Facebook - Can it survive another 10 years?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

A decade ago, the word social media was almost non-existent. It certainly wasn’t a very common word. If you wanted to interact with friends online, it used to be through sites like Friends Reunited or through internet forums/chatrooms.

Nowadays, without social media – the majority of us would struggle to live without it in some form of capacity. There are so many things we can do with this power. We can upload videos in seconds and hope they become the next worldwide sensation. We can express our feelings in 140 characters and use the popular hashtag to see if it trends. We can keep in touch with friends and family, play addicting games and still have the ability to poke one another #notcoolanymore.

Facebook has reached 10 - but is under pressure to keep its audience

The facts are that without this communication, you would be lost in today’s technological planet. Recently, Facebook celebrated its 10^th anniversary. The question is, can it survive another decade?

Facebook’s early power

When Marc Zuckerberg launched Facebook in February 2004, it happened fairly quietly. In fact I don't even remember it. The background to it was documented in the lengthy and slightly tedious movie The Social Network.

It came at a time when Facebook could take supreme control of the social media audience. Its main rival at the time was MySpace and they simply couldn’t compete on the same level as what Zuckerberg could produce with his network. MySpace has since faded into complete obscurity and similar sites like Friends Reunited and Bebo have gone the same way.

I was invited and joined Facebook in July 2007, so that was three years after it was launched. The only use for it in its early days was to organise events and post the occasional status update. In fact when I went to Milton Keynes College after sixth form for two years, I was one of only three students on my media production course to have Facebook. Everyone before that connected and communicated on MySpace. I did have a MySpace profile shortly afterwards but it was so limited. While it wasn’t my ultimate mission to convert everyone, I knew Facebook was the social media channel to have and by the time I left in 2009 for University, all but two had switched platforms.

You could see Facebook’s persuasive power. Certain games have got people occasionally hooked. Others would rather just poke people. Seriously, one of the most annoying e-mail messages you can receive is ‘You have been poked’ on Facebook. I find that really irritating!

Facebook does have its downsides and I expressed some of my own personal problems with the site in a piece I did on social media in general last year.

However it did create a lot of early power and could get really addictive to use at the same time.

New threats

Zuckerberg might have made his money and has continued to evolve Facebook over the years. The simple early days of a News Feed and your Homepage have been replaced with expansive graphics. That sometimes hasn’t always worked and I know the current ‘Timeline’ concept wasn’t greeted with that much enthusiasm to begin with.

As it went through its own trough, the new threats began to arrive. Video calling technology from Skype started to develop. Facebook’s power though was soon about to be targeted by its biggest threat to date. The introduction of Twitter into our world in 2006 was again met with little in terms of immediate impact.

Slowly but surely, Twitter started to take on a vast audience as celebrities/famous people started to use it and get followed by fans or slightly obsessive normal members of the general public. If a famous face doesn’t have Twitter, it is quite surprising. I know the current motorsport king Sebastian Vettel doesn’t have Twitter, nor does the UK’s former PM Tony Blair but you would be hard pressed to find people who don’t have official feeds now.

Popstars, sports professionals, the leading journalists, club associations, actors and actresses; the list goes on. Twitter’s audience continues to grow and that has caused a serious threat and dent to Facebook’s popularity.

The days where Zuckerberg could control the social media audience reach are gone and he has had to adapt to the competition.

Personally, I prefer Twitter and made it into a professional account, moving Facebook into the personal spectrum. I joined Twitter in my first year at University in October 2009 – initially only as it was required for a journalism assignment. Over 3,300 tweets later and I use it now as a source to find out links to news stories as well as to comment on some of the main worldwide topics, especially in sport, television and occasionally political issues – despite not showing huge interest in this field.

Facebook’s power has been hurt also by the rise in private and free messaging tools on smartphones. Whilst the UK riots in the summer of 2011 brought BlackBerry virtually to its knees, the BBM service became a free and useful way to have a private conversation. It was just a shame that it soon became a tool to organise violence and hooliganism. Since then, other services such as WhatsApp Messenger and SnapChat (I only have the former) have taken over from BBM to provide stiff competition in the Instant Messaging market. Not forgetting Instagram, another application that has done very well in recent years to attract a global following.

With all that in mind, Facebook has done well to continue appealing to its market. It has had to adapt because if it hadn’t, it would have gone the way MySpace did - into oblivion.

The future

While Facebook has to be congratulated on reaching the 10^th anniversary of its launch, does it need to do more to keep its audience?

