#FirstWorldProblems

I’m sure many of you are all aware of the hashtag #FirstWorldProblems, and if you are not, let me explain…

First world problems are problems that many of us will complain about in day to day life, many get broadcasted on Twitter or Facebook. Here’s a few first world problems that I have just found on Twitter…

“Can’t decide between Jamie or Nigella roast potatoes #FirstWorldProblems”

“I’m so hungry, but I’m too lazy to go downstairs #FirstWorldProblems”

“So many shoes…so little luggage space #FirstWorldProblems”

“When your phone charger doesn’t reach you in bed #FirstWorldProblems”

“All the tech in the world and still bored #FirstWorldProblems“

Get the picture?

They’re all silly things and I bet we’ve all been guilty at one time or another of thinking/saying/complaining about something similar to these. At first, I found the hashtag quite amusing, and guilty, I have used it once or twice on Twitter. I found it rather amusing when I first heard about it, but now I’m rather reluctant to use it.

So here’s some food for thought… whilst we are here pulling our hair out because we’ve gone to bed then realised the phone charger is downstairs and we have to go allllllllll the way back down the stairs to get it, or Tesco has ran out of our favourite flavour of Ben & Jerry’s (which are all clearly #FirstWorldProblems), what would third world problems look like?

I have no water to drink and I haven’t had any for days #ThirdWorldProblems

We have no food to feed our family tonight #ThirdWorldProblems

This YouTube advert really puts into perspective how ridiculous the things we say actually are. It cleverly jumped on the back of the first world problems trend and was able to turn it around to raise awareness of their charity…

The aim of this blog post is to realise how ridiculous many of the things we complain about actually are. Since it’s Christmas time we need to look at the things we own and the people who are around us and be grateful of every single thing because there are millions of people who can only wish for the things what we have. Yes, it may be annoying if your phone dies and you haven’t finished editing your selfie for Instagram but be grateful that you even have a phone, be grateful that your house has electricity. It may only happen in the first world but it isn’t a problem. Realise how lucky you really are.

Merry Christmas,

Love Jo.

“I killed a man.”

What comes to mind when someone mentions a ‘viral’ video? Is it a musical marriage proposal? Twerking gone wrong? Or even a young child shouting “Charlie bit my finger”? If it any of the above do come to mind then I’m not surprised as that’s what I would think of too.

Just to clear it up for any not aware of the term viral video – it’s when a video becomes very popular by people sharing it to others usually via the internet. Usually we find viral videos to be funny, very sweet or unique. However this video I have shared below I am surprised became viral.

This video is very emotive, with a strong message. Without being an advert for “Don’t Drink and Drive” it acts as one. It comes from a campaign/group called Because I Said I Would. They have a YouTube page, a Facebook page and a Twitter feed. When trying to find out what this group is about I came across the following… Because I said I would is a social movement dedicated to bettering humanity through the power of a promise. To encourage positive change and acts of kindness, we send “promise cards” to anywhere in the world at no cost. Because I said I would executes charitable projects in support of other non-profit organizations and good they bring into the world. (http://www.youtube.com/user/becauseisaidiwould/about).

I doubt you’ll see another viral video like it so give it a watch.

 

 

I’ve created my LinkedIn account…now what?

When we started University we were introduced to the “professional community” that is LinkedIn. We were told to sort ourselves an account on there and start using it as it would help us in the future. Anything to help me in the future I’ll accept!

So, LinkedIn is mainly focused on telling people your professional experience, and I can tell you all now my ‘experience’ is quite pathetic – it did not take me long to fill in! Job experience – Waitress. Skills acquired – working in a team, bar work, bla bla bla! And there’s my job experience…told you it didn’t take long!

