Social Media For The Sector
- 19 May
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUNG PEOPLE
The online survey posed questions to 1,479 people between ages 14 to 24 to rate which social media platform (of YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter) negatively impact their users.The ratings were to be based on anxiety, depression, loneliness, bullying as well as body image and respondents were asked to score each platform on 14 issues pertaining to health and wellbeing.The poll...
- 25 Jul
SOCIAL MEDIA APPS FOR HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS
INSTAGRAMGOOGLE TRANSLATEHOMESWAPPER MATCHESFACEBOOK LIVEWHATSAPPTAWKYou can download these apps online and via Android or IOS devices as well. Enjoy!What do you think? Please tweet comments @suppsolutionsFor more details, visit Inside Housing...
- 17 Jun
FREE DEVICES AND APPS FOR BETTER HEALTH
Some of such devices and apps which will be available in April 2017 are:AliveCor- A mobile heart monitor (strapped to the back of a smartphone) which will also save NHS money, reducing need for expensive treatment.MyCOPD- Helps those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to manage their conditions.Simon Stevens, NHS England's Chief executive "has backed the move as a significant expansion...
- 08 Jun
#UKHousingFast
The #UKHousingFast is a social media campaign which is led by people living and working in social housing to support the activities of Trussell Trust.This fast is in its third year and will take place on the 23rd of June.Here are the ways to get involved, according to 24 Dash:Nazrin Fazal, who is the organiser of this year's event, said:"I was sad to read a recent report by the Trussell Trust...
- 26 Jan
Twitter leads national campaign for compassionate care
#HelloMyNameIs is a social media based campaign created by one doctor, Kate Granger, in order to encourage healthcare professionals to introduce themselves to patients.The campaign is now being backed by almost 30 NHS trusts, the Health Service Journal reports.Having no idea how much of an impact this campaign would cause, Dr Granger has seen it spread throughout NHS organisations across...
- 23 Jan
Social media for housing associations
Online engagement between many commercial and charitable organisations and their clients and users has become very popular. However, many housing organisations have not succeeded as well as they could, in terms of widening their social media use. Many commercial and charitable organisations engage more with their clients and users online yet housing organisations have been able to keep up and...
- 22 Jan
An effective social media strategy for your social organisation
It is important to reach a position on social media where the community feels comfortable in sharing the content that you post.Your content should reflect the trust and integrity your users have for your organisation. It may be difficult to maintain a constant flow of content which is relevant and useful for your users but the persistence is worth it if it boosts your social media...
- 15 Jan
The Social Media Presence of Social Organisations
However, there are still many organisations who are not taking full advantage of social media platforms by not regularly updating their users and followers with content, nor sharing links that their users could find useful.Here are some tips that can help create a larger social media presence for your social organisation in a fast and inexpensive way:1) Variety - It is important to integrate...
- 15 Jan
Charity urges homelessness to be put to an end
Homeless Link, in its manifesto to end homelessness, has urged the next Government to end rough sleeping, ensure employment and welfare support, provide more homes and protect the rights of tenants, LocalGov reports.The charity informs that local funding for accommodation and support services is ‘increasingly under pressure'. Homelessness services are being overpowered by groups that councils...
- 13 Jan
Instagram for your Social Organisation
It has beat Twitter in terms of number of users, but it is currently outperforming in terms of engagement as well.Instagram's engagement is 50 times higher than Twitter. The difference is a large one, but isn't very surprising as it is a fact that images generate more engagement than any other type of content on social media. This can be a huge advantage for your social organisation.It is...
- 09 Jan
The role of social media in non-profit fundraising
According to a study by a consulting firm for non-profits, "Growth in social media audiences far outpaces that of email".Amongst 55 large non-profits, research found that email lists only rose by 14% in 2013. However, Facebook audiences increased by 37% and Twitter audiences by 46%, Allvoices reports. Also, the study found that for every 1,000 email subscribers, non-profits had an average of...
- 07 Jan
Tips for Charities and Social Organisations
Twitter plays a key role here at the Media Bubble, where you can stay up to date with our latest posts at @TheMediaBubble.1) Outline goals - For non-profit organisations, Twitter can be used in a variety of different ways such as raising awareness, attracting more users or volunteers, fundraising and contacting users or potential patrons. It is important to determine your goals as a social...
- 06 Jan
Social listening can improve social media for your social organisation
Social listening composes of many factors but the main points are having good communication with your users and responding to their queries efficiently.Furthermore, responding appropriately to negative comments or dealing with difficult situations depends on how well you listen, react and take note for your future as an organisation. Either way, by responding to your users, you're letting them...
- 23 Dec
5 Benefits to Planning Social Media Content
A social media schedule enables you to share real-time updates.Planning content on social media allows you to have flexibility to you social organisation's schedule and enables opportunities for you to share real-time updates and have real-engagement with your users.The following are five benefits for planning content ahead of time for your social organisation:1) Consistency - You need to...
