Social media with Don Stanley – Audio
Don Stanley, Faculty Associate
Department of Life Sciences Communication
UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
dtstanley@wisc.edu
Phone (608) 265-0765, (608) 262-1464
3:06 – Total Time
0:20 – Popularity of social media
1:04 – Downsides to social media
1:37 – Advice for social media beginners
2:16 – Be consistent, give it a try
2:56 – Lead out
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TRANSCRIPT
Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, OH MY! We’re visiting today with Don Stanley, Department of Life Science Communication, University of Wisconsin in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Madison, Wisconsin and I’m Sevie Kenyon.
Sevie Kenyon: Don, welcome to our microphone! Don can you give some idea what it is about social media that seems so popular?
Don Stanley: Just one of my, one of the quick stats is that there’s almost one billion accounts of people using Facebook with 500 million of those active every day. So it’s where we spend a lot of time and that’s just one of the tools. And I think what it is is that people feel like they have a voice and they can be heard and they can engage.
Just as a quick example, I was talking to a fourth grade teacher who’s using Twitter in the class room and her her students are using Twitter to tweet with authors of books that they’re reading and the authors are actually responding to the students and I think that level of being able to connect with people and interact with people is really what makes it something that people want to spend time on.
Sevie Kenyon: Are their downsides to this social media?
Don Stanley: Oh, absolutely! There’s downsides. Some of the things that I think are the biggest concerns for people are privacy. You know, you have to be aware of what some of the privacy settings are. Some of the things that you can change. I think it’s a lot like driving a car. Yes, there’s a chance you might be in an accident but if you’re cautious and you’re aware the probability of getting into an accident is lowered. So, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the social tools but you do have to be aware of what some of the downsides might be.
Sevie Kenyon: Any advice for someone who is interested in just starting out on social media?
Don Stanley: Yeah, I think there’s a number of things you can do in terms of personal use. I think the main thing is to look at some of the tools and sign up for an account, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Pinterest are like the four biggest ones. And just see which one fits what you like to do. A lot of people I know, for example with Twitter, have started with Twitter… hated it at first and then found out wow, you can form some really interesting business networks, personal networks using these tools. So, I say with all of them. Give ‘em a shot, you know, like a month… and test them out.
Sevie Kenyon: Are there some minimum requirements to using social media?
Don Stanley: The main thing with with any of the tools is being consistent with them. Like what I recommend to people is if you’re going to test one out, try to be on it for a month. You know there are a lot of sites like Tweetsmarter for Twitter. There’s a Facebook 101 website that kinda gives you the rundown on how to find people of interest or how to find topics of interest. You know, look for people who are interacting on those tools that are talking about things you’re interested in. You know, if you’re going to give these tools a try, think about what you might want to do with them, whether it’s interacting with family or maybe meeting some people who are in an interest area of yours and I think you’ll find that there’s there’s some valuable stuff there for you.
Sevie Kenyon: We’ve been visiting with Don Stanley Department of Life Science Communication, University of Wisconsin in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Madison, Wisconsin and I’m Sevie Kenyon.