In my view, it does. New emotions and buttons for status updates can be added; security certainly could do with tightened reviews. The ‘Poke’ button needs to be removed and the News Feed could do with another revamp, perhaps in splitting it between your friends and family communication and the likes you have of hobbies/people/interests. For example if I want to see how my friends are doing, I don’t want my newsfeed clustered with updates from Walkers Crisps, The Chemical Brothers and UEFA.com.

While it is important to come up with radical and new ideas to keep the network afresh, Zuckerberg might need to incorporate some of Twitter’s successes to keep him active in a sector that continues to evolve.

I think Facebook will be around for another decade and probably longer than that. However it will need to continue to embrace change to stay fresh and different from its competition. A lack of change in this environment will see it start to struggle to stay near the forefront of social media interaction. 

Categories: BBM, Facebook, February, Internet, Marc Zuckerberg, MySpace, Skype, Social Media, Technology, Twitter

My favourite 10 pieces of 2013

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Before I start looking at future pieces, I wanted to reflect on my favourite 10 pieces of 2013 for Viewing Perspectives. These do not look at the yearly reviews I did in December, so it is pieces I covered from January 1 – November 30 2013.

1. WHAT MAKES US CARE – A STUNNING EXHIBITION – Written in September 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/what-makes-us-care-stunning-exhibition.html

Definitely, this was my most favourite piece of the year and it has easily attracted the most hits, with over 900 page views so far. The average audience of website hits per day I was getting for Viewing Perspectives before the review of ‘What Makes Us Care’ was no more than 8-10 which was slightly disappointing. So to see this rise into the hundreds comfortably was a lovely feeling. The cause, the photography, the venue were all perfect and it attracted strong social media following, especially on Twitter. I’d like to thank The Big Foundation, Centrepoint and Kathryn Prescott for sharing this piece and enjoying what I wrote about ‘What Makes Us Care.’ This is my number one from the past year and the one piece in the history of Viewing Perspectives I lookback on with the most vindication and satisfaction to date.

What Makes Us Care was a special exhibition

2. AUCKLAND – A GUIDE TO WHAT’S ON OFFER IN 2013 – Written in February 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/auckland-guide-to-whats-on-offer-in-2013.html

Back in February of last year, things were pretty bleak for me in regards to the job market. I was relying heavily on low-paid or unpaid freelance work but the job as a travel copywriter with Holiday-Weather.com was the best freelance position I had. The first task I was given was to write a detailed piece about the magnificent city of Auckland in New Zealand. Writing about travel destinations was exciting, a new challenge and one I greatly enjoyed. It is something I can not only put onto my CV in future but gave me a new scope on travelling and another new skill out of my comfort zone. This piece, along with the ones for Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca were the rare high points of a dismal opening six months to 2013.

3. SKINS FIRE – A DARK AND UNHAPPY ENDING – Written in July 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/skins-fire-dark-and-unhappy-ending.html

The groundbreaking British teenage TV drama Skins ended last summer after seven successful series which launched the careers of many young actors and actresses and delivered some amazing storylines along the way. I was intrigued to see what happened with the final series which had some of the previous generations return and the show take a new direction of entering adult lives. Skins Fire was the episode that interested me the most, considering it was the second generation (series 3 and 4) that I was mainly into. I enjoyed sharing my Skins passion and this article was favoured by one of the cast members on Twitter, so it must have been a decent piece of work. If it wasn’t, then I offer my sincere apologises but it was one of my favourites of the past 12 months.

4. 2013 IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEW – Written in August 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/2013-iaaf-world-athletics-championships.html

Those who know my sporting background will be fully aware of the football, motorsport and tennis passions but maybe not so much with athletics. Having gone off the sport around a decade ago, I have been reintroduced in recent years by the feats of Mo Farah and of course, Usain Bolt. The IAAF World Championships in Moscow were an interesting competition and I’d rank it as my favourite sporting piece of 2013.

5. THE STATE OF FINANCES IN 21^ST CENTURY FOOTBALL – Written in April 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-state-of-finances-in-21st-century.html

I’m proud of this piece I did in April 2013, although I can’t honestly remember why I did it to start with. I e-mailed a few colleagues who I had worked with when Total Football Magazine existed and used my services. While I regret many aspects about that role, I don’t regret the extra skills collected, nor working with a team of talented contributors who I can call as friends and colleagues. It also showed I could ask people for quotes or to answer questions for me in feature pieces which wasn’t always a comfortable skill in the University days. My view is the result brought about a balanced and constructive piece of feature writing.

