Tag Archives: Social media

Academics, Alexandria, Career, Events, MPA Council, MPAC, Student Life

MPA Council Hosts Catherine Cook, Founder of MyYearbook

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MPAC members with Catherine Cook

Last Wednesday, April 4th, the MPA Council invited Catherine Cook (founder of MyYearbook.com) to speak as part of their Esteemed Speaker Series.

Ms. Cook started off describing what MyYearbook was all about. When I hear about social media sites, I assume they are destined to fail since they are competing with the powerful network effects of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But Catherine Cook explained how these three social media giants don’t cover the entire span of the social media market. Facebook is for people you already know, Twitter is primarily used for news and entertainment feed, and LinkedIn is for the professional sphere of social media.

None of these sites are for meeting new people. That is the goal of MyYearbook. Cat Cook told us she got the idea at 15 when she moved to a new high school and didn’t know anybody. One of the purposes of the site is to help people who move to a new city engage with new people within a certain mile radius of them. Continue reading MPA Council Hosts Catherine Cook, Founder of MyYearbook →

Alexandria, Student Life, Uncategorized

Kony 2012- Illustrating the Power of Social Media

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I’m sure almost everyone has a friend who has posted a link to the Invisible Children’s video promoting the “Kony 2012”campaign on Facebook within the past week or so. This video has started a worldwide debate on the situation with Joseph Kony and the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) in central Africa and has proven the viral power of social media.

Invisible Children’s video was posted on Monday, and has garnered an astonishing 55 million views as of the last time I looked. As the video gained momentum on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, it was picked up by news organizations, bringing more awareness to it, and further increasing viewings.

What makes the fact that this video has gone viral so astounding is that, historically videos about humanitarian and social injustices do not typically spread in this fashion. The fact that this video is 30 minutes long makes its viral nature especially interesting, because a main rule of making a viral video is keeping it “focused, consistent, and SHORT.”

So what was it that made this video viral? Most people I have talked to say it’s because of the power of Invisible Children’s message. However, as Curt Hopkins said, many other non-profits have launched video campaigns full of good messages, but they haven’t caught on anywhere near to the extent of “Kony 2012.” Continue reading Kony 2012- Illustrating the Power of Social Media →

Academics, Employment, Feature, Melissa, Recruiting, Student Life

“Okay, employers don’t REALLY look at my Facebook, right?”

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WRONG!

YOU control your online persona

For me, Facebook has always been a positive thing- barring it’s impeccable ability to distract during finals week. Facebook is an efficient way to keep up with old friends and family, and to stay in touch with friends around the world. It is often entertaining, and merely a way for everyone to share their life with each other. However, Facebook is not all fun and games.

Facebook holds us all to a new level of accountability. There are countless stories of employees who have misled their employers. And now, in a world governed by social media, employees’ indiscretions are being discovered via Facebook. Take, for example, the story of Kevin Colvin, a NYC bank employee who asked off for a family emergency that just so coincidently landed on Halloween weekend. When pictures surfaced of Colvin in costume celebrating the holiday, he was promptly discovered. Many other employees have chosen Facebook as their channel of communication with which to rant about their employer, and thus are discovered as well.

While recruiting –and even when you secure a job– it is important to remember that your Facebook is NOT completely separate from your work life. Any online representation of you is free to the public. Anything that you post online should match the reputation that you are trying to withhold.

What it all boils down to, is that if you question whether or not something should be posted online, the answer is probably that it shouldn’t.  Be smart about what you post because you aren’t just sharing it with your friends, you are sharing it with the internet- aka anyone who inquires.

Sidenote: If you read through this and thought, “Oh, this is ridiculous. Obviously this girl doesn’t understand that Facebook has privacy settings.” Although a valid point, Facebook updates often reset your settings back to “default” (not private!) and anyway, it is better to be safe than sorry.