Category: social media

  • Is that message private? (Infographic)

    Is that message private? (Infographic)

    Social Media Principle #2 There’s no such thing as internet privacy, only perceived internet privacy. Sources ACLU – U.S. Surveillance Law May Poorly Protect New Text Messaging Services Electronic Frontier Foundation – New Ninth Circuit Case Protects Text Message Privacy From Police and Employers

  • A Brief History of Blog Gimmicks and The Problem of Cheap Traffic

    A Brief History of Blog Gimmicks and The Problem of Cheap Traffic

    This history of blogging is full of gimmicks to draw cheap traffic. And I’ll be the first to admit that over the last 10 years I’ve been influenced by these gimmicks, tried them out, and ultimately gotten better at recognizing that they aren’t part of my strategy. What is “cheap” traffic? “Cheap” blog traffic is…

  • Tracking Anonymous Social Media Accounts Back to the Source

    Tracking Anonymous Social Media Accounts Back to the Source

    You aren’t the NSA and you have a problem Do you have a hater? Is someone anonymously posting things on social media that are driving you crazy or disrupting your school? Is someone posing as you? In many cases, it might seem like you can never figure out who these people are. And, usually, they aren’t doing…

  • What is Swipe?

    What is Swipe?

    Question from a middle school administrator – Over break I was invited by students and former students to JoinSwipe.  It has a smiley face.  What do you think of this app?  What is it?  Any advice would be great. What is Swipe? First off, their logo is a wink. The logo alone is a bit of a…

  • Why Ephemeral Matters

    Why Ephemeral Matters

    Ephemeral – lasting for a very short time. “fashions are ephemeral” synonyms: transitory, transient, fleeting, passing, short-lived, momentary, brief, short In the social media world, most of what took off and gained traction among teenagers and young adults in 2014 fall into the category of Ephemeral Apps. Things like Snapchat, Tinder, Yik Yak, and others are built…

  • A Call for a Better Adult Verification System

    A Call for a Better Adult Verification System

    “How many of you guys have a cell phone?” [most hands go up] How many of you guys have an account on Instagram or Snapchat?” [nearly the same amount of hands go up] This gymnasium of 4th through 6th graders in Northwest Kansas was just another example of our failed Adult Verification System. “Age gating”—…

  • Yik Yak Threats Are a Bad Idea

    Yik Yak Threats Are a Bad Idea

    CBS News 8 – San Diego, CA News Station – KFMB Channel 8 [Link to the above video – I appear in a phone interview talking about the situation at Torrey Pines High School and Yik Yak, in general.] Yik Yak has a problem. The harder they try to market themselves as an app for college…

  • How can a pastor help families with social media?

    How can a pastor help families with social media?

    “How can I help families with social media?” I think this is something that lots and lots of churches are wondering. While culture is ever-morphing and hard to understand– the way people are communicating and integrating technology into their lives is big/obvious and churches feel the need to offer help. The flip side is that…

  • 200,000 More Reasons to Delete Snapchat

    200,000 More Reasons to Delete Snapchat

    ‘The Snappening’: Hackers access 200,000 Snapchat accounts — NY Daily News Snapchat nude photos, videos reportedly leaked online— CNET Links to Photos Said to Be Stolen From Snapchat Users Flood Message Boards – New York Times Since news of this broke on Friday I’ve received at least 50 texts, emails, and other messages about it.…

  • Speaking Opportunities for 2015

    Speaking Opportunities for 2015

    With the latest round of social media leaks making waves today, this time impacting Snapchat users, I’m in the odd place of looking like an Old Testament prophet. I’m not a prophet. I simply applied long-standing principles of social media to the current wave of ephemeral apps popular today. And here’s the deal: I love to share those…