Social Media to the Rescue

Two weeks ago, the tragic Boston Bombings occurred at the Boston Marathon. Hundreds were wounded and a few killed. What was amazing to me about the attack was how the news was spread about what was happening in regard to the victims, the suspects and all the details in between.  Not only was social media one of the main ways people were being informed about what was going on, but the police and the FBI used crowd sourcing through social media to identify the suspects. Twitter and Facebook have become such a major part of our everyday lives that they became key factors in informing the public about updates regarding the investigation. Participants in the marathon posted videos and pictures of the attack and the people that were hurt by it. The police used the social media platforms to reach people to come forward with these pictures or any information they had regarding to the attacks. The FBI also released photos of the suspects all over the media and in less than 24 hours the suspects were found.

Just looking back at how far social media has impacted our lives is absolutely incredible. It is not just a place to see what your friends are up to, but a place where police can crowd source an investigation and use the publics help to solve cases. I don't know how the suspects would have been identified and caught so quickly if it wasn't for the help of social media to spread the word and capture information.

Facebook in Politics?

On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg launched his own political group, Fwd.us. He is teaming up with other Silicon Valley leaders to boost his group that is aimed at revamping immigration policies, boosting education and encouraging investment in scientific research. The group, pronounced "forward us", is pushing for an immigration policy that creates better boarder security and creates an easy path for immigrants to achieve citizenship. Zuckerberg is also calling for a higher standard in education; he believes there should be more of a push for science, technology, engineering and math in schools. Zuckerberg has received support from Google Inc. chairman Eric Schmidt, Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings, Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer and LinkedIn Corp. CEO Reid Hoffman. It is crazy to me that these multi millionaires are using their money and influence to enter the political ring. Yes, some lobbying is needed to be done in order for anything to be completed in the Senate or House these days, but does that mean the latest creators of technology and social media companies are the answer? Social media has become a major part of our every day lives, but is the next step for them to influence our politics? 

Final Four Atlanta

So this weekend, college basketball fans all over the country will flock to Atlanta to join in the celebration of the Final Four tournament. I am fortunate enough to go to school an hour away from Atlanta so I can participate in the festivities as well.  I received a volunteer position with the Social Media Street Team that is in charge of creating and publishing content of all the action going on over the weekend.  Friday I got the chance to help out with the PR group and assist with media. My job was to follow and direct media around for the concert performances. On Saturday, myself and three other girls, were in charge of going back to Centennial Park for the concert and pass out t-shirts and get people to like the Facebook page, download the Final Four app or follow them on Twitter.  We also got to come up with competitions for fans to participate in to win free Bracket Town tickets. It was such an amazing experience to not only help out, but to see what goes on during a major event, like the Final Four, and how they come up with their social media strategy.  I was lucky enough that the company liked my photo of the concert so much, they posted it up on the Facebook page.  Just seeing a photo that I took getting published for the Final Four just made the experience all worth it. I was able to learn so much of what goes behind the scenes and how you have to create a schedule of content you are putting out hours or even days in advanced.  I was so happy I could get a chance to be apart of history and also that I was able to have this opportunity to get a sneak preview of an industry that I would like to be apart of in the future!