As part of my internship with Hastings & Pleadwell (through the University of Hawaii) I helped with social media training for a longtime client, Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii’s (CTFH). Today (Thursday, March 31), we are in Hilo, but “live-streaming” the workshop for coalition members and supporters who could not be there in person. (Thanks Melissa, Russ!)
My internship supervisor, Barbra Pleadwell reviews the big picture of social media for non-profit organizations and addresses the often not addressed cyber security issues. Our partners for a number of social media projects are local social media rock stars Russ Sumida and Melissa Chang. They get into the nitty-gritty how-to of social media, especially Facebook and Twitter.
Though I am familiar with the basics covered in the workshop (creating a profile, tagging photos, etc.) I don’t consider myself new media savvy. I have Facebook and Twitter accounts, so I know the interface. But the strategy behind the medium is really interesting. One of the things addressed in the workshop is the fact that social media is evolving and really no one is an expert; everyone is learning.
After some feedback from our first workshop for Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i, I helped prepare a glossary of social media terms (listed below). I hope it helps!
Since the purpose of the workshop is to help shift behavior as it relates to communication, no hardcopy handouts are distributed to participants. This blog provides links to most of the resources mentioned in the training. (See below.)
Social Media Vocabulary
Profile: Facebook account that belongs to and is used by an individual.
Pages: Similar to profiles, but are used to represent non-users: organizations, products, etc.
Administrator/Admin: person who controls the content and settings of a page.
Friends: People you have acknowledged knowing by either issuing or accepting a friend request.
News Feed: Aggregation of content from Friends.
Likes (Like button): When clicked, this is how users connect to a page. In essence this is the equivalent of a user becoming your friend.
Wall: Where information is posted by the user/admin and can be used by Fans to comment.
Twitter
Tweet: A 140 character message sent via Twitter.
Follower: Someone who will receive your tweets. Followers can be thought of as your Twitter network.
@: When you place an “@” before the user name of a Twitter user it is a way to direct a tweet to that person/organization. This is often referred to as a mention or reply.
Retweet (RT): A repeated tweet. Used to forward a message on to one’s followers. Also can be used in a reply to show the original Tweet.
RT @username: This is how you would begin a retweet. It tells users that it is a retweet (RT) and who the tweet was posted from (@username). Gives credit to the individual who posted the tweet and allows them to know that you have shared (retweeted) their post (tweet).
#: The “#” is used to indicate a hashtag. A hashtag is used to connect a post with a specific topic. When you use a hashtag, it allows followers and non-followers to find your post on a given topic. For example, the following hashtags have been used to post about the recent natural disasters in Japan:
#japan, #tsunami, #earthquake, #prayforjapan
Social Media Resource Links:
Social Media Resource Links:
Better Business Bureau Small Business Advice: Five Tips for Ensuring Social Media Success in 2010
Mashable.com (Guide to social media)
Learn to stay safe online – National Cyber Security Alliance homepage
For some educational, yet funny videos on staying safe online, check out:
