3.2 - Mastering Social Media Effectively and Safely

Welcome back to season three of G+T Conversations! We are your hosts, Gwenda + Tatjana, and in this episode, we speak about how to master social media effectively and safely and share our tips on social media etiquette. Follow G+T Conversations on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@GTconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and join the conversation. G+T Catch-up: Tatjana and her family went on a weekend trip to Pawna Lake and stayed at the beautiful Amanzi Resort. Gwenda attended the India vs Pakistan cricket screening with Bucket Hatters (women's T20 world cup). Some of the things we mentioned in this episode: There are 140 billion messages exchanged on Whatsapp every day. That's around 1.6 million messages per second. (Source: Statista, 2023) Different social media platforms have different purposes and require different tonality. Don't post anything on social media that you would be comfortable saying in real life, too. "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." Be aware of cultural nuances when posting/ communicating on social media. Don't engage in hate speech. Respect other people's opinion, and be respectful when having discussions online. Remember you can always block and report accounts that engage in hate speech. Don’t post photographs/videos of others without their consent. Be careful when posting photographs/videos of children (minors): cover the face, don't have school uniform, etc reveal sensitive information. Be aware and follow laws (different countries, different privacy laws, etc) Social media has democratized to reach out to people that are outside your network. Follow do's and don'ts when cold messaging: DON'T send random "hi" messages. DO introduce yourself and mention why you reach out. Keep it short. Platforms like Whatsapp are used for personal and professional communication. Whatsapp groups etiquette: keep messages short and on topic, use tools like direct reply, pin relevant messages, reply with emoji, etc and take individual conversations between individual members on personal chat. Don't video call someone without informing them prior (unless it's made clear between both of you that both sides are comfortable with unannounced video calls). Fact check before you forward messages to avoid spreading fake information. Don't click on unknown links, don't share OTPs or other sensitive information. Don't fall for scams "friends asking for money": verify by calling the person, etc. Report scams and other cyber crime like sexual harassment, identity theft, etc. with the platforms and with the police. (Document everything by taking screenshots/record everything to have evidence.) Always remember: Curate your social media, follow accounts that inspire you, unfollow accounts that are not relevant for you anymore, and block accounts that create negativity for you. Take social media breaks, refresh your mind and soul in the analog world. Follow G+T Conversations on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@GTconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also connect with us on our personal accounts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gwendaschobert⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@craving_expat_life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Tune in every Friday for a new episode. * G+T Conversations is created using Spotify for Podcasters. The music is Motivating Indie Rock (30s) by UNIVERSFIELD (https://freesound.org/s/755863/, License: Attribution 4.0) and Fifties Stomp Clap Loop 115BPM.wav by waggstar (https://freesound.org/s/698782/, License: Creative Commons 0).