6. WHAT WENT WRONG FOR BLACKBERRY? – Written in October 2013

It is fair to say I had an unhappy time with BlackBerry smartphones

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/what-went-wrong-for-blackberry.html

I’m not going to lie; I don’t shed any tears seeing RIM and BlackBerry suffer, even though I do feel for those who have lost their jobs following profit losses and cutbacks. This was a feature I wrote during my time writing for TheRankTank and I took great pleasure in writing about the shortcomings of BlackBerry, especially having had one of their unreliable smartphones for the best part of two years. Taking my professional approach, it was an angle I wanted to cover and the piece I value the most during my freelancing with the retail website.

7. THE DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA – Written in June 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-dangers-of-social-media.html

To many of us, social media is seen as a friend of ours…well almost. This was an area I wanted to write about for months but never quite had the courage to do it until I did in June. I offered some advice from my experiences and shared some of my social media stories, especially with Twitter and Facebook. It was another topic I enjoyed sharing my feelings on.

8. IS SEBASTIAN VETTEL BORING? – Written in October 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/is-sebastian-vettel-boring.html

Grand Prix racing takes a backseat on Viewing Perspectives in 2014. While I will still be a casual viewer of the sport, the days of writing regular race reports and season reviews have now reached their conclusion. This was a reflection on the German destroyer that is Sebastian Vettel and giving my view on whether the critics are right to say that he is boring. One of the better pieces on F1 I feel and don’t worry regulars, there won’t be much of this in the next 12 months.

9. ONE YEAR ON FROM UNIVERSITY – A FRUSTRATING 12 MONTHS – Written in May 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/one-year-on-from-university-frustrating.html

Things have changed a lot since I wrote this as spring became summer in 2013. It marked the one-year anniversary of finishing my degree at the University of Northampton and it was at a time where I really felt in a position of no future and no potential being offered. However I wanted to ask the bigger question of whether I regretted going to University with the lack of opportunities around. Click on the link to see what I said. I definitely don’t regret going now too!

10. SUPPORTING TWO WORTHY CAUSES – Written in September 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/supporting-two-worthy-causes.html

One of my New Year resolutions last year was to start making small contributions to a couple of charities who I have always valued for their amazing work for those who don’t enjoy the same quality of life compared to some of us. I did this after getting my job in the summer last year in the publishing industry and this piece highlights the work they do, why I decided to choose the British Heart Foundation and Teenage Cancer Trust and the reasons for giving something back to the world.

Categories: 2014, Athletics, Auckland, BlackBerry, British Heart Foundation, Charity, Finances, Football, RIM, Sebastian Vettel, Skins, Social Media, Twitter, University, What Makes Us Care

Testgate - Mercedes lucky to escape severe sanctions

By Simon Wright

The French capital of Paris has recently played host to an international tribunal which could have had major implications on the Formula One season for 2013.

The FIA tribunal virtually cleared Mercedes in 'Testgate'

Petronas AMG Mercedes F1, whose factory is based in Brackley, Northamptonshire were in the dock over an alleged illegal tyre test they had conducted with Pirelli just days after the Spanish Grand Prix in May.  The Italian tyre supplier was also told to face the summons at the FIA International Tribunal (logo pictured).

Discussions, defence and remonstrations were held in a highly charged environment on Thursday, so much so that journalists were not allowed to use Twitter to update fans during the evidence that was given.

On Friday, the verdict was handed down.  Mercedes were found in breach of sporting regulations, and were reprimanded along with being banned from competing in the Silverstone Young Drivers’ Test.

However, they escaped a hefty fine, points deductions or even race bans for what seemingly seems to be gaining a blatant advantage.

So, why did the penalty feel like no punishment at all, and where does it leave the FIA, Mercedes and Pirelli as the sport regroups at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix next weekend.

Background

For those not in the knowledge of why it went this far, it all started after a difficult weekend for both Pirelli and Mercedes at the Spanish Grand Prix.  Mercedes suffered from chronic tyre wear, as their cars dropped from the front row lockout they took in qualifying to a very uncompetitive sixth place for Nico Rosberg and 12^th for Lewis Hamilton. 

Pirelli themselves were heavily criticised (including by yours truly) for tyres that could barely last three laps around Barcelona before they started graining and delaminating on a couple of occasions, including once in the race for Jean-Eric Vergne.  Afterwards, they wanted to do a tyre test and Mercedes agreed to help them out.

While others teams packed up, Mercedes stayed behind at the Circuit de Catalunya, and did a three-day test with their 2013 drivers in a 2013 car.

News of this broke when Rosberg mentioned the test to world champion Sebastian Vettel at the GPDA meeting in Monaco.