- 19 Dec
How Social Organisations can use LinkedIn
This social networking platform is targeted mainly at professionals and business people. However, it can also provide for large and small scale social organisations.Here are some ways in which you could use LinkedIn to boost your organisation's profile and reach out to more people:1) Build a ProfileBuild a presence on LinkedIn by creating a ‘Company' page which contains the latest information...
- 19 Dec
New Law on Domestic Violence
This behaviour can include the abuser preventing their victim from having friendships and family interactions, denying them access to money, and dictating the daily decisions they would make in their lives.Ms. May expects the new law would protect domestic abuse victims from psychological and emotional abuse. The offence has a maximum of five years in prison along with a fine in England and...
- 18 Dec
Social Media Tips for your Social Organisation
Social media allows many organisations, especially smaller ones, to interact with the people who use their services in a more intimate way so more personal, stronger relationships can be built. Here are some of our top tips for social organisations using social media:1) Develop a Social Media PolicyA social media policy is a great way of protecting staff and the people that use your social...
- 17 Dec
Boosting your Social Media strategy for your charity
There are many things that could be done to boost and improve your social media recognition. A new report from Source sets out to help not-for-profits (NFPs), giving them intuition into what other organisations are doing and recommending different approaches in which they can improve their own. Reports Charity Digital News.Social media has held a major influence into helping charity campaigns...
- 10 Dec
Making the most of your social media budget
With many available social marketing tools, it is important to stick to the goals or trying to make your organisation grow through client and market insights.Four tips to make the most of your social media budget:1) Consider every campaign as an opportunity to gain insights about who your customers or clients are. Social marketing can be targeted precisely, measured and tracked. For example,...
- 09 Dec
Social Media for your Social Organisation this Season
Across our TVs, social media pages, radios, newspapers and the like, we are being flooded by seasonal marketing campaigns and advertisements. A study by Crowdtap has shown that around 65% of shoppers use social media to find the ideal gifts for their loved ones. You can use social media to help the people you work with stay safe on social media over this time, along with directing them to the...
- 21 Nov
Creating a safe space for your social organisation and the people it works with through social media
In this blog post, we want to discuss just a couple of ways social organisations can create a safe space for the people they work with, and fully embrace social media. 1) Create a closed Facebook Group - Many are scared to use Facebook, at least in their own name, for fear they could be found. This means it's highly unlikely that the people you work with will communicate with you on...
- 20 Nov
NHS backing "kitemark" for health apps
After previously saying that it wants to be "paperless" by 2018 and give patients access to health records, the NHS are making plans for "kitemark", reports the BBC.Due to the rapid growth of health-related apps for mobile phones and other personal devices, an NHS "kitemark" is to be introduced to validate those deemed to be safe for patients to use. With the new authentication process, doctors...
- 19 Nov
How social organisations can begin on social media
Social media is a great and powerful tool, which could soon become integral to your social organisation. Starting social media can be a scary process that's why we're here to help. Here are our some of our top tips for getting your social organisation started on social media.- Start small: Before you go setting up an account on every platform available, stop and think first...
- 18 Nov
Site to help educate young people on mental health and medications
Created by Mental Health charity Young Minds, HeadMeds has been created to give information about medications which can help people with their mental health. The information gathered by HeadMeds has been compiled using Patient Information Leaflets and Summary of Product Characteristics. In order to make the site as useful as possible Young Minds held focus groups with young people to find out...
- 17 Nov
A housing association is creating a home swap app
Viridian Housing Association is in the process of building a prototype phone app which will allow tenants to downsize or upsize their homes by looking at other households in the same area they're looking to move to, reports Inside Housing. The app, called Move Maker, is set to be in competition with web-based sites such as HomeSwapper and aims to replicate the interface of the social platform...
- 13 Nov
#ICare Twitter campaign launched by JustGiving
Many celebrities are already taking part, and Twitter users are encouraged to copy a sample tweet which includes the name of the charity they support, an image of them making a heart shape with their hands and a friends Twitter handle asking them who they support to keep momentum going."With just a month to go until Giving Tuesday (December 2nd), the global day of giving, we're encouraging people...
- 12 Nov
Twitter partners with non-profit to tackle online harrassment
Twitters response to harassment has often been criticised, however hopes have been lifted after news has broken that they've developed a partnership with non-profit Women, Action and the Media. With this new partnership comes a pilot project which will see WAM verifying and forwarding reported gender harassment to Twitter. WAM will then track Twitter's responses and once the project has...
- 11 Nov
How nonprofits and charities can use social media internally
Whilst social media is great at connecting you with the outside world and people you work with, it also presents new and cheap ways to communicate internally too. Here are just a few ways to communicate internally via social media: 1) A Facebook Group - A private Facebook group with all of your employees included is a great way to utilise this Facebook function. If the group is set to...
