Yesterday evening I spoke to Adrian Goldberg about a variety of social media stories on BBC 5 Live (and was listening just before I went on, when they had a story about teenagers/social media which I’d like to relisten to – sounded like whoever it was was making a whole load of sense):

Story 1: Wedding Etiquette

Story in Tatler
My first thought before I read the story was respect what the bride/groom want in respect of social media, especially if they don’t want it shared, or a sharing delay. Some of my vicar friends have now made this a default question in planning.
In an age of ‘bridezillas’ thought it was nice to have a piece about how you might respect others, but found the article overall rather prescriptive, so would take it all with a pinch of salt!
Engagement: I love seeing someone’s big grin & ‘the ring’ in shot, but share what you want … Wary about all the ‘big proposals’ that are designed to be shared on Instagram. Marriage is a big commitment and not just about ‘the ring’ or ‘the day’, but people’s excitement is infectious! Take off the pressure to be cute/clever, and share as you are – and I’m quite happy if you say ‘thanks to everyone’ as you’ll probably get an overwhelming number of responses.
Wedding Planning: Most people use Pinterest. Certainly true that no one cares as much as you do, but you’ll probably know if you’re oversharing because engagement will decrease! Just be you – you can share bits of exercise if it helps encourage you, or move that to Strava (which is designed for that). Know your friends – what are they interested in, or do you set up a private group with just certain friends?
Hen Do: It recommends keeping this to WhatsApp – and I would definitely say it’s fine to talk about what’s OK to share … but if you share a lot, it’s very easy to scroll past once I feel I’ve seen enough.
Wedding Day: Again, depends on your friends, and if social media has played a big part in your journey together – then updating a status live at the reception or something may be a big deal! Others may encourage sharing whatever, some may ask you to share privately (e.g. via Dropbox), others to a wedding app, some might ask for a 24 hour delay – getting the vicar/celebrant to make this clear can be helpful if it’s not already been made clear in invites, etc. Wedding hashtag – I’d expect that to have been shared beforehand too – and made visible if you want people to use it! I go to a lot of church weddings, vows seen as a sacred moment so often people asked to wait til couple walking back down the aisle. If we know official photography going to be shared, then encourages people to sit back – and take more informal images at other points in the day.
Honeymoon: Can be over-spammed, but also your friends are likely to be happy that you’re having the holiday of a lifetime! I know people who are saving the BIG honeymoon for later – just watched a brilliant delayed honeymoon in the USA via Instagram – if you’re enjoying yourself share away. I watch Insta stories on fast-forward when they’re repetitive and memes would indicate I’m not the only one! A variation of this:

If you think I watched your Snapchat story this is how I really watched it pic.twitter.com/GHuJejLRK1

— Kushmar ? (@TheBluntDoctor6) March 8, 2019

After the Wedding: Tatler encourages you to hold back on reposting, but I love a big collection of professional wedding pics, so again, it’s know your friends!
Related posts, giving some interesting stats on use, and the pressure to create an ‘Instaperfect’ wedding:

Story 2: Social Media and Burglaries

Story in Bristol Post
The police are advising people to avoid posting holidays on social media, as become a target, and invalidate your insurance
#DontMakeItEasy related (bigger) hashtag for campaign. Advises no holiday plans online, don’t leave bins out, set lights on timers
In January 2017 – Kim Kardashian robbed in Paris, said because she posted jewellery on social media, although later seen as an ‘inside job’
Technology now means more can be done remotely – such as heating, lighting, CCTV, doorbells – can all be managed from phone
Insurance companies can say it’s not ‘taking reasonable care’ – I need to check my policy documents.
Be wary of holiday countdowns – as 36% give away a future date, 40% check into specific locations on Facebook, 50% of houses are burgled when owners away.
Independent last year – noted that expensive belongings/holidays increase likelihood of being robbed. 1/12 Brits – been burgled after posting on social media – seen as ‘bragging’. ADT alarms said 78% of burglars use Facebook/Twitter to target properties (based on what data?).
In July 2017, John Terry was burgled whilst on a ski holiday – he had a large number of followers, obviously had valuable items, address known, home layout visible from previous posts, but footballers have previously been targeted whilst they are playing on pitch.
In December 2018, Ideal Home posted that 49% of burglars are known to the victim and track their habits (which I find more scary than randoms!) Notes that information can be collated from multiple platforms. Suggests – set posts to private, post when get home, disable GPS, don’t accept friend requests from unknowns.
Is it irritating to see people’s pictures – again it’s about knowing your friends – I get annoyed by over-curated collections! Share the REAL joy!
I live alone, have travelled a lot (in past) – but I have an alarm, timers, but more importantly I know my neighbours and keep them in the loop. My job means it’s very clear when I’m away – and I think insurance companies need to get with the 21st Century and understand how people actually use social media.

Story 3: Facebook User Numbers Down?

Story in Telegraph
MixPanel analytics indicated that dropped by 38% between June 2018 and July 2019 – talking about online interactions (when someone clicks on a web link (of interest to users), or an advert (how Facebook makes its money).
Facebook says there is a slow but steady rise in users in Europe, but in July 2018 – £95bn was wiped off Facebook market value.
Think about statistics – damn lies and statistics – e.g. in article can see numbers going up/down across the year – e.g. hugely up in January 2019, a big drop in July 2019 – wonder what is pushing/limiting engagement – e.g. New Year’s resolutions, hot weather, etc. Big drop post Cambridge Analytica – do have a number of friends who won’t use Facebook for ethical reasons…
Think about the growth of ‘dark social’ – information that happens on more private spaces such as Messenger/WhatsApp
Facebook in North America = reaching saturation (and wondering how many people have duplicate accounts despite that being against Facebook rules), so growth will be looking to developing countries. Not clear if both sets of stats include other Facebook owned platforms – Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.
MixPanel looking at InApp use only – people either spending less time or being more passive about engagement. Wondering if people save more intensive use for e.g. laptops?
Different advertising tactics? Less slots = price rise, or does it mean the platform itself is less appealing to advertisers?
Huge number of users for Instagram stories – this and WhatsApp – doesn’t really seem to be monetised yet… Younger users in particular seem to either not join Facebook, or use it for wider family rather than everyday use (wary about rolling up into a group – but see more on Instagram/WhatsApp/Tik-Tok).
Got no sense of methodologies for either study – and a lot of Facebook data is hidden behind closed doors.
Zuckerberg has said seeking to change algorithms – less on clickbait/viral videos – is this an ethical decision, or in response to legal challenges

Ironically the next story was straight onto screentime, in response to this story in the Guardian.

In yesterday’s newspaper, a checkout operative at Sainsbury’s refused to serve a customer unless she finished her mobile phone call first. The customer said:

I was dumbfounded at the time so just hung up. I don’t know what she was playing at. I couldn’t believe how rude she was.

But the majority of those online who joined in the debate were behind the checkout girl:

I think using a mobile phone when you are engaged in an activity involving face to face contact with another person is incredibly rude and offensive.

Read the full story in the Evening Standard, which the following day sent a reporter into four stores in London, and paid whilst on the phone. All operatives served her, but afterwards said that they had found it rude:

You came up to me while you were on the phone. I find that really rude. I won’t make a comment but I find it quite rude. Sometimes they’re talking about private stuff. I don’t want to hear that, I don’t want to hear if they had sex last night.

Read the full story in the Evening Standard. What do you think? Who was being rude?