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Social Media Is Out Of Control

When did #Facebook and #Twitter turn into The Maury Povich Show but then in the same breath turned into The Jerry Springer Show?People hating on each other and criticizing each other all damn day- People are afraid to have actual conversations because, geez, you might learn something and then of course the rest of you hate being wrong and have to argue until you are told that you right. (Or you use the dumb line, “Let’s agree to disagree, because you HAVE to make sure the other person hears your point of view!)

You all look like little children screaming at each other on the playground.
I’ve said it before and as a #socialmedia expert I will say it again:Social Media was NOT intended for Political discussion. And if you want to know WHY- you’ve all been witnessing the reason since 2015.


Show me pictures of your pets, kids, vacations, from long ago.Show me pictures of nature, of your favorite sports teams, your favorite foods, hobbies.

Talk about #inspring others

Talk about what you enjoy about life.

Post things that are funny, #motivating that show others you care.

Social Media was intended to BUILD UP the community and it was intended to BUILD UP EACH OTHER! It wasn’t intended for what you are all turning it into!(And don’t talk to me about Freedom Of Speech, and this is my page, please… STOP. What you post you need to be ACCOUNTABLE for: WORDS have POWER!)

BTW- we wouldn’t be in the mess if the people on BOTH sides would stop re-electing the same dumb-asses while at the same time expecting different results.

STOP living life as a Republican, Democrat, Conservative or Liberal and start living life as an AMERICAN. Try to be the BEST one you can be. When you start to do this , then and only then will things get better.

STOP attacking each other and start caring about one another. Remember, we are ALL in this TOGETHER-Together we RISE, Together we FALL. Which direction do you wish to go?

PEACE OUT(Oh, if you DARE comment ANYTHING on this post in a political matter, I will delete it – and you obviously didn’t let what I said sink in. )

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

My Ode To Twitter

Twitter is certainly an interesting beast to say the least.

You either will find great conversation, people bashing other people, athletes that get themselves into hot water and whom don’t interact with fans, and also people who aren’t too bright.

In this day in age, you’d have to be living under a rock to know that social media is filled to the brim with scammers, losers, guys looking to hook up, and even criminals.  If you aren’t careful, they will find you,  try to sweet talk you into believing that they are harmless, and then when you least expect it, pounce on the opportunity and take whatever they can get from you!

Social media can be a dark place, but it also can be a place where you can shine.

First off, let’s talk about the GOOD stuff you can find on Twitter.  You can network very easily with folks in your niche. You can get folks to buy your product, service, and read your blogs and books.  You can also find great conversation too!  Now, all conversation should stay on the platform and never go into DMs ( unless that account is verified!)

DMS are the dark place – especially with guys who lurk on the site for their next victim. It’s really disgusting when a guy sends a girl (woman) a picture of his junk and thinks it’s a turn on! Um, from 1 to 10 you are a no, a never, and a someone who will get blocked immediately.  Not only that, you will get reported for doing that.  Why guys think that’s a way to get a girl (woman) interested in him, is beyond me!

Secondly, constantly hounding a girl (woman) to talk “Privately” is a Red Flag!  Why do I need to talk privately with you? Why can’t you talk through tweeting me? A guy and a girl can get to know each other by asking general questions through tweets?  Where are you from? What’s your favorite vacation spot?  What do you like to do when you have free time? Etc….  There are MANY questions you can ask as well as having conversation about whatever they are tweeting about.  Then maybe the conversation will naturally move to DMS if both parties feel safe enough to move it there.  And it’s really not smart to tweet to someone that you wish no harm on them or that they can trust you. Um, nope. That’s not a good sign that you have good intentions.

Also, anyone who asks you for money in a DM is spamming you.  Report those immediately.

Now, let’s talk about athletes on Twitter.

Athletes show me time and time again, that they really don’t “get” the power of social media and what it truly is good for. They either tweet the stupidest of things like; rap lyrics, content that is created for their brand that really has no purpose, telling everyone they have “moved on” from a situation when in fact they haven’t, responding to the press in a tweet that makes no sense, social issues, RTing crap, or my favorite, other celebrities and athletes.

These athletes don’t release the power of the platform. They all “claim” that they have a platform, but they misuse it every single time.

Social media is possibly one of the most powerful tools of the 21st century.  Social media provides an avenue for athletes to not only engage with fans, but also influence them with the right content that helps fans make a decision. It’s also a great way to highlight inspirational stories and get people pumped up!  Too bad they don’t know this and they listen to their agents, PR folks and other people in their camps on what to post and those people are not educated on this topic at all!

