Addicted to Social Media

I have always been social media savvy. My first encounter was when I was 12-years-old and I created a Meetspot, which feels like centuries ago at this point.

At around the age of 13 is when I started living off of Myspace. Constantly posting updates of my dramatic teenage life, and consistent fights over who was in my top eight.

As time progressed Myspace died and I moved onto FaceBook, as did everyone else. Again, posting my everyday life because I found it to be necessary, for whatever reason.

Photo Credit: Crafttruck.com

It wasn’t until a couple years ago did social media play an actual importance to my life. When I first created a Facebook and Instagram account they were both just in their beginning stages.

Now I use them for networking, receiving news and just keeping up to date with recent trends.

One social media site I wasn’t to fond of was Twitter. That was until my journalism 301 professor suggested to create one and stressed the importance to do so. He went on and on about how crucial it will be for our future jobs and careers.

Photo Credit: Huffingtonpost.com

So naturally I created one. Never used it.

Now, in my current semester, I have finally put Twitter to use. In my journalism 320 class, it was required to use the social site. Other than the class assignments, I still never use it.

Nothing personal against Twitter but I just prefer Facebook and Instagram. Here and there I will ‘Tweet’, still not as often as others. I still have more followers on Instagram than I do Twitter, but I still follow Twitter accounts that I find interesting, though I usually do not check.

All in all I can say throughout this class it has boosted my social media skills in a sense. I’ve never used social media to report a story, so that is something new to add to my list. Also I have never written a blog post before, which I think is the most important skill I have learned so far, and will continue to use and advance.

All aboard the social media express

I have mainly used Facebook and YouTube, if you count that as social media, before the start of this semester. I was not much of a status-poster, page sharer or photo-uploader. I never used Twitter or Instagram until this semester. Now, I post more on Twitter than I do on Facebook and use Instagram more than I ever thought possible.

I do have a Twitter account, but before, I saw Twitter as a joke; a watered down Facebook for those who feel the need to post every little thing. I always said “you can’t spell Twitter without ‘twit.'” The same went for Instagram. I remember talking to someone and he called it the “Facebook for the illiterate.” I didn’t exactly think that, but I think I got what he was trying to say. Needless to say, I did open these accounts to see how I could benefit.

I can say expanding my social media horizons was beneficial. I was able to report on happenings and situations wherever I was.

My biggest on-spot reporting using social media had to be that one Friday morning when it was two degrees, real chilly and I had to get to 320. It was 7:00 a.m. and the train that I and Carlos Cadorniga were supposed to get on was unofficially cancelled. The whole Long Island Rail Road was in shambles that morning with a few broken rails and a disabled train.

Carlos and I tweeted, with the use of Instagram, about this only to let our amazing and wonderful professor, Mr. Carl Corry, know about our situation. When he and others told us to keep tweeting, we just went along with it. We didn’t even think it would be seen as entertainment or updated news like a breaking news story with details coming along, we just wanted to get to class. At least the class and others got a kick out of our suffering (maybe we should suffer more often?). But when we documented everything that happened, I actually felt like I was getting a real-life, instant experience: tweeting, interviewing, photo and picture taking and posting information on the fly. It reminded me of the whole concept of being quick, but accurate. Granted I could have done things better that day such as getting full names of people I interviewed.

I do retweet stories that are interesting and compelling for others to see. I am following 122 Twitter accounts, both people and groups and I have 43 followers. Some notable followers are, apparently, the co-founder of Activision, a comedian with more than 100,000 followers and some Saudi Arabian airline, by the looks of it. I’m skeptical about the Saudi Arabian airline page, but I’ll leave it for now. Not sure how any of these people found me.

I think I will keep using these social media tools for years to come. If anything new comes out then, I’ll give that an exploration.

The recipe for followers

The beginning of this semester marks the birth of my professional Twitter account @bridget_downes. Since January, I’ve worked my way to 46 followers. My personal account has 228. Gaining followers is a feat that takes time if you don’t happen to be a celebrity.

Screenshot by Bridget Downes.

 

To gain followers, you must follow a recipe: post frequently, tag all posts, and interact with people. Posting frequently is important because not only does it show your followers you’re alive and kicking, but it provides a constant feed of information, which is what people want.

Tagging posts is another helpful tactic. By adding #freedom to your tweet regarding your 320 homework, any Twitter user who searches for freedom may stumble upon your tweet. This increases the chances of people visiting your Twitter account and potentially clicking “follow” when they enjoy your amazing, fully comprehensible, well-tagged tweets.

Adding hashtags won’t hurt your SEO, either. In fact it would do the opposite. So add all the appropriate hashtags your heart desires, without being excessive. If you add too many, people will stop reading them.

Comic by Sarah Lesson/chaospet.com.

Interacting with people is another important ingredient in the recipe to gain follower count. People like being responded to. People like being acknowledged, noticed. If others see that you interact with your followers, they might be more inclined to approach you. This is also a good way to network. Twitter is a social medium, after all.

In addition to my personal Twitter account and my professional one, I run the account of Stony Brook Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood. I work as the social media coordinator for Vox, which includes running Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. This means I am in charge of publicizing and promoting our events to increase turn-out. As a group, we also post relevant articles that deserve signal boosting to spread awareness.

Screenshot by Bridget Downes.

 

Under the Vox account, I follow Twitter and Instagram accounts that have similar messages and goals as our group. This leads to follow-backs, based on similar interests.

Though I don’t have hard proof, I’ve heard people say that some accounts gain followers by going on a “follow spree,” and then unfollowing the accounts after gaining the follow-backs. Although this sounds effective, it seems morally wrong in my opinion. So I’ll stick to the original recipe.

