The Sweet Side of Social Media

News on social media can get rough. With all the hateful language and distasteful tweets lately, I thought I'd bring a little ray of social media sunshine to your Wednesday.

The Toronto Star reported that earlier this week, Twitter enabled a very touching reunion. Sometimes it truly is the little things that count, this reunion was between a little boy and his lost stuffed animal!

Adorable, right? Five-year-old Caeden had lost his favorite stuffed animal at the Toronto Pearson Airport. But thanks to the wonders of Twitter, a few strategic hashtags (#findmyowner), and the kind heart of police officer Sgt Chris Boddy, their reunion happened in only 24 hours.

Yup, Sgt Boddy took it upon himself to tweet about the lost pup, and was retweeted almost 300 times until the message found its way to Caeden's family.

You know, it may seem like a little thing. But sometimes the little things ARE the big things.

Have you seen Twitter being used for good lately? Tell us how in the comments!

A True American Beauty

There's something about a beauty pageant that can bring out the ugly in people.

Sadly, that is what happened on social media when the beautiful Nina Davuluri won the title of Miss America on Sunday night.

Nina, a native New Yorker, is the first Indian-American to be crowned Miss America. Throughout the pageant, Nina showed the pride she has in her heritage.  Her talent was a classic Bollywood dance and her platform was "celebrating diversity through cultural competency".  But no sooner did the crown hit her head than social media blew up with terrible and racist comments.  I am not going to even give these tweets and posts the notoriety of being quoted in this blog.  The ignorance and blatantly racist stereotypes were disgusting; people linking her to terrorist groups, calling her not "really American" and making derogatory statements about belonging in 7-11.  

I am proud of Miss America and wish Nina all the best and hope she takes the high road in dealing with these types of comments.  And I think it's about time that people stop hiding behind their computer screens and typing hateful comments about others.  We need a little more love and beauty in this world, and a LOT less vitriol spread over social media.  

Were you watching Sunday?  What were your thoughts?

Miley: Love It, Hate It or Laugh!

"We can't stop.  We won't stop!"

Yes, these are the lyrics to the hit Miley Cyrus preformed last weekend on the VMAs, but they might as well be a description of the public reaction too!  Yeah, we just can't stop talking about Miley's performance!  Okay, so obviously I have my opinions, but looks like everyone else does too.  So, for your satisfaction, I've condensed the most popular reactions into three groups as well as one example from each category that has gone viral!  So here we go, when it comes to Miley, you can shame her, defend her or laugh with her: 

Reaction #1: Shame Her

Yeah, shame is a strong word. But, for some it really rings true!  This blog, written as a letter from a twenty-something to Mileyherself, is a great example of this.  It describes how Miley's actions- since she's in the spotlight- leads to more attention.  But those same actions by an everyday person lead to sometimes tragic results.  Its a good read, and a logical response to a crazy performance!

Reaction #2: Defend Her, Sorta

This almost defense of Miley's actions.  I guess it is more of a call-out of people being hypocritical in what they accept and what they don't.  For example, if you've ever seen the music video "Blurred Lines" - the song that Miley was singing with RobinThicke, you'd know that the women in that video wear LESS clothes than Miley was wearing on stage.  Hard to believe, right?  Yet, the reaction to Miley was far more vicious.

Reaction #3: Laugh with Her

Yeah, sometimes you just need to laugh.  And social media's made sure that you can do that with Miley!  Here's my favoriteblog from this category, that shows Miley pulling her move on just about every popular internet meme there is!  

What was YOUR reaction to Sunday's performance?

Ben Affleck as Batman? Twitter says NO!

When the Twittersphere has an opinion, they make it known!  

Just yesterday, Warner Brothers announced that Ben Affleck would play the title role in the new Batman movie.  While this is great news for Mr. Affleck, most of social media is NOT having it.

Twitter went CRAZY with mostly negative remarks about the new Batman choice.  

Get this, social media analytics firm Fizziology reported that almost 100,000 tweets were sent in the first HOUR after the casting announcement was made and more than 70% were negative!  That's a whole lotta NOs!

So why the negative sentiment?  Well a big part of it could be shock.  Ben wasn't even on the short list of possible Batman actors that The Hollywood Reporter published a few weeks ago.  That list was topped with names like Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin.  

The other reason is probably because of Affleck's attempt at a superhero in Daredevil, which was a major flop.

I guess we will see!  What do you think?  Do you agree with most of the Twitter talk, or are you ready to see Batman Ben??

Death By Twitter: Stupidest Tweet Of The Week

Don't do drugs.

Okay? Just don't.

But here's some more free advice. Don't ask for drugs on social media.

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and sigh.

Okay, folks, here is the latest death by Twitter.

Sunith Baheerathan, a 20-year-old Canadian posted this tweet on Tuesday. It was answered, quite quickly, by the York Regional Police. Baheerathan deleted his Twitter account not much later.

 

You can bet that tweet is on his list of regrets! The police got involved immediately. Yikes. Plus, since Baheerathan - the genius that he seems to be - requested the drugs be delivered to his place of employment, he has now been fired from his job at Mr. Lube.

Well, folks, take this as a warning and a way to remember that you do not need to share every request or detail of your life on social media.

And stay away from illegal activity!

Another Social Media/Reality TV Crossover!

 Reality TV takes some cues from Instagram!

We've all seen Twitter and other social media sites abuzz with news from the latest reality TV show.  But how about when the tables turn? This week there is news of social media spurring a new reality TV show!  

If you've spent much time on Instagram, you may have heard of "The Rich Kids Instagram".  This group of twenty somethings on Instagram loves posting pictures of their overly extravagant lifestyles and even have a slogan of "They have more money than you and this is what they do."  Check out some of these pictures...

Wow, right!?  So now, almost like a new version of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", the reality show based on the lives of these wealthy young'uns is set to debut on E!  Sources report that it will be called "Rich Kids of Beverly Hills" and, even with the similar name and some of the same individuals as the Instagram feed, it claims not to be connected with the social media site.  Yeah, right. 

I wonder how many more social media starlets will spring onto television and movies!?  There's been news that the meme "Grumpy Cat" is getting a movie deal!  Who else would you like to see follow suit?

Time To Tweet Royally

The biggest news in social media last week would probably have to be that news which was of royal proportions.

That's right, the royal baby.
Surrounding the birth last Monday, hash tags including #RoyalBabyWatch and #RoyalBirth flooded Twitter and Facebook posts. But now, almost two days later, the chatter has quieted a bit and we're beginning to see some of the gems through all the noise.

And who else to cash in on this royal infamy than good old consumer brands on Twitter!  Remember when Oreo posted this ad on Twitter during the Superbowl blackout?  That was so relevant and timely it seemed amazing!  

Well, tons of brands are now cashing in on this real-time tweeting to newsworthy events.  Check out some of the most outrageous from the #RoyalBirth!

My personal favorite is the Play-doh one.  I mean, come ON! Who doesn't love a royal baby built from Play doh!?  

Did you have a favorite? Or see any others you think are worthy of an honorable mention?