- 10 Nov
People with visual impairments can navigate a city via their smartphone
Microsoft have developed a headset which will help to guide people with visual impairments around cities.It is currently only compatible with Windows phones and uses location and navigation data along with a network of information beacons in urban areas to describe routes, reports the BBC.The headset has been tested on a journey from Reading to London which included a shopping trip along with bus...
- 05 Nov
How a Facebook Group could benefit your social organisation
In this post we look at the benefits that having a Facebook group can have for your organisation. 1) Private space for the people you work with to connect - A Facebook group is a great way to communicate with the people you work with without having the world and his wife seeing. Creating a group with the privacy settings on means that only people you invite can join, keeping information...
- 04 Nov
App allows you to donate to charities just by a logo
SnapDonate is powered by the platform JustGiving and allows you to make payments of a minimum of £2 via PayPal or credit card.Currently over 130 charities are involved and recognised by the app. Some of these include Amnesty International, Cancer Research UK, HelpAge International, Oxfam and more.SnapDonate will also work offline and allows donations for any of the 13,000 charities registered on...
- 03 Nov
Using social media to find and support people with vulnerabilities
The Samaritans have partnered with a digital agency called Jam, to develop an app that helps Twitter users find people who are vulnerable in their network and support them in times of need.The app is called Samaritans Radar and is a free web application that monitors tweets and can alert you if a friend is posting tweets that could cause concern.The app will use an algorithm which will search for...
- 28 Oct
The benefits of housing associations helping tenants get online
Whilst your housing associations social media and online presence may be growing, it's also important that your association encourages tenants online too. Here we show you just some of the benefits getting tenants online can have for themselves, and your organisation:1) Social Inclusion - With so many people online, and the online world presenting a great source of communication, it can...
- 24 Oct
The benefits of Skype for your social organisation and charity
Skype is a great organisation tool, however many overlook the platform in their social media presence. Here we show you some of the benefits of using Skype in your organisation:• Cost effective - you can use Skype wherever you like (as long as there's WiFi) meaning you no longer have to travel long distances to meetings or visits, saving you the cost of commuters fairs. Skype is...
- 23 Oct
Facebook profile, page or group: Which should your social organisation or charity choose?
In this post we aim to explain what each of these accounts are and which will be best for your organisation.Profile - a Facebook profile is there to represent an individual. It is not made for commercial use, and Facebook can often remove profiles that have been made to represent commercial brands and organisations. Profiles can be (and probably are) used by your employees to connect with...
- 22 Oct
Social care sector could benefit from new app
Residata and Emerald apps have created a mobile app aimed at helping the social care sector with its care management.The system is currently available for deployment on Android mobile devices and provides a digital replacement to traditional paper-based methods of recording the outcomes of care and support visits, reports 24dash.Support workers are able to plan their working day on the app, along...
- 21 Oct
Could Twitter's new feature make the platform more accessible for people with vulnerabilities?
The new Audio Card has been launched in partnership with SoundCloud and allows you to listen to music and podcasts through, and whilst on, the Twitter app.There is a list of SoundCloud partners in which you can listen to audio content through the app on Twitters blog.Twitter say that they're just beginning to test the Audio Card and then plan to make it available to more partners and creators in...
- 22 Aug
A UK based charity launches a suicide prevention app
Brighton-based Grassroots Suicide Prevention is looking to launch the UK's first suicide prevention app for tablets and smartphones.Grassroots Suicide Prevention (formerly Grassroots Training C.I.C), is a small charity based in Brighton, UK. Established in 2006, they provide mental health and suicide prevention training courses and expertise to both large and small organisations in the South...
- 18 Aug
Social Media to support people suffering with their mental health
Mental health services in the UK are continuously expressing how difficult it is for them to support all of the people in the UK who have mental health problems.Many services are not receiving the funding they need to provide support to those who need it. However, one solution could be the use of social media to provide support to some who are in need of it.For many suffering with their mental...
- 06 Aug
Social housing tenants to pay rent via Facebook
Salix Homes, who manage 8,500 homes across Central Salford, have created an app with Cunning Plan Marketing, which can be accessed through their Facebook page which will enable tenants to report repairs and issues ask questions about their tenancy and find advice on money management and budgeting, reports 24dash.In order to use the service tenants must simply have their own Facebook account and...
- 01 Aug
The Social Sector Need to Embrace Social Media
On July 16-17th 2014 in Manchester, the National Federation of Arm's Length Management Organisation held their Annual Conference, AGM and Awards 2014: Building on firm foundations.The conference is designed to support ALMOs to embrace innovation and drive the delivery of excellent services to tenants and communities.Chief Executive of Halton Housing Trust, Nick Atkin (pictured left), delivered a...