Vettel told his team and as more information came out, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari made a joint protest on the morning of the race around the streets of Monte Carlo, claiming that Mercedes were in breach of the FIA Sporting Regulations, which prohibits in-season testing after the first week in March until the end of the season.

Mercedes claimed they had received permission from the FIA.  Although they claimed to have written documents, the FIA stated this wasn’t the case.  After a stewards meeting after the Monaco Grand Prix, which Rosberg won convincingly for Mercedes, the case was sent to a tribunal on 20 June.

Counter Punch

The teams moved onto Canada, which Red Bull team boss Christian Horner used strong words such as ‘foul’ and even stating Mercedes were guilty of a ‘crime.’  It later turned out Ferrari had done their own tyre test after April’s Bahrain Grand Prix, though this was with a 2011 car and thus were cleared of any wrongdoing.

In public, Horner kept suggesting all they wanted was clarity on the whole situation.  Deep down, his body language suggested he wanted a big penalty applied against one of his team’s major rivals.

Other teams kept quiet.  Lotus were lobbied by Red Bull to join the protest, but refused as they had been unhappy with earlier instances regarding technical decisions in the past year.  

McLaren stayed out of the mess, as they have their own problems sorting out a car that is so bad, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez would probably do better performing in a barbershop quartet!

So the evidence started to unravel at the tribunal hearing.  Mercedes claimed that they had gained no benefit from doing the 1,000km test, and team principal Ross Brawn stated they had verbal permission from regular FIA race director Charlie Whiting to use their 2013 car.

They did admit that by using plain helmets to discard the use of race drivers was the wrong thing to do, and apologised for that and clearly stated that the test was at Pirelli’s request, and it was to solve concerns over tyre safety which have dogged this championship.

The FIA’s response was they had received no written consent from Mercedes to do the test, and were unaware of the situation Pirelli had got themselves into.  Thursday also concluded with Mercedes offering a compromise of being banned for the Young Drivers’ Test to try and negate any potential advantage they had.

Verdict surprise

The general reaction I received from text messages from friends who follow the sport on Friday were one of surprise and disappointment.  Journalists seemed surprised by the leninent action too. 

Most were suspecting of at least a points deduction from the constructors’ championship or even expulsion from that championship for 2013.  This result is perfect for Mercedes – and not only keep Ross Brawn’s integrity intact, it keeps him in a job.

If Mercedes were found guilty, the man who worked so brilliantly with Michael Schumacher throughout his first career, and spearheaded the fairytale Brawn story in 2009 from the ashes of Honda would surely have paid the price at Mercedes.

As reported by BBC Sport, Brawn said: "We have a blemish-free record here and it was very important to Mercedes that the facts of this case were understood.

"It does sometimes strengthen your resolve rather than weaken it but now it's cleared away we can concentrate on the rest of the year,"

In their own statement, the FIA commented: "The FIA wishes that lessons are learnt from this case and from the decision handed down.  To this end, the FIA will make sure, in association with all F1 teams, that its control of the testings' is strengthened." 

No consistency

In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, I thought the whole episode had been a complete waste of everyone’s time and money, and it is not fair for Grand Prix racing.

No matter the reasons of the test, Mercedes used a 2013 car which is strictly against the regulations.  This was even admitted by the tribunal, but the punishment is pretty unfair on the other teams.  Mercedes have done an illegal test – there’s no getting away from it in my view and the book could and well should have been thrown at them.

A race ban was potentially there, although if that was applied – could you have imagined the reaction of the British fans if Hamilton hadn’t been allowed to start his home race next week?  That would have been brave to do in the circumstances, as an appeal would almost certainly have been made.

A fairer penalty would have been a deduction of constructors’ points – at least from the two most recent races after the test, or prohibited to score points in the next three events.  It is a team issue, so the drivers should be cleared and made free to race.

The FIA’s rule-making system is not fair – there is no consistency.  Other penalties such as BAR using fuel as ballast in 2005 and the ‘Spygate’ controversy of 2007 have ended with far more serious penalties.

Mercedes have come out of the whole episode smiling.  Red Bull and Ferrari wanted clarity, and that is something that they haven’t really got I think.  Both seem to have grudgingly accepted the verdict, probably the right thing to do so the fans can concentrate on the racing.

Pirelli's named has been tarnished in F1 2013 and rightly so

As for Pirelli (tyres pictured), they've lost total control of the tyre situation in the sport.  Why they don't have their own test car is bewildering.  They had one last year, with former F1 pilots Lucas di Grassi and Jaime Alguersuari doing tyre testing.  Why have they not got one this year?  No matter if it is a financial problem, this is their mess and Formula One is in a difficult place.

