We Don’t Need No Education

While trying to come up with ideas for this week’s blog I looked through my previous posts for inspiration. One of the underlining themes that are running though my previous musings is education.

I don’t mean education in a formal sense; although it would be an appropriate theme for me as an educator. I think education in an informal or student led format should be part of everyone’s life. It would appear that with all the information available at any time there should be an unprecedented amount of self-education occurring.  There is a constant increase in the amount of information available to the masses. In fact there is a dangerously high level of information available 24/7 according to Jodi Dean in her article The Limits of Communication. The availability of information and the need to keep up with the flow of information is like a hamster on a wheel maintaining its state of inertia.

Education versus Information

There is a difference between education and information. Just because information is available, it doesn’t mean I will consume any of it or even if I do, I won’t necessarily do anything with it. I can look at the information available to me and think, why would I learn any of it when I can look it up when I need it? Or there is so much available to me that it is debilitating to even consider digging into it. There is also the situation of self-curated news where the only information an individual is consuming is the news that they’ve chosen to be exposed to. In this case you may be learning, but only about what you’ve chosen to view.

What is my motivation?

What will motivate individuals to look farther than their default MSN homepage for news? What will inspire people to look deeper and learn about politics and events occurring around them or around the world? In Naomi Klein’s article Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Nowshe discusses how those part of the Occupy Movement found each other. They are individuals who want a better world and are prepared to protest to get their message across. What about the people who are not willing to go to that extreme? Maybe the threats to net neutrality will get individuals fired up. Or it could be the threat of becoming a surveillance state which will prompt an individual to question decision makers. If you are controlling your own exposure to information, how will information reach you? How can others be educated about issues they don’t even know they should be educated about?

I think I’m fortunate that I’ve embarked on an educational journey to open my eyes and possibly those around me to the events unfolding around us locally and world-wide. My network is limited, how will others be reached and then motivated to learn?

Hear no evil, see no evil…

This is going to a departure from my usual blogs, this one starts with a story…

Family Vacation

Several years ago I was on vacation with my family in Phoenix.   My children were both under 2 years old at the time so the husband and I weren’t going out much in the evenings. We would watch TV including the local news broadcast. Half of the news hour was Phoenix and area based. This included listing restaurants which had recently had health violations, as well as high school sports coverage. Then it would move into state news, and then US wide news. There was no international news coverage.

I have no problem with pride in local sports or useful information about unsafe restaurants, but isn’t it important to see what is going on outside your own country?

The Big Picture

The problem is that this isn’t just a random example of how Americans are unaware of world events and politics. The system within which they live instils ignorance and maintains their complacency. A person would genuinely have to seek out world news to know what is going on beyond the US borders. I don’t believe American’s are less intelligent than citizens of any other country despite what Rick Mercer’s Talking to Americans may indicate. There are many worldly and intelligent Americans including famous American comedians known for their political satire and wit.

But what about CNN?

It could be argued that those watching Phoenix news only want local and national news, so that is what they are given. Maybe with access to CNN, there is no need for small news stations to cover international events. But it is hard to miss something you have never had. It makes me wonder if this is how it has always been or was there a slow cutting back of international content.

Ignorance is Bliss

Watching, What Are We Capable Of – THIS IS ANONYMOUS!  reminded me of the Phoenix newscasts. Approximately four minutes into the video it states “you are satisfied with my ignorance”. If individuals have to work to find out what is going on in the world around them, there are more unlikely to do so. The internet gives users access to unlimited information on any international news topics but do people seek it out? The trend is towards tailoring news and information to suit individual interests. If people have no interest or even know about global events will they bother to look them up?

Accidental or on Purpose?

A society which is not interested in its own politics and events is easier to monitor and control. The American government must be satisfied with the ignorance of its own people.

My final thought; did this ignorance occur by chance or is it a deliberate attempt to keep Americans intentionally ignorant?

Social Network Diagram Analysis for Work and Play

Social network analysis often involves the interpretation of social network diagrams. Many people are familiar with the diagrams individuals post on their own social networks that can be created by using apps such as InMaps for LinkedIn which can provide a visual representation of your social network. LinkedIn was chosen for this example since it is one of the personal social networks where an individual may be purposefully curating their network. Whether it is connecting with customers or potential employers, there are many reasons to study and identify where to expand your professional social network.

