Almost all of us have been bullied at some point. Whether we admit it or not, most of us have also been part of the problem. A bully might not tell a joke at a victim’s expense if no one laughed.
Lately there have been more and more instances in the news about bullied young people taking their own lives; most recently, the case of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old girl who hung herself after being bullied relentlessly by her classmates.
Cyber-bullying has become ubiquitous, with social networking sites like Facebook getting a particularly bad rap for the malicious actions of some students.
If you’re the victim of bullying, know that you are not alone and please don’t try to “just deal with it.” No one has the right to treat people in ways that make them feel unsafe or make them the target of ridicule. Anyone who says to “just ignore it” isn’t taking it seriously enough – tell someone else.
If you see it happening to someone else, don't stand by and let it continue - tell a parent, teacher or school administrator what's going on.
A few years ago, a Funny or Die video featuring Will Ferrell had some up in arms. Apparently they had problems with teaching a small child to recite lines loaded with foul language and adult themes for the sake of entertaining masses on the internet.
Yesterday, a new video surfaced that also features foul-mouthed tots and has been spreading like wildfire. While there hasn’t been much backlash yet, it’s likely to have at least a few people less than pleased.
While it's not a real school play (it was directed by the same guy that did Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” video), it does feature real kids.
Here at SocialVibe, we’re all about using your influence for good so when we see someone doing just that, we have to tell you about it!
Twenty-three year old Pelé Maree, who also goes by “Rap’s Revolutionary,” is using his music as way to facilitate discussion about important issues. His new song, Tomorrow, contains an urgent message for young people around the world about HIV/AIDS and the stigmas that often surround the subject.
Having lived a good portion of his life in South Africa, Maree remembers people dying due to HIV/AIDS, without the cause ever being mentioned. “It is killing so many of us, and yet it’s still not discussed,” Maree told The Staying Alive Foundation. Being able to talk about the subject is vital to spreading information about prevention, and Maree hopes that his music is a step towards removing harmful taboos.
Maree, who has also recorded a song, Darfur, about the genocide taking place in Sudan’s Darfur region, believes that music can be “easy on the ears” while carrying a powerful message. We couldn’t agree more! Checkout some of his songs on iTunes.
Ever think about what went in to creating some of your favorite websites? The people behind the Hive Awards did.
Can you imagine Facebook without a “like” button? What would Google be like without the option to decide if you’d rather search images or news?
The behind-the-scenes teams behind your much loved websites are vital. Without our PAT (Product & Technology) team, SocialVibe would just be a great idea. These guys not only built the site, they spend hours on end trying to constantly make it better for you.
The Hive Awards have decided to reward the “unsung heroes of the internet: the coders, programmers, user experience designers, content strategists, information architects, planners and the like: the people who innovate and create but rarely get the credit.”
We’re honored that SocialVibe has won TWO Hive Awards: one for social media in the “Community Website” category, and a second for marketing and advertising in the “Web apps” category.
Kudos to our PAT team for their tireless efforts and a big thanks to the Hive Awards for recognizing them!
Censuses are by no means a new idea; they’re said to have been conducted in Egypt as early as 3340 BC.
Here in present day USA, the Census is used to allocate hundreds of billions in federal funding to local governments. More people in a certain area = a greater need for more public transportation, new roads and schools, and perhaps a few more seats in the House of Representatives for that state. That last one is actually mandated by the US constitution.
Stakes are high but that’s not stopping some citizens from boycotting the Census this time around. For months now, a few conservative activists have been encouraging people to not fill out or return theirs as a statement against big government.
A leader of the anti-Census movement, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), claims that the Census lays the groundwork for a “Big Brother” situation in Washington. “That's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps," she told Fox News.
Not all Republicans agree with her. "Boycotting the constitutionally mandated Census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country," said Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.).
Millions around the world will turn off their lights tonight for one hour to conserve massive amounts of energy and call attention to the importance of respecting our environment.
Whatever your views on global climate change, most of us can agree that saving energy and coming together to show that you value our beautiful world is a good idea. Plus, it can be fun to light some candles with friends or family and relax, chat, or just play games – truth or dare anyone?
What are you planning to do in the dark tonight? If 8:30 has already come and gone where you are, did you observe it?
Happy Friday! In just a few short hours (or less), most of us will have two glorious days free of obligation and filled with possibility. To welcome the weekend, we’re bringing you a splendidly imaginative vid that might just get your creative juices flowing and inspire a few projects this Saturday. At the very least, you’ll be entertained for almost two whole minutes.
The movie was created by design student, Bang-Yao Liu, for his senior project at Savannah College of Art and Design and took three months of planning and over 6,000 Post-Its! Hope he recycles….
Next to this, SocialVibe’s attempt at being creative with Post-Its a few months ago (below) seems a bit inadequate…
Want to take a stab at making your own stop-motion animation? Check out this wiki article.
Tonight, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together and… tweet. Yes, people from London to New York, Tokyo to Toronto will be tweeting for good tonight at the second annual Twestival.
Last February, the first ever Twestival raked in more than $250,000 for charity: water, enough to build 55 wells and provide 17,000 people in Africa and India with clean, safe water. Most donations occur during the event, and right now - 3pm on the West Coast here in the States – the total has already passed $285,000.
Donations this year will go to Concern Worldwide, an organization working to educate the world's poorest children.
“Twestival doesn't just bring in the dollars. It matters because it raises awareness on a global scale. With more than 48,000 tweets posted about the event so far, Concern Worldwide has seen its message spread by a veritable army of Twitter fanatics,” writes Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, a leading social media blog.
No Twestival event in your neck of the woods? Participate by bidding in the Twestival celeb charity auction on eBay. The list of items ranges from a grab bag from Paris Hilton, to a tour of NBC studios, or even a call from Justin Bieber.
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