Days of Yore(ish): Social Media

I got my first electronic mail (e-mail) address in high school in the '90s. I used Juno at first, and I believe I may also have had an e-mail address on my high school's domain. As I covered e-mail in my post on mail, I will not go into it here. But I mention it here for an important reason.

In 2003, my good friend Tom Anderson co-founded MySpace. I call him my friend because he was everyone's friend, as long as they had a MySpace account. I don't recall ever interacting with him, but he had a very recognizable profile picture with a friendly smile (I've seen it called "the Mona Lisa of profile pictures"), and his posts were always friendly and welcoming. At that time, social media was a foreign concept to many, and he got the pleasure of introducing it to the world. He described it as "e-mail on steroids."

Photo: @myspacetom/Twitter

MySpace

MySpace opened a whole new world that went beyond what e-mail could do. You could still send messages to people, but at that time, when writing an e-mail, could you set up a whole profile with a welcoming background, things you liked, your heroes, a profile picture, even have a musical soundtrack on your profile? Nope! (You can do some of that on e-mail now, but you couldn't at the time.) Was the founder of your e-mail domain so personable that you considered him your friend even if you had never met him or interacted with him? I imagine some had, but for the most part, nope! MySpace still exists, but I haven't checked it in years. I wonder if my account is still there?

Facebook

In 2007, my second-cousin Aric and my friend Craig recommended a newer website called Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg. It was supposed to be better than MySpace. It had a very different look and feel, and no music soundtrack (which I enjoyed on MySpace, but in retrospect, don't miss). I am still very active on Facebook, more so than other social media. But Mark doesn't strike me nearly as friendly as Tom. But as I've never met either of them, I can't say that for sure.

Twitter

Twitter came along as a much simpler place where you could post short messages, no longer than 90 characters. At first I didn't get the point, but as I got into it, it started consuming all my spare time as I had to catch up on all my friends' updates. I finally pulled back because it was too much. But I had a Twitter account until recently when it was purchased by Elon Musk and became too politicized for my tastes. I deactivated it at that time.

LinkedIn

My friend Jared, who I knew in the Philippines, introduced me to LinkedIn. It is more professional in nature, and has been a big help in connecting with friends, colleagues and others, as well as allowing a place for resumes. In my recent job search, I have also gotten into their online courses for work skills. It is a great tool. Up until recently, I mainly only used it for resume-related purposes, but lately I've been posting my blogs there, and I've also been encouraged by posts from former colleagues at Wireless Advocates, who have all been searching for work.

Instagram

A few years ago, I got into Instagram. It's a place where you can post pictures, and it also has filters and other tools that other social media outlets didn't offer. It was eventually purchased by Facebook and has changed over the years (introducing video at one point), but I still enjoy posting there.

Google+

I loved Google+. My brother Aaron introduced me to it, and it had amazing potential. It was better than Facebook. However, Facebook learned lessons and adapted in response to certain features of Google+, and it sadly never really took off. They eventually closed it down.

YouTube

YouTube offered a place to post videos. I have posted a few, but mainly I have used it to watch videos. It was eventually purchased by Google.

Vimeo

Similar to YouTube, Vimeo offers another place to post videos. I posted my movies and animations from my design classes there.

Pinterest

This is a place you can post pictures, either that you upload, or that you found online and liked. Many people also use it to post recipes and other things. They call their posts ideas, which you "pin" in Pinterest. I use it to post my artwork.

Behance

I learned about Behance in my design classes. It's a place where you can share art, in a more professional manner than Pinterest and others. In some ways it's a bit like LinkedIn for artists, though more for portfolios than resumes.

SnapChat

SnapChat was yet another place to post videos, but there was a catch: they had to be short (only a few seconds), and the videos only stayed up for a day. I enjoyed it for a while, but eventually lost interest and deactivated. I would rather my posts stay up longer than a day. It's possible it's changed since then, but I don't know.

FourSquare

Maybe it's just me, but this one creeped me out. It was a place where you could check wherever you happened to be at the moment. You could even be declared the mayor of a certain place. I never set up an account because I didn't really feel like telling the world where I was at a given moment. (You can also do this on Facebook and other social media, but it isn't the main point of those sites.)

