Social Media in the Streets

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Technology and social media advancements are constantly changing, dynamically changing industries and changing individuals. Wake up, check social media. We have a break in our day, check social media. A major event is happening, check social media. It is undeniable social media is changing the ways we go about our lives. Social media is changing the way we receive and interpret news. Social media is changing journalism.

The book The New Rules of Marketing & PR gives great insight on social media and how it differs from the way we use mainstream media. The author David Meerman Scott says, “Social media provides the way people share ideas, content, thoughts, and relationships online. Social media differs from so-called mainstream media in that anyone can create, comment on, and add to social media content. Social media can take the form of text, audio, video, images, and communities.”

Social media even provides a way for us to navigate the streets.

A major part of the evening news is traffic updates. Social media is creating ways for us to get those too. After all, when a plane landed in the Hudson river in 2009 the news was first reported to… social media. First reporter of the scene was a commuter on a ferry, who captured an image of the plane submerged in the Hudson, and sent it straight to Twitter.

Fast forward ten years later and we are indeed sending all of our breaking news to Twitter. It has even changed where we go to seek breaking news. And yes, it is effective. About two-thirds of Americans get news on social media, even though they have concerns about the accuracy of it.

This became eye opening for me this fall while vacationing in Charleston, South Carolina. If you have ever visited Charleston, you’ve probably seen first handedly how terrible traffic is. With few highways and access in and out of the city, traffic can easily get congested. It wasn’t a surprise when we were trying to attend a hockey game and were stuck in standstill traffic. We were pressed for time with the game starting in a few minutes and still at least 30 minutes away, with no idea how long we would be stuck there.

We turned to our navigation systems that initially failed us by showing clear routes. Then, we turned to local news stations to see if any updates were posted to websites, nothing.

After seeing car after car pull illegal u-turns, we decided to do the same and go another route. One that would take longer but didn’t seem to be any traffic, according to Maps and Waze. We get to merge on the other route and… more traffic! Charleston is flat so in this instance, we could see brake lights for what seemed to be miles. Again, check navigation. It doesn’t seem to be loading at all. Probably because all four of us in the car were checking in and everyone in the miles of brake lights most likely were too, slowing down networks. Nothing on news outlet sites. At this point, we were discussing ditching the game and what bar we would attend instead. Until, someone had an idea!

“Check Twitter and search keywords for the road and surrounding area,” someone said.

Boom! What do you know, there were dozens of tweets of people complaining about the standstill traffic. Tweets before first responders had even gotten to the scene. Right off the bat, we could tell that if we stuck to this route we would potentially be sitting there all night. It was a really bad accident from the start, it was apparent there was most likely a casualty before the coroner could make it to the scene and news stations could report on it. The news confirmed the accident the following day.

Just as Anthony Adornato, author of the book Mobile and Social Media Journalism, stated “The audience is at the center of social media. They’re in the driver’s seat.”

That day, it wasn’t the navigation system or news outlets, traffic updates, getting us to our destination on time. It was people sharing their thoughts of the accident, their suggestions and ideas, it was Twitter. It was social media navigating us. It was people in the driver’s seat. Well, hopefully in the passenger seat.

Live Chats on Life Lessons

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As a social media fiend, I have had a twitter account for years. I enjoy using Twitter for news consumption and sports information. However, Twitter has different features that I have never taken the chance to utilize. Twitter lists? Live chats, what’s that?

Live chats on Twitter is a scheduled conversation that users can participate in, centralized around a specific hashtag. The one I participated in was hosted by “Social Media Students,” designed to help students learn about trending topics in social media marketing and public relations. By using #SMStudentChat students, professors, and professionals have the opportunity to chime in!

This led me to the topic “How to Land a Job in Social Media.” Twitter gave me the ability to go from reading about “March Madness” to networking and communicating with professionals in the field of public relations and social media.

