Ello, love

Ello has officially become my new favorite social media site. It's visually very different from most sites out there today and with the promise to never sell my data to third party sites or share my info, I was intrigued from the start. You'll need an invite to join (making it somewhat of a secret society right now) but I can definitely see this becoming a big thing, at least until next week when something newer or more exciting is announced.

Find me on Ello at @czahnow and take some time to explore. You may find yourself looking at some interesting profiles.

The Top 5 Most Disrespectful Brands on 9/11

Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Thousands lost their lives, and thousands more lost family and friends. Lives were changed forever, so it's important to commemorate the event and remember the sacrifices that were made. However, in trying to remember 9/11, some brands have overstepped the bounds of respectful.

The Top 5 Most Disrespectful Brands

5. Intimacy Box

Because September 11th is a great time to run a sale on your clearance items.



4. Medieval Times

I don't know about you, but I don't typically associate men jousting with a serious event like 9/11. It's great that they want to show respect for those affected by the tragedy, but a better way to show respect would've been silence.



3. Marriott Hotels

Really? Complimentary coffee and mini muffins for 30 minutes? I think this one is pretty self explanatory.



2. Build-a-Bear

 We will never forget... how to profit from tragedies. I'm totally supportive of having an army bear, especially if some of the profits go to support wounded veterans, but I'm not supportive of advertising this bear on 9/11. Pick pretty much any other day of the year and you'll have my support.



1. Fleshlight

For those of you unfamiliar with what Fleshlight is... make sure to google when there are no children present around you. Fortunately, they deleted their tweet. Unfortunately, they thought it was appropriate to post something in the first place. 

The most appropriate way for a brand to handle 9/11 is to not post anything at all. For those who insist on posting something, Verizon had the right idea on how to show some decency. 

World Suicide Prevention Day

This is not an easy post to write. I've lost two friends to suicide. Several months ago, I almost lost another. Last year, I almost lost myself.

Last year I was diagnosed with depression. I started medication. When the medication was proving to be ineffective, my dosage was doubled.

I have cut myself. I have contemplated ending, what I considered to be, a waste of a life. But luckily for me, I have the most supportive friends and family. I have parents who love me unconditionally. I have friends who put up with my erratic behavior and listen to whatever I have to say. I have a support system that will always be there for me.

Of course, not everyone is as supportive. I've had several people, whom I thought were understanding friends, tell me to "just get over it." As if I could move through the darkness if I just smiled a bit more or tried a bit harder. And therein lies the problem of the dialogue surrounding mental health today. Many people do not realize that a lack of motivation or positivity is a symptom of depression, not the cause of it. The cause of depression is a chemical imbalance that the affected individual has no control over.

So what can we do?

We can start by genuinely listening to others. So many people are fighting internal battles that go beyond depression or other mental illnesses. Oftentimes, these people just want to be heard and want validation that their struggles are real. In your next conversation with someone, try truly listening to what they have to say instead of just waiting for your turn to speak. Ask them questions about their experiences instead of interjecting about your own.

We can learn to understand that things that may be easy to us, may not be easy to others. I'm sorry to all the friends I blew off when I was struggling to make it out of bed. I know that seems basic- just getting up in the morning- but I promise some days it was the most difficult thing I had to face. Understanding what someone is struggling with and not taking it too personally if they have a bad day will go a long way in supporting a friend.

We can be open to conversations about mental illness without jumping to conclusions. If I didn't have supportive friends and family, I'm not sure where I would be right now. Unfortunately there are many out there who are not as fortunate; many who are unable to seek help. If they trust you enough to share their struggles, do not tell them to just try harder and get over it. You can be open with them and tell them that you do not know a lot about their problem, but that you would like to learn more so that you can better support them.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle"

More Than a Boy Named #Sue

The first time I saw #sue, I assumed it would be a picture of a girl hashtagging her name. Then images related to depression, cutting, and suicide filled my screen. #sue (short for suicide) is one of the "secret" hashtags teens are using to share images related to self-harm on platforms such as Instagram or Twitter. These platforms actively crack down on hashtags such as #suicide or #cutting, so teens are becoming more creative in their ways to circumvent the censors.

