Come Join Me At Panasonic's LivinginHD.com
I wrote an article on Examiner.com about the community. Come and join us! I'm the community leader and am excited to be a part of Panasonic's greatest social media effort. We will be running contests with cool Panasonic product prizes and more. Feel free to join here - http://livinginhd.com/go/about/home
Is Social Media Making Today's Kids Vain?
*This has been going on for years I know... but I was reminded of it all while spending time with my niece*
It's an epidemic! Kids everywhere are falling victim to vanity! Why? Because they now have a place to display it; a place where it's encouraged - heavily. Peer pressure has always been existent but never in this way. With the emergence of social media, comes a new way for kids and young teens to express themselves. Since privacy is extremely important these days, the only other people these kids are exposed to on these networks is their peers - thus creating pressure and encouragement to validate themselves through photos and words on their page. Back before the days of the internet and social networks, one only had to worry about the way they acted in school. Now you have to worry about the way you appear around the clock as these sites are readily available at the click of a button. If you do not represent yourself in a "cool way", you could be the topic of tomorrow's gossip discussion.
I have a 14 year old niece who is constantly signed onto Myspace and Facebook and after seeing her numerous friends' profiles, I sit here in awe at how vain these kids are (or at least pretending to be). It's sad to see these girls try to portray an image that doesn't have to be them at the tender age of 12. One would argue that they should not be on these sites but let's face it - if they want to be on them, they will be on them somehow.
They spend hours in front of the mirror taking photo after photo of themselves with sexy/serious looks in order to obtain the "perfect" one. I cannot sit there and say that I haven't had a moment of vanity myself (as I believe most women have? Maybe? Maybe not?) but the age these kids are starting such behavior is young. My 10 year old niece is also catching on to the trend and I wonder of the pressure to maintain a constant image on these networks in morphing today's children in a negative way. If I could post the photos of 10 friends of my nieces' at random, you would understand (and quite possibly be shocked!) but due to the underage issue, I am not allowed to do that. While social media is providing both children and adults numerous opportunity, we face the growing negativities associated with these new mediums as well. What are the long term effects of these networks when it comes to bullying, vanity and more?
When Twitter Gets Personal….
We all know the value behind the microblogging site Twitter as many of us use it on a daily basis for networking, sharing valuable business information, joking with friends and for some? Fighting with enemies.
It was interesting to see two Hollywood big-wigs (Ashton Kutcher & Perez Hilton) take their beef to Twitter.
Ashton: when you have kids you will understand the pain you have unnecessarily inflicted on my step kids life. You can bash me all day
Perez: Rumer invited the attention upon herself. She is a huge famewhore - and I totally respect that. I love talentless famewhores!
Ashton: honestly don’t even know you and would love to call a truce just lay off my kids man
Perez: I don’t really talk about the other girls. Just Potato Head, mainly. I’m sure she secretly loves it!
Ashton: come by for dinner some night and I’ll show how much she loves it
Ashton: invented attention upon herself, why does that bother you? hmmmm
Perez: I'm a fat kid at heart and am still a porker. I love to eat! Say when and I'll be there!
Perez: See, I don't ALWAYS say mean things about Potato. Kinda. (link)
Perez: And I can guarantee you that if I COMPLETELY stopped talking about Rumerzilla, she'd be sad. Very very sad.
This isn't from the gossip magazines...this is the real deal. I've never seen Twitter get so personal & public for a celebrity. Hilton is notoriously known for making fun of a slew of Hollywood actors but more particularly; their children which is a low blow. Demi Moore's daughter Rumer has received shallow criticism on Perez's website and it's good to see Ashton defending her but even worse to see how much of a shameless coward Perez is. Either way, Twitter has proved to be yet another outlet for those publicly looking to defend their family or in Perez's case - publicly humiliate another human being. I'd like to think this is the worst way to use Twitter... but a way nonetheless.
Let the Conversation Begin! Listen First…
We all know that conversation is vital in our lives; both professionally and personally and the conversation for each one of us all began with our first word or with a company's first move towards social media.
Well recently my daughter Adria has begun her lifetime of conversation. It's a great reminder of how we must listen first and then communicate. Sometimes I feel like there's too much talking (both on and off the blogosphere) and not enough listening which provides far less value than what a true conversation can provide. Ask questions..listen for feedback and listen well By doing so, we can truly learn something new each day. With that, here's a video of my mini-me saying "Mama". (Oh and please excuse the sound of my gross cold+sinusitis voice.) Let the conversation begin Adria!
