carlosrmunoz

[carlosrmunoz]

Social Media Policy

The social media industry is facing several challenges, writes Karen Freberg in “Social Media for Strategic Communication.” Among them, she says that social media users are losing control over personal accounts to their employers due to influential presence, sharing too much, going rogue, and the big one, misinformation, Freberg writes.

One of the most notable cases of misinformation came in 2019 when a video featuring a high school student named Nick Sandmann “supposedly confronting a Native American peace activist” went viral and sparked global attention, Freberg writes. However, the video was misinterpreted and Sandmann later sued media outlets for $800 million using the footage without telling the full story. 

CNN, NBC Universal, and the Washington Post settled with Sandmann in 2020, according to multiple media outlets. His classmates also sued but failed.

In another lawsuit, Freberg writes that A-list actor Johnny Depp was forced to resign from Warner Bros after he lost a civil action against The Sun.

Journalists abide by a Code of Conduct that was adopted in 1926 — before that newspapers ran amuck of journalistic standards. They were weaponized by business owners and politicians to influence the public. However, some of that information would not meet standards for journalists today. Colonial-era headlines are still some of the most creative writing of the last 200 years due to their poignant nature.

If you were to join the New York Times today, in addition to agreeing to the Social Media Code of Conduct that its writers are expected to follow, you would be required on social media to avoid harassment, during business and personal hours, be “mindful” of taking sides” in topics that could undercut the newspaper's reputation, avoid joining private groups, do not accept gifts from sources, and more.

Among those who do follow strong ethical behavior on social media, I think organizations like the Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, and BBC are trustworthy groups. On the flip side, I think that Cable TV networks, which must play to their audience, tend to parade analysts and commentators as journalists when they are opinion columnists. Some of these are flagship organizations (Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, CBS) whose coverage trickles down to local TV markets and media outlets that are not influenced by this type of coverage, such as WPRI-TV or WJAR-TV. Journalists who work in local media — not including citizen journalists and activist journalists — are newsgathering organizations whose organic stories guide their audience's interests. For example, Washington Bridge's accountability reporting surrounding RIDOT’s handling of the bridge crisis has put many politicians and leaders under scrutiny. 

In the case of Fox News and CNN, you see the difference in their coverage of politics — one is more liberal and the other is more conservative — both sometimes completely ignoring stories and facts.

With this in mind, some takeaways are that journalists should continue to be observers who lay out their findings and let the readers decide on the merits of a story. Often this process is muddled by social media users who interject information into the media stream, jump to conclusions, or make statements without having all the facts. Sometimes this is to “beat” the media and often it leads to a change in the narrative that must be corrected later. Journalists are held accountable — they can be fired or sued — for improper reporting, while many self-proclaimed journalists, or activists, spread misinformation without consequences.

To adhere to my conduct online, I have chosen to keep my personal social media accounts closed and refrain from making polarizing statements online. My social media feed contains animal pictures, family updates, and limited chat about community happenings. Simplifying social media is a way to keep your sanity and your job.

I feel strongly that people should be able to share their thoughts regardless but understand that not everyone will agree. This requires restraint in your response. Social media is a place where reckless posts can easily be misinterpreted and feelings hurt. Be patient and listen to people.

These are some core concepts I would follow as a social media professional:

Take the time to research information I find online from a source I am not familiar with

Do not allow my personal feelings to cloud my judgment. Listen to people

Use clean and fair language

Report threats and cyberbullying to administrators

If I see surprising news, but can’t verify it, don’t post it

Do not use content I haven’t created myself, like photos or video clips

Ask for permission to use content from another source

[carlosrmunoz]

Vanity Metrics for a non-profit 

The Hotel for Homeless Dogs Humane Society is a haven for all dogs — and a no-kill shelter and rescue — that fosters dogs until forever homes are found. To succeed, the nonprofit animal welfare organization uses social media accounts to ask for donations, fosters, and volunteers. 

Since the organization operates on contributions, it does not have a wealth of advertising funds. It relies on social media calls to action to raise money and find people willing to work for the shelter. The animals they care for are the stars of their social media. And, rightfully so.

On Instagram, dogs rule, with the hashtag #dogs showing up in 381 million posts (#cats have 295 million), according to the platform. 

The Hotel seeks to convert its audience into financial and voluntary supporters. A look at the group’s Facebook page shows it has 25,000 followers. Not bad for a group whose physical location is tucked deep behind a parking lot in rural Cumberland, R.I. It does not get much drive-by traffic. Meanwhile, the Facebook page is constantly driving traffic.

A post made around 12:30 p.m. on May 29 has 175 shares, 192 likes, and 40 comments, mostly of followers saying they shared the post of the adorable dog Sophie. Each share offers another avenue for driving traffic back to the page. Other posts of dogs and requests for volunteers have modest to outstanding engagement. Off-topic posts, such as the recent Memorial Day acknowledgment received far less interest. 