With Bridgestone not willing to supply tyres again until the recession ends, and Goodyear and Continental recently stating no interest in a return, the FIA’s determination to hound Michelin out of the sport at the end of 2006 has come back to haunt them.  

We are now stuck with a tyre supplier who might have spiced up the racing, and ensured pitstop strategy is a factor again rather than a complete non-event, but has taken things totally to the other extreme.  The scenario is not good.  Pirelli will probably extend their contract, largely because the FIA has no other options and that is their own fault for what they did to Michelin after the tyre fiasco at Indianapolis in 2005, even after Michelin admitted their guilt and did all they could to reimburse disgruntled supporters at the time. 

The International Tribunal was a total waste of everyone’s time.  Mercedes have escaped virtually scot-free from doing something completely prohibited by the current rules, and whilst we can now try to get back to ‘racing,’ although that is a strong word to use in 2013 considering the crazy tyre management we’ve often seen, I get the feeling more questions have been raised by the verdict rather than the answers we were all looking for.

Categories: 2013, Britain, FIA, Mercedes, Paris, Pirelli, Ross Brawn, Silverstone, Tribunal, Twitter

The dangers of social media

By Simon Wright

The good world of social media has made a massive impact on so many, if not all of our lives.  Does anyone remember the days before 2004, which was the year Facebook was launched by some guy called Mark Zuckerberg – have you heard of him…thought you might have.

Just over a decade ago, what was the best way to stay in touch with your loved ones, your close friends or even your work colleagues?  It would be through phoning them to arrange a time to see them, or a simple text message.  E-mail was also around, although not as easily accessible than it is nowadays.

The amount of social media choices we have today is endless

Now, whatever we do – social media seems to follow us.  Sending a tweet in 140 characters, plastering your wall with photos from a wild night out on Facebook, watching crazy or classic videos on YouTube, or keeping a professional database on LinkedIn.  

These are some of the main tools we use, and let’s not forget the impact of other sites or applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, Google Talk, Google+, MySpace, or BBM.  Yep, carry on listing these and I’ll sound like a broken old record.

There is a time and a place for social media, but just what are the dangers when it goes wrong?

Twitter – Professional or personal

When Twitter was launched in around 2007 or 2008, it was something I was absolutely not interested in.  In fact, I thought it was just a site where fans could just stalk the movements of everyday celebrities, from TV personalities and pop singers to Premier League football players. 

I first got Twitter at the start of my University degree in 2009, but still didn’t get into it until well into my second year at the University of Northampton.  Over 2,500 tweets later, it can get quite addicting, but where do you need to find the right balance?

Some will use Twitter for personal use and feelings.  That is all well and good for some, but don’t promote this as a professional account on a professional website.  You have to be very careful with what you tweet nowadays.  A lot of people have got into hot water with using Twitter.  Examples have stretched from the superinjunctions row in 2011 when celebrities were using gagging orders to stop the press getting their hands on a story that was quite revealing, to Lewis Hamilton’s major blunder of tweeting McLaren confidential race telemetry just hours before last season’s Belgian Grand Prix to his millions of followers.

There is a place and a time to use it.  It can be seen as peace of mind, but be mindful when tweeting of what might be seen as funny, or a joke, to when it becomes too personal or going as far as using words of a racial/discrimination nature. 

It is difficult finding a right balance at times.  I attempt to keep a fully professional approach, and use Twitter to promote my links for my websites, or retweet a friend who is doing well, as well as having the occasional opinion on modern life, or the general news.  For example, the Leveson press enquiry was a big thing to follow, and easy to have your own view. 

There are times where Twitter can get funny.  The RIM server crash in October 2011 allowed BlackBerry to be ridiculed with hilarious tweets such as ‘Dear Blackberry, HAHAHA! Sincerely Apple’ or the usual jokes about John Terry’s affairs off-the-field using the hashtag #JohnTerryExcuses.  

However, to be taken seriously in life – it is important to keep a balance between the funny, the opinionated and the totally offensive.  

Up and coming journalists especially like me must be extra careful, because nowadays, some prospective employers tend to search your name when applying for a job and check your Twitter activity.  

If they think you tweet inappropriately with examples such as ‘That party last night was totally dope….or ‘my dog just licked my friend’s face, was so funny LOL,’ then that employer will simply screw your application up and throw it in the bin. 

Facebook – Don’t let it get you down

It is quite incredible to think that Facebook has been around for almost 10 years, and has made a significant impact in the last six years.  I joined in July 2007, and used to use it excessively.  

