The DJ who's not a DeeJay

 I found out yesterday that someone mistakenly posted wrong info about an event. The posts were shared on Facebook and Instagram, where they reached thousands of followers. The posts were online for around an hour before they were corrected. The comments posted were anywhere from comical to sarcastic. 

It reminds me of the time when I was a social media specialist handling multiple online communities. I made a mistake in posting similar to this. The difference was that I received the content from my boss and took it as correct and cleared for diseemination. After posting, I checked the post and then realized that there was a mistake in the date. It was officially taken down after 5 minutes but had already reached thousands of views. 

In the days of traditional media, a simple erratum announcement would have solved it. But on social media, that may never be seen if duplicated. Consequences can happen in just minutes or seconds. 

Looking at that experience and tying it with the public service weather alerts we've been receiving lately, it is of utmost importance that messaging and accuracy are strictly observed. 

Given this message is automatically received by millions of mobile users on their phones, I see how important the role of that person in charge of disseminating the information is. It's just as important as the people deciding what the message would be.  

Since social media platforms are also heavily used to disseminate information and can also trigger discussions, it's the social media manager's responsibility to see what kind of feedback, sentiment, or opinion is out there. It made me realize how much responsibility I had at that time. 

I'm glad I'm back to being a receiver of news rather than the sender.

These books aren't very useful to browse through now, unless you want to relive the times when they all made sense and could be used and integrated into your social media.

I realized that if I were to reread any of my old books, it would be those that told stories, shared conversations, and shared experiences on these platforms. Those stories would transcend time and perhaps even trigger personal memories and similar experiences. It’s the content that would form lasting memories. I think social media is unique because it’s the tool to create content, and there’s just so much generated content that one cannot simply attempt to read everything. So books that found and compiled interesting chats, embarrassing posts, user opinions on some topic, or banter in the comments section would be interesting reads.I wonder if there's a book on epic Friendster testimonials. Now that would be fascinating.

Before you think I’m anti-social, let me explain. The first generation of these websites around the early 2000’s were referred to as social networks. When Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram rose to popularity in the mid to late 2000s, they were called "social media." Since the number of social platforms suddenly multiplied afterwards, the Gen Z population adapted and heavily used the term "socials," referring to the collective social media platforms they were on. And since then, the term “socials” has been the default term.

Personally, I miss the term “social media,” with emphasis on “media.” I was an active user or multimedia, and my job for over a decade was referred to as a social media specialist. The team I was a part of was the media team. So “media” has been a staple title and focus on my career and expertise.

With the current and popular term “socials” nowadays, it’s basically removed the main word, which I held dear to my heart and used with pride and passion. Today, it may be standard casual English to use it, but I will probably use what I’ve been accustomed to all these years, “social media.”

Follow me on social media!

I never thought that I would see
A tweet longer than 140.
RT then send a DM to me,
So you can say more in intimacy.

What am I talking about?  This.
Removing the 140-character limit from Direct Messages

U.S. President Barack Obama finally gets his own Twitter account, and that's @POTUS.  What does that stand for?  President Of The United States!

President Obama. In the Oval Office. Tweeting. #WelcomeToTwitter, @POTUS! http://t.co/SzWXltjNK0 pic.twitter.com/ce4DurwYXj

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 18, 2015

The account though is not new as the handle Twitter handle @POTUS was created in June 2013, almost 2 years before it ever got used.
  @POTUS replies and tries to be witty too asking if anyone is interested in the @FLOTUS account which stands for First Lady of the United States.

• Whitehouse.gov - Introducing @POTUS: President Obama's Twitter Account
• cnet.com - @POTUS: President Obama gets exclusive Twitter account
• thenextweb.com - President Obama joins Twitter for real

As a social media specialist, I'm always on the lookout for the newest social networks.  It may take time for any new social network to gain a substantial number of people using it.  But at least signing up for an account would let you explore how it looked like when it started and the more important reason, reserving and securing your own username/handle/account which is handy if it does get popular.