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Posts tagged Social Media
Election 41–The Social Media Election
Apr 1st
Does anyone remember the old days when voters went to the poll to cast their ballot based on the hands shaken and babies kissed by the candidates and the limited and sometimes (mostly) selective information that was published or broadcast by news agencies? It seems like a long time ago but in reality it has been less than 10 years.
It started in 2006, expanded with the US election in 2008 and has been gaining steam since…to the point where more people will get their information on the upcoming election from social media than from almost any other place.
The new social media way of campaigning is a way for the parties and candidates to get in touch with everyone. Or at least anyone who is interested. The cost of the travel involved by candidates in rural or the territories is astronomical compared to their urban counterpart. In the NWT for example, the cost of candidates to travel to visit constituents in Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok, Paulatuk, Deline, Colville Lake or even Inuvik or Hay River is an expensive venture costing hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
During the 5 week span of the election, candidates barely scratch the surface as far as meeting their constituents. People not at home, people not wanting to talk to candidates make it difficult and a waste of limited time. This is where Social Media can help.
Most, if not all, candidates for Election 41 have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, if not both. The Political parties all have Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube accounts to help keep everyone in the know. The leaders of the parties all have the same so you can find out everything you need to know.
In addition to the social media sites, RSS feeds from the party sites, news agencies and bloggers, anything you want or need to know in order to make an informed decision in this election has never been easier. You have the right to vote so it is up to you to exercise that right and vote.
The Reasons We Need/Use Social Media Sites
Sep 5th
Today seemed like the perfect day to do this post. With many of my Facebook applications again having issues, I don’t have to worry about missing something. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Missing something on Facebook. Isn’t it amazing that so many of us spend hours every week doing things and playing games on sites like this. Why do we do it?
I think for many people, the games played and connections made on social media sites give people a distraction from their everyday lives. Sometimes people have so much on the go or so much else to think/worry about that maybe we all need to just clear our minds and playing these games or interacting on these sites allows us to do that. It is not much different than watching TV or becoming immersed in a hobby is it?.
For many users it is a way to procrastinate from the things in real life that we need to do. Everyone is a procrastinator aren’t they? Why should we do now what can be put off until tomorrow? Social media sites give us a way to keep busy without looking after the real things that need to be done. Everyone works better when that deadline is closer anyway…don’t they?
People also like to be acknowledged. Even when they are just people we have no contact with other than on social media sites. Everyone likes to have their statuses commented on. It makes us feel that others are paying attention to us. Retweeting our tweets makes us feel that we have something important to say. People like that feeling…even if it is just online.
We all like to feel we belong. Being alone sucks. But being connected online gives us a feeling of belonging to something. We can find people with the same interests or problems. We join groups and follow topics as part of a social group. We love that feeling of belonging to something.
Many use social networks as a way of assuring themselves that their decisions are the right ones. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you connect with. You can ask the social-sphere to help with a problem you have knowing what you think is the right thing to do. Asking for that assurance makes you feel better about your decision…the problem is that you don’t know many of the people you ask those assurances from so they don’t know the whole story.
My final idea of why people flock to social media is the anonymity of it all. Many people can be who they want to be. People can post whatever picture they want. They never have to show people who they really are even if they are interacting within their social media of choice. Many people choose not to show their picture or share any part of who they really are. While going against the true meaning of social media, it is their choice albeit not one I agree with. I dislike people who want to be a part of social media sites but who don’t share anything including their picture. People who use fake names don’t have any part in joining social media sites in my opinion.. The other thing with the anonymity is many use this mask as a way of striking out at others. They are online and have hidden who they really are so they can say what they want without repercussions. What goes around, comes around!
So why do you involve yourself with social media sites? Leave me a comment and let me know why?
The Power of Social Media
Aug 22nd
We live in a time when anyone can find out information about anything or anyone. We live in a time where the world has become compressed due to the internet with its’ blogs and many social media sites. News that used to take years, months, days, weeks or hours to spread to other areas of the world now is instantaneous through new forms of media like Twitter and Facebook. We used to rely on newspapers and libraries for information where we now have access to information through various websites be it online versions of newspapers or books or through blogs. We used to have to rely on mainstream journalists for the news. Now everyone can share the news as it happens or even their own opinions through blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc..
With this ability to access information anywhere and any time, people need to know that what they say online can (and probably will) be seen by anyone at any time after it is posted. It may not be read right after it is posted but it is available to read anytime…even years into the future. You have to be aware of that. If it is on the internet it is there for everyone to read.
Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it. –
A couple of items piqued my interest this week when it came to the power of social media. First off there was a blog in Edmonton that received a nasty response from an Artistic Director/Actor of a local theatre company. An attempt to resolve the issue privately failed as another blogger was basically told the same thing. I won’t go into the details of the whole thing as you can read them at the links in this paragraph. The second blogger decided to write a post responding to the initial and subsequent nasty responses and posted this on his blog. He then sent a tweet out to announce his blog post as he always does.
Inspiration? I’m Humbled
Aug 22nd
Posted by martin in About Me
1 comment
So in the past couple of months I have had several people who used to read my posts ask me if I was going to start writing again. 2 of my readers even went as far as saying that my writings on my struggles to lose weight and control my diabetes was an inspiration to them to either lose weight or live more healthy. For those thoughts I am humbled.
So, I have my computer set up and I will be back posting and hopefully people will come back and read what I have to say. You may not always agree with what I post but your opinion is as valuable to society as mine so either way, please leave me comments. It is this interaction that makes blogs and social medias successful.