How social media helped create a dialogue on sexual assault/harassment with one hashtag

Illustration by Oliver Munday; source photograph by Raymond Hall / GC Images via Getty

In the wake of this past fall’s blockbuster story about movie executive Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault/harassment history, a delicate issue has been given a large spotlight.  It is a sensitive subject where recounting and expressing horrendous firsthand experiences are an extremely painful memory.   This day in age in social media where we are looking to post the best angle of our selves, the best destination we’ve traveled to or what our favourite foods are, all took a back seat when this became a major news story.  Here are three things we have learned from all of this.

Social media helped create an open dialogue on sexual assault

What was once a taboo subject to talk about it, was now put on an international scope with millions of people chiming in on this topic.  The October 5th article written by the New York Post and the October 10th investigation piece by the New Yorker helped bring attention to one individual but in essence, triggered a much larger effect.  It helped establish communication among society through multiple social media platforms.  A subject matter as delicate as this where people were afraid to come forward, opened a gateway for those to feel safe and not embarrassed to share their experiences.  As of this writing, 34 men from various public industries have seen their careers affected, majority by termination.


The tweet that started the #MeToo hashtag

Twitter is not dead

Some people who might have not use the micro blogging site anymore like they used to, as other social media apps occupy their interests.  But in this case, the subject matter of sexual assault/harassment was most detailed in 140 characters at the time.   It was the perfect platform for other users to read detailed accounts of others while a community engaged and exchanged support for one another.  Actress Alyssa Milano can be credited for her October 15th tweet that opened up the floodgates for millions to interact and discuss this subject matter.  For that entire week, 96.9% of the #MeToo hashtag trend came from Twitter.  With the recent increase to 280 characters, Twitter has demonstrated that their platform still has value and people still use the platform to share whatever is on their mind.

Social Media reaction to #MeToo

Sexual assault/harassment is never acceptable

We have seen a large group of brave women, no longer in silence recount and continue to share their horrific stories.   It takes a lot of courage for them to find the inner strength and share private details that are emotionally scarring.  In addition, even a few men have stepped up and shared their stories that have affected them for years.  It is a painful reminder that under no circumstance, should a woman’s safety, well being and emotional state ever be violated in or out of the workplace.   Regardless if you are a famous public figure, an entertainer, athlete, politician or even a regular Joe Schmo, everyone should be treated equally with respect.

The Aftermath

Thanks to social media, the subject matter of sexual assault/harassment was bright to light on a large scale in 2017.  How this news story broke out and caught steam among the masses could greatly be attributed to social media.  Was it a slow news week? Or was is just about time for this topic to no longer be considered taboo and given some serious thought?   Regardless, what came out of this was an overdue discussion on this sensitive issue.  People’s voices were heard, people’s personal guilt came forward and public shaming became more prevalent.  Ultimately, this could be just the beginning of other potential issues in the world that could spark international interest, stay tuned.

Pinterest

Never Judge A Book By It’s Cover…R.I.P. Rich Piana

Rich Piana
Rich Piana, Toronto Pro SuperShow 2017

A few days ago, controversial body builder and social media star Rich Piana, known as @1dayumay passed away. The story about this picture I took with him is that even though it was just taken three months ago, I had no idea who he was.  I dragged my friend Mike to come downtown with me to the @toprosupershow, a well known fitness industry weekend event in Toronto.  To be honest, I actually wanted to meet a fitness model which I did and also to just walk around the expo and check out the surroundings.

“Whatever It Takes” was his mantra.

Rich Piana’s booth generated the most amount of fan fare interest.  Now if you see this guy from the outside, he’s extremely large looking and he’s tatted up to the gulls.  He had quite the presence.  I was like “Mike, who is this guy?.” He was like “You paid for my entrance and dragged me out to this and you have no idea who this guy is?  Even I know who he is!” Lol.  You should have seen the line up for this guy, well over a thousand plus people that weekend wanted to meet him, take pictures with him, sign merchandise and pick his brains about the fitness industry.  So for just about an hour or so, I too lined up and had a brief chat with him.

