#EmilyStrong

In just about a month, the world became #EmilyStrong. Emily Beazley, a 12-year-old girl from Mount Greenwood who battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma became a well-known name across social media and into the hearts of those all over the world. 

After battling for over four years, doctors said that there was nothing more they could do. In early April, she was sent home and the community around her rallied in her favor. Neighbors and community members started "Emily's Entourage" and encouraged everyone near and far to decorate their homes and "Light It Up for Emily" with her favorite color of purple, and green to represent cancer. 

Immediately after news of Emily spread, homes, schools, business, hospitals, restaurants and more were covered in purple and green. Pictures of those "Lighting It Up for Emily" were shared on the group's Facebook page and hashtags #LightItUpForEmily and #EmilyStrong covered social media. The Facebook page, started in April, now has over 20,000 likes.

Sadly, Emily passed away May 18, 2015. Although she is not around in person, her legacy lives on. Through the power of community and social media, Emily's supporters reached out to Taylor Swift and Emily received a phone call from her idol. Beazley was named the "Hero on Homan" as her block was renamed in her honor. She became a nurse for a day and part of the Chicago Police. 

Living just minutes away from Emily's home, I was so interested and intrigued as Emily's name spread through not only our community, but the world. Taylor Swift lit up her concert in Tokyo in shades of purple in green. People across the world shared pictures of flowers, lights, ribbons, etc. that represented Emily. 

In less than a month, Emily brought courage, hope and positivity through the world. Without the power of social media, Emily's message and hope would not had reached so many people and helped encourage the family and those who rallied around her in her final days. 

One Day #WithoutShoes - Doing Good Through Free Social Media Marketing

On May 21, 2015, my favorite company, Toms, had their annual Day Without Shoes. On this day, people are encouraged to go barefoot all day long to promote awareness and donations. For every Instagram photo posted of bare-feet with the hashtag #WithoutShoes, Toms donated a pair of shoes to a child in need. Although similar to their usual model of for every pair of Toms sold, a pair of shoes goes to a child in need, this free promotion that lasted from May 5th - May 21st required no purchase. 

In the end, Toms donated 296,243 pairs of shoes to children in need. Along with this, there are currently over 345,603 Instagram posts of bare-feet with the hashtag #WithoutShoes - and growing!

This kind of promotion and free marketing is exactly what companies should be utilizing on a daily basis. Social media platforms like Instagram are great tools to encourage crowdsourcing and help create connections and awareness on a new level. These models - especially in the realm of social awareness and promotion is perhaps one of the most beneficial ways to create awareness while also creating fun interactions between companies and consumers. 

Social Media & Social Activism

Utilizing social media to promote activism and political awareness is a smart and beneficial tactic, especially for the younger age. 

Social media outlets are easy ways to promote and market to an audience that many believe can be difficult to reach politically. Through social media, campaigns can easily appeal and access a wider audience. They can communicate effectively and connect with people on a different level. 

Just yesterday, President Obama created his own Twitter account. Within a day, he has over 1.8 million followers. Through his personal account, users can now connect to the President in a whole new way, learning what he has been doing, what he believes in and they are able to voice their concerns straight to him - that is if he regularly reads and responds to his own notifications. 

Social media is also a great way to remind users the importance of voting, where to vote and when to vote. Advertisements can be easily placed and promoted to these sites, making it difficult for users to ignore them at times. 

Social media is especially useful in promoting social change and awareness. As I prepare to work at Loaves & Fishes this summer, I am regularly thinking about how I can appeal and reach their audiences through the power of communication and social media. As I get ready to launch new projects and run aspects of their social media platforms, I am brainstorming new ways to appeal to all audiences and build a base for Loaves & Fishes that will spread awareness and bring in donations to help fund the non-profit. 

At the end of it all, social media is a powerful marketplace that is difficult to ignore. Users are constantly shown advertisements and promotions without even "liking" or "following" these companies. 

Imagine a world without social media. Would you be as connected? Would you have learned what your favorite company has been doing as quickly or thoroughly? 

Social Media in the Newsroom

Recently, my journalism advisor sent me an article that has to do with ways newsrooms can use Instagram to reach audiences.

The article focuses on five various uses and important tactics for using Instagram in a newsroom. Poynter points out that publications like the Chicago Tribune use Instagram to connect with audiences on a new level and appeal to a broader range of interests. Tactics such as crowdsourcing, is extremely effective if implemented properly. Crowdsourcing allows publications to create means of connecting with their audience and can feature their audience's work, creating even more content and motivation for audiences to participate in challenges, use specific hashtags and tag the publication in their posts. In the end, crowdsourcing also contributes to free marketing from users. 

Instagram is also a useful tool in showcasing photography that the publication may or may not publish. The photographs can offer behind the scene looks into stories and create a unique way for audiences to see more than what is just given to them in print or online. 

