What's the point of social media?

Good morning y'all!

I have a lot of thoughts swirling in my mind this morning, stemming from a 7:30 am wake-up call with a technology question from my mom's best friend, to news out of Silicon Valley about Facebook, and a great post from a friend and colleague, @aadamsELA. All three of these things have one common connection: social media. I'd love to quote Beyoncé when she says, "Who runs the world? Girls!" because, really, social media runs the world.

I am not immune to this - I love social media as much as the next person. It can be a time sucker if you let it. But it all comes down to how you use social media in your life. That's the focus that I want for this post. What's the point of social media? To me, social media comes down to the desire to make and share who you are and what you do.

Facebook: I deleted my Facebook two years ago, and I haven't looked back. People that know me might say, "Wait a minute..." Yes, I have access to my husband's Facebook. Yes, I have a Facebook page for my photography. But the account that I started in college, in 2004, no longer exists. I do not spend my time mindlessly scrolling through everyone's lives. I do miss catching up on my friends and family's lives, but it wasn't worth it for all of the ridiculousness. I am SO glad that I didn't have Facebook during the election.

Twitter: I have my professional Twitter that I use for all school-related things. I am 100% appropriate and non-political. I've curated a great PLN and have made some fantastic connections. I also have a personal Twitter that I use all things NON-school related. I am 100% inappropriate and overshare my political views. Only friends follow me - it's basically become my Facebook feed had I still had one. It is not a watch to catch up with me but instead is a way to be annoyed by my "know-it-all" behavior.

Snapchat: This is arguably my favorite social media app because I enjoy taking pictures of my day and being stupid. I love that the pictures disappear after 24 hours! You don't need, forever, to see a video of my cats chasing a spider, or me making espresso in the morning, or of someone's car with a Hawkeye sticker in a parking lot. I have some family members and close friends on Snapchat and even have a sisters chat going. This is what I use instead to keep in touch with others while also letting people know that I'm alive and okay in Colorado.

Instagram: This is 100% professional. I only post my photography, and if I do a live story, it's while I'm out shooting. I follow other photographers so that I can learn from the best. I probably use Instagram "wrong," but it works for what I need it to be - a platform for curating and sharing photography. I would also liken it to Redbubble which I use to share and sell my photography. I did recently start an Instagram for my broadcasting class. I am using it to share behind the scenes images of what my kids are doing. I would like my students to take it over, but they haven't gotten excited enough about it... yet...

Goodreads: This is also one of my favorite social media platforms, but not many people I know are on it. That's because most people don't have (or don't take) time to read! If you don't know what Goodreads is, it's an application where people post what they're currently reading, can read (and post) reviews of books, and can be recommended books. They also have a reading challenge (last year I read 54 books) where you can challenge yourself to read a certain amount of books. What's cool is that I see what people are reading, look at the plot, and decide if I want to read it too. I've found a number of books that I would not have found (and read) otherwise. I also like that I've been on Goodreads since 2011 so I can reminisce about what I've read in that time frame.

Spotify: This is probably the most used app on my phone. I listen to music while I get ready in the morning, on the way to work, at work, on the way home, and before I go to bed. We got a Google Home in September, so we also listen to music while we lesson plan or work around the house. I like seeing what people are listening to and enjoy sharing my playlists with others.

So with that, I encourage you to think about your social media accounts and how you use them daily. Is there a purpose? If you believe so then keep it up! If you don't, ask yourself why you don't delete your account. Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Give the kids homework this weekend...

Did I get your attention? Did you click on this article because you saw the title and felt like you needed to argue with me? Good. So here's what I'm talking about.

As a broadcasting teacher, I want students to tell stories. I want them to report news stories, I want them to design creative stories, and I want them to figure a way to make people connect to others' stories. To help students tell stories, I have to know how to tell stories as well. I try to tell stories through my photography. Because I've been a photographer for so long, I'm constantly looking around me for the stories I want to tell. If you're not observing your world, you'll miss it.

How else do I tell stories? Snapchat.

Yes, seriously guys. I use Snapchat. And I LOVE IT! My favorite social media app? Snapchat. I wish more of my friends and family had Snapchat. It's probably because I think I'm funnier than I actually am. But I love letting people see small glimpses into my world. I used to love Facebook because it was people sharing pictures and videos of their lives. That is why I love Snapchat today.

What is Snapchat? It is a messaging app that sends only pictures and videos in which you can add filters and text to the image. You can decide how long people can see the picture (up to 10 seconds) and you determine who you send the picture to. You can also create a story where people can view the image/video an unlimited number of times for 24 hours. To find a friend (or vice versa), you have to have their cell phone number or their username.

Snapchat got quite a bad rap when it first began because the users were using the app to send explicit pictures. I feel like that's changed since its infancy, but then again, my friends aren't like that and I don't add random strangers to my account.

So how do I use Snapchat to tell stories?
This is my cat Ombre. He loves going outside, but he also likes climbing trees to chase squirrels. In the past, he will come running to the door when it opens, and it's often hilarious. I KNEW he was going to jump when I came to the door, so I had my camera ready for filming. When I didn't know is that he was on the dining room table. As I'm walking towards the door, he jumped really far from the table to the door and jumped as high as he could (we've seen him jump five feet high before). I added text to the screen which Ombre "bumped" so it just added more humor to the video. After I took this video I was laughing SO hard. It just sums up my cat in 10 seconds.

So, back to the original topic of this post - give your kids homework this weekend. Have them use Snapchat (or the video/camera feature on a device, or even have them draw if they don't have a device) and have them tell a story about their weekend or their life. Take the first 2 minutes of the day for five days and have the students share their stories. You learn more about the students and they learn more about each other. Isn't that how you build a community in your classroom?

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Again, I think I'm funny. Here is a taste of my Snapchat feed...