Boosting my social media presence

@jiminkim92 on Twitter. Screenshot by Jimin Kim (April 9, 2015).

This semester, my social media presence has grown through my managing the Twitter accounts of my start-up, AllKickboxing, and the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. Since February, I have gained 60 followers on my Twitter account.

AllKickboxing’s Twitter account, @AllKickboxing_. Screenshot by Jimin Kim (April 9, 2015).

I frequently favorite and retweet AllKickboxing’s tweets to help promote its podcast or blog. Through this “double-dipping” promotional strategy, people in the mixed martial arts community have started following my personal Twitter account. For instance, Victor Cui, the CEO of ONE Championship, the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in Asia, began following me on Twitter.

Furthermore, on Twitter, I constantly search the hashtags “MMA” and “kickboxing” to engage with people who post tweets that include that hashtag. This has helped me connect with the niche MMA fan base.

For the Alda Center, I take a similar approach by tweeting content using the center’s account and retweeting it on my personal handle. Through retweeting the center’s workshop dates and science contests, scientists and professors have started following me on Twitter. Furthermore, I regularly search the news feed for tweets that use the hashtag “scicomm,” which is short for science communication, to find people who may be interested in the Alda Center’s programs.

Marine scientist Dr. Chapman explores shark fin hunting issues in our full Science on Tap, Shark Night video:http://t.co/wi0OjGY20y #scicomm

— The Alda Center (@AldaCenter) March 29, 2015

(Tweet by @AldaCenter on Twitter promoting a science communication talk).

I have also grown the Facebook account of the Stony Brook University Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. By promoting guest journalism workshops and weekly meetings using SBU-SPJ’s Facebook page and sharing the posts on my own Facebook timeline, I have been attracting attention to the club. I have also made new friends on Facebook who are interested in joining SBU-SPJ.

Facebook page of SBU-SPJ. Screenshot by Jimin Kim (April 9, 2015).

Furthermore, I have learned a valuable lesson on how to properly use hashtags. An Instagram post allows a maximum of 30 hashtags. But, hashtags increase the size of your post and take up more real estate in the Instagram feed. Thus, people are likely to ignore a post that’s heavy with hashtags for breaking social media etiquette. Since decreasing the number of hashtags, my Instagram posts for AllKickboxing have generated more favorites.

I really look forward to cultivating my social media presence even more.

Creating a presence on social media

Photo from forbes.com

This semester I created a twitter account with the sole purpose of tweeting newsy things, such as stories I have written, my friends have written, or stories I have read from news organizations that I have found interesting.  As of right now, I do not have many followers — I only have 50 — but considering I do not tweet very much, I do not think that is an awful follower count.

I plan to increase my followers by tweeting more often, with hashtags, so more people can see what I am posting.  I do need to work on sharing my work.  I tend to only share the work I am happy with or proud of, but I really should share everything.  Even if I am not happy with the way something turned out doesn’t mean other people won’t enjoy it.  After all, we are our own biggest critic.

 

I do not use Instagram for journalistic purposes, and unless I am posting a picture of myself at the anchor desk for Newsbreak, my Instagram is used for entertainment purposes only.  I also do not use Facebook that much. The only time I do, it is to post articles I have written.

Overall, I hope to expand my use of social media for journalistic purposes and gain followers in the process.  I hope to do so through my use of hashtags and upping my content.

Stony Brook Students get Involved

Approximately 74 Stony Brook University organizations attended the Student Activities Center Wednesday Feb. 11 for the Involvement Fair, according to Samson Woo, Division of Student Life employee, which featured performance and pre-professional groups.

Students began lining the hallway to enter the fair nearly 20 minutes before it began.

Students are already lining up to enter the SBU Involvement fair! #JRN320 pic.twitter.com/FLdm5va3BT

— Kayla Shults (@kayla_shults) February 11, 2015

The groups used a variety of poster boards, props, costumes and performances all in an effort to attract new members and spark interest in their organizations.

The Stony Brook University Division of Student Life, which was responsible for putting on the event, “advocates for students while fostering campus involvement, civic engagement, and student success. The departments within the Division of Student Life offer quality services and programs that provide social, cultural, recreational, academic, and leadership development.”

Alanna Harte, 23, a junior political science major and member of the Stony Brook University Pre-Law Society wanted students to know that besides helping prepare students for law school, it works on public speaking and competes in mock trials throughout the year.

The Marine Science Club urged students to join so they can learn more about the issues affecting nature in their own backyards. Besides that, junior marine biology major Jessica Massaro, 25, says the club has interactive outings as well. “We also go on really awesome field trips, like a seal cruise this month!”

The Pre-Law Society hopes to help members in all aspects of debate and public speaking.
Photo: Kayla Shults

The Marine Sciences Club not only educates students in ongoing issues, but relates them to real world experiences.  Photo: Kayla Shults

Performance groups were open to displaying their skills all afternoon.

The Cadence Step Team, which drew onlookers with their moves and constant shouts of, “We know you saw ‘Stomp the Yard’” that’s what we do,” had the entire ballroom applauding by the time they were done.

The SBU Belly Dancers drew in a crowd with their colorful, flowing skirts with what seemed to be golden bells hanging off of them. These groups drew in students and had lists with the emails of prospective members by the end of the fair.

The SBU Belly Dancers draw in crowds with their costumes and unique dance moves.
Photo: Kayla Shults

The Cadence Step Team had the entire SAC Ballroom applauding by the time they were done.
Photo: Kayla Shults

When organizations packed up their tables and left this semester’s edition of the Involvement Fair, they had lists full of the names and emails of potential new members.