Half Full, Half Empty or Red? Social Media with Whip!

When I look at this retro (2012) Starbucks Cup, I can’t help but think this snowman knew what was coming. His wink is a clear indicator that the entire coffee cup “War on Christianity” is laughable. Back in 2012 did people see a snowman as some religious symbol? Not one of the Wise Men had a carrot nose.

Social media, it is the easiest way to create enemies of strangers and make friends or receive affirmations from  people you’ll never know. It’s a quick way to voice your frustrations while also an efficient way to raise your blood pressure. It’s a means of spreading your love, your hate or your ridiculous ideas around the globe with little effort.

I remember when grocery shopping with my father as a child or while waiting for a bus with my mother, that they often engaged in small talk with other waiting strangers. In Minnesota weather is a nice entry-level conversation but current events and political topics were not off-limits with strangers. These interactions allowed people to share and exchange ideas. One didn’t need to agree to remain cordial and even with more heated debates I recall there was a mutual respect.

Conversations with strangers while waiting in line has been replaced with interactions with electronic gadgets. Rather than look a person in the eye and tell them why you disagree with their position on an issue, we now opt to tap out curt opinions on keyboards of various sizes. This anonymity tends to let things escalate in a more rapid fashion. I envision old silent movie footage capturing live interaction of what transpires online today and it looks like this; one person makes a statement, the other person angrily refutes it with exaggerated indignant gestures and the first person gives a roundhouse punch to the eye of the person they are interacting with. There is no question and answer, no nuance, a bold confidence they are right and the exchange is completed. Bystanders take sides and offer thumbs-ups to the party they agree with.

The news media falls into the trap by frequently wanting to be the fastest (as opposed to most accurate) news source, the first to share a piece of information or detail. They also recognize the power behind putting out information that forms opinions to those who don’t actually dig into the contents of an article or question what is being told to them. An example of this, is that this week rather than watching the Republican debate I opted to spend my time working on a volunteer committee at my former high school. The following day I noticed a posting from NBC that attributed an inflammatory historical phrase to a current candidate. In the posted story, it indicated in fact that the candidate never used that phrase at all. Based on the majority of the responses, it was clear that most had only read the headline and not the article. I posted a clarification and questioned the quality of a news agency that would falsely attribute this phrase to the candidate and commented that the other posters who were making harsh commentary based on this falsehood had “taken the bait”. While over 70 people had affirmed that they agreed with me, I was also called a bigot, was labeled a supporter of the candidate and as I continued to share facts was ultimately told I’d “better watch yourself”. I’m threatened because I think it’s only fair that all candidates be accurately reflected by the media?

This is the year where one of our most “important” social media discussions was over the color of a dress, which we could all see both ways when posted side by side. It was as interesting as posting two Mustangs side by side and asking if you see a red one or a yellow one? Lets be honest, nobody was going to wear that dress anyway. So what was the big deal?

There have been two relatively major social media topics garnering attention recently; the Starbucks Holiday cup and unrest at the University of Missouri campus with #prayforMizzou trending most of the week. Oddly, it seems that the Starbucks cup has received the most attention, much of it claiming it’s a ridiculous ploy for attention, while others have actually staged protests. Some have come up with creative ways to fund raise or see that charities benefit from the “brew ha ha”. It’s likely some factory in China is currently churning out 2016 Halloween costume versions of the “controversial” red cup.

Meanwhile back in Missouri, we have had a hunger strike, a football team boycott and a presidential resignation over an excrement swastika that nobody has seen, nobody cleaned up, which was not documented, reported or photographed. Beyond that, in the midst of the emotion on campus we have students who as communications majors are wishing to document the ongoing events and other students who wish to prevent documentation of what is taking place on campus (not recognizing apparently the correlation between their concerns being shared in the media with the eventual resignation of the University President, which was their objective). To make matters stranger, the student body president began a social media panic by claiming that the KKK had been confirmed on campus and that he was personally working with law enforcement to keep people safe. Later he acknowledged that he had shared erroneous information and apologized. I see marketing potential for a children’s book series with titles such as “The Boy Who Tweeted Wolf”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love social media! I’m sure there were growing pains when the press was first invented, making sure things are accurate should be a basic aspect of any form of communication, new or ancient. Civility should be maintained when people exchange thoughts and ideas. I am an opinionated person and in addition to that I am incredibly sarcastic. Sarcasm works better in person than it does in writing and garners the best interpretation from those who actually know me. Typically, I tease those I know personally and am in opposition with politically and they goad me back. We’ll correct misinformation or discuss our insights on various topics, knowing that in most areas we will simply agree to disagree. At the end of the day we still “like” each other as human beings and even enjoy each others company as friends and neighbors.