Dribbble

Yes, that is spelled right. The letter B happens three times in that word. I just recently learned about this one. It's a similar idea to Behance, where you can post your art and design portfolio.

Social Media Concepts

Between social media outlets, there are several common threads:

• MySpace, Facebook and others have friends. You can friend and unfriend people. Friendships go both ways automatically, though you have to accept friend requests.
• Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and others have followers. Typically, you can follow people, and they have the option of following you back. Depending on your settings, you may or may not have to approve followers. (You can also follow people on Facebook, but it doesn't give you as much visibility as being their Facebook friend.)
• Hashtags offer a way of grouping concepts on multiple sites. You start with a hash mark (#) and type a word. I feel these can be #overused, but some people use them all the time. When you click on a #hashtag on sites that use them, you can see a list of people who have posted on that #subject. When I was younger, the # symbol was called a pound, hash or number symbol. Now most people know it as a hashtag.
• Most sites start profile names with @. (For example, I am @stevobaggins on most sites that I use. In a couple cases I'm @stevensauke where @stevobaggins doesn't seem professional enough.) Clicking on someone's @ name generally takes you to their profile. (Google+ used + instead of @.)
• In case you are wondering, the movie of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring came out in 2001, shortly before I joined MySpace. Being a Francophile, I ordered the French version of the movie on video from Amazon.ca as soon as I could. Frodo and Bilbo Baggins are Frodon Sacquet and Bilbon Sacquet, respectively. Sacquet sounds very similar to Sauke. It was a little freaky hearing the Ringwraith coming into the Shire and whisper sinisterly, "Sa - cquet!" What? What did I do?? Anyway, Stevo was an attempt at making my first name sound hobbity, and Baggins is due to the way Sacquet sounds like Sauke.
• If something is trending, it is being discussed or shared by thousands of people at once on a given social media outlet. Things generally only trend for a short period of time. Generally subjects or #hashtags tend to trend.
• If something goes viral, it is shared quickly and widely, sometimes by hundreds and thousands of people. It spreads like a virus, though some would prefer to go viral online to doing so by spreading a disease. Pictures, articles, videos, blog posts (hint, hint), and any number of things can go viral. The musical Dear Evan Hansen involves a video of a speech by the title character going viral online.
• You can "like" posts on most social media sites. Some sites, such as Facebook, offer other options like "love", "care", "angry", "laughter", "sad" and others. Used well, these can be an encouragement to the poster. Used poorly, they can be hurtful, so I recommend being careful with them, particularly since it's easy to accidentally select the wrong reaction. LinkedIn has a different set of reactions.

I put "ish" in the title of this post because social media is still new enough that I don't particularly consider it "yore" (though I imagine some of the kids today might disagree with me on that...now I feel old)...but it has changed enough over the years that I felt it fit in the theme.

I leave you with my favorite YouTube video on the popularity of social media. Though some sites have come and gone, the popularity has continued since then.

Lessons from Social Media

I wrote most of these back in June of this year and posted them as Facebook statuses. I now present them in blog form. I even memed a few and added some bonus lessons not seen previously.

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Bacon and coffee are essential to your continued survival, and must be photographed, memed, and otherwise shared with utmost respect and awe. Then eaten and drunk.

LOL also stands for "lots of love." (No it doesn't.)

The world must be alerted when you have "the feels."

All pictures of cats, dogs and velociraptors must be shared.

Any fact check can begin and end with Snopes or Wikipedia. Or The Daily Currant.

All members of the political party you oppose are the Devil incarnate.

The latest death in Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, or any other show you enjoy, is an international tragedy. That also goes for books, such as Harry Potter.

If you do not share this status, either you are completely heartless, or you are ashamed of Jesus and He will deny you before the Father. Or both.

It is absolutely necessary to video yourself singing "Let It Go" and share it with the world. Extra credit if it goes viral enough for Disney to take notice and block the video for copyright infringement.

The Onion, The Daily Currant, The Duffel Blog and other satire websites are reputable sources of news. Definitely take them seriously.

"I disagree with you" = "I hate you and your kind."