Another tactic I find interesting that publications can and should implement, is sharing news beyond photographs. Since Instagram is a relatively newer form of media, publications are already becoming a part of the "new generation." However, although Instagram is mainly used for sharing photographs and video content, Instagram can also be used to share news through infographics and other graphic design tools. This creates a fresh form of sharing stories and appeals to audiences who may not only prefer narratives, but also visually appealing and interactive styles. 

Posting Pictures of Children: Harmless or Not?

Just the other day, ABC7 published an article about a mother who found her kids' photos on fake social media accounts and porn websites. She said she thought that the photos, originally posted to her own Facebook account, were harmless. The mother did not see anything wrong in posting a few family photos with loved ones for those who follow her on her social media accounts. 

However, since finding that those photos were lifted from her account and used on various platforms where users lied about the child's age, sexual orientation and interests, the fake accounts have made her rethink what she posts.

It's sad to think that this is now the reality we live in. Parents have to think about what may happen if they post a photo of their toddler playing at the park. What seems like a harmless photo that is shared to update friends and family on social media can easily be turned into something that no parent wants.

Scrolling through my own Facebook and Instagram feed, I follow cousins, friends and coworkers who regularly post photos of their children. As the reality of the child becoming in more and more dangerous situations arises due to these photos, I can't help but think: is the profile private? Even that won't stop much. Are they saying where they are located or "checking in" to a location? THAT makes me the most nervous. Taking a photo of your child on their first day of school and writing the school's name, having the school in the background, or "checking in" to the school, opens access to anyone and everyone to now know where your child is on a daily basis.

Social media has made a predator's life so much easier. Although these various platforms are great tools for updating friends and family, it's important to keep in mind what outcomes may occur.

Staying in Touch

During my last winter break, I traveled to Honduras to volunteer at non-profit Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos.  In short, the organization is comprised of several homes in various countries that take in abandoned and orphaned children from dangerous and unstable homes. Needless to say, this trip changed my life and I am hoping to return sometime soon and/or enroll in the volunteer program after graduation where I would volunteer and stay at the home for a year. 

While there, it was so refreshing to turn off my phone and just be around all of the kids and adults who come from different backgrounds and less fortunate situations. Working in the garden, farm, kitchen, making thousands of tortillas and just exploring the ranch while being disconnected made me realize just how much I rely on my phone to keep me entertained when there is already so much going on in the world that makes watching Netflix surprisingly not so interesting anymore. Playing soccer games with the kids or hearing stories from the adults made me forget about my phone and realize what really matters in the end.

We had wifi in the volunteer house, but I really only used it at night when trying to contact my parents back home or to upload a picture once in a while. 

After a few days on the ranch, that is home to hundreds of children, I learned that the older kids may receive phones once they turn 18 years old. With the phones, they can contact friends on the ranch and in the surrounding area and use the ranch's limited wifi to connect to the internet and create social media accounts. 

The night before we were to leave, a very emotional night, I stayed up late with some of the teens on the ranch as we tried using the spotty wifi to become Facebook friends, ensuring that we would always be in touch and be able to catch up once in a while. 

Over the last few months, I have talked to many of the teens over Facebook messages.  We talk about how much we miss each other, tag each other in photos, update each other on what is going on in our lives and try to pin down a general idea of when I may return to the ranch. Through their photos, I am able to see how much the kids have grown and depictions of what I have missed on the ranch. 

I also follow NPH's social media accounts like Facebook to stay updated on events and happenings in all of the NPH homes. 

Social media has become a vital tool in communicating with not only those I am close to in the United States, but the family I have made overseas. 

Disconnecting: When to Unplug in a Digital World

The world, although so connected through technology and digital platforms, is becoming more and more disconnected to reality. 

If you're in public, look around. Chances are you will see at least one person on their phone, laptop, iPad, etc. You're one of them as you read this post. 

Next time you're out with friends, I challenge you to put your phone away. 

When you show up, do you really show up? Are you present in body, but not mind? Is your device and the online world creating a buffer between you and the moment you're in? Are you missing out? 

In February, various media sites published articles and news about a man who was too glued to his phone that he missed a miraculous moment. 

How many moments have you missed because you had to creep on your ex's Facebook profile?

I've been guilty of this. Sometimes I'm on two devices at once. Once and a while I stop, think to myself how excessive it is, and disconnect. 

One thing I love to do when out to eat with friends is stack all of our phones in the corner of the table. If someone looks at their phone before the check comes, they have to pay for everyone's meal. 

Out of sight, out of mind is a useful tactic when trying to disconnect. Spending even just an hour away from your phone helps to clear the mind and focus on other things that you may have missed. When I first started going to workout at my local gym, I would leave my phone in my locker. At first this stressed me out. I had things to do. What if my parents called me? What if my boss needs something? What if a friend needs me there?

Thankfully, I really only enjoy to swim when I workout so this really makes me disconnect. I try not to look at the clock. I just go. After I am through, I feel so much more focused and clear not only because I worked out, but I got away from the presence of my phone and a world that takes away from reality.