Whoop whoop.
Did I already mention that this month is all about getting organized? Did you get that memo?
Well I’m not only dusting off the cobwebs and getting ride of shite at home, I’m also attempting to give the blog a bit of a tidy up. A bit of structure, if you will. So every Tuesday will now be known as Techno Tuesday. No. Don’t worry, I don’t mean that God-awful nose-bleed music that is the distant cousin of Funky house. I mean what is going down in the world of technology.
So since this week is the run-up to International Women’s Day and because I could be misconstrued as a Facebook hater, I’ve decided to combine the two and give you the low-down on how women and Facebook have done some great things together.
1. Under The Red Dress
One of the coolest things about social media is how it starts dialogue. It gets people talking about subjects that are usually swept under the carpet.
Take this campaign for instance, ‘Under the Red Dress’. http://www.underthereddress.com. It features Beth Whaanga, a mum-of-four, from Australia. Instead of hiding her body after taking on breast cancer, she posed, post surgery for all the world to see. Her naked pictures contrast not only with the picture of her looking like dynamite in a red dress, but with the usual public face we get for breast cancer. The pink ribbons. The demure Angelina Jolie and her preemptive double mastectomy. Candy-coated cancer. As soon as Beth’s photo-shoot got posted on Facebook, it got a mixed response. Most people commended her for her bravery. But not everyone. More than a hundred ‘Friends’ unfriended her, declaring the images inappropriate. I tell you what is inappropriate. The language that I want to use to describe those fuck-wits.
2. Raknomination
The youth of today, hey? A bunch of vapid, self-serving nincompoops who only look out for themselves.And foolish? Have you heard about the latest trend sweeping those mispenders? It’s called Neknomitate. It basically involves drinking a pint of beer, filming the deed, then nominating three others and posting it to social media.
But around here, us Yifof’s don’t pander to tired cliches. We know that today’s yoof have more scruples than most give ’em credit for. This young lady in Montreal shows young people have heart. Sarah Mancini bucked the trend and put her own spin on the pass-it-on game. Raknomination (Random Acts Of Kindness) is her interpretation on the viral game. Instead of downing a pint, she gave a homeless man, shivering in the snow, a new scarf, blanket and gloves, as well as a gift card for a coffee shop. Then she nominated three other friends and posted her video to Facebook. That’s where the story takes flight. Not only did the three friends she originally nominate rise to the challenge, but hundreds of others did too – many of whom she had never met.
3.Who wants to be a billionaire – I DO
I might moan that Facebook gave me the Queen of the time-wasters crown. Not so for Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s second in command. She just earned the title of the world’s newest self-made, female billionaire. That’s nothing to be sniffed at.
4. Double the Fun
Always end on a happy kicker, that’s the motto of those sharing news, so who am I to flout tradition? What’s better than a water skiing squirrel? How about twins, separated at birth, sent to different continents and then reunited via Facebook? Amazingly, the girls didn’t even know they had a twin, it was only when a friend commented on a similarity between them that the incredible chain of events unfolded. As stories go, this one’s a little cracker. Check out the full story here: http://www.facebookstories.com/stories/53771/twinsters.
YIFOF 