In 2012, Instagram was forced to ban the pro-eating disorder hashtag, #thinspo, after many cited it as glorifying self-harm and anorexia. In the interest of maintaining a "positive and healthy community," Instagram included in its policies a guideline that bans images of self-harm and makes the content with these hashtags unsearchable. Their official policy reads:

“While Instagram is a place where people can share their lives with others through photographs and videos, any account found encouraging or urging users to embrace anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders; or to cut, harm themselves, or commit suicide will result in a disabled account without warning. We believe that communication regarding these behaviors in order to create awareness, come together for support and to facilitate recovery is important, but that Instagram is not the place for active promotion or glorification of self-harm.”

So why does #sue fly?

When searching #sue on Instagram, a content advisory warning pops up stating "Please be advised: These images may contain graphic content. For more information and support with suicide or self-harm please tao on learn more." Then users are presented with the options Learn More, Show Posts, or Cancel.

Clearly Instagram is aware of the content being posted, content which may or may not violate the previously stated policy. Are they obligated to ban these posts or deactivate the accounts the images are posted from?

In my opinion, removing the content won't remove the problem. Teens are facing continually growing amounts of pressure and are being diagnosed with depression in record numbers. Removing an outlet where they can vent, express themselves, and hopefully feel some sort of catharsis probably won't help the issue. Instead we need to work to break down the stigma surrounding depression and other mental illnesses so these teens can get the help they need without facing judgement.

Let's use #sue to start a conversation, not to start more censorship.

LinkedIn: Pursuing a Romantic or Professional Connection

It's been eleven years and one day since LinkedIn was officially launched, and a lot has changed for the company during that time. It has grown to be used by over 225 million members, and is continuing to grow at a pace of two members a second. One thing that hasn't been growing for the better though is the number of inappropriate messages some women are receiving on the site. Some users want to use the site for meeting a potential date who may work in the same industry or share like-minded opinions on business. However, this creates a confusing level of ambiguity for those trying to determine the difference between a one-on-one meeting for a cup of coffee or a one-on-one meeting for a cup of coffee.

This can also create some uncomfortable encounters for those looking to use the site as purely a professional space. The blog SocialCreeps was created to document these such encounters, some of which are beyond unacceptable for a professional environment.

For those who are looking for a bit more of a romantic connection rather than a professional one, have no fear. LinkedUp, hopes to take the ambiguity out of trying to flirt over messages on LinkedIn. It functions essentially like Tinder, allowing users to browse through a database of other users looking for a more personal connection. The users can then "like" profiles of others they are interested in, and hope for a match.

Personally, I think LinkedIn should be a site for strictly business connections, not the next eHarmony. I do, however, realize that sometimes the best connections can be made through unlikely situations.

Run an Empire

I love running. I ran varsity track and cross country throughout high school, ran a half marathon my sophomore year of college, and one day soon I hope to train for a marathon. The only problem is that sometimes I lack the motivation to run on my own. I've got a pretty competitive mindset and I'd much rather be pushing myself to beat someone else, than just jogging along by myself.

I've tried apps like Map My Run before, and while they're great to measure distance and pace, something is missing. And then I heard about Run an Empire.

Run an Empire gamifies running by allowing you to capture territory, then defend it.  A runner successfully captures a territory by running the perimeter of it and then can strengthen his or her territory by running that perimeter multiple times. The territory can then be attacked by another runner in the area.

The project just got funded on Kickstarter, so it hasn't been fully developed yet, but I'm looking forward to the day it is. Making a behavior into a fun game reinforces it in peoples' lives, and with 69.2% of Americans classified as overweight, I think its safe to say we could definitely use a little more exercise.

US Airways Tweets Graphic Image [uncensored]

I'm not sure who is currently running the US Airways Twitter account, but I can almost guarantee they won't be running it tomorrow. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so when a photo of a naked woman with a plane inserted between her legs was tweeted out in response to disgruntled customers who were complaining about a flight delay, you can bet there was a lot of response. 