Then you have examples after examples of what NOT to do on social media which I stated time and time again in my book, “Victim No More.”  But just in case you haven’t read it here are a few examples:

1-Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, voice of the Aflac duck, made some jokes about the Japanese tsunami over Twitter. He said, “Japan is really advanced. They don’t go to the beach. The beach comes to them.”  Aflac is the largest insurance company in Japan. Gottfried was fired.

2-Nicole Crowther was a recurring extra on Glee until she tweeted some plot spoilers she had heard on set. She was more or less fired via Twitter by the show’s producer, Brad Falchuk, who tweeted in response: “Hope you’re qualified to do something besides work in entertainment.”

3- Toronto-based sportscaster Damian Goddard was fired for tweeting his opinion on same-sex marriage. Hockey agent Todd Reynolds had criticized Rangers forward Sean Avery for publicly supporting the cause. Tweeted Goddard, “I completely and wholeheartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage.”

Now, we have many other examples that have happened over this past year, but yesterday MLB reporter, Andy Martino, tweets: “After all the fluffy HOF stuff, it’s good to have on record that Rivera, man of faith, doesn’t consider these and other acts political dealbreakers: —- children sleeping in cages — making fun of a handicapped person — multiple accusations of rape Now we know where he stands.”  

Seriously, he HAD to go there? He had to tweet POLITICS and combine that with a NY Legend who has done NOTHING outlashed while he was a New York Yankee and even now as a retired Hall of Famer.  Why are folks so stupid to put their political views out there on social media when they are clearly on a platform they use for work?

If you notice, people only love free speech when you agree with them. Once you are on the other side, it’s no longer about free speech.

The best two responses are from this fan: “Mariano Rivera has been in the public sphere for two decades and has never been outspoken politically. This is likely because he’s too busy building churches and homes for impoverished children in Panama with his bare hands, and volunteering his time as a pastor in New Rochelle.”

And this fan: “I’m sure you don’t care but for the record this is the thing that will finally make me unfollow you. You’re entitled to your political opinion & free to express it but I prefer not to watch you shame an all time player & by all accounts a really good person over his opinion.”

Andy Martino, like the rest of the social media warriors, has not responded to these responses but am I surprised? The internet: turning cowards into tough guys daily.

 

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

2020 On Social Media Is Going To Be Brutal

 

If you haven’t guessed where I am going with this yet, then maybe you really are hiding under a rock. I am talking about the dreaded Presidential Election in 2020.   If talking and reading about politics hasn’t killed you yet, don’t worry, it will in a year and a half.

You will have nut jobs from both sides of the isle arguing back and forth and forth and back on why we should vote for ……. and not for ………

So this is my plea to all those crazies who JUST love to talk politics: For the love of everything that is holy, please, don’t make social media even worse than it is now!

Social media was developed for 3 reasons: 1) To keep in touch with family and friends. (Yes, I want to see those pictures of kids I once taught, kids that I know and cute cat videos!)  2) To network. This is the most important thing for any business man or woman to do if they want to succeed in their business. Entrepreneurship is all about connecting with not only customers or clients, it’s about people in the same industry as you are. It’s also reaching out to those who aren’t to see if they can support you in any way possible.  And finally, 3) To build up the community.  This is what we really should be doing instead of tearing each other down and building up hate.  There is more hate and negativity on social media than I have ever seen the eleven years I have been a social media guru.  Literally, people will argue over the dumbest things!

vote 4

Are we really becoming that cynical?  We should be banning together, like everyone did after 9/11. Remember that moment? Remember how we all hung the American Flag from our homes and cars, everyone held open doors, was polite, compassionate, and showed what the American Spirit TRULY was- One of the worst days in U.S. history brought out the best in  ALL of us.  And for those who weren’t born then, read this:  http://bit.ly/2wuliw4 

We need to go back to HOW we were back then. We need to STOP bashing each other on social media. Instead we need to use social media for the greater good.  Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion whether or not you agree with that opinion, ( remember that while you are trolling Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, okay?)

vote 3

How about we all cool off and go back to posting pictures of food, rainbows, unicorns, and cats? You know, the way Facebook use to be BEFORE people decided to use it as a platform to bicker with each other who don’t agree with their point of view. If you want to have a political conversation, why don’t you do it the old fashioned way: in person?  This way there are no “misunderstandings,” while I read your post on why I need to vote for_________. Oh, you weren’t being serious, only sarcastic?  Oh, you meant that as a joke? Oh, you were trying to tell me how important this issue means to you but at the same time you keep posting pictures in the opposition? People can’t read emotions on social media.