- 29 Apr
Facebook allows you experience dementia with new app
The FaceDementia app has been created by Alzheimer's Research UK and "takes over" your personal Facebook page and temporarily erases important memories, mimicking the ways dementia affects your brain. You will watch your personal photos, important details and status updates begin to disappear, whilst your real page remains intact, reports the BBC. The app doesn't hold on to any data or affect...
- 24 Mar
Social Media, Organisations and Vulnerable Adults
Vulnerable adults are people who are at a greater than normal risk of abuse.Older people are vulnerable especially those who are frail, unwell, confused and are subject to immobility and are unable to keep track of their affairs.Other vulnerable adults include those open to abuse because of learning difficulties, physical difficulties or mental illness.Vulnerable adults should be encouraged to...
- 24 Mar
A new project has been launched to help homeless families in Hackney
Shelter's support workers can help families with different problems, including support to get back into work, access to the right health care and mental health support, and help managing rent arrears and family finances, with the support of the Berkeley Foundation.Meanwhile, a further 400 families in Hackney are on track to benefit from weekly housing advice surgeries run by the charity, which...
- 21 Mar
Charities, Social Media And Selfies
Cancer Research UK has seen a mind blowing increase in donations through an online campaign asking women to post pictures of themselves with no make-up using the hashtag ‘#nomakeupselfie'.According to the charity, most women have posted their selfies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.There had been an amazing number of text donations throughout Tuesday, which was the day the campaign kicked...
- 17 Mar
Social Media And Mental Health Aid
Munmun De Choudhury, a researcher at Georgia and an emerging leader who wants to tap the flood of social media data to gain insights into the minds of individuals as well as larger communities said:"People are not reacting as negatively as you would expect them to."The results of the study surprised Choudhury's co-author, Andres Monroy-Hernandez, a researcher at Microsoft who grew up in...
- 10 Mar
Apprentices in help Lewisham Homes older residents get active online
A report by the National Housing Federation has estimated that almost half of all adults in social housing have never been online. Data from the Office for National Statistics highlights that over 65s with disabilities are more likely to be digitally excluded. Due to this computers have been installed in Lewisham Homes' sheltered accommodation schemes and residents are being taught how to use and...
- 27 Feb
Why The Housing Sector Should Use Social Media
It is a cheap and timely medium which can be used to respond promptly to tenants' wants and needs or to communicate, educate and advice them.24dash.com mentioned some uses of social media for the housing sector:Tips:Picture Source: (http://www.indiatimes.com/budget-2013/budget-for-you/your-loans-budget/budget-2013-will-affordable-housing-get-a-budget-push-63119.html)...
- 26 Feb
App aimed to improve eyesight
The app, named UltimEyes, gets users to complete tasks like clicking on hard-to-see targets and is designed to help rewire the brain to the process the information it receives from the eyes. This technique is called neuroplasticity and the app comes with a point system which is aimed to keep the user engaged via positive reinforcement. The app has been developed with Carrot Neurotechnology, who...
- 31 Jan
Tablets for tenants
A2Dominion have passed out the tablets as part of a scheme to help its tenants get online. The tenants all currently live in Chimney Court, a Reading sheltered housing scheme and have been given a brand new Samsung tablet. The tablets have been pre-loaded with ‘Breezie' which is an interface designed to help those who are less-familiar with technology navigate the tablet and search popular...
- 21 Jan
Internet project to target social isolation
Viridian Housing, Student@Home and charity U Can Do IT have joined together to provide training to 300 residents over the age of 50 to help combat social isolation. Viridian Housing manages over 16,000 homes in the Midlands, West Sussex and London. With this new partnership Student@Home will be providing one-to-one internet training in tenants' homes through a tablet computer. For those with...
- 14 Jan
Housing organisations missing out on social media engagement
Recent research delving into the social and digital activity of 275 housing associations which represent 2.6 million home in the UK have studied their levels of digital and social innovation. Over the last few years there has been a large push toward digital and online engagement; however findings have revealed that housing organisations are lagging behind in both commercial and charitable...
- 07 Jan
NHS worker facing disciplinary hearing after inappropriate tweets
Alongside the inappropriate hair tweets, Mr Nam also posted a photo of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust executives and called them "vandals". Mr Nam was suspended and has since resigned. He says he is ashamed of himself.On 1 August 2012 Mr Nam wrote on Twitter that he was going to use the hair "from the first patient I shaved today and stick them on Wiggins-style". This was the first in a...
- 28 Nov
Mobile Technology And Social Media Now raises A Quarter Of Charity Funds
The report was commissioned by Three to support its partnership with men's health charity, Movember.Three had researched the charitable behaviour of 2,000 smartphones in partnership with BrainJuicer, they reported that donations from mobile phones increased by 242 percent between 2011 and 2012.Director of corporate affairs at Three, Hugh Davies, said:"The internet and smartphones have changed...