You only get once chance to make a first impression.

What I recall about meeting him that day, was that he had a personality behind that big frame of his.  And the reason why  the line ups were so long for him was because he actually took the time to meet and talk to each person who wanted to see him. That is a sign of someone who know’s their self worth and what an influence they are to the public. When I got home, I Google’d more about who he was and what was the hype about him.  The real appeal that I witnessed about Rich was his transparency and sincerity when interacting with the people. Yes, he previously admitted to steroid use and yes there was probably an addiction or desire to achieve a certain size in his physique.  But what’s amazing about him is that while he did not hold back in his transgressions, it was his open honesty with his audience that was his true major appeal. He eventually became one of the most profitable bodybuilding stars in the industry while growing his brand through social media.

Although I just met him briefly, I witnessed what a larger than life personality he was.  He meant a lot to so many aspiring people in the fitness industry.  It’s very easy to judge a book by its cover.  But in Rich Piana’s case, I couldn’t do that to this man. You only get once chance to make a first impression and he did that with me. Rest In Peace Rich.  My thoughts and prayers go out to your family, your GF @c_no5 and the @5percentnutrition team.

Social Media King

Rich Piana’s consistent promotion of his businesses on social media helped grow his name and brand in just a few short years.  You can relive some of his work through his popular YouTube channel.  Check out some interesting Sysomos stats during the week of his death on August 25, 2017.

Rich Piana Death Instagram Stats
Rich Piana Death Instagram stats, well over 3,000+ mentions on IG
Rich Piana Death Twitter Stats
Rich Piana Death Twitter Stats
Rich PianRich Piana Death Twitter Statsa Death Twitter Stats
Rich Piana Death Twitter stats, with over 4,000+ mentions on Twitter
Sentiment on Rich Piana's Death
Sentiment on Rich Piana’s Death was met with mixed reaction
Most ReTweeted on Rich Piana's Death
Most ReTweeted stats on Rich Piana’s Death

Using Sysomos to find social data…like Beyoncé’s Pregnancy

Beyoncé's second Pregnancy
Beyoncé’s second Pregnancy announced on Instagram

When Beyoncé makes an announcement…

Beyoncé is one of the world’s most famous celebrities in the world.  Entertainer extraordinaire.  22x Grammy award winner.  Fashionista. When she makes any announcement, her audience and news outlets report it.   The Queen B has been known to do things differently like her self-titled 2013 album released without any marketing promotion.

In a previous era where stars would send out a press release through their publicists, Beyoncé took to her Instagram account to share some exciting news.  On February 1st, 2017, she addressed her 96.9 million and counting followers that she and husband JAY Z were expecting twins.   Using a social media analytics platform like Sysomos, you are able to find out various forms of data on what Beyoncé’s audience are talking about.

Sysomos is Insights-Driven

Sysomos is a Toronto based company with their MAP (Media Analysis Platform) being their bread and butter for gathering social media generated content.    It is a very powerful tool for measuring analytics and social engagement.

Some of the benefits that  Sysomos is a great resource of information for Digital Marketers:

  • Analytics
  • Boolean
  • Buzz Graph
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Gender
  • Geography
  • Keyword Analysis
  • Most Re-Tweeted
  • Selected Date Range
  • Sentiment
  • Share of Voice
  • Social Influence
  • Social Media Monitoring
  • Social Trends
  • Web analytics
  • Word Cloud

Sysomos is a great social media analytics tool for a variety of reasons.   A lot of businesses are using this platform to find out audience insights.  While this platform is subscription based, Sysomos is highly recommended for the variety of data it can populate.  Compiling social media data for reporting is simple to perform.  Recently my group did a sample crawl presentation on Beyoncé.  We focused on what her audience’s sentiment was, who the top influencers were talking about the pregnancy announcement and more.