Finally a "DISLIKE" button!?

Thumbs up... or thumbs down?

After years of social media speculation, Facebook is finally working on a DISLIKE button! Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO announced the news at a town hall meeting yesterday, confirming the feature has been requested so much that the company is finally moving forward with the project.

But, the button might not be exactly what we're thinking. Facebook doesn't want the new "dislike" button to serve as a way to "downvote" posts.  So, moving away from that Reddit-style voting, the new button is meant to express other emotions besides the inferred positivity of the "Like" button.

Maybe you've had this happen to you before.  Your friend's pet just passed, or their grandma is sick.  You want to show you see the post and are thinking of them.  Do you "like" it?  Or, say, you are reading a news article about a devastating shooting and you want to show you care.  Do you "like" the article? These are the situations that call for a different type of button.  Zuckerberg said, "What (people) really want is the ability to express empathy.  Not every moment is a good moment."

So, the button might not be called "dislike".  What do you think the new Facebook button should be called?

Is this real life, or a plot for the latest RomCom?!

I’m sure you’ve heard of people using social media to help with their vacation planning before.  But a popular story this week takes that to a whole new level!

A Toronto-based man, Jordan Axani, has used the popular social media news site, Reddit, to post a once-in-a-lifetime offer: a free, round-the-world trip to one lucky female!  There’s only one catch.  Your name has to be Elizabeth Gallagher.

Strange as it sounds, it’s true.  Axani, a 28-year old adventurer, booked this dream trip earlier in the year for himself and his then-girlfriend named... you guessed it, Elizabeth Gallagher.  Well, since then, the couple has broken up, leaving heartbreak and some open tickets!  Due to restrictions around the plane tickets and cancellation policies, it is apparently a mega-headache to try to get anything for cancelling the tickets.  So, like a good millennial, Axani went to social media to try to salvage some good from the tickets.

His Reddit post, just published Monday, has been shared thousands of times and it looks like several Elizabeth Gallaghers (with Canadian passports, the other element needed) have come forward.  I’m not surprised, Axani’s post actually sounds pretty convincing, he sounds normal and realistic that he isn’t looking for anything in return, just doesn’t want the tickets to go to waste!  No “winner” has been selected yet, it seems.

Fingers crossed that he finds a great trip mate.  And, of course the romantic in me sees this as a great plot to a romantic comedy movie!  What if he and the woman who claims this fall in love and then have a great story to tell the grandkids!!

Seems too good to be true!  Possibly even worth changing your name for!? 

Reddit Rewards Seattle's Hero

I really like stories of strangers banning together through social media to empower goodness in the world.  This story made the start of my week a little less gloomy.

Last week, the horrifying news of the shooting at Seattle Pacific University hit the air.  The shooting, which killed one and wounded two others, was stopped by 22-year old Jon Meis.  Meis tackled the shooter and used pepper spray to stop him, putting himself in danger but, as police say, heroically stopping the shooting and saving lives.  

He is definitely a hero, and thanks to the social media site, Reddit, he's getting a bit of a "thank you".  Meis was planning a wedding later this month and a post on Seattle's Reddit page prompted users to help him out with this message:

 "This is the wedding registry for the man who subdued the SPU gunman. You know what to do."

Within a few short hours, EVERYTHING on the registry was purchased and a separate campaign (for those who missed out on the gifts) was started virtually and raised $37,000 for a honeymoon for Meis and his bride!

It's awesome to see social media bring people together to celebrate heroes.  Still, as much as I love seeing these type of acts, I can't help but think of the innocent person who lost his life in this tragedy.  It is important to keep a balance between celebrating the fact that the shooting was stopped but also respecting the fact that an individual lost his life, and that person's family and friends are still grieving. 

But a little light in the bad times is always a nice thing.  What do you think?  Is this support positive or ignoring those hurt by the shooting?

Happy Social Media Day!

You know you've hit it big when you have a day of the year dedicated to you.  I'm still waiting for Social Media Diva Day.  It has a nice ring to it, don't you think!

In the meantime, Social Media Day is here!  This Saturday, June 30th is Mashable's 3rd annual Social Media Day!  Started in 2010 by Mashable, the worldwide event is a celebration of "the digital revolution happening right before our eyes"!

Here's my challenge for you for Social Media Day 2012. Learn something new.

Yup, that's it.  Seems simple, huh?  And guess what!?  It IS simple! 

There are so many amazing sites that can simplify, deepen or enhance your life and your learning.  I've listed several of them below.  I want you to sign up for one of these, create a username and spend an hour digging around on the site.  Get involved in the conversation and the community.  And let me know what you learn.  I can't wait to hear about it.

http://www.facebook.com/ (really?  If you aren't on Facebook yet, we need to talk!)                  
http://www.tumblr.com/
 http://www.pinterest.com/
http://www.instagram.com/ http://www.meetup.com/                                                                                                                   http://www.twitter.com/
 http://www.digg.com/                                                                                                                       http://www.flickr.com/
 http://www.youtube.com/                                                                                                                 http://www.blogger.com/
 http://www.klout.com/                                                                                                                      http://www.reddit.com/
 https://plus.google.com/                                                                                                           http://www.stumbleupon.com/

 Bonus points:  Logon to to http://mashable.com/smday/ to see if there is a Meetup scheduled in your hometown.  You are sure to meet a ton of people and learn.   Strange enough, here in LA, our Meetup currently has no details!  But social media lovers are biting at the opportunity.   If deets aren't up soon, this is going to be a crowd sourced event!!!