- 25 Nov
Navigating your city as a wheelchair user
Handimap acts as a toolbox to support accessibility. The creators of Handimap made the observation that very few applications exist to the public who may have physical disabilities.Based in France at present, their goal is to make use of mapping technologies to share information that may help people with disabilities or reduced mobility to understand the movement in the city.Currently operating...
- 25 Nov
How To Make Social Media Work For Your Charity
Many organisations have truly embraced social media and have embedded it into their fundraising and marketing strategies while others have not.According to research by The Guardian:"More than a quarter of the time you and I spend online is spent on a social media site - this is more than we spend emailing, online shopping, or on anything else."Individual platforms come and go (for example,...
- 13 Nov
# Housing Day
For 24 hours people involved in housing, whether it be landlords, suppliers, workers, housing association and even tenants can share a ‘day in the life' over Twitter. The benefit from this activity is that it allows people to see what it is you do within the day. No matter it is you're doing today, share it on Twitter and give people a further insight into what you're doing.It will also alert...
- 11 Nov
People Struggle To Pay For Expensive Smartphone Deals
According to MSN, the trust also records 13,389 calls between January and August, a 15% increase on the same period a year ago.It said that in 2007, one in 25 calls (4%) were about phone debt, but has increased to one in nine (11%).The charity suggested that the rising use of smartphones is a factor behind the increased number of calls.Many people see smartphones as a must-have product and...
- 01 Nov
YouTube used to recruit staff for NHS Highland
The video promotes vacancies in the hospitals cancer treatment services, which is said to be the first in a series to attract new employees. The film is aimed to dismiss the misconceptions about the Highlands.Last month NHS Highland was unsuccessful in a second attempt to fill seven GP vacancies, reports the BBC.Within the film numerous staff members discuss what the health board and the...
- 29 Oct
Social media helping aid workers in Syria
Over 20 volunteers from the Syrian Red Crescent have been killed since March 2011 with seventeen of those deaths occurring in the twelve months to August this year.BBC Newsbeat conducted an interview with a volunteer in Syria and informed them that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were being used to highlight the work being done by the organisation.Hayyan Zou'bi, one of the workers...
- 17 Oct
Social Media And Mobile Phones Ease Disaster Impact
The importance of social media and mobile phone in disaster management can be seen in the widespread use of Twitter and text messaging in disaster relief efforts in the Philippines when Typhoon Bopha slammed into the south of the country in December last year, leaving more than 1,800 dead and missing.Thousands of lives were saved because 99% of the population have access to a mobile phone and...
- 07 Oct
The 2013 Social Media Revolution
The Guardian also reports as follows:...
- 23 Sep
Council Can Gauge Opinions Through Twitter Hashtags And Facebook Likes
Social media may be used to allow people, particularly hard-to-reach groups which include young people between the ages of 16 and 25, older people, ethnic minorities and those with disabilities. This will be beneficial to the Rushmoor Borough Council as it collates its Delivering Development document, which will help shape its planning process in the future.Hashtags and ‘likes' on Facebook and...
- 19 Sep
The 2013 Social Charity Index shows a large increase in social-media following
In the Guardian's 2012 index the top 100 charities had an average of one supporter on Facebook and Twitter for every £2,707 of their income, now, in 2013, there is one supporter for every £714.In these tough economic times charities have seen a benefit in being able to develop relationships with people using social media. Not only is the cost of promotional marketing reduced, a more dynamic...
- 17 Sep
Iran's Access To Social Media Briefly Restored
Western journalists working in Iran reported that they had suddenly gained direct access to Twitter and Facebook.However, this morning, Reuters reported that official policy had not changed and "technical faults" had mistakenly led to the restrictions being lifted.Thomas Erdbrink, Tehran bureau chief for the New York Times, sent several tweets via his mobile phone without the need to go via a...
- 13 Sep
Is online volunteering the beginning of something new?
Non-profit organisation Nabuur has been created to help the development of impoverished communities by enabling people from other countries to help community members through their website. Based in Giethoorn, Netherlands, Nabuur has 41254 neighbours, 92 villages, 10 groups and 1600 ways people can help.In Dutch Nabuur contains the meaning "neighbour" and the system works around the concept of a...
- 06 Sep
Are police doing enough to help victims of online abuse?
Caroline Crido-Perez was subjected to a high number of abuse after campaigning for banknotes to feature notable female historical figures, not just men. When dealing with police she claims that they lost evidence she sent to them and had to go back through the abuse to re-send it. Ms Crida-Perez found it "appalling" that police required her to go back through the abusive messages "because of...
- 04 Sep
New device to help save those suffering from a heart attack
German non-profit Definetz and drone-developer Height Tech have developed a drone named Defikopter that parachutes defibrillators to heart attack victims and emergency responders, Mashable reports.Defikopter is controlled by a GPS-enabled smartphone app and lets users request an emergency defibrillator. It can travel within a 6 mile radius with speed up to 43 mph. It is believed that the drone...