Love = complete agreement and approval

If you disagree with someone, it is absolutely necessary to hurl profanity-laced insults at them. Because random strangers appreciate being called every name unfit to be printed in the book?

Everyone you feel is wrong with the world must be informed of their "wrong with the world" status.

Did someone say something that unintentionally hurt your feelings? They absolutely aimed it at you and meant it as a personal and public insult. This person must be taught a sharp lesson by being unfriended, and for extra credit, blocked. This will automatically convert them to your way of thinking. But you won't know it because you blocked them. Alternatively, you can unfriend them and send them a PM explaining what a lowlife they are.

Doctor Who has a quote for everything. If Doctor Who does not have a quote for it, make up a quote and put it on a picture of The Doctor.

Feel strongly about something? Post a status instructing everyone who disagrees with you to unfriend you now.

Every trip to the gym must be carefully documented and shared for the world to see. (Note: while these can get annoying, I have found that when I do share it, it helps keep me accountable. So don't get after people too much for this. They need encouragement, not "cease and desist" notices.)

If all else fails, put your profound (or not-so-profound) idea in a meme. Extra credit: attribute your idea to Einstein. Or Lincoln. Or a Minion.

Always be yourself, unless you can be anyone or anything else, real or fictional. Then be anyone or anything else, real or fictional.

You can combat negativity by posting pictures of superheroes, cartoon characters, or other positive subjects.

Everyone knows the key to fixing the world's problems, and everyone else is clueless and must be told how.

You can't draw worth beans? No problem. Just draw an ugly face and use it to troll others. It will go viral and your poor excuse for a drawing will gain memingful immortality. (Like the word I just made up?)

When God (who is apparently an old man with a long white beard), who makes no mistakes, created every single person in the world, He stood at a table with a beaker, and added a dose of this, a dose of that, and... oops! The perfect God who doesn't make mistakes accidentally spilled His entire supply of a third ingredient into the potion!

It is absolutely necessary to know which character of every show in existence you are.

You will be SHOCKED OUT OF YOUR SENSES what happens when you click on this clickbaity link!

He used clickbait, and THIS happened! LOL!

Minions are surprisingly philosophical.

Always photograph what you are eating.

Memes count as news, and they are definitely accurate.

Anything at all (with the possible exception of Fifty Shades of Grey) is still a better love story than Twilight.

The Doctor must under no circumstances be called Doctor Who. That is not his name. Never mind that's how he was credited until recently, and he was often called Doctor Who in the classic series.

Never mind what Back to the Future says about Marty McFly coming to the future on October 21, 2015. That day is TODAY. In fact, it's been many days since at least 2012.

#Always #use #hashtags. Better yet, ‪#‎overuse‬ ‪#‎hashtags.

If anyone wishes you "Happy Holidays," they are part of a dastardly scheme to take Christ out of Christmas and must be chastised accordingly. Anything less than "Merry Christmas" must be greeted with Scrooge-like anger.

If anyone dares mention Christmas before Thanksgiving, they must be publicly chastised for their crimes against humanity.

Jesus' Message Spreads to Africa

Sunday school lesson from this morning...


Jesus' message was really starting to go viral. People all over the place were turning away from their sins and following God. It was an amazing time, and God blessed them. But in all this, the apostles were crazy busy, and some important things got neglected. The widows weren't getting enough care, and Jesus had been very clear that we need to take care of widows and orphans. So they decided to do something about this problem. They met together and chose seven deacons to take care of this important responsibility: Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. The deacons did their job well, and the Pharisees started to notice. The Sanhedrin had killed Jesus, and then they had arrested Peter and John for healing a lame man. Now they were so mad at Stephen for spreading Jesus' message that they stoned him to death. This set off a chain reaction that scattered the Christians. An evil Pharisee named Saul led the charge against the Christians, and he was merciless. We’ll learn more about him next week. Philip the deacon went to Samaria, where he continued to preach, and many Samaritans turned to Christ.

One day, an angel appeared to Philip and told him, "God has got a job for you. Go south on the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza." So Philip went. He didn’t even know where he was going! As he was walking along, he saw a chariot, and the Holy Spirit told him, “Go hang out by the chariot!” It was clear by the fact that the chariot was a foreign style, and the fact that the rider had black skin, that he wasn’t from around those parts. As it turned out, the guy was an important official of the Candace of Ethiopia.