[dailymotion id=k4oJm1ljIUGXTFV6JR]
A New Day
Image Courtesy of CNN.com
No one can deny that today is one helluva day in our Nation's history. Whether you were for or against Obama during election time, this is certainly the most monumental election since JFK's. Today I feel the sense of unity and hope and even if we don't resolve things within a year, I'm glad we're taking a step in the right direction. Obama has a way of uniting people if anything and with a strong cabinet in place, I have no doubt that him and his folks will take the steps towards helping this country. Sure, the hype may wear off over time and he will have to get down to the nitty gritty but if we can keep the momentum going with this kind of hope and unity, I believe we can seriously make some changes. I'm happy to say today that I'm an American and even happier to see such a TRUE change in the White House!
Congrats to my friend Scott Herman!
This is not tech related or business related whatsoever but I wanted to extend a congratulations to my friend Scott Herman who is now on the Real World: Brooklyn. The season premier was on Wednesday at 10pm and it looked pretty juicy! Although I haven't watched the show in about 5 or 6 years, I will certainly be watching this season. What makes Scott so great is that despite his ridiculously good looks, he's unlike most "jocks" you see on TV (especially Real World). He's a guy that has big dreams and will achieve them the right way. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and is a great friend! So kudos to you Scott..may all your dreams come true!
Seven Things You May Not Know About Me (Ok, You Definitely Don't Know)
Russ Somers of Egghead Marketing has summoned me out of my dark hole and has enticed me to blog. He has "tagged" me in this cool internet meme. Since I've been so busy with little time to blog and an absolute writer's block, this was the perfect reason to blog. A) I didn't have to think about the subject. B) It's fun!
Mr. Somers tagged me for this meme and here I will begin with 7 things you may not definitely don't know about me.
1) I was born with one kidney. No joke! I had no idea up until I was about 19 and went in for what I thought may have been appendicitis! The doctor said "Good news Kate! You don't have appendicitis but did you know you only have one kidney?" He went on further to include that this lone kidney was "larger than the average one" since it had to compensate for the lack of a second one. It was equally weird as it was interesting. I looked it up on the internet to find that 1 in 750 people are born with one kidney and it is more common in males. I also came to find out that the left one is more commonly absent. Welllll waddyaknow? I'm a girl (obviously) and my right one is actually missing. Neato gang!
2) I was confused in college (who isn't?). I was first an advertising major and once I realized I wasn't that great at ad copywriting (my professors all worked at big NYC ad agencies and were quite blunt about my lack of talent), I decided advertising wasn't for me. I then ventured into television and film while supporting myself financially by doing internet marketing! When I had to move back to Boston, there really wasn't/isn't much of a TV & Film industry here (although it is growing a bit), I decided to go for web marketing as it was more of a prominent and stable industry than the commonly freelanced position of a TV production employee.
3) One of the most inspiring people I have ever met was a 12 year old girl from a village called Putibiw in west Africa (Ghana to be exact). This girl had more of a spark than 90% of children you meet in the US and had work ethic that was (to be honest) greater than mine. She worked hard for her family and was probably one of the most curious people I have ever met. I helped run a summer camp in Ghana for kids and out of all of them that I met, she impressed me the most. We still keep in touch today!
4) My first year of college was in Honolulu, Hawaii. Much to my dismay, it wasn't what I expected. Being car less in Honolulu isn't really ideal and much of the city is pretty dirty and filled with drugs and crime. If I ventured off about an hour away, I did find paradise but it was a rare occurrence. Honolulu, Hawaii - > place to vacation not quite to live. I then transferred to a university in Manhattan.
5) I'm a twin. No, I don't have some equally stunning (HA!) female clone of me running around. Instead I have a brother who looks nothing like a female (sorry guys) but currently serves in the US Army. He is roughly 1 hour and 16 minutes older than I am. (Poor mother!) When I was born, I came out like this -> one foot, bum and then my other foot. Doctors would NEVER allow this kind of erratic and strange (and dangerous!) entrance into this world these days but back then they apparently allowed it and this abnormal entrance was a bit phophetic in that the rest of my life has been the same way -- > unpredictable, strange , awkward but pretty cool too.
6) I started an email newsletter when I was 12 years old. It had about 1,000 recipients and I targeted these recipients through AOL 3.0. I was a massive Buffy the Vampire Slayer (not the movie) fan. Yes yes..I collected everything "Buffy". I was so excited about the show that I began a pretty impressive weekly newsletter that was shot out to eager fans. Back in the day, the word "SPAM" was non-existent so yes, I did send it unsolicited to those who had "Buffy" listed in their favorite TV shows but I told them to simply email me if they wanted out and only rarely did someone say so. My email newsletter was filled with colorful fonts, photos and information about the show, it's characters and more.