- 04 Sep
Nurse is placed on six month ban due to poor social media conduct
Allison Marie Hopton posted messages such as "big b******ing s**ting b*****d work tomorrow" and claiming how a student would have to become her "b***h" accompanied by a picture of a colleague sitting on a bed pan.Initially arguing that Facebook was a place "where people vent" Hopton has finally accepted her comments had been irresponsible. The NMC tribunal that had considered her case pointed out...
- 03 Sep
Technology and charities working together has positive results
Successful partnerships between charitable organisations and technology firms have seen positive results for both parties and more successes could be seen if more partnerships were made. With technology producers designing products that offer solutions to problems and charities providing the inspiration for new projects.An example of a partnership that worked well and presented results for both...
- 03 Sep
The Spread Of Domestic Violence Online
The Guardian reported what she said:"He found ways to contact me online, and I still felt like he was watching me, that he had some control over me".Despite the fact that Lucy had moved out of the area where she lived with her abuser and has married someone else, her ex-partner kept sending messages through other people to her new husband and setting up anonymous online accounts to reach...
- 02 Sep
How To Use Social Media To Find A Job
When a position is high up on the corporate ladder, it may be filled faster than other positons(not because of the classified ad) due to personal...
- 28 Aug
A new app to help the visually impaired
Smart phones have allowed us to capture amazing moments, stay connected and share content at the click of a button. Many are now beginning to realise how much can be done to support smart phone users who have a disability, and Singapore's local telecommunications company StarHub have developed a new app with TribalDDB to help those who are visually impaired.MySmartEye is an app that allows the...
- 27 Aug
Facts About Cyberbullying
The BBC gives an all-encompassing definition of cyberbullying:"It is the use of electronic media - especially mobile phones and the internet - to intimidate, threaten or upset someone." "Cyberbullying can include:Texting scary or rude messages by mobile phone;Sending unpleasant photographs by mobile phone;Using online message boards, chat rooms or social networking sites to post cruel...
- 22 Aug
Thinking outside of the social media box in the social sector
Many organisations feel that if they use Facebook and Twitter they have a social media presence and that is all they need. What they fail to see is that by limiting themselves to just these two platforms they are missing out on a wide range of people who could become part of their audience, if they just knew they existed!It's true what they say; a picture speaks a thousand words. Instagram offers...
- 21 Aug
Using Pinterest as a non-profit
Pinterest is a social media network that has seen a continuous growth over the past year with many active ‘pinners' pinning and re-pinning images that they like. Many businesses have already seen a success in having a Pinterest and this post is aimed to show you how non-profits can utilize this network too.Images, highlighting your cause and what your volunteers/employees do, are a great way to...
- 19 Aug
Social Media Hackers Use The Zeus Virus To Create Likes And Followers
The Zeus virus which is normally used to steal credit card data is the first piece of malicious software found to date.Social media hackers are using this scheme to make products appear more popular.It is used to create false ‘likes' and followers that seem to come from users social media sites.The improved Zeus virus controls an infected computer from a central server, which powers the...
- 19 Aug
Is Facebook affecting your well-being?
Many of us use social media to keep up to date with friends and family whilst also using it as a way to kill time and unwind. We already know that the amount of Facebook users is high, and whilst we think that the social media network is just another way to check up on others doings what we fail to realise is the impact on what it could be doing to our health.A new academic study has found that...
- 19 Aug
Three Social Media Apps. Charities Should Use
Visit White Fuse for more details about apps. for charities. ...
- 15 Aug
Facebook Has 24 Million Daily Users In The Uk
According to Facebook:"It has 20 million mobile users in the UK per day and 33 million per month.It is also pertinent to note that "the US has over 128 million daily active users".India Today also reported on India's Facebook usage statistics:"Last month, Facebook said over 100 million people access the website every month through its app for feature phones, aiding the firm in expanding in...
- 14 Aug
Poor Twitter conduct forces Amnesty International chairman to resign
The chariman of Amnesty International, Ciarman Helferty has resigned from his position after an uproar occurred over his tweets containing jokes related to mental health.His tweets, which were exposed by The Political Scrapbook, faced many complaints from people finding his jokes disrespectful and to go against what Amnesty International stands for. Helferty made jokes surrounding both...
- 13 Aug
Facebook Advertisement Harnesses Social Media Child Adoption
It has become evident that social media has not stretched to its elastic limit as to the endless possibilities it is capable of creating such as using the internet to find a baby.It can be quite difficult and time consuming to adopt a child; nevertheless, social media has shown its power of stress relief by creating ease in the ability of couples to adopt children.According to the BBC, "In...
