Latest posts from Danny Brown

Go to Google and type in anything about teen bullying and social media and you’ll find no end of results of tragic stories.

From “normal” school bullying (though there’s nothing normal about any kind of bullying) to being harassed for your sexuality, the ability to easily bully teens online seems to be at an all-time high.

Which is why a new Facebook app from SafetyWeb could be a key tool in combating the issue.

Find Help on Facebook

Conceived by leading web-based monitoring company SafetyWeb, the Find Help app makes it incredibly easy for teens to connect with the right channels for their immediate needs.

By installing the app on Facebook, any teen can report abuse, bullying, sexual harassment and other issues directly to Facebook officials.

Additionally, they will also be connected to professionals and counselors in the area of help they need, from drug abuse, alcohol abuse, cyberbullying, child sexual predators and more.

Teens will get access to the likes of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, as well as The National Suicide Prevention Hotline and Facebook’s own Abuse Reporting help centre.

Why Find Help Is Important

While we often look at social media as a great place for connections to business and customers, it’s easy to forget that there’s a huge teenage market out there too.

MySpace is a perfect example where teens can be easily approached, due to its demographic audience of teens and their favourite indie music bands. Facebook is also hugely popular with this audience, sadly highlighted by recent news stories about teen suicides as a result of bullying on Facebook Groups. Something not helped when school officials themselves are the bullies.

We’ve all been teens and remember how it wasn’t easy to talk to our parents about everything. Add to that the “shame” often felt when kids see themselves as different in any way, and you can see why so many teens feel alone online.

The new Find Help app for Facebook from SafetyWeb is a huge step in helping teens through what is often the most difficult time in their lives. It’s a shame that it’s needed at all, but sometimes the bad has to happen for the good to win out.

What’s your take – is this something you can see working? And what else would you like to see in place to help teens online?

I always feel “weird” writing these types of posts. I always worry that they come across as, “Hey, look at me, I’m popular!”, when nothing could be further from the truth (and hopefully that’s how you feel too).

Anyhoo…

I’m extremely flattered and honoured to have been invited on/interviewed at a few places recently, and they all take place next week. Just like London buses – they all come at once when you might just want one.

So. The places.

Marketer Monday Chat on Twitter

The first place I’ll be is tomorrow’s Marketer Monday chat on Twitter, or #MMchat. Hosted by Jeff Ashcroft, Marketer Monday is part of The Social CMO brand, and visits a different topic each week with various marketing professionals. Jeff kindly invited me to co-host tomorrow’s chat, and the topic will be The Increasing Role of Content as an Engagement and Marketing Tool.

It should be an interesting discussion, and if you’re on Twitter and are free tomorrow (Monday November 1st) at 8.00pm Eastern, pop along and join in. You can follow or contribute to the chat via the #MMchat hashtag.

PRapalooza on BlogTalk Radio

The next stop on the “mini-tour” is over at Joe Hackman’s BlogTalk Radio show. Titled? PRapalooza (snazzy!), I’ll be joining the uber-talented PR ladies Gini Dietrich and Shonali Burke (who has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard).

We’ll be talking about technology and PR, and the ever-changing role of PR in a social media-led world. Particular focus will be on the relationship between bloggers and the PR industry – always a topic that inspires passionate responses on both sides. You can find more details over at Joe’s blog, and the actual BlogTalk radio channel can be found here. The discussion is on Wednesday November 3rd at 3.00pm Eastern.

Rise to the Top

The last, but definitely by no means least, of my online sojourns is over at The Rise to the Top with David Siteman Garland. Recognized as one of the top resources for entrepreneurs, The Rise to the Top is a veritable treasure chest of business advice.

David and I chatted recently about starting your own business; the connection between trust and influence; how to not be a dick in business; and much more. You can see the video chat this coming Thursday, when it goes live on the Rise to the Top website. David’s a great host full of energy and passion, and I think you’ll enjoy the chat.

Anyhoo. These are just some places you can find me this coming week if you’re interested. And even if I bore the heck out of you, the other folks at each place will definitely entertain. Hopefully you can make some, if not all.

Cheers!

It’s Hallowe’en weekend. Time to spend with the family and act like kids in a candy store again, with dress-up, neighbourhood wanderings and scary movies.

But did you know that Hallowe’en is one of the earliest pointers for social media as well?

Check it out.

Good Versus Bad

One of the earliest origins of the Hallowe’en celebration is a festival to ward off evil spirits. Before pumpkins became the symbol of Hallowe’en, turnips were carved instead.

This related back to “magic masks” being carved in olden times, to be worn to scare away evil spirits.

Compare that to social media and business practices. Social media allows us to connect with businesses that are doing things well (good spirits), and avoid those that are treating their customers like crap (evil spirits). We can also block people we don’t want to connect with – or, banish evil spirits.

Apple Bobbing for Business

While there are a ton of party games for Hallowe’en, one of the most popular is bobbing for apples. You place a bunch of apples in a tub of water on the floor, kneel on a chair above them with a fork in your mouth, then aim and release the fork. The goal is to pierce a bobbing apple, which is your prize to keep.

Now. Think of social media. Think of the tools available to help you laser target your customers. Think of the information available to let you target your marketing message. Think of how your aim can be true every time. Think of how your business can be the fork and every apple a potential customer.

Community Spirit

If there’s one thing that I love about Hallowe’en (apart from the cool costumes and the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks), it’s the way the local community tends to come together. Kids mingle with other kids, parents from different streets get to know each other, and whole neighbourhoods open up to one another (if only for a night).

Now look at blogging. Look at the communities that can build up around that. Look at Facebook groups, and Twitter chats. Look at the way YouTube brings viewers from across the world to a single page to enjoy the same media. Look at how businesses and customers are connecting. Look at how social media lives up to its first word.

We may think social media is this cool new thing that’s going to change the way we communicate forever.

But haven’t we already been doing that for hundreds of years anyway?

Happy Hallowe’en, everyone!