Nowadays, I will only use it for an hour a week which was one of my New Year resolutions which is still going strongly into June.

Facebook’s impact on the world can’t be lost, and the background story is interesting, especially if anyone saw the movie ‘The Social Network’ three years ago.  It is probably the number one choice still for many when it comes to social media, and it annihilated its opposition like MySpace until Twitter came along to invade and take away some of its popularity.

What doesn’t help Facebook is the amount of times Zuckerberg and his team change the profile layout.  Since I’ve been on Twitter, I can only recall one major change to the website layout; Facebook is almost in double figures.  It is still the place to share video links, post photos and keep in contact with friends involving long messages that can’t be summed up in 140 characters.  However, don’t get too addicted to it.

I previously will happily admit that I used Facebook for at least one hour a day a few years ago, sometimes more than that.  That’s not as bad as people spending half their life on it, but it can turn into quite an unhealthy obsession.  Also, be aware of what you might be posting.  Don’t make Facebook public in your privacy settings if you want to keep your personal business away from those search engines. 

There have been a few times where I’ve been using Facebook, and it got me so down, I needed to take a clean break.  In late October 2011, things were not going well for me on a number of levels.  I wasn’t having a great stint in my part-time job at the time, my early third year work at University was simply not good enough, and I was being affected by some world events that were happening far too much.  Every time I went on the site, I felt like I was either taking things too personally, or felt in a negative mood afterwards.  At the start of November 2011, I banned myself from Facebook for 25 days to see if I could live without it.  I managed it very comfortably and have rarely slipped into old habits since. 

Facebook can be a great place to start a lengthy message conversation or keep in contact with those you may not see any more from college, Uni or sixth form.  It is great to arrange events, and share those great or sometimes more embarrassing photos the morning after a hectic night out on the dance floor, and it can be a good form for communication.  I know for sure it helped having a page for the UoN journalism group I graduated with, so if anything came out that was updated, or some information was required, it was handy to answer queries, or to express opinions or even calm situations down that looked like they might get out of control.

Facebook is a good tool to have in the modern world, but don’t take things too personally.  If you do, this social media alley is not for you.

Deciding what to have

I think my social media balance is very good, and I don’t think the use of it is out of control.  I have LinkedIn (professional), Twitter (professional and opinions) and Facebook (personal). 

However, the individual in themselves need to strike the right balance with social media.  

For example in my case, I deleted my MySpace in late 2009 when I realised I wasn’t using it anymore, and if I ever decided to go down the Google+ route, Facebook would have to go.

Make decisions and stick to them.  The most important ingredient about social media is enjoy using it in moderation, but don’t take it personally, don’t let it take over the whole of your life and know what is right and what is wrong when it comes to using these sites.

Here are just a few pointers of knowing what is right and what is wrong when it comes to using social media.

1. Only criticise when you feel it is worth it, or you feel you can do a better job.  Repetitive criticism gets boring, and if you’ve only got something nasty to say, keep it to yourself rather than tweet it to your number of followers, whether it’s 3, 33 or 3,333.  For example: Piers Morgan’s regular criticism of Arsenal is fun to start with, but can get pretty tedious after a while.

2. When you have photos you want to share, make sure that they are appropriate to use.  It can just take one person to make a suggestion or a comment and the whole thing could go viral.  When deciding what to put online, think long and hard about it before posting.

3. If you still decide to use Facebook to poke people, seriously get a life.  Why would you want to poke an individual?  The e-mail message from Facebook: ‘You have been poked,’ is the most pointless e-mail message you can receive – unless you get constant spam from medicine companies!

4. Think before your tweet or update a status.  This isn’t a problem if you’ve got good news to share such as passing a driving test, or celebrating your graduation.  We all like good news.  Even posting your heartbreak at losing a close individual is okay if you are looking for messages of symphony and thoughts.  Do not post anything that is going to be offensive in any way, or makes you sound angry about the entire planet everytime you go online.  Your followers count or friends count will drop if you do this. 

5. When in the job market for a new job, take extra care when using social media.  Companies will always want people who will respect their values and standards.  Those who go too personal can kiss goodbye to their dream job.  If you don’t want to be made searchable on search engines etc…check your privacy settings, as there will probably be a way to stop this coming up.

6. Those looking for news stories, take it with a pinch of salt.  For example, Twitter is very good as a starting reference point, but don’t forget that it will be the websites that report the full story, and that is a better guideline.  You never quite know what is factual and what isn’t on Twitter unless it looks obvious from the name of the account.

