#final blog posts

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Social Media Strategies

Social media has quickly become one of the faster ways to voice an opinion, promote your work and reach out to people all over the globe. The web is like the wild west, anyone with internet access has the ability to upload material, seek out information or “troll” others. I look at that as smaller issue, the real issue for me developing an effective strategy to use social media to provoke thought, conversation and change. Although I’m no expert, I’ve outlined a few steps that has helped me throughout my time of helping to manage several social media outlets for organizations I’ve been associated with.

Step #1: Find Your Voice I think the best thing to do before jumping into managing other pages is to first establish your own presence on social media. It’s not necessarily about over sharing every moment of your life, social media is already filled with thousands of users who do that everyday. I like to find what is going to set me apart from what everyone else is sharing or provide a new angle on a issue. These things are more likely to start conversations and be shared with others. It all boils down to staying true to yourself and not using social media to portray something that you are not.

Step #2: Know Your Audience It’s vital to identify who you are trying to reach. I’ve found the best way to do this is to take inventory of what interest they may have (this is usually transparent on fb, twitter etc) Also look at what post gets most of their attention. Although it’s important to narrow down your audeniece be careful not to exclude others based on gender, race etc. Find out what’s their source of info on a particular topic and how that source uses social media.

Step #3: Vary Your Content As I mentioned earlier, the web is the wild west. You can find every source of media from pictures, videos, podcast and more. The easiest thing to do is to update your status or send out a tweet, at one point social media was used purely that before adding the ability to upload videos and other content. I always find it good to have a mix of content to keep things interesting.

Step #4: Exploring Current Events and Providing Social Commentary This can be a tricky one for most people but it’s one of the most effective ways to provoke a conversation but it could also isolate others. Everyone has something to say regarding pop culture, politics or even the weather. In an open forum you have to be prepared to take in every response whether you agree or disagree. The key is striking while certain topics are hot or shedding light on something new.

Step #5: Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously Online A quick way to get clowned on social media is by taking yourself too serious. Learn to laugh at others as well as yourself!

- James Duke, Advisory Team Member

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Oozing Knowledge

Assisting in the development of NUF-Said has been an interesting and enlightening experience. It seems as if many adults often view the youth as second class citizens; the NUF-Said project aims to change Chicago’s perspective on youth representations. The brilliance of NUF-Said initially overwhelmed me. From the first meeting, I felt the presence of young intellectuals whom wanted to not only make a difference, but change the world.

As time went on I found that the project basically spoke for itself. The demographics which would soon run NUF-Said.org were the same intellectuals I met initially. I admit, I was skeptical about the talents, people, and discussions that could be held with “new millennium youth” on an online community. Although I’m familiar with educated and conscious youth, I also know how the internet can turn creative comments into scrutinizing criticism. As time went on, I was more than elated at seeing the brilliance produced, managed, and created on NUF-Said.org. Its unique structure creates a community of people that can be comfortable as consciously intelligent. I love that it also allows the youth to make connections with not only each other, but mentors, older peers, and resources that are legitimately for their benefit. I think that it creates opportunities to close the generational gap that seems to plague communication amongst us today. My only regret is not cherishing the chance that I had to use my full potential to help more with NUF-Said.

Given all the chances, I did bare minimum to help and support the NUF-Said team. This has truly saddened me, but I learned a number of valuable lessons as well as making more connections through NUF-Said. I learned that given the chance the youth will communicate, create, and discuss what’s happening in the world. It seems as if they rarely are given this chance amongst today’s society, which only wastes their talents and knowledge. I also learned to listen. The saying, “…age isn’t anything but a number” is perfect right here. Younger people have experiences and they can truly be profound. All you have to do is listen. I had some of the same conversations on air for True Star Radio that presented themselves on NUF-Said.org. Lastly, but most important, I learned the importance of making yourself available.

Searching on NUF-Said.org is mind raveling. The deep topics such as politics, love, hate, assault, manipulation coming from the members of NUF-Said makes me want to do more to prevent it. It opens my eyes to how ‘mature’ experiences are happening even younger. As the oldest of 9, I often worry about my siblings and their ability to effectively communicate their experiences safely, freely, and properly. NUF-Said and its team is the start of a new generation of intellectual people that also want to change the world. I would love to work with them again, giving 110% and encourage anyone else to do the same. I’m also excited to be a part of something that can possibly save as many as it helps.

- Jay B. Alexander, Advisory Team Member

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The Beauty of Off-Task Talking

Off-Task Talking is when peer groups get into conversation that does not always involve what they are supposed to be doing. Off-task talking is only acceptable when you know when it's time to stop. Most peer groups don’t know how to do this… But most peer groups aren’t The NUF-Said Youth Editorial Board! We are just as passionate about off-task talking as we are about on-task talking. I suppose I have a positive feeling about off-task talking because as a talk show fan I love conversation.

I remember my very first day at a NUF-Said meeting at the YOUmedia center. I started talking with Hannah about the drug problem in schools, then we went into sharing very crazy and unusual CTA moments, and somehow that conversation evolved into anime! We all connected immediately. Off-task talking was good for us because when it came time to work and when real problems about launching the new site came up, we came together and offered real solutions. Alex always seemed to take the lead.

