Social Media and Impaired Driving

"Social Media and Impaired Driving" by A.A. Williams 

as appeared in Impaired Driving Update, Summer, 2010

Social media has permeated society.  It no longer serves as merely a way to connect with family and friends.  It is now a marketing medium, a business resource, and a way to encourage better decision-making regarding alcohol consumption and driving while under the influence. 

Facebook.com, one of the leaders in the social media trend, has over 220 pages dedicated to impaired or drunk driving, not including the businesses and professionals who have pages about their facility or organization.  Apple’s iTunes has over 35 applications for their iPhone or iTouch regarding alcohol usage including drink and consumption trackers, laws, and “tips”.  While many of these pages and applications do not give real solutions to a real problem, some groups are on the cutting edge of using technology to improve the safety of our streets and to help those in need of assistance – the end user - to get help.

For example, in Mary Elizabeth Hurn’s article, “Ad Council, Transportation Department launch drunk driving PSAs targeting women” (2009, www.dmnews.com), she describes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s update on their prevention efforts: 

Social media is a main element of the campaign. The initiative includes a Facebook application, which informs consumers about the latest drunk driving statistics, as well as a presence on Twitter. These elements drive users to buzzeddriving.adcouncil.org, where they can play an interactive game called “Spot the Difference” and sign a pledge not to drive buzzed.  The PSAs can also be seen on YouTube.

Last year, Max Levchin, the co-founder of PayPal, spoke to Caroline McCarthy of CNET about social media being used for the greater good and “an Alcoholics Anonymous app on Facebook.”  (2008, news.cnet.com).  His vision: 

"If you're trying to recover as an alcoholic, there's no easy way for you to join an anonymous group on Facebook. So creating an anonymous group type on Facebook for something that people have to get off their chest but don't really want to reveal their identity (in doing so)...it's pretty utilitarian."

While social media could never remove the need for face-to-face contact and group processing, the concept to connect with individuals to encourage, motivate, reduce feelings of isolation, and give resources and tools to make successful decisions can only enhance the process of reaching out to this high-risk population.  The easier and more accessible information is to the end-user, the more likely it will be used when needed.

SADD National’s Facebook page is connecting more than 4,300 people to “provide students with the best prevention tools possible to deal with the issues of underage drinking, other drug use, impaired driving, and other destructive decisions.”  With each page or status update, they send a reminder to all 4,300 members of the importance of clear decision-making, planning ahead, and the possible impact decisions might have on self and others. 12-step approach, iPhone applications like DBJApps’ “Steps Away – Locate Worldwide 12 Step Meetings”, which gives information regarding local resources, meetings, contacts, and maps to service locations, and Falesafe Consulting, Inc.’s Friend of Bill, which promotes sobriety and easily connects an individual with his or her sponsor, could be used as examples of what impaired driving programs could create to put additional resources in clients’ hands.  Social media and phone applications could be designed to provide numbers for transportation, guidelines for decision-making, consumption information, and a place for users to record his/her plan for getting home without driving.  For individuals in a government or treatment program, the application could also include required meeting times, emergency staff contact information, and probation officer contact information.

If used appropriately and creatively, social media can add an additional cost-effective and wide-reaching method of promoting responsible behavior and reducing impaired driving incidents.  Social media technology is moving from just marketing and entertainment into the realm of teaching and reaching.  A feeling of community, positive peer pressure, easy to access information, tools for permanent life-change, and means of obtaining assistance could be as easy as accessing a social networking site the individual may already be familiar with or one that is simple to learn.  Social media can be harnessed to not only be an effective tool for communication and marketing, it can be used to help those in need.  It can also help protect the unknowing who might otherwise be driving in the lane next to someone who got behind the wheel impaired.

Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

Hope for One - Social Networking to Help Those with Porn and Sex Addiction

http://www.onlinemba.com

So often there are topics that when we discuss them, we drop our voices to a whisper because of the perceived shame and guilt that comes with them.  By doing so, whom are we helping?  And while I would agree that pornography and sexual addiction are not topics that I feel are appropriate dinner table conversation with children or - for that matter - my mother, not dealing with issues is much more damaging than addressing them.

H.A.L.T. is an acronym for four of the most common triggers for an addict:  being hungry, angry, lonely, and tired can take a person from a state of recovery to a state of relapse or from a state of sobriety to backsliding.  But do we always know where to turn for assistance when we feel these things?  For a sexual addict, many live a life of shame or in a constant state of denial.  With 12% of all internet sites being pornography (www.onlinemba.com), being alone in the privacy of one's home can be a dangerous place for someone struggling.  But if you aren't in treatment and don't have a sponsor, whom can one turn to help hold his or herself accountable?