It’s one thing for people to talk about freedom of speech, but it’s another to to be a hypocrite in the same sentence.  Freedom of speech doesn’t work when someone ONLY agrees with you. It works even when someone doesn’t agree with you. Remember that, okay?

You’re not going to change someone’s beliefs on social media. You can argue until the cows come home or pigs fly, but you’re just wasting your time. People are different and believe different things. Accept it and move on. Life’s too short.

Let your vote be your voice.

 

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

Why these kids taking part in the #MarchForOurLives are brainwashed

After the Parkland Florida shooting a month ago and the walkouts,  the media had a field day covering every aspect of those tragic events. This week in Maryland there was another school shooting where two students were shot. The only difference is, this time the school resource officer confronted the gunman and shot and killed him. My question is why isn’t this being covered? Go to any news media’s page on Facebook and it’s about the 12th or 15th story. If you don’t think the media influences and sensationalizes school and or mass shootings, this should help you see part of the problem. It would go against their agenda to report any good that can come from the use of a firearm or that there are other uses other than killing innocent people.

That brings us to today, The #MarchForOurLives, another waste of time and energy protest that the media will be eating up and digesting to the point of making everyone nausea.

Here’s how this march is being advertised for those who don’t know:

“The teen organizers of Saturday’s nationwide “March for Our Lives,” aimed at toughening gun laws to help stop school shootings in the United States, have won kudos and cash from dozens of celebrities, helping to raise their national profile.” Oh look, it’s seen as a big ole party thanks to impart, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Taylor Swift, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, to name a few. There will be Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Demi Lovato and Common are due to be among performers at Saturday’s main march in Washington D.C., while “Trainwreck” actress Amy Schumer and pop star Charlie Puth are expected to headline a march in Los Angeles, organizers said. These kids are in awe, and who wouldn’t be? Having celebrities with whom you “look up to,” and whom, “you love” with such a high obsession, saying that they support YOU; it’s hard not to be starry-eyed when you are 17. These celebrities are so full of themselves, it’s laughable. Oh, so the shooting in Las Vegas meant nothing to you guys? Oh, right, it was adults that got killed and therefore it’s hard to brainwash rationally thinking adults on their agenda of #GunControlNow as it is not hard to brainwash teens whose rational part of their brains are not fully developed until age 25.

By the way kids, that walkout seemed to work out well, didn’t it? It totally STOPPED other shootings and taught all kids what standing in solidarity means, right? I saw kids at the mall minutes after they supposedly were to be standing there, in silence, to remember the victims. All it did was get kids out of class. They learned nothing. I also saw kids on social media, which they really shouldn’t be on, calling out adults who didn’t support the walk out and bullied them. But that’s okay, because they are “Fighting with a purpose.”

Here are some facts, as the NRA has been brought up a million times as the cause for all these shootings. In the 2016 election, the NRA spent $11,438,118 to support Donald Trump—and another $19,756,346 to oppose Hillary Clinton. That’s over $31 million spent on one presidential race.

Let’s look at the bigger picture. Campaign contributions and election spending from gun-rights groups are still a drop in the bucket. The average Senate race, for instance, costs $19.4 million, and the average House seat effectively costs some $1.9 million.

Among industries, the pharmaceutical and health-products businesses rank Nos. 1 and 2 in terms of lobbying activity, with 2016 figures of nearly $249 million and nearly $153 million, according to Open Secrets data. Drugs, like the the one that is causing the opioid epidemic and killing more people Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015 with 31,537 people die from gun violence. You don’t see your senators or house representatives giving a crap because they get the most money from these lobbyists. You don’t see celebrities give a crap either.

While gun-rights groups made $5.8 million in campaign contributions in 2016, supporters of gun control gave a far smaller $1.62 million — 98% of which went to Democrats.

Now, let’s talk gun laws:

Florida is a “shall issue” state, and issues concealed carry licenses to both residents and non-residents. Florida recognizes licenses from any other state which recognizes Florida’s license, provided the non-resident individual is a resident of the other state and is at least 21 years old ( which was changed from 18) or may be under 21 if the applicant is a member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces.

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which tracks gun laws nationwide, has given the state a B+ for its gun laws. Chicago itself has some tough laws — there is an assault-weapons ban in Cook County, for example. But it’s not true that Chicago has the strictest gun laws in the country.

Maryland, the state has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and you’ll need to be aware of all of them.

Be 21 or older;

Provide state ID;

Have a background check performed by a licensed firearms dealer;

Have a handgun qualification license (HQL); and

Completed a certified firearms safety training course.

