Social Media Trends for 2019

For this column, I will take a look at social media trends that are growing stronger – or emerging — in 2019. This will be my last Social Media Bytes column. I have enjoyed coming up with topics that would appeal to readers on social media and the online life. I would like to thank […]

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Poverty? There’s an App for That

I recently had an experience with my extended Indonesian family that got me thinking about apps for the poor. My daughter is adopted from a large family from another island. As I learned, early on, adopting a child (or marrying) in Indonesia means you adopt (or marry) the whole family. The eldest daughter, after finishing […]

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The Best Climate Change Info Sites

Climate change has been all over the news lately. Climate scientists, concerned that governments globally are either not doing enough to lower fossil fuel emissions and stop the warming trend, or are completely ignoring the urgent message and allowing emissions to continue to climb to dangerous levels, released a stern warning last week that the […]

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Using Facebook for Lombok Earthquake Relief

I’ve written in a past column about how Facebook can be used in disasters or crises. Facebook has a reporting feature called Crisis Response, that allows people in areas affected by a crisis (natural disaster, extreme weather, shootings, terrorist attack, etc.) let friends and family know they’re safe, find or offer help and get the […]

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Earthquake Alert

Right now, the topic on everyone’s mind in Bali seems to be the recent and continuing earthquakes that are hitting Lombok and being felt here in Bali. No, they haven’t ‘hit’ Bali yet, although we have felt some strong tremors over the past few weeks. With the Pacific plate under Indonesia moving, and dispersing energy […]

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Mount Agung Redux

While my column is normally about social media – that is, online sites and tools, it’s easy to forget that the original social media was people. In the flesh, making contact, helping each other out. Talking. Supporting. So this month, I want to re-focus attention on Bali’s simmering volcano and how it is affecting, and […]

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Travel Blogs

Many travelers and digital nomads dream of funding their travel by setting up a popular travel blog, or becoming a top travel influencer, widely quoted in the mainstream media, with an Instagram account that receives six-figure visits monthly. The sponsorship deals flow in, making you a digital nomad with a six-figure income, so you can […]

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Podcasting 101

Before the 1950s (in the USA), radio was king. Every household that could afford a radio had one and families would gather after dinner to hear serials (the precursors to today’s soap operas), news, comedy, dramas, live orchestral performances and other forms of entertainment that relied solely on listening. After television arrived, radio fell out […]

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Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying is becoming a serious problem because so many people, especially youth, are online or use mobile devices: 95% of US teens are online, according to the Cyber Bullying Research Center. Online bullying is both easier and harder to stop than conventional bullying. Easier in that a victim can ignore, block or report an […]

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What Does a Social Media Manager Do Anyway?

A Social Media Manager (SMM) is a fairly recent hybrid. They can also be called a Social Media Content Manager, Online or Digital Brand Manager, Digital Marketing Manager, Content Marketing Manager, Digital Community Manager or Customer Experience Manager. Basically, the role – whatever it is called — revolves around managing a company’s brand across all […]

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