- 13 Aug
Social Media To-Do List for Third Sector Organisations
Charities may also use social media platforms to have more volunteers, raise awareness, attract donors and promote events and campaigns.Listening to conversations as they happen, on all platforms is a proper approach to engagement.Engagement with social media cannot be ignored during humanitarian emergencies. For instance, during natural disasters when people search for help.Here are tips that...
- 12 Aug
Expanding your social community
There is always a way to expand your community. No matter how large your organisation is, chances are, there are people missing what it is you are trying to say. Many now spend a large portion of their lives online; therefore if you aren't there with them, you could be missing out.Being ‘digitally fluent' is something that people in the social sector need to consider so that they can reach a...
- 06 Aug
Cancer Victim Gets Support From Vine Community
However, his friends on Vine decided to help raise money through an Indiegogo campaign called "Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cancer."Although McHenry's hospital bills will be covered because he lives in the UK, the money raised from the campaign will help to support him after his chemotherapy and recovery. Mashable reported the words of Paul Zenisek (a TV editor from Minneapolis, who helped...
- 05 Aug
In-Tweet 'Report' Button Added On Twitter To Avoid Cyber Threats
Twitter has restructured its rules around abusive online behavior.As an alternative to visiting the Help Center, users will be able to flag messages directly from tweets via apps and the web.The in-tweet button is presently available on the latest version of the iOS Twitter app, as well as on the mobile web.It is expected to appear on Android and desktop in September.This followed the cyber...
- 29 Jul
Social Media Gives Hope To Young Cancer Patient
16 year old, Lauren Scott also known as "Lola" is one of about 70,000 people between ages 15 and 39 who are diagnosed with cancer each year.Lola has been battling this cancer (metastic retroperitoneal undifferentiated soft tissue sarcoma) for four years, since December, 2009.She has been through 36 radiation treatments, 5 chemotheraphy protocols and 2 relapses as tumors have spread to her...
- 29 Jul
Child Abuse Search Pop-Up Warnings on Bing
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and children's charity the NSPCC did a survey with 327 (social workers) respondents which showed that:Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive said:"Vulnerable young people are now being coerced into sharing explicit images of themselves via mobile phone messages and apps. It's worrying that the majority of social workers surveyed by BASW are...
- 23 Jul
UK Government's Plight To End Online Child Sex Abuse
David Cameron said:"The government plans to "drain the market" of child sexual abuse images online by launching a campaign with the police and internet companies to pursue both the publishers and those who access the material."He also said that:"From the end of 2013 all new computers sold would have filters switched on by default, meaning consumers will have to opt in to access pornography. But...
- 15 Jul
Parents Worried Over Teenagers Online Language
The Telegraph reported that:According to the study, 81% of teenagers use internet slang.The research suggests these slangs may have grievious consequences as they relate to the presence of an adult and the possibility of meeting a stranger in the real world.Overall, only 30 percent of parents of 10-18 year olds could correctly recognise six popular netspeak terms and their definitions.32% of...
- 08 Jul
Social Media and the Public Sector
James Kirkham, head of social and mobile at Leo Burnett Worldwide, is sceptical of the approach that government is pushing social media as a means of reducing the costs of communicating.He said: "There is a slightly misunderstood aspect of social media that it is somehow free or that it is purely about earned media and viral potential," In fact, social media is labour intensive, often involving...
- 11 Jun
Social Media and the Anti-Domestic Abuse Campaign
According to the National Family Safety Program (NFSP), 3 out of 10 women in Saudi Arabia are subjected to domestic violence."There are presently no laws against domestic violence there and it ranked 130th out of 134 countries for gender parity in 2009."Most of the youth featured in the campaign are popular Saudi tweeps and YouTube hosts, who express their views on domestic violence in their own...
- 02 May
Choosing your Carer Online!
It is set up as a website (CarePair.co.uk) and smart phone app, created by a man who has muscular dystrophy and employs his carers using direct payments.With direct payments you are allocated an amount after an assessment of your needs for you to use where you need it to help you.Russell Smith had the idea of Care Pair as he struggled to find a suitable carer to match his every day needs, which...
- 21 Apr
Digital Deal Challenge Fund
According to a report by Housing Technology 4.1m of the 8.7m UK adults in the UK, who have never been online, are in social housing.The Digital Deal has been created to stimulate and support social housing providers to undertake digital development work with their residents in order to generate savings and efficiency in the future. The challenge fund is open to all social housing providers...
- 18 Apr
Engage Your Community Through Text Messages
The Creation Trust is the successor organisation to the Aylesbury New Deals for Communities (NDC). Creation Trust works as an advocate for tenants and residents by promoting a better working and living environment, healthier lifestyles and increasing opportunities for all.Aylesbury is in the third most deprived ward in Southwark, which itself is the eighth most deprived borough in England.The...