We have nearly a year until the next elections and social media will play an even bigger role in this one than the last. That’s over 300 cups of coffee, that I will need to decide where to source from. We owe it to ourselves to dig a little deeper than Facebook posts, Tweets and newspaper headlines when making important decisions. I predict there will be at least one opportunity per week to be sucked into the vortex of a non-issue that some will see as urgent during this next calendar.  It’s not even possible to pretend to know what will engage people during the coming year. A year ago you couldn’t have predicted that the amount of air in an NFL football would be a hot topic or conceived that a cat video would be the next big thing.  For all that we don’t know, I am confident that I will certainly interact with over 140 characters online that will be rude, call me names and share inaccurate claims that they will assure me are facts. I in turn will annoy over 140 characters with my commentary, sarcasm and genuine opinions. Twitter may only allow 140 characters but I’m open-minded enough to handle more.

The Seasonal Musings of a Lifelong Minnesotan

I was born in Minnesota and I have raised my own children here. It is a four season state where the months are disproportionately divided. Our winters are long and bitter affairs where we natives spend a great deal of time comparing the current one to epic ones of the past. People like to commemorate the Armistice Day blizzard that was able to sneak out of nowhere and strand those who were out with their cars and kill the unsuspecting hunters who having the day off had headed out in their shirt sleeves before the weather turned. The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 is still a fresh memory in the minds of many and is likely to be used for comparative purposes for generations to come.

July isn’t even over yet and you might wonder why I am talking about winter. I’m from Minnesota and that’s what we do. Sure it’s July and we have weeks of potential stifling heat but will be reminded by Fair time (our Fair is so great you don’t have to insert State in front of it to let folks know what you’re talking about) that “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” which could be our state motto were it not for the fact that it does not mention snow. The summer brings the heat, the humidity and the mosquitoes which are worst about dusk each evening and whose buzz in your tent or cabin can drive you nearly as crazy as the intense itch and welt that their bites cause. They never travel alone and though they have always been an annoying part of summer there are certain diseases they carry that make them more of an issue today than I recall as a child. Disease carrying insects come in the tick variety here as well and you have not been in Minnesota long if you don’t know someone who has been impacted by Lymes disease which can have a long term impact on ones health.

Fall is the perfect time of year in Minnesota for me, it is the briefest in length and the showiest if given the opportunity. An ill timed rainstorm or early snowfall can strip our many variety of trees of their leaves before they have the chance to show off their magical color changes. The nights are cool and the days are sunny, a weekend drive can take you to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard. It is football weather.

Our seasons in Minnesota are indeed not just passing months and weather changes, our seasons are in fact divided among athletic seasons as well. Certainly there are the pro seasons, which for some reason seem to have expanded over the years so that they all seem to have extensive overlap. Our evening news last night just featured the Vikings moving into training camp, seems like the NHL just wrapped up and baseball is in full swing (yes, I meant to say that). A sure sign of the final blizzards of the year and that spring will truly be coming again comes from our high school athletics, the March tournaments for basketball and hockey are as much meteorological events as they are sporting competitions. The treacherous weather combined with school buses of athletes and fans coming to the metropolitan area from our smaller towns where the community shuts down when their boys or  girls make it to “The State Tourney” make for excellent conversation from reporters and neighbors alike.  I’ve come to learn that the tradition of watching televised high school sports is primarily reserved for those whose home teams have been to the tourney or former high school athletes who dreamed of the opportunity.

Spring is the season we wait for so intently, the one you dream of on a day when you are clearing snow for the umpteenth time during the same weather event. It is the promise of warmer weather and the knowledge that the man made mountains of snow created in the giant parking lots of malls and superstores will in fact recede to reveal their content of discarded bags, fast food wrappers and Starbuck’s cups. It is the tricky time of year when farmers speak and we learn that we have either too much or not enough rain for this years crops. The melting snow combined with spring storms can result in swollen rivers, overflowing lakes and flooding. For some communities instead of summer street dances to commemorate their unique crop or fictional characters spring could be called “Sandbagging Days”. Men, women and children are called into active duty as fortresses are built to protect homes, businesses and civic buildings from eminent water damage.

Beyond the dangers of flooding and freezing we have our share of tornadoes. The unique aspect of having a tornado in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is their ability to dip into a body of water and then dump their load in another location. Who can forget the 1981 tornado that damaged the band shell and picnic shelter at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, taking a dip in the lake and then heading over to Har Mar Mall near the Fair Grounds (yup, that Fair) and dropping a bunch of fish in the parking lot? Who can forget? Not a Minnesotan, we live for that sort of story to add to our local lore. We wonder about harnessing that capability and using it to extinguish forest fires which are another seasonal disaster that can happen in a place as heavily forested as Minnesota.

I have lived in other states on a short-term basis and have friends who were raised here who now live in a single climate area and miss the seasons. Each winter as a Minnesotan ages they question their capability to live here forever. I know my musings may not be sanctioned by the state tourism board and I may have portrayed that between insects and natural disasters you would really be taking a risk to visit. That truly is not the case. Read polls and they will indicate we are a golf-crazy, bike friendly, literate bunch with fine restaurants, corporate headquarters, great theater, comedy and other performance venues. People here tend to be nice, though we argue about politics and religion, but only because we care and are engaged. If you have never been here, I encourage you to come. Our Fair is next month, come get a food item on a stick.