The training course has to be conducted either by the Police Training Commission, or meet the standards set by the PTC. Typically, any Maryland-specific firearms course should meet the standards, but you’ll want to check just in case. Or, you can try to attend a free course offered by the PTC if you’re looking to save some money.

The HQL has its own application process and set of requirements too. It’s basically a pre-background check that is performed before you even go in to your local gun store to buy a handgun. ( You can read up on it if you care to.)

As I stated earlier above, there was a shooting in a Maryland school and the SRO confronted the shooter and stopped the shooting from getting worse. But yet, the media, celebrities and even the kids are not praising this because it simply doesn’t fit their agenda.

The march is a waste of time! How about each school have parents get together before your next Board of Education meeting and brainstorm and develop a plan that you can present to them? That’s being productive! That’s actually trying to make changes. That’s not a waste of time and energy has this march is a complete waste.

You have fire extinguisher in every classroom, in every office, every business, and in every house. This helps you in case you are presented with a fire. Fire extinguishers play a crucial role in protecting the environment due to their proven ability to fight fires while they are at their very early stages. In approximately 80% of all incidents, a simple portable fire extinguisher is all that is needed to put out the fire. Knowing the proper way to handle the fire extinguisher also helps simply because if you have someone who is trained in knowing how to use it, that person can keep everyone safe if a fire arises.

The same goes for school shootings.

If you have someone who is trained, someone who knows how to handle a gun, put in a situation to protect kids from a shooter, you not only keep all those kids safe, but you end the potential massacre a lot quicker than having to wait for the police department and swat teams to arrive.

Tightening controls on guns hasn’t made any impact on crime in the UK. Crime was incredibly low when the first controls were put into effect after WWI and continued to be low afterwards. The controls did nothing to stop the long campaign of terrorism, they simply prevented a terrified population from defending itself. And it’s very well documented that the restrictions were not intended to deter crime — they were intended to keep the population from rising up against the ruling class. Which is exactly what occurred in Brexit.

The primary reason that “gun control” doesn’t work that well is because it usually focuses on measures to prohibit law-abiding private citizens from purchasing, owning, carrying, and/or using firearms. It does NOT prevent criminals from using guns ILLEGALLY.

It also does not prevent the mentally-ill from having a gun or using one, and maybe that is something the lawmakers should take a look at. Stop ignoring the fact that guns, when legal and readily available, are routinely used by private citizens to prevent violent crime and to defend themselves against violent crime. Take away the guns from these private citizens, and they are at the tender mercies of armed criminals as well as overzealous and/or feckless law enforcement.

Kids, if you really want change here is what you need to do: Distance yourself from every adult trying to brainwash you on #GunControlNow agendas. You need to think outside the box, not in the one they have been in for years. They not need be sheep but leaders.

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

The President vs The Players

Not every cop is a bad cop. Why can’t people understand that? Ironically people don’t like to be grouped but think it’s okay to put all police officers in the same category. Protesting the national anthem isn’t about cops, it stands for the soldiers who fought for our Country. And it does NOTHING to fix the problem.

The players have this platform and this is all they “came up” with? How about going into the community and talking to people and police? How about bringing people together? Nope, that’s too hard and complicated. It’s easier to look like an uneducated fool than it is to actually put together a plan to bring together people from all backgrounds. This just separates people even further, it doesn’t bind any of us together.

The NFL is the only place where men who kill dogs, people, abuse women and drive drunk, still get make millions. A regular “Joe” would never be given that opportunity.  MLB and the NBA are other places where they get to make millions playing a sport that should be entertaining us. Adding politics to the game, that we the people turn to, to escape the world and it’s problems, is only going to add insult to injury.

Oh, but I hear players yelling, that they have a right to peacefully protest. That right shouldn’t be exhibited in the forum they are doing it in. They’re athletes and they live extravagant lifestyles because they’re afforded that right in the country they seemingly hate.  If I did that at work, I would be fired.

We have people always talking about “Separation of Church and State.” Now how about, let’s have “Separation of sports and politics.”  Politics and sports are two different things but they’re insisting on intermingling the two by doing their protests. If you feel inclined to protest, do it on your own time.  By the way, the NFL fine players for wearing their socks wrong or not tucking in their jersey but they can’t make them stand for the anthem? Talk about hypocrisy.

Maybe society should be look for ways to overcome the problems we have, instead of creating more problems. If the players truly love our Nation and the freedoms that our veterans have put themselves through in order for U.S. to have such a grand Nation, then we should all stand showing respect and honor for our anthem. Period.