As a group launching this site, we really bonded through off-task conversation. We’ve talked about gay teen suicide, Hip Hop, getting lost, getting into fights, living with a talented family, should I stop saying the phrase “turn up”?, anime/manga, religion, LGBT rights, defining racism, exes, etc.

Off-task talking really brings the team together as if we’re the new “The Office”. We’re random AND funny. I've even spit some poetry! I really like when we asks questions on slips of paper and we go around the room. One time, we had to make a rule to not elaborate while we were responding to keep things moving. People kept talking and we all had to keep saying “No discussion!” It was funny. We’re probably the watered down version of “The Real”.

- Shane Calvin, Youth Editorial Board member

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Ambassador Dixon

I have been with NUF-Said since the beginning of the website. I have gone to every meeting I can to make sure I can help make this website the best one for all youth in Chicago. However, for the first time I had to take on the NUF-Said role in a different way. Since I was busy with something else on Saturdays, I hardly could make it to meetings on Saturday this term. I really wanted to stay in the group and help out, so I was presented with a new job that would keep me part of NUF-Said and help even more to let it grow. I had the title Ambassador. Now it was new to me and I was like, “What do I do now since I am an Ambassador?” I had to help spread the word of NUF-Said to different people around the city and I was like, “Easy.”

I soon found out that was not so easy as I thought. Talking about NUF-Said was kind of hard to explain to others without making it sound so cheesy. However, the more I talked about it, the better I got with it. I had friends ask me a lot of questions that even I didn’t know but answer to the best of my ability. Being a Ambassador for NUF-Said was fun but I would feel better if I was in the meetings a lot. I will return to see what others have done to the site to really push it to be the best website for youth.

- Tamairis Dixon, Youth Ambassador

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What I learned from the NUF-Said Website / Developing Web Presence

As with most learning processes, the hallmark is whether they lead to further questions and further solutions. For me, the NUF-Said web site met that bar in this beta testing phase by inspiring deeper thought about how it can potentially function as a hub for the engagement of the youth whose voices we seek to amplify.

We know that teens today live their lives online, so we have to acknowledge that there is a lot of competition for their attention. How do we persuade them that the NUF-Said site is not only worthy of that attention, but that it also provides an experience unique from other online aggregators? Our edge is networking with other organizations that support and encourage Chicago youth; this networking should allow the NUF-Said channels to be constantly updated with the freshest, most current and most provocative thought that teens are engaging in and being engaged by. And as advisors, we also can be consistently on the lookout for activities, events and opportunities that will provide meaningful experiences for teens and post them to the site’s calendar so that youth view it as a go-to resource for educational and personal enrichment.

Making sure NUF-Said.org focuses on an intuitive ease of navigation and accessibility via the devices—i.e. smart phones, tablets—that teens most rely on for their online connections is also critical to the next stage of site development.

But, of course, having a great site doesn’t guarantee that we’ll have great site traffic or web presence; I’ve yet to see a blog or website that hasn’t faced the challenge of building audience online. Therefore, in addition to using key words that will maximize search engine optimization, the promotional efforts of our youth participants are critical. And, from what I’ve discovered of the youth ambassador and editorial board member I’ve had the pleasure of working with one-on-one, as well as what is revealed through the writings other NUF-Said teen crew members have posted here, these creative, dynamic thinkers are more than up to the challenge. They are fully engaged in both their school lives and their extra- curricular pursuits, so who better to bang the drum among their peers, imploring them to take a look at what the NUF-Said site will offer (once the bugs are worked out, of course)?

To that end, the use of social media by the youth ambassadors and editorial board members is an effective way to drive site traffic and increase web presence. Asking their Snapchat, Facebook (less favored by teens), Instagram, Twitter and other social media connections to join and follow NUF-Said.org is a good start. Once those connections are engaged, the goal will be to get them to engage new connections as well. We also should tap the partner organizations to make sure that they encourage the teens in their network to engage with the NUF-Said site, too. And, our ambassadors and ed-board members should be tasked with becoming evangelists for NUF-Said.org within their individual schools. We can launch online campaigns with the potential of going viral—think our version of the ice bucket challenge—that our NUF-Said youth crew can promote at school. We definitely have the talent among the NUF-Said youth crew to create something awesome!

We can also reach out to other youth forums/sites nationwide (and indeed, globally) via the web to drive traffic from their sites to ours.

The possibilities are endless, and endlessly exciting.

- Avis Weathersbee, Advisory Team Member from Columbia Links

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Promo Design

As the YEB we figured that we can’t present the most amazing and exciting website to teens all over Chicago without a bang! We decided that the best way to show off NUF-Said was show it all over Chicago. We want to make it known. We decided what things teens are into and that would be the best way to get them hooked to the website. We came to the conclusion that we should have buttons, stickers, posters, t-shirts, wristbands, pens, etc.

