Send A Tweet, Brighten Someone’s Day

You know what one of the most awesome things about social media is?  Connecting everyone with the click [or tap, for touch screens] of a button.

Well, duh!

Sorry for stating the obvious.  I just read a great blog post about little ways to make the world a better place, of which all the suggestions would brighten my day.  And all of which can be done via social media.  With iPhones, Crackberries, and the like, it is now more than ever possible to send those random Tweet/Facebook message/texts/etc.  And while that is already listed as a suggestion, social media can be used to carry out the other suggestions as well.

For example, the last suggestion of connecting like minds?  There are functions for that.  Just a few weeks ago, my friend suggested that her boyfriend follow me on Twitter because we’re both graphic designers.  Even Facebook has an option that faciliates connecting people with their option called “suggest friends/fans.”  You can compliment someone by positively commenting on a blog post or posting an encouraging message on another website.  Just last week I had an old professor send me a LinkedIn message, stating how proud she was of me on my first design project post-grad.  I’m tellin’ ya, that made my day 100 times better.

Commending an employee must be the easiest thing to do on this list.  A simple email [CCing the employee in question] to a superior can achieve that goal, as I have already experienced in my 6 brief weeks of employment.  Leaving a more than generous tip at a restaurant encourages the good services of a waitress/waiter- I know, I waitressed for a year in high school.

Think about those options listed above.  How have you brightened someone’s day lately?

Blah, blah, blah

I really do have a lot to say. According to my mother, that is. NYTimes was the first app I downloaded to my iPhone a year ago, CNN.com is my homepage. And of course, I scan the local newspaper every morning when I get into work.

Combine that with my increasing obsession and fascination with social media and you’ve got yourself a mouth that won’t stop running.

So here I am, with blog #2 and a whole new perspective…on everything. I recently started working full-time at a non-profit organization in Central New Jersey as the Communications Assistant there, and my boss and I sure have a lot to talk about other than social justice and Quark files. However, when I get home to my family, including an 11 year old boy playing the role of “brother,” the fun stops there. Needing another outlet for my word vomit (thanks, LiLo), I turned back to blogging. Let’s see how successful I am this time around.

Some food for thought: Ruder Finn UK’s Laura Strong wrote a post regarding social networking and partnerships between those sites, most recently LinkedIn and Twitter. More specifically, she mentioned three guidelines which I believe should become the “Golden Rules of Status Updating”:

Don’t be rude or abusive about people, projects or a company.
Don’t post rumours or revelations – Twitter never forgets.
Think before you type – some things are better left private.

How’s that for a little cerebral snack? As a recent college graduate (May 2009 represent!), keeping my social networks as clear and censored as possible was my number 1 goal while job hunting, and still is. The lines between audiences with regards to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are slowly blurring and while others see each audience for each site as the same, I do not. I think it’s only a matter of time before you crash and burn if you do.

Agree, disagree, or feel neutral? Dish it out here and give me something else to talk about.