Once I got through the task of filling everything in, i.e. qualifications, university, job experience, skills etc, the question is…now what?? I enjoyed creating my profile and adding people (not that I knew many people on there), but then it came to a standstill and I thought “well what am I actually supposed to do here?”. I’ve joined a few groups, thinking that’s what you’re supposed to do, but I don’t do anything with them!  It’s clearly not like Facebook where you have conversations with people and it’s not like Twitter either, where you tweet about random and possibly uninteresting things.

I do still go on occasionally to check if I have any notifications or if anyone has viewed my profile, but I don’t do anything else. Have you got any tips of how to get the most out of LinkedIn? It’s got me questioning whether I’m too young with not enough experience for it yet…either way I will NOT be deleting my account, I’ll carry on being young with no experience until I’m older with plenty.

[Image from smartinsights.com]

Leave The # For Twitter!

 (Image from http://www.digitaltrends.com)

Why is Facebook copying Twitter and Instagram’s hashtag feature? I’m not a fan! Not long ago I would see people using the # symbol on Facebook even though it didn’t actually do anything – even then I thought “excuse me, you’ve got the wrong website – think you’re supposed to be on Twitter!”

Facebook needs to stop trying to copy other websites. We have different social media sites because we use them for different things. Facebook; I communicate with friends and family, LinkedIn; I communicate with people in the professional world, and Twitter; I can communicate with absolutely anyone, and celebrities! If I use Facebook, like many others, to communicate with people I know then why would I be bothered what random people are hashtagging?

If something is popular, others seem to jump on the bandwagon rather than creating something new their-selves…why? I certainly will not be using that feature on Facebook. They don’t get a thumbs up from me for copying, there’s no creativity or thought gone into this and I think it’s absolutely useless for what people use it for.

What do you think? Do you like the new #Facebook?

You Never Know Who’s Watching!

(Image from www.etftrends.com)

It’s true, you don’t! As most of us tweet, blog, and write stuff on Facebook without being aware of who is reading what we’re saying, we have to be careful because someone important may actually be watching you!

During the start of University I tweeted completely unaware people were even bothered about what I was saying, I just tweeted for me, forgetting that there was a whole world out there to read what I was writing – BAD MOVE! During a University project, where we used social media to make a video go viral (which we succeeded in doing), I had a direct message from a Lecturer at Uni telling to be careful what I was writing on Twitter as we ‘had a lot of eyes on us’. He was right! We ended up having 2 different interviews from that because they were following what we were doing and saying whilst we were all completely unaware of it!

Since then I have been careful about what I write on the internet – it’s a big thing you know and a lot of people can see you! I even had a e-mail yesterday from podium.me asking for an interview with me about my recent blog post about the “Rate My Shag” pages on Facebook. Just when I thought my blog wasn’t popular!

It’s an amazing thing the internet, be careful what you do with it!

Challenge 60

What is it?

Well, Multiple Sclerosis (or MS for short) affects over 2.1 million people worldwide. Here’s what the MS Society say about it:

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition of the central nervous system. In MS, the coating around nerve fibres (called myelin) is damaged, causing a range of symptoms. Around 100,000 people in the UK have MS. It’s normally diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 40, and affects almost three times as many women as men. Once diagnosed, MS stays with you for life, but treatments and specialists can help you to manage the symptoms. We don’t know the cause and we haven’t yet found a cure, but research is progressing fast.

What is the MS Society doing?

At the moment there is a #Challenge60 (in-case you want to track it on Twitter) campaign – where in 60 days they want to raise £250,000 to fund vital MS research. They are asking for volunteers to fund-raise to help reach their goal, and also wonderful human beings to donate/sponsor the people doing fundraising. (At least I’ve mentioned a marketing campaign somewhere in here – now this links to my blog name 😉 )

Why does it affect me?

My Dad was diagnosed with MS over 10 years ago now, and as a family we deal with the consequences of the illness. It’s an evil illness – but it takes strong people to deal with it, I admire and respect them all. As a result of this I like to keep an eye on the MS Society and do whatever I can to help, they do an amazing job and I know this very well.