Different people signed up for different task of what they would search for. We used several websites to search for the cheapest service. We took screenshots showing different prices for the merchandise and shared them with the group. Deciding which design to pick for the sticker seemed to be most difficult because everyone had their own opinion. For the sticker, the YEB decided to go with the tower-like design with a black background. For the t-shirts, we chose to go with a simple design. We decided to have a small design and possibly a name on the back. We haven't really talked about what is going on the wristbands, but they would probably have a hashtag and the website on it with the NUF-Said symbol.

Our budget was $1,500. Since that was our budget, we decided on 500 1 inch buttons, $50 worth of pens, 1,500 business cards, 1 banner, 200 3.5 inch stickers, $200 worth of team t-shirts, $130 worth of wristbands, 500 posters, and $250 worth of prizes to give out. That leaves us with $325 for workshop snacks.

- LaShawnda Lampley, Youth Editorial Board member

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How to Develop and Run a Workshop

When there’s a message you want to convey to a large group of people, one of the foremost ways of achieving that goal is by facilitating a workshop. Word of mouth travels fast in modern society and getting a message to a room full of people can boost support for any cause, if done correctly. Below are steps that you - being an individual, group, or whole organization - can implement to develop, plan, and facilitate a good workshop.

Find a Purpose: Why is your message important? Why should I care? When will you put your plan into action? These are all the question that your audience will ask, and they’re the one’s you should have answers to! If you don’t know why someone else should care enough to spread the word, why should they? Rehearse a speech about what your cause, company, organization, etc. does and why it matters. If possible, weave in short anecdotes and/or comments that will engage your audience and let them know that you really care about it, too. When an audience is treated positively and notices a certain drive in what you do, they may be more likely to get pumped about the message as well.

Focus on an Audience: Granted, there are a lot of types of good exposure, though there are some bad avenues of exposure as well. Learn to gauge how good an opportunity - or an audience - is for your message and cause. If you, say, had a message regarding health, it may not be the best decision to find endorsement with a company that produces junk food. Identify the main audience or audiences for your message and plan content around people of that sort. Then, plan ways to convince people of other audiences to care about your cause more. While you relay your message to new audiences, the support of your main audience will still be behind you.

Identify a Venue: Once you know your audience, determine a location that would be convenient and comfortable to them. For example, if teenagers in general are your audience, they may not be comfortable having to travel too far or to places that are not welcoming themselves. Look for a creative venue for a creative audience, look for a studious venue for a studious audience, and so on.

Develop an Agenda: Now that you have an audience and a place to have them go, what are you going to do? Plan activities, speeches, lessons, etc. to fill up the day. Do you just want to convey a message, or do you want to build relationships and brainstorm from there? Some instances may be more receptive to fun games and icebreakers, while others may involve a more serious breakdown of a problem or focus from the start. And don’t forget to include a break and/or lunch period!

Think Like a Consumer: When you go to events, or even just see a commercial, what do you think about? Do you remember catchy jingles, important points, or something else? Try to think of strategies that will get your audience to remember the experience and share it with others. Like, a social media campaign. Set up “Selfie Stations” with great scenery or lighting and have a hashtag or handle to draw attention to your cause while engaging your audience. Or have a fun and unusual giveaway, something that will stand out amongst all the miscellaneous memorabilia your audience may have.

- Bronson R., Youth Editorial Board member & Mikva Challenge Youth Leader

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The "New Kid On The Block"

When the NUF-Said program was introduced to me by a coordinator from my program, I automatically agreed to participate… Partially because it was a way to engage myself in something new & the rest because I enjoy meeting new people. But I had absolutely no idea what I’d got myself into. Although I didn’t really care since, I knew that nothing would be to overwhelming(well atleast I thought) lol. But, of course, it all got better with time.

The first meeting that took place was one that I almost found to be defeating. We begin with attempting to guess which quote matched those who were in the room, but I didn’t have a quote because I didn’t participate in the previous activity. And I began to feel unprepared which then lead to me getting upset with myself for forgetting to do it. Which is when I learned,from a fellow participant, that the task was one the I didn’t have to do. And after she helped me, I begin to open up to her & the other program members- because I am shy you know!

Once I got out of my shell, the rest of my teams members did also. We can slightly thank the Ice Breakers for that lbs. The meeting went by smoothly. The people in our group liven the atmosphere of our space. There’s various personalities amongst us, some alike & some different, and because of that we were able to come up with awesome ideas. It really took us no time to completely understand what it was that was being asked of us in regards to testing the website and how to go about doing so. Once that was done, the ball was rolling!

The ‘Testing Protocol’ was something I had trouble explaining to others since I didn’t grow with the website from such as the other youth did. But our coordinator Dawn was awesome with providing help and feedback. She made everything, and her way of explaining things in an understandable manner, via text btw, was amazing. Having a coordinator like her is always a blessing because she’s one who can relate to us teenagers because we’re close in age but also because there’s an equal level of respect.

I’m glad that I had the opportunity to be apart of this project because I enjoy it. Even though I’m not active daily, the website is awesome & provides awesome outlets for artistic & opinionated youth. And being new to the team didn’t make me feel uncomfortable no did it take me longer to break out of my comfort zone and be me. So I’m proud to say that being the ‘New Kid’ wasn’t bad at all.

- Dalila Ngubani, Youth Ambassador