UPDATED:

Actually there is a rule that says they aren’t allowed to show personal messages:
ARTICLE 8. PERSONAL MESSAGES
Throughout the period on game-day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office. Items to celebrate anniversaries or memorable events, or to honor or commemorate individuals, such as helmet decals, and arm bands and jersey patches on players’ uniforms, are prohibited unless approved in advance by the League office. All such items approved by the League office, if any, must relate to team or League events or personages. The League will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment, which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns. Further, any such approved items must be modest in size, tasteful, non-commercial, and non-controversial; must not be worn for more than one football season; and if approved for use by a specific team, must not be worn by players on other teams in the League.

 

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

Why A Day Without A Woman Is A Joke

The first official National Woman’s Day, held in New York City was on February 28, 1909. (The organizers, members of the Socialist Party of America, wanted it to be on a Sunday so that working women could participate.) Thousands of people showed up to various events uniting the suffragist and socialist causes, whose goals had often been at odds. Women were demanding voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours. Labor organizer Leonora O’Reilly and others addressed the crowd at the main meeting in the Murray Hill Lyceum, at 34th Street and Third Avenue. In Brooklyn, writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman (of “The Yellow Wall-paper” fame) told the congregation of the Parkside Church: “It is true that a woman’s duty is centered in her home and motherhood…[but] home should mean the whole country, and not be confined to three or four rooms or a city or a state.”

On March 19, 1911 (the 40th anniversary of the Paris Commune, a radical socialist government that briefly ruled France in 1871), the first International Woman’s Day was held, drawing more than 1 million people to rallies worldwide. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, most attempts at social reform ground to a halt, but women continued to march and demonstrate on International Woman’s Day.

Most dramatically, a massive demonstration led by Russian feminist Alexandra Kollontai that began on February 23, 1917 (according to Russia’s Gregorian calendar; it was March 8 in the West) proved to be a link in the chain of events that led to the abdication of Czar Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution. After the czar’s abdication, the provisional government formed until a constituent assembly could be elected became the first government of a major power to grant women the right to vote.

In 1975, recognized as International Women’s Year, the United Nations General Assembly began celebrating March 8th as International Women’s Day.

(Courtesy of The History Channel)

In 2017, the official theme for International Women’s Day is #BeBoldforChange, a campaign that calls on its supporters “to help forge a better working world—a more gender inclusive world.”

the organizers of the Woman’s March and the planned International Women’s Strike are asking women to go even further: take the day off from paid and unpaid labor, refrain from shopping and wear red in solidarity.

Just once I would like to see the women in the United States of America march/protest for the women in countries where the women don’t have any rights, let alone, don’t have the same freedoms that they do. But they won’t. I can guarantee that some of these liberal women will be marching/protesting against Trump like the sheep that they are.

“A day without a woman” sounds silly to me. Yes, women do a lot to make the world go around. Hell, we are the ones who carry the children and give birth. Some women are the bread and butter of their families. And some women are single moms and do it all. How come we can’t just celebrate womanhood? Can women actually march/protest seriously? What do I mean by seriously? I mean, can women actually march/protest without wearing pussy hats or V-jay hats, ( what ever you wish to call them), costumes of private parts, carry signs that are pointless and screaming vulgar things?

Ironically, women want to be taken seriously but then look like children having a tantrum doing marches/protests as this. None of this marching and protesting is helping to do anything but further divide an already seriously divided country. (And these women are blind to this since they think this stuff actually helps)

What ever happened to actually being proactive? Now we march, protest and look like fools for everything. International Women’s Day has now lost it’s value. How about having luncheons, ladies night out, donating to women charities, or helping out women-based businesses? You want to be proactive, I just gave you four suggestions.

You want equal pay? Taking a day off doesn’t help your case, actually it hurts it. And remember, a paycheck doesn’t show appreciation, which is what we should be celebrating today; appreciation for women. Yes, equal pay is important, but once again, women are going about that the wrong way.

I’m proud to be a woman and I don’t need a pussy hat, wear red, hold a protest sign, shout obscenities or some stupid chant that all the sheep are screaming to be a proud woman. I look back and see just how far we have come and I am proud of that. I instead decide to out work ’em, out read ’em, out last’em, Show up. Something today’s woman could and should take note. When you focus on problems, you will have more problems. When you focus on possibilities, you will have more opportunities. Life is all about – Choices. Options. Opportunities. And today’s woman in the USA can make many of her own choices, has many different options presented to her and is given many opportunities to shine.

So to all the women who feel that they are oppressed because of our government, name me one of your rights that was taken away, that you no longer have since January 19th. Don’t worry, I’ll wait, while you try to come up with one.