Digitally Blonde - Episode 1: Why Your Facebook Page Is Your Own PR Tool

                                      

   Recently I had a discussion with a friend about the tendency to evaluate people based on what they post on Facebook. And let's admit it: we're all doing it, to some extent. "Ah, but it's just Facebook! Facebook is not who you really are!", you will say. But it's not really like that, simply because it is YOU who chooses what to post. Yes, YOU and nobody else (unless you've been hacked, or your friends decided to write naughty stuff on your profile while you were out of the room). 

       Therefore, given the fact that the whole situation lies in your own hands, your profile does say things about you, unless you are a very idle user, who rarely ever posts anything. In this case, this post will not apply to you. But for the rest of us, myself included, here are some things that, as a former media professional, I believe we should take into consideration, no matter what our offline lives look like.

1. Avoid intimate details of your life. What happens behind closed doors should remain that way.

2. Keep the posts low in number, but interesting in content. There are people I know who post 10 to 20 items a day. Guuuuys, don't you have a job / school / house / family to concentrate on? Better to have just a couple of good or useful posts, and use the rest of your free time otherwise.

3. Speaking of content: is it informative, important for people to know, or at least simply entertaining? If none is the case, maybe it's not worth posting.

4. I always appreciated original content. Such as perhaps photos you took or videos you made, or your own thoughts and ideas about life in general, or one specific topic. Also, if you share someone else's works or ideas, what are your thoughts about it?

5. Keep the posts brief. Your followers may not have time and patience to read very long texts. If you have more to say about something, such as book or movie reviews, or detailed analyses of current affairs, why not start a blog?

6. Try to keep the posts varied. That is, avoid focusing only on one topic in particular, or one kind of post. It makes you look boring and predictable, which I know you're not! ;)

7. If you share posts you had from other sources, such as internet sites or other Facebook pages and profiles, be very careful of fake news and click-bait articles, with titles meant to create unjustified panic. Where did you get the news from? Is that source reliable or just some godknowswhat.com site that focuses on cheap sensation news? An old journalists' tip is to verify the news in at least 3 sources. And for the way the media looks like nowadays, I would add 3 serious or reliable sources. Or even more sources, for that matter.

8. Here we are, with another delicate topic. Charity deeds, such as blood donations, money donations for terminally ill patients or extreme cases of poverty, or even pet adoptions. I know, we all want to help. But I came accross various cases which were not actual anymore, or, even worse, were plain fake. Do you know that case personally? Or do you know someone who does? Or is there a way that you can obtain more details, and verify the information? Take it from there. 

9. If you are doing something good for society, such as participating in an organized charity event, or run a marathon for some noble cause, or volunteer for an environmental cleanup day, let us know. It's not an ego trip, but it's something that should inspire others to do the same. And God, do I admire these people! 

10. Avoid posting disturbing images, such as terminally ill or dead people, or tortured or dead animals. Yes, we know these horrible things happen, and we all want them stopped. But being simply verbally informed, without the visuals, is more than enough. 

11. Avoid offensive posts, especially for things that are nobody's fault: gender, disability, nationality, race, poverty, and so forth. These are things that you don't choose for yourself, and nobody needs to apologize for them. And if you make fun of them, you are just an a@/&*# (I am a lady and don't use insulting words :p). 

12. Don't be shy about your own achievements or happy events, or photos in which you look like a movie star (I said movie star, not Playboy bunny :p ), and also praise your close ones for their own good deeds. But beware: I'm not talking about flashing material possessions. Positivity and good news is something we all crave for in this mad world! 

13. I left this one for the end, as something of vital importance. Do not, and I really mean, do NOT film live videos while driving. And for your own good, also when crossing the road. Many accidents happened recently because of this, and most often the victim was someone innocent.

    When Facebook entered my life, I was already in my mid 20s. I might not have been some genius, but I had already learned to avoid embarrassing situations. But apparently, not many people have, and those are the online behaviours which I came accross most often, and which gave me food for thought. By all means, I am an active Facebook user, I have found out many things because of it, including activities and information that changed my life for the better. And now probably I shall end my day with some '80s song from my childhood, and I will post it to wish my friends good night.... :P

Charlie Hebdo: when Tragedy Meets Humour to Create Solidarity

       

    My night was far from happy and peaceful, after what happened yesterday in Paris. The Charlie Hebdo attacks are far from justifiable, and, no matter how offended someone must have been from their drawings, that is not a reason to pull out the rifles and kill people. Period. Just imagine: if everyone did that, for every single remark, text or media product that is not politically correct, we'd probably be all dead. 

               

              However, apart from the debates related to religious issues and freedom of speech, which were to be expected anyway, what I was impressed by was the worldwide solidarity shown by the media, and mostly through humour, just like the Charlie Hebdo team deserved. These symbols spread accross publications from France and from many other countries and on social media. The "Je suis Charlie" slogan, in several languages, has been spoken and posted by all of us. Even news anchors have been using it this morning, right after introducing themselves, at the beginning of the news programme. 

                

             Most of these drawings, created by various international cartoonists and from which I selected my own favourites, use humour as a weapon to soften the tragedy: making analogies between drawing tools and weapons of mass destructions, depicting the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in heaven, or simply expressing encouragement for the remaining staff of the magazine to rise again and keep fighting for their values. 

                    

              Charlie Hebdo is a magazine with a long, and certainly not boring history. It started off from the 1960s magazine Hara-Kiri, and it has always been famous for its irreverent humour. Bannings and warnings of being banned have periodically marked its history, since the times of Charles De Gaulle. And some of the victims of the attack, some of the most famous French cartoonists, were actually members of its original team, since the early days. Even I was familiar with the naughty 1970s work of Wolinski. ;) And if I was saddenned by their loss - I can imagine the French people, who were far more familiar with their work and their humour. 

           Personally, from now on I will also commit to follow more closely the progress that is made in relation with the media and freedom of speech, but also what will happen with the future of Charlie Hebdo. I wish them to rise back stronger than before, and, as much as possible... try to stay safe. 

          Aujourd'hui nous sommes tous Charlie! 

The Constructive Facebook Challenge: a Quick Injection of Culture

     

   

  Many "serious" people would say that Facebook is a waste of time. Well, probably not in its entirety, but it certainly takes away a fair portion of the time we should be spending working, studying, cleaning the house, or whatever other chores. 

  However, in the recent days and months I have seen a new, constructive use of Facebook. Most of us have been involved in chain challenges, when a friend of ours publishes something, then nominates us to do the same. Yet, the most culturally-challenging one are those dedicated to paintings and those dedicated to books. If I publish a painting, and you click "like" on it, I would assign you a painter, and you would have to publish one of his works. Or, if somebody nominates me to publish a list of 10 of my favourite books, I will also have to think of at least 3 friends who should do the same. Therefore, when this happens, we see at least a few friends of ours publishing lists of books and famous paintings each day. It is like they recommend us what to read, or which artist we should look up. And this can do us nothing but good. In a glance, we find out something we may not have seen or read before. I have been involved in both of these challenges, and, apart from sharing my own taste in art and literature, my curiosity and desire for knowledge were highly stimulated. So much, that I decided to dedicate more time to reading, which, with today's hectic lifestyle, has been quite difficult. Not bad, is it?

   And I wonder what the next type of challenge will be. Theatre plays? Movies? Music? Touristic destination? Tradition from our own countries? That's for us to choose. But we definitely LIKE it!