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.

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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).