Social Media- Pro and Con

Social media can be (and usually is) a double edged sword. On one end it’s great to reach out to people well outside of your neighborhood. A person can even communicate with people on a global level which wasn’t possible 20 or 30 years ago. The reach of this is nothing less than amazing. Social media even gives business an edge it never had as far as its reach goes. Businesses can target (more specific) their audience without spending much time and resources to do so.

As good as social media can be, it also has its downfalls. It can be relied on too much and can create complacency that definitely can have effects on simple communication. Businesses can benefit in terms of saving time and money but can become “everything” instead of being a mere tool in the growth and/or progression of their business. From a social standpoint it can be destructive to friendships and relationships. Many people use social media to build relationships. The problem with this is a true relationship cannot be built with “social media.” It’s merely a tool to “help” maybe build one or assist in maintaining one. The problem comes when it’s central in the rapport-building (and communication) process as a whole.

Social media has become second nature in the social and business world. Social media has been a good thing for the world. As long as people don’t lose sight of its true purpose and use a healthy balance of it then this tool can make life very convenient on both the social and business front. HP 

Workin’ Nights on The Cheap

 WORKIN’ NIGHTS ON THE CHEAP


Hennipin County Medical Center’s solution to the nursing shortage is drastically reducing their  pay while implementing  formidable  barriers  towards  additional economic opportunities such as a second job or brick and mortar schools.   Solutions defaulting to gender injustice on both counts.

Nurses are grumbling  out loud about  Hennipen County Medical Center’s  current changes in the nurses  work schedule from the  fixed-schedule  model  to the now required  shift-rotation,  while simultaneously being hit with a pay cut in the form of a drastic reduction in night shift pay.  States one HCMC registered nurse.,  “…along with other problems , I don’t know what kind of people they think they will be attracting in the future with this change…”

Management   prefers  the rotation shift  for many reasons, among these:   most formal training education is done during the day; rotations help balance the skills of their nurses by exposure to the  varied  shifts;  recruitment of new nurses is  hoped  to be easier with rotation shifts being offered versus offering  pre-dominately the night shift to the new  oncomers.

Rotation shifts helps  management with problem solving but  increases the problems for  the majority of the nurses including cutting off their access to  economic opportunities  According to Shift Schedule Design:  www.shift-schedule-design.com/27.html

‘‘When surveyed, 83% of employees say they prefer a fixed shift schedule.
Fixed shifts make it easier for them to schedule family events, doctor appointments, 
daycare, etc. Fixed shifts also increase opportunities to attend college, hold second
jobs, and participate in community activities.’


Research consistently  continues to vary on the conclusion of the  night shift’s adverse effects on ones body  vs rotating shift effects.  According to www.circadian studies and conclusions:

   “There is still a lack of conclusive data on the effects of fixed vs rotation  shifts on                    
alertness,performance,and accidents.” 

Bottom line  is every  hospital’s  sleep centers,  promote , “Maintain a regular bed and wake schedule.”  

Nursing shortage is a real problem that needs to be addressed for the nurses sake as well as the patients.  States HCMC registered nurse, “I have found nurses crying in closets.  They are too afraid to tell their supervisors that they are overwhelmed.”  Research forecasts  the nursing shortage to  continue  and  increase into the baby boomers later years, bringing more demand on this system along with ObamaCare adding more people into the health care system.  

With this nursing shortage and its continued forecast plus a shift change that  adversely affects the worker , what’s the reasoning and who benefits from both the nurses pay reduction and their imposed reductions in  opportunities?  States an ex-employee, “I will never go back…they tell us the upper levels don’t get pay cuts because……”

Taking away pay for no valid reason and reducing economic opportunities for these nurses is  gender injustice and another labor move that reduces the middle class.

The International Labor Organization advises:  www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public, Measuring Progress and Identifying Challenges.


“we need to ensure that the goal of gender justice does not get lost in the
face of the current (or any future) economic crisis.  “Although gender equality
is widely re-garded as a worthwhile goal, it is also seen as having potential 
costs or even acting as a constraint on economic growth, and while this view
may not be evident in official policy it remains implicit in policy decisions. For 
example, where there is pressure to increase the quantity of work or promote 
growth, progress to- wards gender equality may be regarded as something that 
can be postponed. However, it is possible to make an economic case for gender
equality, as an investment, such that it can be regarded as a means to promote
growth and employment rather than act as a cost or constraint. As such, equality
policies need to be seen in a wider perspective with a potentially greater impact 
on individuals, firms, regions and nations.”



