Just Look what a Wish (and some help from social media) can do!
July 2, 2009, 4:13 am
Filed under:
Uncategorized | Tags:
airfare,
charity,
donation,
facebook,
military,
pay it forward,
social media,
social network,
wishI haven’t talked to my friend Samantha in about 3 days, but what an interesting 3 days it has been!
It seems that she is suffering a family crisis: her husband (in the military and has been in Q-West Iraq since November) has to make an emergency trip home as one of his family members is having serious medical issues. The government pays for him to come home to see his family in this trying time, but that’s in Texas and Sami lives in Washington State. Sami has two young kids, (ages 3 and 1) and would have to take all of them to TX in order to be supportive and see her lovely husband and in-laws. This is VERY expensive and she can only afford about half the cost right now (crippling economy, you know). She had actually called the airlines that service her area and their ‘bereavement’ fares were higher than a regular ticket on Expedia or CheapTickets! She just didn’t know what to do.
In a last ditch effort, she made a plea on Facebook, “does anyone have 2 tickets from Seattle to Dallas that they are willing to part with? …hubby gets to come home from Iraq but we don’t have the means to get me and the babies there. Can’t hurt a girl to ask,” (Sami FB, 2009). She received many well-wishing comments and support from friends, but didn’t make any headway in her goal. The next day she tried a new approach: “Only $150 from being able to go to Texas to be with hubby and his family. Anyone care to donate $10 to a good cause?” (Sami FB, 2009).
And that’s where the AMAZING part comes in. Within 6 hours she had received enough small donations from friends and acquaintances alike (via their searches for her on PayPal) that she could afford to make the trip with babies in tow!
We read a lot about how the internet can be used for good causes, but these are generally for large, well-known national issues. Or we read that some jerk has created a phony cause to bilk good, trusting folks out of their money, and we lose faith in humanity, if only temporarily. I think it’s great to see an instance where several people (14 to be exact) made small individual gestures, that became so much more when compounded and are giving one family the opportunity to come together, share in their fear and sorrow and feel the goodness of man.
(Both Photos Retrieved from Sami FB Photo Albums with Verbal Permission.)
It hasn’t been easy for this family for the last few months; husband away serving our country, Sami struggling to raise her family by herself and having her own health issues, having to move because her last landlord wouldn’t make necessary repairs that were a safety hazard to little ones, etc. The response to her ‘just putting it out there’ was quick and positive. Some of the comments:
• “It’s on its way. Good luck!!”
• “I’ve got at least one friend sending you money too. So be aware of names you don’t know coming. Hopefully you’ll see more than one!”
• “I sent a contribution. I told you last night I’d fund the whole thing if I could! But here’s my contribution. And you do NOT pay me back, understand?”
• “I sent you 10. A worthy cause if I’ve ever heard of one. Don’t pay me back, pay it forward. 
”
• “I agree…just pay mine forward too,” (Sami FB, 2009).
Sami reached her goal, plus a little extra for travel food money and summed up her gratitude by telling everyone that she was “FLOORED by the generosity of her friends!! I have enough (actually now just a few extra $) to go buy the tickets!! Thank you all sooo much! There are no words to express just how much today has meant to me,” (Sami FB, 2009).
I hope that we are all so lucky when we need it most!
Reference:
Sami FB. (2009). Retrieved July 1, 2009 from http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?&new_box_added_id=9981647979#/samiunderwood?hiq=samantha%2Cunderwood
Little news bits for Tuesday
June 23, 2009, 4:58 pm
Filed under:
Uncategorized | Tags:
apple,
black eyed peas,
bozeman,
google,
iPhone,
perez hilton,
social network,
steve jobs,
street viewGreetings from my vacation! I’m still hard at work, finding some interesting little tidbits that you may take something away from.
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Google is making lots of news today TWO expansions on their current offerings; one to their “Street View” application available on GoogleMaps, and also with additional languages which will now be available on the Google Translate service.
GoogleMaps is sending its Pedicab tricycle to college campuses, starting with University of Pennsylvania, to take 360-degree pictures of foot trails and local parks. The benefit of this feature will be to “allow prospective students to get a good fell for the campus…let incoming students map out routes to classes and let alumni fondly remember their school days,” (Virginian-Pilot, 2009).
Google is also adding the Persian language, also known as Farsi, to their translation service due to increased interest in the recent events in Iran, (Virginian-Pilot, 2009).
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It’s pretty tough to find a job, but this will make it even harder!
The city of Bozeman, Montana has been requiring applicants to city jobs to supply their social media USER NAMES and PASSWORDS along with their resume’s! This policy was in effect until Friday when the city ‘rescinded the policy after local news reports highlighted it,” (Virginia-Pilot, 2009). The local TV station also ran a poll in which 98% of respondents called the policy an “invasion of privacy,” (Virginia-Pilot, 2009).
I am sure that I am not the only one of us who feels that this is not only an invasion of privacy, but is also a cause a great many lawsuits. My first question is HOW ON EARTH DID THIS IDEA BECOME POLICY? Wouldn’t this type of procedure be the result of a vote, by some committee? And if the hiring practices were set by an executive branch, then wouldn’t it seem as though SOMEONE on the staff would realize this was not only a ludicrous idea, but also could create backlash?