I had this newsletter for about a year until I got too busy with extracurricular sports. People begged me to continue it but Kate started to grow up... (Not sure that process is still done?!)
7) The pressure is on for this last one huh? Which factoid shall I choose? Ok, got it. This one -> I'm currently unemployed. Ok, that's not true. I am, but for myself. I work at home for myself but am looking for a full time job. This is totally cheating I know... but I'm looking for a position in Massachusetts but am actually open to possibly relocating somewhere else. I'd like something in social media and/or web marketing as a whole. If you want to hook a sista up - comment below or check out my LinkedIn profile.
Here are 7 interesting people whose blogs are 10x more exciting to read:
Two I know personally...
1. Leslie Poston of UptownUncorked.com is a social media consultant here in the Boston area and is not only a cool chick but knows her stuff. She's a great person to connect with and learn from.
2. Alejandro Reyes aka the SuccessFool is the man! He runs a great show on UStream and boasts quite a few viewers per show. This guy is definitely inspirational.
Five I just admire from afar...(most are within social media but they ALL rock and are ridiculously knowledgeable!)
5. Michael Brito - Kinda, sorta know him!
6. Scott Monty
7. Joseph Jaffe
Tag, you're it!
I've Fallen Off the Face of the Earth
It's official. I fell off...
I'm working on getting back on.
Things are a bit hectic on this end and I will return to this beloved blog once I've sorted things out.
If you or anyone you know has a job opportunity with the web/new media marketing field, please comment below with your email address. Actively job searching and am open to relocation.
Thanks for being so patient everyone. I'll be back soon.
I Am Now Writing for Examiner.com
Hello boys & girls,
I've been neglecting this blog a bit. Besides currently being in South Africa, I've now begun cheating on this blog and writing as the Boston Internet Examiner for Examiner.com. The site has grown tremendously and is a great source of information on all subjects - especially local to you.
The articles are rather short and to the point but cover on subjects that are a bit more factual as opposed to opinion. This blog is reserved for my rants and opinions.
Go and check out the articles! I began writing them this week... Click Here
Enjoy!
YouTube Copyright Issues Taken To The Next Level with Marky Mark Police
[tweetmeme source=”katedickman” only_single=RT @KateDickman YouTube Copyright Issues Taken to the Next Level with Marky Mark Police]
I woke up to receive an email that read like this:
Subject: A Copyright Owner Has Claimed Content In One Of Your Videos
A copyright owner has claimed it owns some or all of the audio content in your video Random Kid Dancing In African Village. The audio content identified in your video is Good Vibrations by Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch. We regret to inform you that your video has been blocked from playback due to a music rights issue.
I understand and respect copyright laws but this just seems a bit excessive. I've had this particular 40 second video up for over a YEAR and never had a problem. This was the most NON-commercial use of a song you could ever imagine. It was footage I took on my trip to Ghana Africa in a small village where a young boy ran out of nowhere and started dancing to the music that was playing. His dance was absolutely hilarious so I decided to put "Good Vibrations" behind it to make it bit more entertaining. Now it's fully removed; all views and all comments because I violated a copyright? I do believe that YouTube didn't personally pull it down on their own but as stated above, the copyright owner did. Come on now? How far are we taking all of this? Pretty soon a child won't be able to do school projects without getting the rights to an image or video clip. This is the most innocent use of audio ever and I wasn't making money off of it. I suppose with the new ads YouTube is putting into place, someone is? Highly doubtful. (Their monetization methods are failing miserably) Either way, I just had to point out how ridiculous these times are getting and how people need to truly cool it with their policing. There seems to be a gray area between what could be considered friendly promotion and copyright infringement.
Well, the African boy's 15 minutes of fame are up! Sorry kiddo.
Kate Dickman
Welcome to my blog which contains various social media discussion items as well as musings that may or may not make sense to you. There's no guarantee that you will become smarter after reading any of this but some of it may in fact be entertaining. Read at your own risk.
Visit BitsofKate.com
My Recent Flickr Shots
|
My Twitter Ramblings
- RT @zaneology: RT @katebuckjr: Where is the LOVE button? Facebook Launches Separate App For Managing Pages http://t.co/lVOOKAtR #smmgr http://www.twitter.com/katedickman
- @BasInHD Thanks for the RT Bas! http://www.twitter.com/katedickman
- @JillianLaura Hi Jillian, I sent you a LinkedIn request w/a question as I'm unable to DM you on here. :) http://www.twitter.com/katedickman
Beneficial to a Busy Life
Inspiring
Social Media Smarts
- All Facebook
- Read Write Web
- Social Media Today
- Social Schmoozing: Derek Showerman
- What's Next – BL Ochman's Blog