The good news: Their tweet definitely generated a lot of conversations about the brand.

The bad news: That brand "image" is something we won't be forgetting for a long, long time. 

WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE BELOW:

Soon after US Airways realized their mistake, the tweet was removed and the following apology was sent out. 

Hopefully their investigation provides some answers because in an industry already plagued by constant customer complaints, an image like this can only further a bad reputation. 

Advice for Good

"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right." -Nelson Mandela

Recently I spoke with Jeff Hilimire of Dragon Army about a project I was doing for one of my classes at UGA. He provided me with some awesome background and advice on gamification, application development, costs, and quite a bit of other real world stuff that may have gone over my head without the help of google. As a professional in that area, his advice is incredibly valuable. However, what’s more valuable than his advice is his time that he spent with me. Time is often an undervalued commodity. It is constantly spent, and only when it is gone do we realize how valuable it was to begin with.

By spending some of Jeff’s time, I was unfortunately keeping him from doing things in the community he believed to be important. As an opportunity to repay him for helping me and many others, he started a program called adviceforgood.org. The concept is simple: in exchange for an hour of advice from a professional, you do an hour of community service. The impact, however, can be radical. 

I decided to help those that much of his time is spent helping: the homeless. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, approximately 1,750,000 individuals in the United States are homeless. Of these people, 28% do not get enough to eat every day. In Athens alone, the Northeast Georgia Homeless Coalition accounted for 249 individuals who were homeless. Of these, 87 people were unsheltered and 162 people were sheltered. Getting people in shelters is the first step towards making sure they are taken care of, but it requires a large effort from the community to make sure they are getting the supplies they need.

The Athens Area Homeless Shelter is one such shelter, which provides housing for about 20 mothers and their children who would otherwise be without a place to live. Three friends and I chose to spend our Sunday evening cooking dinner for the residents and getting to know them on a more personal level. Jeff introduced me to Dylan, another UGA student who he had given advice to, so I brought him along too. Pasta is a frequent meal for the residents since it’s cheap and easy to make in large quantities, so we decided to steer clear of that and provide them with a meal of chili, cornbread, and baked potatoes, with banana pudding for dessert. 

Cooking for a large group of people is undoubtably challenging, but by dividing up the tasks we were able to make the workload easier and get the chance to talk to some of the residents when they came by. The kids, especially, were curious as to what we were doing, and then very excited when they realized we were making banana pudding for their dessert. I had the opportunity to connect with one of the moms when we realized that we both came from the same area a bit north of Atlanta. She used to work about 5 miles from the house I grew up in. 

It’s humbling to realize how much someone’s life can change. My generation tends to think we are invincible and I think many of us lack the perspective to understand that a few decisions or twists of fate can alter the course of our lives. I would never have expected someone working in my hometown to end up homeless in Athens. I cannot even imagine the strength it takes to keep working and striving to provide for children when placed in that situation. 

This internal strength is much like our time: undervalued until we realize how much we need it. However, like our time, it can also be shared more than we realize. By providing dinner to these families, hopefully we gave them a little more strength and resolve, a little more time where they don’t have to worry where the next meal will come from, and a little more hope for tomorrow. 

Don't "Cloak" the Problem

You may have heard the buzz surrounding a new app called Cloak. Cloak takes information from your social networks to show where your friends are, so you can avoid bumping into people that you don't want to see. It works by connecting to Foursquare and Instagram, then displaying your location and where friends have checked in nearby. If there is someone you want to avoid, simply "flag" them and Cloak will send you an alert when they are within a certain radius of you. The default radius is half a mile but can be changed to as close as one block, or as far away as two miles. In short, Cloak is as close as the app world is going to come to developing Harry Potter's mythical invisibility cloak.

Cloak seems like a dream come true for the "anti-social" or maybe for people who are just having a bad day. But is it taking things too far? Many studies have shown the positive correlation between in-person social interactions and happiness. Is essentially hiding from these potential interactions the best course of action? Honestly, probably not.