Christopher Dawson, tech director for the Athol-Royalston School District in Massachusetts and blogger for ZDNet, found evidence that this has been a ‘long-standing practice’ in Bozeman, where he was once a resident. “However, the fact that this policy is “long-standing” certainly suggests that people have been complying with the policy for a while. How desperate are people for jobs that they are willing to turn over this very private information?” (Dawson, 2009).
Dawson asks the same questions that have been rolling around in my head. How long has this been going on? Why are people complying with such a ridiculous practice? How many other cities, or firms, have been trying to get away with the same thing? Why aren’t people smart enough to not post the types of things on their social sites that an employer would NOT want to see? This is part of the reason I have stayed out of the social media scene for so long…I did not want to be Google-able. Looks like this may have been a smart practice.
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Just because you have a blog, doesn’t mean you have a brain!
I’m sure many of you have heard that celeb-gossip monger Perez Hilton was assaulted Black Eyed Peas tour manager, Polo Molina. It seems that Hilton, who is openly gay, called singer and front-man will.i.am a “gay epithet” in a night club after the singer told the blogger not to write about his band on the site. An argument ensued and Hilton got popped. Not that I can say I blame the manager…I think it’s fair for a celeb to ask for privacy, or even to demand it, but does that really require a blogger/reporter to call you names and act like a little spoiled baby?
Did he deserve to be assaulted for this childish behavior? Well, Hilton knows he’s an instigator, his site even states “Welcome to PerezHilton.com – Hollywood’s Most-Hated Web Site,” (PerezHilton.com, 2009). I guess if you continue to mess with the bull, you get the horns. Not that I assume he will learn his lesson from this little scandal. I am sure that many more people will check out this site and ads will increase with each new publicity stunt…may be why he is such an antagonist to the celebs?
What’s funnier about this story is that after the assault, Hilton used twitter as his first communication tool. “I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke,” (Associated Press, 2009), was sent at 4:00 am. I mean, really, if you’re that stupid that you try to tweet to get help instead of calling 911, do you really deserve medical attention and help from the cops? Isn’t this a sign that you are TOO involved with your social media?
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On a final note, the iPhone 3G S was released Friday in the US and seven other countries and sold 1 million units in 3 days! I guess the Apple phenom is still going strong. I like all the apps that are available, but I’ve got to say…I like Palm’s touch screen better. I just don’t like that swoopy movement you have to use on the iPhone, (Associated Press2, 2009).
And did everyone else (but me) know that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago and has been out from work since January? This has been his first statement since he took medical leave.
References:
Associated Press. (2009). “Perez Hilton, Blogger, Punched After Argument.” Virginia-Pilot. June 23, 2009. A, 2.
Associated Press2. (2009). Business Day: Nation: “More than 1M New iPhones are Sold.” Virginia-Pilot. June 23, 2009. A, 9.
Dawson, C. (2009, June 20). “Would Your Students Hand Over Their Passwords to Bozeman?” ZDNet. Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://education.zdnet.com/?p=2723
PerezHilton.com. (2009). “Home Page.” Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://perezhilton.com/
Virginian-Pilot. (2009, June 23). “Surf Side: Tech World News.” Virginian-Pilot. June 23, 2009. C, 1.
I may not be famous here, but I am very well-loved in Prague
So by now most of us have some kind of internet presence, whether it’s just a blog, or a Facebook page or whatnot. But how protected is your information, pictures and the like once you put them out there for the world to see? If you put yourself, or your business out in the public domain for the entire world to see, is it safe to assume that this data will not be used in a way other than you intended? The answer is NO.
Recently a family from Missouri was made aware that a family Christmas picture was being used in an advertisement for a grocery store in Prague. A friend of the family was driving through the European city and saw the photo, which had been posted on several social networking sites and also on the family blog. The owner stated he found the picture on the internet and thought it was computer generated. Once he found out about the real origins of the photo, he removed it and sent an email apology to the family.
The mother of the family in the photo states, “this story doesn’t frighten me, but the potential frightens me,” (Taylor, 2009). The moral…if you put information out there, expect it to be taken. The article also warns that in the case of photos, you can lower the resolution or put an electric watermark on the work in question.
This article brings up some key points about how much control you have over your information once it is displayed on the internet. Security safeguards are in place on some websites, but ones created by the Everyday Joe are subject to all kinds of cyber theft. So keep this in mind while you are out there creating great conversations with people so they will flock to your brand or your family’s site. And also keep in mind that you may create a conversation with others, but it may be filled with hate. As if having her family’s picture posted all over the street in another city weren’t weird enough, the family in question posted the strange story on the family blog…and received lots of hateful and ugly comments. The blog states that many who stopped by (something like 200,000 hits) were supportive or just shared their own stories of stolen information, but many said mean things. Seriously, these haters don’t have enough to do all day than to go looking for crazy stories and then be hateful to the person who has fallen victim to cyber crime?
References:
Danielle Smith’s Blog. (2009). Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://www.extraordinarymommy.com/blog/
Taylor, B. (2009). “MO. Family Stumped: How Did Christmas Photo Get in Life-Size Ad in Czech Republic Store?” South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://southflorida.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sns-ap-us-odd-card-photo-prague,0,6164268.story
