new understandings and collaborations for young people from very different cultures. They can build worldwide coalitions around everything from special interests and hobbies to activism activities.

The ease of making media provides the chance not only to make original media but also to share one’s creations with the world. Mobile technology puts the ability to take photographs and create films right in the hands of young people. Sites such as YouTube, social networking sites, and blogging sites allow young people to develop a worldwide audience for their work. Instead of waiting until they can afford expensive equipment, young people can use mobile devices to hone their filmmaking and photography skills as they grow and learn. This brings new vision and fresh ideas into media industries.

Youth today have opportunities to use media in ways that could not have even been imagined twenty years ago. There is no doubt that media literacy education is a must for children and adolescents today. With opportunity comes challenge, but when young people are provided with media literacy education, it gives them the tools to learn to use social media safely, to critically analyze the messages that are being sent to them from different sites, and to learn to construct and share media and their thoughts, skills, and knowledge on their own terms. With these new tools and this new knowledge, young people have a wide-open world to explore, learn, and share.

Jennifer Shewmaker, PhD is a nationally certified school psychologist and licensed specialist in school psychology who has worked with hundreds of adolescents and families. She writes about adolescents and media on her blog www.jennifershewmaker.com.

Teens and Social Media Week: Why Should They Care?

Posted on by differencesmag

This post is the first in a series by SMWNYC media partner, Differences Magazine. Written by Jessica Bender. Learn more about Differences Magazine and see the original post here.

One of the biggest weeks of the year for social media is just around the corner, and thousands across the Big Apple are just anxious in anticipation for the year’s festivities. One major demographic that might not even know what’s going on, though, is the adolescents and teens that use social media about every day of their young lives.

It feels like the only stories that the news covers about teens and social media usually involve being addicted to the Internet or how sites like Facebook and Formspring give youngsters easier ways to cyber bully. Heads up, news conglomerates; the Internet wasn’t made to brainwash teenagers. Just to prove this notion, SMW 2012 is full of teen-friendly panels and events.

With over 80 percent of American teens age 12 to 17 on social networking sites, here are just a few examples as to why SMW is vital for teens to pay attention to (although we don’t recommend skipping classes to attend – stay in school!):

1. Your education depends on social media. With higher amounts of students dropping out and the higher education bubble on the verge of bursting, our education system is in trouble. Universities and colleges across America are already ahead of the game and plotting ways to make high school graduates interested in going back to school. The rise of online courses and high use of social media to transition from high school senior to college freshman have made earning an associate’s or bachelor’s degree look a little cooler, but can methods like this work for the high school spectrum?

a. Panels that might interest you – The Classroom of the Future: How Social Media Can Better Our Education System; Get “Schooled” By the Class of 2015: The New College Orientation – Powered By Students, Enabled By Social

2. Television will become a lot more interactive in the future. Networks have had a hard time scooping up and keeping viewers from watching their programs in real-time, thanks to their mortal enemies DVR and TiVo. Their only hope is to engage their demographics in interactive ways, like using social and mobile media to interact with their audience and keep them watching. The home of Top Chef and The Real Housewives of Every City in America, Bravo, is just one of the few networks that currently do this successfully – can others follow suit?

a. Panels that might interest you – The Mobile-Social Living Room: How Emerging Media is Reviving the Live Television Experience; Social Television: Opportunities for Broadcasters and Advertisers

3. Your video game addiction will actually benefit society at some point. Games can be fun, but can they actually make a difference? New research has suggested that gaming can create real-world change by influencing positive behavior and creating collaborative communities. While green companies are using mobile apps and social media to reward green actions, new games like America2049 are using pop culture and community mobilization to provoke people to take action for human rights and other important causes.

a. Panels that might interest you – Green Gamification: Combining Social Media & Game Mechanics to Promote Sustainability; GAME/WORLD: The New Collaborative Community

4. Social media will make you more socially responsible. If a campaign or organization wants to succeed in changing the world nowadays, they have to engage their followers and partners using social media to persuade them to jump on to their bandwagon. One cause in particular that has been stirring up global interest is girls’ education. Campaigns and non-profits like 10X10 and She’s the First know that girls will run the world one day, and their methods of social engagement have opened the eyes of thousands across the country.

a. Panels that might interest you – 10×10: Educate Girls, Change the World; The New Face of Social Good: How to Create Your Own Social Media Magic

With over 300 panels and events to choose from, there’s something to suit every teen’s taste. There’s officially no excuse to miss out on the fun. But, should homework and extracurricular activities get in the way, all the SMW excitement will be covered on Facebook and Twitter.