- 03 Apr
Charities missing out on £665m through Social Media
The report by New Philanthropy Capital found that if charities provided more of this type of information to possible donators, 20% of mainstream donors and 34% of high-income donors would increase their overall giving. They found from surveys, interviews and focus groups that charities could increase total giving by 11% by using digital channels such as social media, and online content and...
- 20 Feb
Using Social Media to Improve Your Services
Social Media has changed the way people connect, discover and share information. The housing support and social sector need to ensure they have an online presence. This could be through platforms such as a website, Twitter account, Facebook page and Blogs.These online platforms allow for interaction and conversation to take place with your service users, stakeholders and employees (to name a...
- 01 Feb
A future Social Media site for patients and their carers?
The company, Medivizor, has developed the system to help people and their carers understand their condition in their own time, to make the process of coming to terms with an illness more manageable.Users are given a series of questions to find out what information is relevant to them, and then sent multimedia information tailored to their condition.This means the patient and care giver are able...
- 17 Jan
Life-changing Funding Gives Social Media Training to Older People
The launch of a new service to support people is intended to help people stay in their homes for longer while remaining in touch with friends and the wider community.The “Connected, Confident and Included Inverclyde” project will help older people improve their ICT skills, providing training to keep them in contact through emails and other social media.There will also be a service to help...
- 17 Dec
Online Advice Network for Charities
The service is a portal on the commission's website to help charities find the "best fit" umbrella body for their needs as well as to encourage more charities to access the help available to them.This comes after the Charity Commissions Strategic Plan 2012-2015 says it will cut down on offering guidance to individual charities and move away from being the first or only point of advice. This is...
- 16 Oct
Why Digital Exclusion is a Social Care Issue
Next year the welfare system will undergo an overhaul as universal credit is introduced. The benefit, replacing six others, includes a new requirement to apply for benefits online. With millions of people having never used the internet, however, it raises the question of how those not online will manage.Universal credit is just one example of how, as our society becomes increasingly digitalised,...
- 10 Oct
Small charities lack time and skills to use social media effectively, survey finds
About That First Tweet includes results from a survey of 186 small and medium-sized charities and social enterprises. Fifty-three per cent of those surveyed say they are not using social media effectively in fundraising and marketing.The most popular social medium is Facebook, says the publication, with 75 per cent of organisations using it. Seventy per cent use Twitter, 37 per cent YouTube and...
- 09 Oct
NICE App available for health and social care professionals
NICE has developed a mobile app that allows users to access NICE guidance from their smartphone. Both the BNF and BNFC apps are available to download for free by health and social care professionals who work for or who are contracted by NHS England.If you use an Android or iPhone smartphone you can download the free app, which will give you offline access to all of NICE's guidance products,...
- 05 Oct
MP tweets that "job centres are hubs for drugs"
Labour MP Karl Turner tweeted that people were forced to use foodbanks to survive, to which Conservative councillor James Bannister responded angrily, and many people think, inappropriately.Mr Bannister posted a photo of an African woman with a severely malnourished child to make his point and said many people on benefits chose to spend money on drugs and alcohol.Tweeting from the Labour Party...
- 24 Sep
Charities can benefit from #SocialMedia
Charities spend vast amounts of money every year on marketing and getting fundraisers to be aware of their cause, when there is now a method of social media freely able to do this.The Charity Social 100 Report, released today, follows up on the report last year and shows the changes that charities have made in their use of social media, and some interesting milestones are being reported.There's...
- 21 Sep
Victory over ATOS using Social Media
Jayne Linney, whose condition causes pain in her joints and muscle spasms, was a community worker before she gave up work in 2010.Social media allows the opportunity to make both criticism and suggestions, and the private sector particularly understand can make or break their reputation.Ms Linney said that it was important that her WCA was recorded because she had experienced three assessments...
- 14 Sep
NHS Direct app used three million times
The app, available for Android and iPhone devices was released last year and had already helped patients more than one million times in its first six months.NHS Direct chief operating officer Ronnette Lucraft said in November that the mobile app was "a more discreet and less embarrassing way of seeking health advice for sensitive issues in public or crowded places". But reviews have been mixed.Of...
- 03 Sep
Smartphone App Launched to End Deposit Disputes
Report from Inside HousingShelter Scotland's ‘Housemate' app has been launched to coincide with the start of Scotland's tenancy deposit scheme, which came in over the summer and allows landlords to hand over deposits to independent third parties. Landlords will have to put deposits into one of three rent deposit schemes by law from November.The app creates a full digital record of a...
Responding to the DWP Consultation: Housing Benefit Reform - Supported Housing "Found the seminar very informative and gave an interesting and full insight into current thinking about the consultation. Michael was a very engaging and knowledgeable presenter and encouraged interaction with the audience which led to further relevant points being shared with the room. I shall certinaly look out for future events!" M.E. - Care Housing Association
