Rachel Ramsey : Social Spotlight
Rachel Ramsey
Graduated from James Madison University with a B.A. in Media Arts and Design and a minor in Communication Studies
| Welcome to Social Spotlight! When I'm not covering a variety of technology and communications industries - everything from the cloud and VoIP to customer relationship management and data centers - you will find me on social media. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, foursquare, YouTube, Tumblr... you name it, I'm there

March 2013

You are browsing the archive for March 2013.

In Defense of Turning to Social Media to Support Political Issues

March 28, 2013

Before I begin, let me offer a personal disclaimer: “marriage” and “political issue” shouldn’t be in the same category, but as we know, they are.

This week, you may have noticed a pink equal sign on a red background circulating on social media networks. The Human Rights Campaign posted the photo on Monday, which quickly circulated to more than 10 million people on Facebook alone, in response to nine justices in the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments over Proposition 8, a law that prohibited same-sex marriage in California, and the constitutionality of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), which limits the federal definition of marriage to heterosexual unions.



Facebook Users Can Now Reply Directly to Comments

March 25, 2013

When it comes to commenting and holding conversations in comment sections on Facebook, users can reply to comments as they happen or tag a person in them to ensure people know who and what they’re replying to. Today, the social network introduced a new feature to comments – users now have the ability to reply directly to comments and start conversation threads on pages (not profiles).

“You and your readers will have the ability to reply directly to comments left on your Page content and start conversation threads, which will make it easier for you to interact directly with individual readers and keep relevant conversations connected,” said Vadim Lavrusik, journalism program manager, Facebook, in a blog post. “Also, the most active and engaging conversations among your readers will be surfaced at the top of your posts ensuring that people who visit your Page will see the best conversations.

Happy 7th Birthday Twitter!

March 21, 2013

In 2006, Suri Cruise was born, Italy won the FIFA World Cup, the one billionth song was downloaded on iTunes and Facebook opened up to everyone ages 13 and older. In 2006, I was still in high school and was four years away from creating my Twitter account and sending my first tweet. Seven years ago today, Jack Dorsey tweeted his very first 140-character message.

just setting up my twttr

— Jack Dorsey (@jack) March 21, 2006

Today, Twitter has 200 million active users who send 400 million tweets per day.

Facebook is a Habit - 5 Ways to Cut Down Your Usage

March 14, 2013

hab·it, noun: an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary

Over the past few weeks I’ve caught myself finishing a task and automatically redirecting to Facebook. A few seconds after looking at my news feed, I realize I didn’t come here for a specific purpose and I really don’t even have much to catch up on, but I still visit the site regularly. Sitting at a computer and writing for the Web all day, it’s now second nature for me to click in and out of Facebook throughout a typical work day.

UPenn Admissions Officer Fired for Making Fun of Applicant Essays on Facebook

March 1, 2013

As someone who has listened to “Watch what you put on Facebook” lectures since the social network was introduced to us in high school, it’s about time the tables have finally turned.

Nadirah Farah Foley, a former admissions officer for the University of Pennsylvania, lost her job after sharing excerpts from applicants’ essays on her personal Facebook page. Not only was she sharing these essays, she was mocking them. The posts were made available through a collection of Facebook screenshots sent anonymously to Dean of Admissions Eric Furda and The Daily Pennsylvanian.