Hopeforone.com is an online social community for those impacted by pornography and sexual addition.  It is a community designed to let others know they are not alone.  "The members of our online community understand how difficult your struggle is.  Join our online community today for the hope and support you are looking for...If you are affected by the addiction of a family member or friend, we want to support you too."

The Hope for One's website, iPhone, and Adroid applications provide not only resources and contacts for individuals and families who are suffering, but provide social networking groups to allow for interaction and connectivity.  They provide a safe place to be vulnerable.

Member pages: Create your own personal page, and share your story through blog postings, photos, audio, and videos. You can also communicate with other members by commenting on their pages or sending them direct messages.

Group pages: These pages are focused on specific groups of members within the community.  For example, if you're a married man struggling with pornography, you can find a group page for other married men going through the same experience.  Group pages are an excellent way to easily find other members to start talking to.

Participation in the groups is anonymous but allow individuals to share, process, be open, and see that others have the same difficulties.  Individuals are encouraged to share their own stories so readers can learn from them, share successes and admit challenges.  Additionally, information on local counselors, meetings, and programs are also available for those willing to take the next step in getting help.

For those wanting to take an active role on the site, discussion boards for posting topics are available to drive communication and generate feedback.  Accountability tools are provided to help individuals take an active role in behavior change including downloads and site blockers.  Blogs, a Facebook page, and message boards allow community members to share information, post current news and media stories, and to discuss their pain and their road to recovery.  By removing a layer of the stigma and by bringing individuals together to remove the loneliness, sufferers can start working to develop successful coping skills and action plans for dealing with triggers and situations.

Thanks to the Internet - the very same tool that can cause us to stumble - and social networking (which most of us think of as an entertainment and marketing tool), men and women can seek comfort, encouragement and empowerment from both professionals and peers.  The same technology that brings them guilt and pain can also bring a world of promise and hope to their computer or their smart phone.

For more information, visit www.hopeforone.com/psa.




Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

Happy Father's Day

Wishing all of you a very Happy Father's Day!  Remember, social media is a great tool but before the day ends, go the extra mile today to pick up the phone and tell someone you love him.





Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

The Example of Grandmama: A Tale of Larry Johnson

In the fall of '89, a family friend took me to an UNLV Runnin' Rebel's basketball practice. It was there I met a young man named Larry Johnson. As a 14 year old, I was in awe of his immense size. He seemed larger than life, but it was when this gentle giant sat down and drank a Coca-Cola with me that his true magic emerged.

We discussed his home town, and that I, too, had family there. We talked about Las Vegas, his new home and the place I had grown up. We talked about Dallas Cowboys' football, and the big UNR and UNLV rivalry. But it was him asking me where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to be that made the largest impact that day. This warrior on the court, this local hero, this star in the paint seemed to care about me and my dreams. With real interest he listened to the ramblings of a child, and then said, "I'm sure you can do it. Focus on school."

Maybe they teach all starting Forwards to make that kind of lasting impact when they talk to children or maybe that was just one kid trying to mentor another that day, whatever it was, it stayed with me. A Pro career for him and two Masters degrees later for me, I got the honor and privilege of buying a Coca-Cola for Mr. Johnson last week at a Nike Fundraiser, while Mr. Johnson made a public appearance. He spoke to my own child as gently and genuinely as he had spoken to me so many years before. And I realized how powerful and lasting words and intent can be on someone.

While that interaction took place face to face, I would like you to think about social media for a moment - keeping that story in your mind. Who is your audience? Sometimes we don't really know. Mr. Johnson could have no way of knowing the impact of his words twenty-one years ago nor could he know they would be written about in the future. Could someone impressionable be reading your blog, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or Gather postings? Might they be taking in your comments and locking them away? And if they are, what impression are you leaving? What "footprint" are you making with your typed words?

We will not always make the right decisions, but if we consciously think about things before we print and post them, we might find our influence to be like that of a man they call "Grandmama" - a man that I simply call "an example". 




Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

Tips from SmallBizGoMobile.com

Mario Armstrong has launched a new website for small business advice called www.SmallBizGoMobile.com and has also done his first webisode on social media advice for businesses.  Take a few moments to watch it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcqC8J7rt0M - it's an excellent five minute investment.


Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.