Tuesday Tech: You don't need Social Media

I recently did a training at a Conference. One of the other speakers on the Platform enthusiastically espoused the benefits of Facebook and how it would help people get younger volunteers.

I talked about all of the other things people would have to do to change their organisations like change.


I was a bit disheartened to hear at the end of the day, how many said their first action returning to their agency would be to set up a Facebook page. I can understand why. Going online and adding yourself to the Facebook maelstrom will take 20 minutes. Re designing your volunteer roles, restructuring your training and educating your current volunteers on how to welcome new ones is harder and takes more time.

But for most of them the Facebook page will "fail" without other key changes. Social Media is not a panacea. In fact for many organisations, it is a waste of time or distraction. Which is why I was glad to see this brilliant article on  Why-your company probably doesnt need a facebook page

Worth a read.

Spotting Spam on Facebook [Updated]

I get a lot of questions in my workshops about the rash of spam that people keep "sharing" and "posting" on Facebook.  There are some ways you can spot such spam:

1. THE USE OF CAPITALS 

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY I DONT KNOW ( HOW TRUE THIS IS BUT WHAT THE HECK DONT HURT ANYTHING SO I DID IT

As soon as you see a whole or most of a message in Capital Letters or one with lots of sentences which use capital letters, assume spam (or the writer is drunk)


2. Hysterical Headlines

eg IF YOU HAVE A CHILD THEN READ THIS!  PLEASE PASS THIS TO ANYONE THAT HAS SMALL CHILDREN!!  
or  


FACEBOOK FRIENDS!!! SOME APPS ARE SENDING NOT VERY NICE MESSAGES USING YOUR NAME!!!


The more hysterical the headline, assume it is fake.


3. Share this and a Child/Dog/Tree/Rainforest will recieve a donation of 1c, 3c, 5c, 10c, $1, $3 etc
What about the ones that promise you a donation to a charity, money, an IPAD or an iphone when you like a story or photo or if you share that story or photo. Sadly, simply sharing any story or image on Facebook wont make any difference to any cause. There is No money given for simple sharing a story. No hospital, charity, company or Facebook themselves have ever organised donations based on the number of times a photo, message or email is shared.

4. Heartwarming Fake Stories
The story below leaves one full of admiration for the airline staff. It has circulated widely with different airlines and destinations included.

On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged, well-off white South African Lady has found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain about her seating. 

"What seems to be the problem Madam?" asked the attendant. 

"Can`t you see?" she said " You`ve sat me next to a kaffir. I can`t possibly sit next to this disgusting human. Find me another seat!" 

"Please calm down Madam." the stewardess relied. "The flight is very full today, but I`ll tell you what I`ll do-I`ll go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class." The woman cocks a snooty look at the outraged black man beside her (not to mention many of the surrounding passengers). A few minutes later the stewardess returns with the good news, which she delivers to the lady, who cannot help but look at the people around her with a smug and self satisfied grin: "Madam, unfortunately, as I suspected, economy is full. I`ve spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class." Before the lady has a chance to answer, the stewardess continues ... "It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain felt that it was outrageous that someone be forced to sit next to such an obnoxious person." With which, she turned to the black man sitting next to the woman, and said: "So if you`d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat ready for you..." At which point, apparently the surrounding passengers stood and gave a standing ovation while the black guy walks up to the front of the plane. 

.. people will forget what you said .... .. people will forget what you did .... .. but people will never forget how you made them feel. 

This tale is almost certainly apocryphal. Add to it, the stories of kittens, Vietnam vets and doggies that appear regularly. Before posting something you can check if it is real at snopes.com or by copying or pasting the story inro Google or simply go to a news channel. Yesterday,  I was asked to commemorate the deaths of some soldiers in a nasty helicopter crash. The tragic crash which supposedly happened yesterday in fact happened last year.

5. False Sayings

I love this picture on the right because it illustrates the stupidity of posting without checking things. If you still don't understand this one: the net did not exist in Lincoln's day!

6. Links outside Facebook
Various messages get posted on Facebook that say: you can now see who has been viewing your Facebook Profile OR you can find out who has been stalking you OR you can now get the "dislike". When you click the button, you exit Facebook and are presented with the option of entering your password. Don't do it! This is dangerous. You are giving your log in and password to someone else. This is how people's Facebooks get "hacked"

Ever unsure of something isn't genuine, don't post it. Check out: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/facebook-related.shtml