While the Memorial Day post is a nice gesture on a day that normally sees less web traffic, focusing Facebook efforts on shelter dogs and the activities of volunteers seems to be the best course of action. The group sporadically shares videos on its Facebook page, including live videos, but I do not think they implement them effectively. If they edited the videos better, I believe they would vastly improve the effect. Sometimes, they post too many photos and videos together, which I believe drowns out the message.

Facebook algorithms favor photos and video but congestion may be overwhelming to followers. It clouds the message on the page. Another thing I found on all of their sites is a lack of a mission statement. The group lists itself as a “5-Star Animal Care Facility” with high standards for animal welfare but does not clearly state what the group does at the facility. Even the website has no clear message. One can surmise that this group is an animal rescue but there is more to it than that. The group takes in animals from around the country at risk of euthanization, and many are bully breeds.

I think more videos of the group’s manager talking about what kind of work the Hotel for Homeless Dogs does and more detail in posts would help spread the message. This group appears to largely rely on word-of-mouth from its army of volunteers. They created a Facebook group for them separate from the group’s Facebook page.

There are also LinkedIn, X, formerly Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok accounts. This must be a large undertaking and I wonder if it might be too much social media for one group with limited time. The group does not appear to maintain its total social media presence.

On TikTok, a social media platform for sharing videos, the group has 2,577 followers and 15.4k total likes. The following enables them to open up features on the platform only available to low-level creators. The videos on TikTok talk more about what the group's needs are but it offers no way to bring people back to its website or to donate. TikTok offers the group an international audience but only for vanity engagement since there is no way for followers to get back to be converted into donors or take part in local volunteer opportunities.

The Hotel’s YouTube page is even less effective with videos sporadically posted over the last few years, some with less than 150 views that are over a year old. Other than maintaining a presence, the page is ineffective for the group’s needs and efforts.

I believe Hotel for Homeless dogs should focus its efforts on social media platforms that reach the largest local audience since they need help from people who can show up care for dogs. 

On Facebook, an advanced metric I would suggest are more video calls to action. These appear to lend themselves to very good sharing by volunteers and guests. A clearer message would generate support.

Additionally, I would utilize Facebook marketing feature to promote posts asking for assistance.

On LinkedIn, the group has deleted its presence but I believe that is a bad idea. The business-oriented channel would generate corporate sponsorship opportunities and fundraising partnerships that are local.

[carlosrmunoz]

What is Social Media?

I was born in 1977 when there was no social media landscape. We went outside to play. If we wanted others to know what we were thinking, we called them or waited a day to see them at school. We left notes.

My first exposure to what would become social media was live chat forums in middle school in the mid-1990s. They were accessed through websites and the only way you could see what someone said was to continuously refresh the screen on a now-defunct web browser called Netscape Navigator. The ship’s wheel icon would spin as data packets traveled over dial-up servers. The ones at home would be accompanied by musical dial tones. 

The early Internet was poorly managed. There were few school policies or firewalls that kept students out of web pages. Students found forums and live chats where they could contact people from around the world. It was like when we had to write pen pals in elementary school, but instantaneous (if you don’t count hitting refresh a thousand times).

The early friendships I made with people on the World Wide Web were fun. There was an innocence to it. I never thought it would become the billion-dollar world it is today.

The Internet is aptly named the World Wide Web, or Information Superhighway, for the paths of information it creates connecting all corners of the globe. Social media is a country in that world.

I define social media as a place where people meet virtually for fun and professionally. I was an early user of “The Facebook,” ICQ real-time chat, and AOL Instant Messenger chat rooms. Social media in its infancy was a much more controlled environment, where etiquette was still being developed. Relationship building came first. I think this set the groundwork for chat rooms on Reddit, which are very stingy about their rules. So, stingy that they will chase you out of them.

Having witnessed life before social media, I feel I’ve seen the evolution of the social media world. I know what it’s like without it and what my life has been like with it. Some days I wish life was simpler. Social media can be chaotic. I use some of the most popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Twitter, and Snapchat. Only recently have I felt like my ability to keep up with social media technology has diminished due to apps like Snapchat and video-based platforms. I think I am on the cusp of falling behind on social media, and sometimes, I think that’s OK. It’s overwhelming.

The biggest challenges are today’s social media users are videographers and photographers who spend their days thinking about the next shot. My world has always involved text-strong posts. Those don’t cut it anymore. Now, you have to market yourself. At one time, I would have enjoyed that. But maybe not as much today. 

When I saw the social media communications class offered, I thought it would be a good opportunity to check in and see what I’m missing out on. I wanted the challenge myself to experience platforms I haven’t used that much. If it helps me become more influential on social media that’s great, but I just want to try to understand why social media is the way it is today. 

I want to know if I’m still using social media correctly. I think sometimes we join platforms and post blindly. I make posts, add a bunch of hashtags, and then watch the analytics or replies to see if someone is going to see them. But most of the time my creations exist quietly without any engagement. I want to know if I’m doing something wrong, or if it’s just a crappy post.

I’m excited about this social media class. I don’t expect to find answers to all my questions but I do expect it to be insightful.