Social Media as we know it has a profound effect on us and continues to play a vital role in how many of us interact with news, distant friends and family, and the rest of the world. The hyper-connectivity that social media provides allows us to consume information at a pace many of us were not used to just a few years ago. Social media also has created opportunities for many persons to be influenced by the opinions and information published by those they follow and admire on their social media profiles. A positive example of social media being used to influence others is the instance in which a huge YouTube star, MrBeast, started a campaign with the aim of raising $20 million dollars to plant 20 million trees by the end of 2019(Leskin, 2019). MrBeast was able to influence many other well-known YouTubers and business leaders to join in and give large donations towards the cause as well as many other fans of his YouTube channel. MrBeast's influence played a major part in helping the campaign be successful and create positive change in the community.

A negative example of how social media can be used to influence others is how a subset of the persons who admire and follow Trump purportedly were influenced by his tweets and social media posts in a way that incited the insurrection of the US Capitol building in 2020. As President Joe Biden stated,"the words of a President matter,", which further iterates how Trump's words on social media would have had a great influence on his followers and the actions they could take(Marantz et al., 2021). I feel this example is negative because it demonstrates how someone can use their influence on a large number of followers and create real and tangible hurt to persons.

Social Media messaging is powerful. I believe it is effective because of how much people value the opinion of those they admire and learn from. Social media gives businesses and persons of influence a less formal way to share their thoughts and beliefs with those that follow them. An example of a company using social media messaging effectively is Clickup. ClickUp has run a marketing campaign that has effectively positioned itself as the better option from older competitors just as Jira. The social media marketing of Clickup affected me so much that it made me consider presenting it to my workplace as an alternative to Jira. Another example is a company called Userway that helps companies make their website ADA compliant easily. With just a few advertisements, I have become more aware of the need for my website to be ADA compliant and it made me consider using their service.

References:

Leskin, P. (2019, December 19).YouTuber MrBeast's tree-planting campaign reached its goal of raising $20 million. here's the list of prominent people who have donated, including Elon Musk, Jeffree Star, and even the CEO of YouTube.Business Insider. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-pewdiepie-jeffree-star-donate-mrbeast-youtube-tree-planting-2019-10#nasa-engineer-turned-youtuber-mark-rober-was-part-of-the-team-behind-the-planning-of-the-teamtrees-movement-and-contributed-50000-to-the-cause-2

Marantz, A., Glasser, S. B., & Gessen, M. (2021, January 7).How social media made the trump insurrection a reality. The New Yorker. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/how-social-media-made-the-trump-insurrection-a-reality

QUESTION;

• Offer an insight you gained from your colleague's examples, including your reaction to their thoughts on what makes the examples positive and negative.
• Ask a question about what your colleague had to say regarding what makes social media messaging effective or about the examples they included.