If seeing purported "friends" is causing a person enough unhappiness that they feel the need to go out of their way to avoid what would otherwise be a chance encounter, perhaps it's time to take a realistic look internally. Ask yourself if you could make it through a five minute conversation with the person you flagged.  If you can't, ask yourself why they are even your "friend" in the first place. If the person no longer has a positive, meaningful influence on your life, it may be time to cut that relationship loose.

At first glance, Cloak may seem like an innovative solution to a problem. In reality, however, Cloak is just hiding a deeper problem, possibly even compounding it. You don't need an invisibility cloak in your life. Let's leave that to Harry.

The Emotional Epidemic on Facebook

A new study shows what many have long assumed: emotions expressed online can be contagious. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, Yale University, and Facebook Inc used an automated text-analysis system to scan a billion messages from over 100 million people, and found that Facebook posts were likely to affect the mood of others online. Moreover, upbeat posts were far more likely to have an effect than negatives posts.

One of their significant findings was the influence of the weather on mood, and how it could spread amongst users. A rainy day caused the number of negative posts to rise 1.16%, while the number of positive posts fell 1.19%. A subtle change, yet it was compounded among these users' friends in other cities. In a city where it was not raining, each additional positive post resulted in a further 1.75 positive posts among friends, while each negative post resulted in a further 1.29 negative posts.

Facebook currently has 1.2 billion (with a B) active users. If posting messages about the weather alone can cause mood shifts among some users, posting emotional messages about more volatile subjects could have an emotional chain reaction. Recessions, stock market downswings, and economic difficulties could have negative emotional effects on people who are otherwise indifferent to the event. Likewise positive events could be used to influence people who may otherwise be apathetic.

So how do we use this information to our advantage? The simple answer would be post happy things on Facebook. The more complex answer would be to tie more uplifting messages to days when negative posts are trending, so the uplifting messages stand out and foster positive brand association. Obviously rainy days would be a good time to do this, but looking beyond that we can see that there are several other negative days in the year such as April 15th (aka tax day) or even Mondays.

What you post is ultimately up to you, but realize the impact you could be having on other peoples' emotions.

A New Way to Price Social Apps

WhatsApp made the news last week when it was bought by Facebook for $19 billion. People started questioning whether or not this was a smart move, and if WhatsApp was even worth that much. My thoughts went straight to how this would affect their stance on advertisements. WhatsApp had previously stated that they would not sell ads and that they were against personal information collection, two things which Facebook does extensively. Personally, I believe they were a little naive to think that they could shun advertising forever. Many social and mobile apps use the advertising model simply because it is the easiest way to turn a profit for the business, while providing a free app for the consumers. In most of these apps, consumers can opt to upgrade to a paid version, which takes away the frequent advertisements. However, many consumers are reluctant to upgrade if they think they'll be the only one using said app or if they think the lifecycle of that app will be very short.

What I propose is a new pricing model for these social apps. The apps foster a sense of community, so why not provide a pricing option that treats them as a community. Many businesses will provide customers with group discounts if a large enough party takes advantage of the product/service, so why shouldn't a group based app utilize this same ideal? Community based pricing discounts could be offered depending on the size of the group that downloaded the app, which is a double win for the app developers. They get a revenue stream without needing to spam users with advertisements, and they also get a consumer base that will be more likely to continue to use the app so that they can stay connected with their friends. The consumers win since they will be paying less for the app than they would individually, and they don't have to deal with advertisements.

This type of pricing would be most effective for social apps, like WhatsApp, or for mobile games with a strong sense of community. I've gone through several game phases with some of my friends, such as Words With Friends or Flappy Bird, and having a pricing option like this would have been very appealing. It's always more fun to challenge friends to mobile games, but they're not always willing to shell out the dollar or so that some games cost. If group pricing could reduce this cost to 50 cents, the app would seem like a bargain compared to many others, and users would be more drawn to it. The concept of group pricing still needs some tweaking before it should be implemented, but ultimately I think it would be a viable alternative to many apps' current strategy of spamming users with advertisements.