7. Be very careful of what personal information you post online.  Posting your date of birth is fine, but only put contact details down such as address and phone numbers if you feel comfortable with doing that.  You never know who might be looking at your profile.

8. Have fun using it and feel like you can express yourself, but be aware of the risks when it comes to using these sites.

Social media has had an impact, and for many, a positive impact on our lives.  However, there are dangers and consequences for misuse of information, so have knowledge of what’s right and what’s wrong before entering the social media pantheon.  

Categories: 2004, E-Mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mark Zuckerberg, Skype, Social Media, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube

2012 - A year in review - Me

We are approaching the end of another year.  What are the first words you all think about 2012? 

Mine are quite simple.  I would describe my 2012 as life-changing, emotional and character-building. 

I have had to adapt to a year full of change.  I don’t think I’ve said as many goodbyes as I have had this year.  Some were for the best, others as it was natural progression and some it was really sad.

There have been testing times but I ended the year with a degree and more life experience.  So here is how 2012 turned out for me in my opinion. 

A difficult start

2012 began difficult for me.  I had been ill over Christmas and started January on antibiotics for the second time in three years.

I don't think Valentino Rossi needs to be worried about my motorcycling skills!

I visited the Autosport International Show in January for the annual motorsport exhibition, and I must say it was one of the best years for the show.  I will be back in 2013 to experience the atmosphere and the buzz at the LG Arena in Birmingham for the 10^th consecutive year.

As winter turned towards spring, the end was getting ever closer in regards to my time at the University of Northampton.

I had some mixed results at the start of third year, and getting the degree classification on my journalism course I wanted was touch and go.

Then I worked harder than ever before.  I spent day after day in the edit suites filming, editing and interviewing people for my TV project.

This project challenged me as did my final dissertation and at times, I let the pressure get to me.

In February, I even considered whether I was chasing the right path in my future career.  A lecture talk from former NME editor Neil Spencer left me with plenty to think about.

He gave a real negative persona to the media industry and I wasn’t sure if I was prepared for long slog in the world of journalism. 

Eventually, I decided to stick with journalism and it proved to be the right decision.

Some satisfying results and goodbye to Clarks

As I was approaching the end of my life in education, another chapter was closing and that was in my part-time retail work at Clarks Shoes.

I was working at the Northampton branch, since making a permanent move to the area in September 2010.

However, I couldn’t stay there after the end of June because I was leaving Northampton after my course, so I was hoping to get a transfer back to Milton Keynes.

Unfortunately they didn’t have the hours I required and in May, I had to hand in my notice and get prepared to leave.

The job was never the most exciting but it kept the money ticking over, especially at Uni and I met some amazing people in six and a half years, in two completely different environments.

My last shift was on 9 June 2012.  It was a sad goodbye but I was excited to finally leave the retail market. 

As my time with Clarks reached its conclusion – my results at University improved and I started finding my best form in March, which was the UK summer this year!

I completed my major individual project, a 10 minute TV documentary into modern technology and how it has changed our everyday lives.

You can see the video below:

I also took part in the Current Affairs Show, a 30 minute radio programme which was recorded by me and two of my fellow coursemates, Lauren Bowen and Miles Aitkenhead.

Surprisingly, I found this module to be quite exciting to do.  I did my own telephone interview without any hassle and when we put the show together in April, we were excited and the results came back very well too.

I can honestly say that it was the best group I ever worked with.  The three of us had one goal and that was to get it done and get it done with some quality and style.  The Current Affairs show can be listened to here.

It also opened a new door into a radio career…more on that later.

The end of University and a brilliant final couple of nights

My dissertation was an interesting challenge to complete

Wednesday, 16 May 2012 and it was all over.  The final project was handed in just before lunchtime – I had officially finished as a journalism student at the University of Northampton.

I didn’t want to leave to be honest; I knew it was great to finish but sad to finish at the same time.

I had done all I could to get the results I desired and now, I just had to wait and hope.

In the meantime, it was time to party and that night, the majority of the journalism group went out into town to the NB’s Sports Bar and the Fever nightclub.

While Fever was a real letdown, I had so much fun in NB's.  Apart from one night out in early February at the preferred nightclub destination of Balestra in Northampton – I had focused on my degree and now, it was time to enjoy myself.

Farida and me in NB's on the final journalism party night. As a course, we did it!

I had such a laugh that night.  There were plenty of drinks, some crazy dancing (apparently I’m quite the dancer….) and I did a few things that were slightly out of character but the night was memorable.

We hadn’t gone out as a massive group since my own birthday the previous October and it was great to socialise with my coursemates. 