Will these imposed constraints and reduction in pay , pay off ?  Will nurses  adopt  these decisions?  Nurses are trained to fight for others and the’re tired. States an HCMC registered nurse, “……………other hospitals are looking at this change and considering  these policy changes.”   Are these CEO’s crying in their closets ?     … Lorraine

social media is a good forum to promote transparency of the changes in occupations.

Social media… good or bad?

There is always the good and bad sides to everything and social media is definitely no different. From Twitter to Linkedin, there are many aspects of social media. Some are purely for pleasure while others maintain a professional demeanor. Social media can be used to expand a business, or to let friends and family know what’s going on in your life. Depending on who you are and what you’re trying to do, social media can either help or hurt you.

The pro’s-  If you’re trying to link up with someone that’s on the other side of the world, it’s most likely that you’re not going to hop on a plane and make a trip at the drop of a dime. Unless you have a private plane and a lot of money, it’s most likely not going to happen. There has been a solution for anyone to reach out to places they may never see in their life… social media!! From people making Youtube videos in their kitchen, to businesses being able to expand to audiences out of their area, social media can be used as a great networking tool. Before social media and the internet, it wasn’t impossible to reach audiences outside of a persons scope, however it did require a lot of money. Today social media is accessible nearly everywhere, you can go to your local library and log onto social media free of charge. Many people have become wealthy and somewhat famous just by logging into social media and portraying their talents/products. When used properly social media can turn an inch into a marathon.

Have you ever walked or drove down the street, and noticed how people look like zombies staring into their mobile device and walking at the same time? Social media is a serious addiction for some people. Some people can’t go a day without logging into their Facebook and checking their status, or seeing if that certain person has posted another picture on Instagram. I know a lot of people that can’t go a day without their cell phone, because that would mean not being able to log into their social media accounts. Whether if it’s to see if someone is talking about them, or to see what their favorite musician is doing on that day, people sometimes become addicted to social media. The thing about it is, people can live a different life online than they can in reality. Everybody knows one person that lives a different life online that they do in reality. For some it’s an ego stroke or maybe even an escape from reality. Either way, social media has taken over the lives of some, having them prioritize updating their status every hour instead of doing things that are constructive to themselves. 

Good or bad, social media has definitely made an impact for businesses and peoples personal lives. I believe it’s like most things in life, if you use it correctly it can greatly benefit you, however, if you take it to the dark side only dark things will happen. I’ve seen some good networking on social media to the point I’ve used it for the same reasons. I’ve also seen people’s images and reputations get ruined because of social media. Social media can be your best friend or your worst enemy. The log in info is in your hands, use it wisely.

Super Duper Bowl

This years Super Bowl was the most viewed in history with over 100 million viewers.  Along with a lop sided score, there was a lot of controversy about some of the commercials that were aired this year. Last year, the big issue was an interracial family that was shown on a Cheerios commercial. This year it was a Coca-Cola commercial with different languages singing America the Beautiful. It seems to be that some people will never be happy with at least one of the multi-million dollar commercials that are show cased during the years biggest T.V. event. 

It was a hard game to watch for Broncos fans as their team got beat 43-8. Social media was definitely on top of everything from making memes of Peyton Manning to responses to the Coke commercial. It seems like every year there is something that goes viral on social media pertaining to the Super Bowl. I feel like you didn’t even need to watch the game to know what went on as far as commercials and the game is concerned. All you needed was a twitter account and you could keep up with everything. The power of social media definitely was portrayed during this years Super Bowl.

CHECK

Selecting The Right Channels For Your Organization

The more I learn about social media, the more I learn there’s more to learn. Sadly, I think that’s a big issue with this ever-evolving world.

Twitter, WordPress, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, Tumblr, Delicious, Instagram, LinkedIn….where does it end?

Just learning what social media channels are available is a big issue. I’m taking two social media classes right now and am really glad I’m doing so. While I learn about different social media each week, I practice here.

The key, to me anyway, is to not only know what each social media platform does but who is using them.

I’m helping a fashion consultant start her own business. By learning about each social media platform, I’ve come to understand that her best channels are Youtube, Pinterest as well as Facebook and LinkedIn.

I’ve considered Tumblr, which incorporates video, text and pictures but I also sense that people are using different platforms for those means. Youtube is home to videos. Pinterest is where you look at pictures. LinkedIn is for the professional connections and Facebook is where you connect with others and start conversations.

It’s a lot of work building the foundation for each channel. It’ll be even more work keeping them updated. Yet, by selecting just the few that will help “show” her work, I think it’ll be a really great way for her to publicize her new business. It’s been a lot of fun work thus far. I look forward to what’s ahead.

~Dawnerd