This will probably be my last blog post before I turn (gulp) 30!! Therefore, I want to share the top 30 things I love about social media.
30. Birthday reminders – some people strictly join Facebook for the sole purpose of being reminded about the birthdays of family and friends
29. Instagram is a candid sneak peak into the lives of your favorite celebrities. It’s the only network I use to follow celebrities because it’s genuinely the celeb posting the pics, evident in the selfie camera angle. I could have done without this pic but Kim Kardashian is certainly entertaining because we all love to hate her.
28. If you’re selling something, you have an extra outlet to get the word out. After weeks of trying to sell my furniture via Craigslist, I was able to do it within 30 minutes of posting it on Facebook.
27. Hashtags – I have a love hate relationship with hashtags, I hate myself for feeling the need to use them in texting conversations but I love when I can appropriately apply a great hashtag to better index a tweet.
26. Cyber stalking – We all do it! Think about the additional detail you find out about a person by scrubbing their social presence.
25. Filters, we can all admit that a filter takes picture from good to great.
24. Validation – Every like on your Facebook status, every heart on your instagram photo, every retweet of your tweet, you know the more attention your social posts get, the better you feel about yourself.
23. Documentation – with the evolution of social media, we have visual documentation of the various stages in our lives. Every photo you add to Instagram (if your location information is enabled) is a documented memory of your experience.
22. Photosations – learn more from Darryl’s post
21. #HavaneseOfInstagram
20. Being able to transport yourself to the past via social media – check out this fun little tool and travel back in time to revisit your first tweet ever. I have to admit I was really disappointed in myself for my first tweet – I am an open book so I will share but please don’t judge!
#Lame
19. The fact that social media has been a major help in police investigations. Anthony’s post on the use of social media in police investigations is a must read!
18. Canva – Elizabeth describes the fantastic app in this post.
17. Geotargeting – I love that we can generate geotargeted leads for clients via Twitter by searching for relevant keywords and phrases within a specific radius. If you’re a dentist in Lincoln Park, save a stream on Twitter (“toothache” within 10 miles of 60614). It’s a great way to recruit new patients.
16. Milestone announcements – I know some people hate this but I have to admit I kind of love it. Engagements, pregnancies, new jobs, new homes – it’s fun to follow friends through the exciting times in their lives.
15. Social Capital – Read my blog post about Leveraging Your Social Capital.
14. Foursquare badges
12. The KISS Principle as explained by Charles
11. Facebook offers
10. Zach King’s videos on Vine
9. Watching a business’ response to a crisis situation via social media. Read Stephanie’s post: Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight: The Social Media Response.
8. YouTube “How to” videos (ex. how to tie a bow tie, how to perfect the smoky eye, how to train your dog to play dead)
7. The aggregation of news and the accessibility of breaking news. The first thing I do when I wake up is scroll through my Facebook feed and sure enough, I am up to speed on all current events and hollywood gossip, thanks to my share happy Facebook friends.
6. Sense of Community. Our winter has been really bad in Chicago and I feel a sense of community when others complain about it via social media. It’s a misery loves company mentality.
5. Reviews: How did we ever live without the unbiased reviews from our fellow Yelpers?!
4. The unanimous hatred for Google+ amongst social media industry professionals.
2. Support. If there is one thing social media can do faster than anything other mechanism, it’s unite people for the common good, for charity, fundraising or to garner support for those in need. Read Tara’s post about the social fight against bullying.
1. Social Media was the impetus for Gossip Genie which has connected me with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met.
