Latino Rebranded: Social Media and Latinos

Subtitle: A few bad apples spoil the bunch.

The Mexican government is up in arms against ‘Twitteros’ who use Twitter that warn others against drunk driving checkpoints – “alcoholimetro.”  But what really has those on the good side of the law angered is the blatant use of social networks by drug traffickers and other criminals.  Thus the “Spanish Bill.”

You decide: Is this a fair case to relinquish free speech for the greater cause of justice?

Popularity: 19% [?]

Subtitle: WYB – Watch Your Back in social media!!!

As netizens connect and grow, so do more unsavory individuals look to take advantage of those communications.

Having a background in technology, I’ve seen many cases of users unknowingly causing computer problems which easily could of been prevented if they new more about the computer environment.

With this in mind, imagine what can happen to an individual who unknowing falls prey to a computer virus or a phishing attempt, that could of been prevented if the knowledge of the characteristics of such attacks could of been recognized.

Social Media Literacy (SML), permits us to identify such threats.

SML goes beyond the knowledge of  pushing your content through different social media channels; it involves the critique of received media.  If media literacy broadly applies to digital media,  then SML would be specific to social media platforms.

Tips

Here are some suggestions for Twitter:

- If you see many of your friends sharing the same strange new Twitter icon, or tweeting the same strange message, it’s probably a hoax, or they’ve already fell victim to one.

- Be weary of tweets that contain news or calls to action, without having links.  This may be a prank/hoax, and the joke may be on you.

Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!

- If tweet contains all CAPS or multiple symbols, take heed!

- “Think before you click.”  Is this too good to be true?  Do you know the user?

- Mouseover the link and make sure you can verify the link (enable status bar in most web browsers).  If you can’t see it, or the link looks like bad news (IP number, instead of URL), the WYB!

- Does the persons tweets have a lot of links in many of them?  They have an incessant need to get you somewhere.

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve used the ‘block’ feature on Twitter.  This is because, I spend so much time on the internet that I’ve developed a heightened awareness of what looks right and what looks suspect, so I don’t spend too much time blocking people from my feed…I just unfriend them.

If someone is trying to take advantage of others, and you want to take the extra step then, submit their name to Twitter Help for investigation.

Has anyone experienced, or have more suggestions for Twitter or any other site?

Popularity: 53% [?]

Subtitle:  Media devours youth.

Sometimes studies confirm what we all already know.  As you can tell, I wasn’t surprised by much of the information below, but I know it’s newsworthy for some.

A new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows a “dramatic” rise in the amount of time children and teens spend using entertainment media, “especially among minority youth.” [...] Hispanics and blacks average about 13 hours of media exposure daily compared to just over eight and half hours among whites.

The study is an interesting one, as it breaks down texting, social media, TV, books and more.

What I like about this report is a small portion of added value:  Of course not all use of social media can be lumped as entertainment or recreational. It’s also about communicating and–at times–can be a valuable part of young people’s education and development.

Amen.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Is anyone surprised?  Are you still one to think social media won’t work?  Well then, read up:

Social media and a national road tour are part of the plan to drum up interest. The campaign will stress the importance and secrecy of the count.

This shows the further use and maturity of social media.

(Not that I thought they would succeed, but this further strengthens my belief that those groups who wanted to ban the census will not win.)

Popularity: 10% [?]

Subtitle: Filling in the ranks w/ the power of social media.

People often ask me how I select people or pick teams.  Honestly, with social media so big that when I need help either via volunteers or partners I look to various social media portals by making an announcement of intent and asking if there’s any interest.

So, I haven’t hand picked any teams, but do pick certain portals and trust the power of social networks and individual’s self determination and ambition.

Twitter and LinkedIn  are two of the biggest channels I do this with.  Follow me on these channels if you are looking to get involved…or just drop a note.

Popularity: 6% [?]

My good pal Julito (@julito77) took a video of the panelists that participated at LISTA event last week.

Take note of the #vivaviernes and #latism tags.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Subtitle:  Hispanic Media Myths

A great article…it even seems to have some picante to it as it’s spiced up with some humor and witty lines.

If you have some image in your head of a poor campesino looking confusedly at a computer screen, delete it. Replace that with an image of Perez Hilton tweeting and blogging and instant-messaging all day. In fact, Latinos far outpace Anglos in online and mobile usage. Of all wireless users in the U.S., 39% of U.S.-Hispanics use their mobile devices to read the news, in comparison to just 17% of non-Hispanics.

Note the quick change to ‘Latino’ from ‘Hispanic’ when talking about online/mobile usage.  I almost got excited about that, but then noted that Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably throughout the piece.  It’s still a great read.

Popularity: 5% [?]

#LatISM Twitter party

This pic is awesome.  Special thnaks to @tiabel (her blog). And if want to know how to throw a great #latism Twitter party then follow these 10 tips.

Click on the pic to view some of the leaders that are bringing you these great parties giveaways and networking opportunities, and the Latinos In Social Media ‘Heritage Tour’ : @anarc @urbanjibaro @latism @tiabel @nancyperez and yours truly – @louispagan.

It is great to see the creativeness and passion that fellow Latinos have for social media and their culture.

I love this so much, that over on the Facebook group, I’ve made it into a discussion thread. Go there to see more examples of what Latinos are doing with #latism.

How an where do you use/find #latism? Here are two places that I found:

http://twitpic.com/d00xg @tibel
http://blip.fm/~bafo7 @LatinJazzMecca

If you stare at the twitpic and listen to blip at the same time you get real Chillaxed!

What about you?

Popularity: 2% [?]