Flashback. Thousands of years ago, there was a region in Northeast Africa called Cush. It came to be called Nubia, and they had neighbors to the north that you might have heard of. The Nile River flows from the Mediterranean Sea, south through Egypt, and ends up in what was once called Nubia. By Jesus’ time, the part of Nubia where the Nile ends had become known as Ethiopia, and it’s still called that today. Nubia also included what is now Sudan and part of Egypt. The Egyptian King was called the Pharaoh, and the Ethiopian Queen was called the Candace. The royal treasurer of Ethiopia, in charge of the Candace’s money, had heard about the country called Israel, and he had gone to Jerusalem to worship. Now he was on his way home, and Philip could hear him reading Scripture! He recognized the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

So Philip asked him, “Does that make sense to you?”

“No,” he replied. “Can you explain it to me?” He invited Philip to get up on the chariot and have a seat. Then he said, “I’m confused. Is the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”

So Philip started with that passage and explained all about how Jesus came to earth to save our sins. Just like Isaiah prophesied, Jesus was led to the cross and killed like a lamb being sacrificed. He didn’t answer the people charging him falsely, and he was humiliated, spat on, cursed, beaten, and he did not get justice. Philip went on to explain how Jesus rose from the dead and defeated sin and death so everyone could be saved.

They had gone quite a ways while they were talking, and they came to a body of water. “Hey look!” said the official. “Water! What say you baptize me?”

Philip replied, “If you believe with all your heart, let’s do it!”

He said, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

That was enough for Philip. “Stop the chariot!” the official said to the chariot driver. With a crack of the whip, the horses came to a stop, and Philip and the official got out and went into the water. Philip baptized his new friend, and when they came out of the water, Philip disappeared! His job was done, and the Holy Spirit had taken him away. Philip found himself in the town of Azotus, and he continued to travel and preach the good news.

Meanwhile, the royal treasurer of Ethiopia returned home with the best news he had ever heard! According to Irenaeus, an early Christian, the official went on to preach this great news throughout Ethiopia. He told his countrymen that there was one God, and the prophets had foretold that He would come to earth as a man. The prophecies had come true, and Jesus had been the man. He had been led like a sheep to the slaughter just like Isaiah had foretold. That is how Jesus’ message spread to Africa, and the Church in Ethiopia was born. It’s still around today!

Just think…God used Philip to help found the Church in Africa, and he didn’t even have to go to Africa to do it! Sometimes God sends missionaries to other countries, but there are people from all over the world right here in the US. You never know how powerful it can be when you share your faith, or just do something nice, for another person.

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man and Jesus’ Message Starts to Go Viral

Jesus had taught His disciples for 3 years. They went through a lot together. They watched Jesus do miracles, tell stories called parables, and do all kinds of cool stuff that changed their lives. He taught them to live lives that pleased God. After three years, they were with Him as He was praying in the garden. They were shocked when Judas, one of their own, led the authorities to where He was and let them arrest Him. They ran away. Peter denied he even knew Jesus. Judas was so sad when he realized the terrible thing he had done that he killed himself. Some of Jesus’ disciples watched Jesus die in one of the worst, most painful ways possible. John took Jesus’ mom in and took care of her from then on. Imagine watching your best friend, or your son, die on a cross! Then three days later, Jesus’ disciples got the surprise of their lives when some women discovered that His tomb was empty, and Jesus showed up, alive! Most of the disciples didn’t believe the reports of Him being alive at first, but they believed when they saw Him. Jesus continued to teach and do miracles (including appearing out of thin air to prove to Thomas that He was alive) for 40 days. Then He had them gather on a hillside and told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” He also said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Then He began to rise into the sky. They watched in amazement as He went higher and higher and disappeared behind a cloud. As they were standing there gaping into the sky, two angels showed up and asked them, “What are you doing looking at the sky? Jesus will be coming back someday in the same way you saw Him go!”