A lot of us had many differences with our personalities, and I’m not the easiest person to get on with at times, or the most interesting individual to meet but we knew how to party.

We did it and we finished in the best fashion possible!

Lights out! The Silverstone Grad Ball lived upto expectations

10 days after the NB’s madness, it was destination Silverstone for the 2012 Grad Ball.  What a lovely night that was too.  I even dressed up smarted and booted for the event and I’m not the smartest person ever when it comes to these occasions.

Professor Green rocked the stage after Rizzle Kicks pulled out, one of them was ‘ill.’  It was great to be at the home of the British Grand Prix and to be in the lovely Wing pits complex for the night.

It was another special night and well worth the price for going.

Friendships and graduation

What I have learnt this year more than anything, is about the value of friendship and where the line needs to be drawn.

I had to deal with people talking about me online (not directly mentioned but aimed around me) in both April and June.

That was not nice and led to me taking disappearing acts from Twitter and Facebook.  I changed my Twitter username from @HappyDude88 to @Siwri88 in February for professional reasons and I’m still trying to find the right balance with social media.

I think I’ve found it with both Twitter and LinkedIn (joined in January).  My use of Facebook has still caused me more trouble than what it is worth - it is now the poor cousin relation to both Twitter and LinkedIn.

BBM also caused me problems in the summer.  It might be free but sometimes, you can come across as an entirely different individual.  I will look forward to ditching the BlackBerry in September 2013.

Then there were the goodbyes to some of my closest pals from University, pretty much for the last time.  I have some regrets and at times, my honesty cost me more than what was expected.

With Tamika on graduation day: One of the sweetest and kindest individuals I've ever met

Luckily I didn’t need the tissues at any stage, but it still feel strange to not see some that were around me almost day in, day out for the last three years.

After Uni, I’ve distanced from some for the right reasons, while some just drifted away.  However, I would say I stay in touch closely with at least four coursemates from Uni and occasionally speak to around 10 others.

So this leads me into the big graduation day in July.  The event was held at the Derngate Theatre in Northampton. 

The certificate confirming my degree.  No-one can take this away!

I was so nervous in the build-up, hoping I didn’t look like a clown in the gown, or make sure my name was pronounced correctly. 

Luckily on the day, it all went to plan.  Although some of my behaviour could have been better on the day, it was a nice feeling to have my final degree classification of a 2:1 down on a certificate.  I worked massively hard for that!

So it was goodbye to my coursemates, the lecturers and to Northampton, both the University and my accommodation.  It was time for the next chapter.

A new chapter and moving on

I do miss my sole independence although I have settled back into everyday life with my beloved family in Milton Keynes.

I made a final visit back to Northampton in October, just before my 24^th birthday to collect all of my work. 

It felt like I finally found closure, as I did miss not being a student anymore.  I still do but that’s life – you have to move on.

Amidst all the celebrations of summer events like the Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012, there was also the small matter of the London Olympics.

It inspired a generation and it inspired me too.  What a spectacular 17 days of competition and there were so many highlights.

The golden postboxes in Milton Keynes.  Nice one Greg!

I was delighted when local lad from Bletchley Greg Rutherford won the Men’s Long Jump, as that meant we had two golden post-boxes painted by Royal Mail in his honour of winning gold.

The women’s football excited me, as did Andy Murray’s gold medal in the tennis at Wimbledon, the feats of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah and of course, Usain Bolt’s three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay.

Although I didn’t have the privilege of being at the Olympic Stadium, either as a spectator or working in media, I did go to BT London Live twice, once at Hyde Park and once at Victoria Park in August. 

Great day experiencing Olympic atmosphere

Both were lovely sunny days and were great occasions to sample and experience the atmosphere. 

And so a new chapter has begun.  Unfortunately, a paid freelancing contract collapsed recently with Total Football Magazine, meaning I had to leave after six months of hard graft, but I have begun a career in radio, hosting the F1 Zone on Bee Vocal which will be back in February and I am dedicated to new and future challenges.

2012 has thrown up plenty of challenges.  I had to say plenty of goodbyes and make some difficult decisions.  The year could have gone a bit smoother and it has been tough but would I have swapped any of it – not a lot of it anyway.

I do hope 2013 is a little bit less dramatic and a bit quieter though!

Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy New Year!

By Simon Wright

Categories: 2012, Autosport International Show, Birmingham, Christmas, Clarks, Emotion, Journalism, Nightclub, Professor Green, Silverstone, Student, The Current Affairs Show, TV, Twitter, University of Northampton