What am I doing?

I am taking part in the Great Manchester Cycle on the 30th June, where I will be cycling a marathon through the center of Manchester. I am trying to raise as much as possible and help the MS Society reach their target. For any one who would like to sponsor me, any amount would be hugely appreciated and it’s going towards a great cause.

www.justgiving.com/jomcgrann – Here’s my page explaining what I am doing and where people can donate. The money goes directly to the MS Society. Even a pound would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and spread the word of Challenge 60!

Social Media Addiction – Is It Real?

(Image from brandalsurga.blogspot.com) 

I, like many others, am the stereotypical young person who is always looking at some sort of screen. If it’s not my Blackberry, then its my Nook tablet or my Dad’s iPad, or my laptop or my TV. Sometimes I am even looking at 3 at once!

As most people, I can access Facebook and Twitter on my mobile so I can easily check what’s going on no matter where I am, and yes, I probably check them too much (every 2 minutes isn’t normal, right?). I use these as a newspaper when I am commuting, whether I’m on a bus, tram or train I will scroll through my news feed to see if anything new is going on. I use Twitter to tell me life events rather than watching the news, and I’ll have a group conversation via Facebook as opposed to meeting up in person. Surely everyone else does the same thing though? I think as a society we’ve got to a point where it’s normal but could it actually be classed as an addiction?

I’m sure plenty of people know what I’m talking about when you leave the house and leave your phone behind, you feel ‘lost’ without it. Many Blackberry users have been known to see the red light (the notification alert) even when there are no notifications, but they are adamant they have seen it. I will hold my hands up and say I have been sure in the past I’ve seen the red light when I in fact have not.

I have read an article from The Telegraph (I read it online, surprise surprise) explaining a study which was undertaken to see if people who claim to be addicted to social media have withdrawal symptoms when they go without Facebook and Twitter. Indeed they found out they did get withdrawal symptoms when they were forced to go cold turkey.

What would happen to people like me if Facebook, Twitter, or even mobiles were to disappear? Would we need to go to social media rehab?

“Start being a professional today”

Some of you may already be aware of this website, but for me it’s a new revelation. SimpleWash (once known as FaceWash).

It’s a website which has an app on Facebook and Twitter, which allows you to log into both social media profiles and you can search a word to see if you have previously tweeted it or wrote it on Facebook. The whole idea of it is to type in any swear words, search if you’ve used them, then it gives you the chance to delete them before anyone else can find them!

When people are young and unaware of what these profanities or explicit comments could do for their potential future, SimpleWash gives people the opportunity to delete all these mistakes and have a clean start before entering the professional world.

You don’t have to only look for swearing, you can look for any negative words or comments and delete them, for those days when you thought it was a good idea to rant online.

SimpleWash helps you to not only delete earlier mistakes but also make you think twice in future about what you’re really writing online and whether that would offend a potential employer. Seeing some of my old tweets/statuses shocked me, and I have certainly learnt what to and not too tweet or talk about online.

Great app. Very clever. Very useful.

For those of you that want to try it out: http://simplewa.sh/login

Good Twitter Management is Key!

I was scrolling through NandosUK’s tweets yesterday, noticing that most of their feed is filled with replying to people who have had a bad Nandos experience.

I thought I’d test them and point out that a lot of people seem to have negative experiences in their restaurants by the looks of their Twitter feed, so I tweeted…

To my surprise, not long later, NandosUK replied! This is what they said…

Great Twitter management from Nandos here, they gave a good answer, controlled the situation and I was left with nothing to reply back, perfect!

The vast amount of people who follow brands on Twitter do it for a reason, we want to know what brands are saying. We want to see they are replying to their customers and rectifying any problems. Customer service is key in any organisation; they are the people keeping the business going so treat them correctly and listen to what they have to say!

After all, marketing is all about fulfilling the customers’ needs.

Do you have any examples of good, or even bad Twitter management?