After Jesus went into the sky, the disciples’ first order of business was to find a replacement for Judas. There were only eleven disciples left, and they needed twelve because of a prophecy that said one follower would leave and he would need to be replaced. They had some very specific requirements. They needed a man who had been with them the whole time, from John’s baptism to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. They came up with two men: Joseph (also called Barsabbas or Justus) and Matthias. After they prayed about it, Matthias joined their group.

Ten days later, the Jewish celebration of Pentecost arrived, which celebrated the time Moses gave the Law on Mt. Sinai. Just as Jesus had promised His disciples before He left, the Holy Spirit came on them in the form of tongues of fire. Pentecost was a big deal, and there were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem. They didn’t all speak Aramaic like the local Jews, so they were quite surprised to see Jesus’ disciples with flames over their heads and hear them speaking their own languages! God’s power helped them to speak in languages they didn’t even know! God gave Peter the words to speak, and many people listened to his witness of Jesus and believed that day. So the new Church was born. They loved each other and shared everything with each other. They lived in love and awe of God’s goodness, and with God’s help, the Church continued to grow, more every day.

One day, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. It was about 3 in the afternoon. As they got to the Beautiful Gate (that was its name), which led into the temple courts, a beggar sitting on the ground saw them and asked for money. He had been born unable to walk, and his friends had been carrying him there every day for many years so he could beg for money to stay alive. (Remember how they didn’t have wheelchairs at the time?) He was a pitiful sight, and he was most likely used to people ignoring his pleas for money. So it was a bit of a surprise to him when Peter and John stopped and looked straight at him, and Peter said to him, “Look at us!”

Ah, finally someone who will give me some money! Cool!

Then Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold to give you, but I’ve got something even better. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up! Walk!” Keep in mind this guy had never walked before. Ever.

He stood up!

Then he began to jump! He walked around. The people in the area recognized him as he walked and jumped around the temple courts, and they were shocked! Hadn’t they just seen him sitting there, as he had been for years? What in the world had happened?? He was praising God for healing him!

So Peter spoke up. He said, “Fellow Israelites, why are you so shocked? You look like you think we did this! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has raised Jesus up. You betrayed Him to Pilate, and you murdered Him on the cross. You killed the one who created life, but God raised Him from the dead! We saw that with our own eyes. It is faith in Him that has healed this man.

“Now I know that you and your leaders didn’t know what you were doing when you treated Jesus like a common criminal. The prophets told us ahead of time that Jesus would suffer and die. Great news! You can repent of your sins, and they will be wiped clean! God used Samuel and all the prophets to tell us about these days. He even promised Abraham that He would use his descendants to bless the world. You just need to turn away from your sinful ways and follow Christ!

Needless to say, the Pharisees weren’t too happy about this. They arrested Peter and John and threw them in jail overnight! But that didn’t stop Jesus’ message from continuing to go viral. More and more people were continuing to believe.

The next day, the same Pharisees who had so recently put Jesus to death dragged Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, their court, and asked them, “By what power or name did you do this?”

Just as Jesus had promised, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, “So let me get this straight. We’re in trouble for an act of kindness to a man in need. Right? OK, so here’s the rub. It was done in the name and power of Jesus. You executed Him, and God raised Him from the dead. You can see with your own eyes that Jesus’ power has healed this man! He’s standing! Jesus is the only one who can save us. God hasn’t given any other name in heaven or earth to save the world.”

The Pharisees were surprised that Peter and John talked that way when they hadn’t gone to school and learned public speaking, and they had clearly been with Jesus. They were upset, but they could see that the guy had been healed, and everyone was happy about it. It wouldn’t make them look very good if they punished the guys for an act of kindness! They were confused and weren’t quite sure what to do.

So after talking amongst themselves, they came up with a plan. They told Peter and John, “OK, we’ll let you go this time. But you better stop talking about Jesus.”

To which Peter said, “So what do you think? Should we listen to God or to you? You tell us. We’ve got to keep spreading what we’ve seen and heard. You want us to stop? Not gonna happen.”

The Sanhedrin threatened them some more, but they couldn’t punish them without looking bad, and the man had clearly been healed. People all over the place were praising God for what had happened! This man, who was over 40, had just started walking for the first time in his life!

So they let Peter and John go.