Time to Clean Up Your Profiles Kids: There's a New Social Media Stalker

My generation has been constantly drilled to watch what we post on social media sites, because the omnipresent "future employers" will see it.  Now we have a new concern: lending companies. More and more lending companies are beginning to evaluate the social media profiles of potential borrowers to determine their creditworthiness or identity. Things being considered:

• Did the applicant put the same job information on their loan application as they did on sites like LinkedIn?
• Have they shared on Facebook or Twitter that they've recently been let go?
• Have they received negative reviews on sites like eBay?
• Does your company get a lot of "likes" on Facebook, and are they responding to their customers?
• Is someone logging in from an expensive mobile phone like an iPhone, or from an Internet cafe?
• What is their network like?

All of these questions, and more, can determine if a borrower will get a loan or if their application will be rejected. Proponents say this method can help small businesses with a strong social presence, who may otherwise be rejected on numbers alone. Others argue it's an invasion of privacy, and lenders are overstepping their bounds.

While the thought of someone searching through my social media history is a little scary, I think lenders are within their rights to do this. Wouldn't you want to know as much about a person as possible before loaning them money? As students we should be prepared for extra scrutiny. Annual figures released by the Department of Education showed that one in ten students defaulted on their loans within the first two years, the highest since 1995. The past six years have shown growth in the number students defaulting on their loans, so it's safe to assume most lenders are getting more hesitant about lending to students. And even if students graduate debt free, chances are most will take out loans for their first car or house. 

I think it's time to start cleaning up our social media profiles, before it's too late. 

Spoiled Olympic Brats? That's #SoSochi

Friday ushered in the official start of the 2014 Winter Olympics, but problems had begun long before that. Athletes arrived to unfinished hotels, thousands of stray dogs roamed the streets, news stories were released daily citing Russian corruption and its controversial stance on gay rights. Naturally social media exploded.

As of this writing, the Twitter account @SochiProblems has 339 thousand followers, over 100,000 more than the 31.6 thousand followers the official Olympics Twitter account, @2014Sochi, has.

Now I'm all for health standards and a safe place to stay, but honestly these Western reporters and athletes are taking things too far. The Olympics is supposed to be about the countries of the world coming together. It's supposed to promote tolerance and cultural understanding. Yet all I can hear about on the news or read about on social media sites are the problems, which aren't even that critical in the grand scheme of things. Globally 870 million went to bed hungry last night, if they even had a bed to go to. I'm supposed to empathize with an American athlete who had trouble picking out an ice cream from his menu because someone didn't perfectly translate Russian to English? Right.

For those complaining about the water situation, 783 million people do not have access to clean water. In fact, most Russians do not have access to tap water, let alone clean tap water.

It's time for us to be a little less ethnocentric, and a little more understanding. Russia is still viewed as a developing nation, so I'd hardly expect the level of luxury we have the privilege to experience as a developed nation. Does that mean this Olympics should be deemed a failure? No. If anything will deem this Olympics a failure, it will be the spoiled, self-centered athletes who care more about promoting problems through social media than taking advantage if their incredible opportunities.

A Bold, Yet Brilliant, Move By J.C. Penney

During the Super Bowl on Sunday night, J.C. Penney released several tweets with spelling and grammatical errors, leading many to believe that the person controlling the account was drunk.

Other brands hopped on J.C. Penney’s tweets as a chance to promote their own brand, such as KIA and Snickers. 

Many are still unsure as to whether the original tweets were planned, or just a sign of incompetence, but in my opinion the strategy was brilliant. These two tweets earned more than 41,000 retweets during the Super Bowl, and have generated a social media buzz unlike anything J.C. Penney has ever seen. As a comparison, the number of retweets on the J.C. Penney account the week before the game averaged only 20 per tweet. 

J.C. Penney has been on a downward slope, announcing last month that it planned to close 33 stores and eliminate 2,000 jobs in order to save $65 million a year. Stock prices have fallen 71% in the past twelve months. Now more than ever J.C. Penney needs to regain market share and increase sales. 

These tweets were a bold move, and J.C. Penney needs to strike again while the iron is hot to ensure success. Tweeting more poorly typed messages isn’t going to cut it here. Those were interesting and unexpected, a one-time novelty if you will, and following them up with other sloppy tweets would kill the appeal. J.C. Penney needs to take the time to engage with its customers, and share quality content while they still have the spotlight. Many consumers may think their stunt was funny and follow them, but unless they manage to convert these potential customers into sales, their tweets were a waste of time. 

Their final tweet of the sloppily typed saga explained that they had been typing with mittens. It was somewhat of a letdown, after expecting a funny story or further excitement from the brand. A better move in my opinion would’ve been something along the lines of “Oops it seems we had a little too much fun last night. Here’s your chance to have some fun too with a 15% off coupon”. A move like that provides a humorous ending to the story, and gives consumers a call to action that could increase sales in stores. Regardless, we’ll see if their marketing strategy pays off in the upcoming quarter. 

Is Marketing to Blacks on Twitter #winning?

African Americans have historically been a difficult demographic to market towards, but Twitter could be making it easier. According to a study done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, roughly 18% of Twitter’s users are black. This doesn’t seem very significant, until one takes into account that that’s nearly twice the 10% of US Internet users who are black, and more than the 11% of black users Facebook has. Furthermore, 40% of black Internet users aged 18-29 use Twitter, whereas only 28% of whites in the same age group do.

At the time of this writing, Black People Tweet (@BlkPplTweet) had 117,031 followers. The Atlanta Journal Constitution (@ajc) only has 109,055. Black People Tweet essentially has a bigger immediate reach than a paper that reaches 1.4 million print readers weekly, not to mention the countless Internet readers as well.

Black Twitter followers, using #BlackTwitter, have recently started using their power as a social community to enact change. When Paula Deen used racist language, Black Twitter called for her to lose her job and then she was fired. When it was felt that African American females were underrepresented on the show SNL, Black Twitter called for a change and new cast members were hired. Black Twitter also played a huge role in the Trayvon Martin media buzz, with contributions to the 5 million tweets sent in the first 26 hours after the verdict was announced. Black Twitter even went as far as to protest a book planned by a juror in the Trayvon Martin case, causing the agent to drop the book deal. 

Clearly African Americans have a huge influence in the Twitter community, and know how to use this community to their advantage. They comprise a large demographic that marketers need to start focusing more on. However, this demographic comes with challenges that many businesses are unprepared for. Black users are more likely than others to reply to each other’s tweets, follow each other, and retweet each other’s tweets. Black users are also more likely to use a different lexicon in their tweets. Marketers should take note of this and attempt to provide an authentic, engaging experience in order to foster interaction. 

Twitter is a unique platform in that it has a sense of immediacy most other social media platforms lack. Many people check it for instantaneous news updates and developments. The combination of this immediacy and the general disposition among black users, can cause them to behave strongly in one direction at any given moment. This could provide the tipping point for the right product or service, or could potentially damage a company’s reputation for coming across as racially insensitive. 

Word to the wise: Try to be the former, not another Paula Deen. 

Like This to Cure Cancer!

I recently read an article on CNN about “like farming,” which is a new technique scammers are using to take advantage of users’ good intentions on Facebook. A user “likes” or “shares” an uplifting picture or story (think beating cancer or stopping animal abuse), and then once the page has enough views, it can be converted to advertisements. It may even be sold to the highest bidder, who can profit from these newfound fans and the increased web traffic surrounding their page.

This will affect companies who genuinely are trying to engage with their consumers over Facebook. Already consumers are being pushed away by companies who want them to constantly “like”, “share”, and “retweet” their advertisements. Adding the frequency of these scams to the issue can only heighten consumers’ distrust, and make them less likely to engage with companies on social media platforms. 

To combat these negative feelings, companies should focus on producing quality, original content. Yes it’s expensive. Yes it’s difficult. But nothing good ever comes easy, and if a company wants to build a meaningful relationship with their consumer, they’re going to have to put in the effort. These consumers will then recommend the company to friends, which makes the company seem like a reputable business, instead of being annoying and in-your-face. 

Of course if this doesn't work, I'm sure there's a page against animal abuse that can be bought for the right price.