It was great to hear advice and contribute to a relevant, relatable topic. Graduation is quickly approaching and the job hunt/mass application process has been happening full force outside of classwork.

Hearing what professionals have to say to help you improve your possibilities of landing a job in your field was my favorite. As a student, we can get lost in the process and forget about the little mechanics that can help us build the larger picture to get there. I really enjoyed guest Nicole Cost’s insight on this.

Aside from professionals in the field, professors from other universitys are helpful, too. It is reinforcing to know that what they find essential to the field, are the things that you’ve already done, or currently doing.  This gives other students the opportunity to scale their schedule to emphasize on skillsets that they haven’t yet learned or participated in before they graduate.

Listening to what they have to say and their feedback to what you have to say, will help you to brand yourself when trying to land a job in social media. It’s also an opportunity to show others that you care and are passionate about the topic.

I highly recommend that the next time you’re scrolling on a stagnant Twitter, you seek opportunities to better utilize the application, and your opportunities. You never know where Twitter can take you; from live chats, to life lessons, to (hopefully) landing that job!

A full day of Healthy Eating

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As a college student, your busy schedule can be overwhelming. Especially, if you’re a college student that works in your free time. Finding time to make sure you’re eating a balanced diet is hard!

Campus’s mostly offer fast, preserved food that can sit out lengths of time without going bad or a food that can be reheated easily.  In a rush, sometimes it’s easier to run through the McDonald’s drive-thru. We often grab the food that is bad for us but at least tastes better than what’s provided on campus.

Fast_food_meal

Image attributions by LukeB20161933, cc. This image was not altered for reuse.

Well, I am here to help you with that! I’ve come up with three healthy, affordable, and time friendly recipes for every meal that anyone can incorporate into their busy schedule! 

Breakfast

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait – 240 Calories 

Total Time: 3 Minutes

  • Greek Yogurt (Vanilla or Plain)
  • Fresh (pref.) or Frozen Mixed Berries (I use raspberries, blackberries, and blueberry)
  • Scoop of Organic Peanut Butter – Mix in
  • Garnish with Protein Granola (Optional)

Lunch

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps – 269 Calories

Total Time: 17 Minutes 

  • 95%> Lean Ground Turkey Meat
  • Romaine Lettuce – Double up for Wrap
  • Tomato Sauce (1 Cup)  – Cook Meat in
  • Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (1/2 Cup) – Cook meat in
  • Chili Powder (1/2 tsp) – Add to meat
  • Toppings: Mexican Cheese, Red Onion, Green and Red Pepper

Dinner

Chicken Parmesan over Zucchini Noodles – 185 Calories

Total Time: 25 Minutes

  • Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Jar of Vodka or Marinara Spaghetti Sauce *Marina is 40 less Calories*
  • Spiralized Zucchini Noodles (2 packs)
  • Parmesan & Skim Mozzarella Cheese

As a college student myself, I realize that a lot of the time eating healthy is dependent upon your current financial situation. People usually eat poorly because it is more affordable to buy preserved, fast food than fresh, healthy options.

If you are in the same situation, I highly recommend seeing if there is an Aldi grocery store near you. Aldi’s offers fresh produce and healthier food options at a very affordable price. (All of the ingredients listed above were purchased at Aldi’s for $43)

The best thing about these recipes, besides their taste, is that they’re great for meal prepping. Each meal can be prepped ahead of time, stored and taken on the go. Especially, the fruit and yogurt parfait. I always have these in my fridge prepped and ready to take on the run!

Most college students live in off campus housing, with their own kitchens. If you live on campus, most campus’s offer modern dorms that have their own kitchen’s, too.

If that is not the case for you, I recommend checking the services provided to you by your campus. Most campus’s offer common kitchens for student use. All recipes can be stored in a mini fridge and reheated in a microwave.

For additional meal prepping recipes, the Pinterest app is very popular to guide you with clean eating. I recommend the blog “Pinch of Yum.”

Try the recipes above and comment below your favorite!