I initially started using Facebook because that was one of
some ways I could keep up with my children’s lives when they went off to
college. Either they would have to write
weekly letters home or allow me to be their Friend! My children made right
decisions!
Since that time, I have come to enjoy Facebook benefits
along with its disadvantages. There is a lot of political and advocacy
discourses on Facebook from which I formulate my thoughts and actions. I only
wish that I were savvy at utilizing all of the social media in a way that all
of these contribute to my advocacy efforts.
I have Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram accounts, and I don’t
use them much. Friends tell me that they use one or the other, but usually not
all of them together. I have seen how my colleagues have adeptly utilized all
of them together to promote their causes, and I am still learning how to do
so. Instead of leading as an advocate, I
am a great follower. That’s different from trolling!
I have seen first hand the power of social media advocacy
where people change their minds. I have seen how some people more adeptly
utilize social media to create new ideas.
One thing that I thoroughly enjoy and have been trying to
set up is a blog. Maybe when I finish my graduate studies, I can devote more
energies to my blog which will allow me to create more influence steps through
twitter, and YouTube.
All of this is hard work and takes time; time is something I
don’t have much as long as I am in graduate program and working full time. I
dream of mastering social media advocacy some day!
Marla,
ReplyDeleteI too am learning how to use social media more effectively in my advocacy. I have tried to use Twitter for years and I guess I'm too old but I cannot figure that one out! I do agree that social media is a great tool for advocacy!
Margie
Marla,
ReplyDeleteUsing social media is definitely a struggle at times. It is difficult sometimes to tell true information from false. It is also difficult to navigate and find what you are looking for if you are not familiar with the forum. I enjoy learning how to use social media for advocacy efforts from others that are successful at doing so. For now that is pretty much where I'm at.
Brandi