Not Just a Pretty Picture

These network diagram apps create visually stunning representations of your social network, but they can also be a useful tool to identify gaps or structural holes in your personal network. Are there areas in your professional past which are missing connections? Searching former coworkers or classmates as well as their connections can help fill areas where you are lacking connections.   

 Too Much of the Same

If your social network diagram is made up of one colour and looks like a tight ball (like the purple one on the right in the above diagram), this is an indication that your network is all from the same organization. Perhaps you are a student without any other work experience and all your connections are fellow students and instructors. Maybe you’ve only worked for one company in your career. Either way you have too much homophily. Forming a tight network with individuals you share strong ties with seems like an intelligent choice. If you are staying in the same area of work, you want to know others in the same industry. Unfortunately this reasoning may not help you when you search for a new job. If you and your connections all work for the same company, they may not be useful when trying to find new employment. It has been shown that your weak ties, those that you may have no strong social connection to, may be more useful when job searching.     

Not just for LinkedIn…

A personal Facebook network can be visually mapped as well, and is certainly interesting particularly to identify small world connections and how interconnected your friends really are. If you work in an area where personal recommendations and references are important, curating your personal social networks may make sense. Another option may be to connect with your friends though your professional social network as well. This not only creates greater diffusion of your professional network but also adds multiplexity to your network. Kadushin mentions in Chapter 12 of Understanding Social Networks: Theories, Concepts, and Findings, “networks can be ‘stacked’ by creating matrixes of more than one relationship” (p.203).  You may have friends who are also coworkers, clients or classmates.

The Tool is only as Good as the User

The use of LinkedIn and social network diagrams are only as useful as they are accurate representations of your profile and professional network. Not everyone you are connected to professionally is on LinkedIn. Getting in the habit of searching and then connecting with new connections you’ve made professionally is a good step towards accurately portraying your network. Making sure your profile is accurate and up to date is also useful for individuals looking to connect with you.

Taking time to analyse your network and where it can be improved can help increase your social capital as well as increase your ability to be a connector for your friends, clients and colleagues.

Thanks to…

A shout out to Leo Urrutia for sharing the InMaps social network diagram app.

References

Kadushin, C. (2012). Understanding Social Networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. New York: Oxford University Press.

Social Media Noob No More!

Reflecting on this semester I can honestly say that my social media presence has increased immensely. Funny enough it has nothing to do with adding social media platforms to my repertoire, but my actual activity in these accounts. The accounts which I already had are Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. My activity in them has been more like watching a parade, I’m present, but I’m not actually participating. I’ve outlined how that has changed below.

Facebook Voyeur?

Facebook has been a platform I historically accessed just to watch other people having fun on Facebook. I enjoyed reading the news feed on my phone or tablet just to see what friends were posting. I very rarely commented or posted. I have started to post my own material as well as comment on and like other’s posts. I tend to post about my kids, who are a never ending source of funny material, but really trying to not oversharent or do anything which may embarrass them later. Many of my Facebook friends would more accurately fall under a ‘Facebook Acquaintance’ description if such a title existed. They are all social relationships, although a mixture of loose and tight connections. 

LinkedIn Connector

LinkedIn has been an important professional social media tool for me although I still need to use it to a greater potential. It provides me with access to current and former students, as well as other professional contacts. My classmate Diana describes similar experiences on her blog. I arrange summer co-op jobs for my students at NAIT so making and maintaining industry contacts is important for me professionally. As an instructor I act as a useful link for potential employers and graduates to connect. I also have unique access to information regarding trends in the engineering design industry based on being a central point of communication for many companies and individuals. For these reasons I have the most social capital in LinkedIn. 

I pin, you pin, we all Pinterest

I was using Pinterest previously to look up home décor, fashion, recipes (just like everyone else on Pinterest, see Top Pinterest Pins for 2013). I have added more boards including a social media one and a design one which related is to work. Jennifer, another one of my classmates mentioned in her blog that she experiences “ more ‘social’ activity happening on Pinterest from people outside (her) network than from either Twitter or LinkedIn”. I have had the same experience with Pinterest. My settings on Facebook don’t allow much interaction outside of my network, but my Pinterest boards are public. Also all my boards are content I’ve repinned from someone else so I don’t feel the same need for privacy. If someone repins the same art deco lamp that I repinned, I never felt it was really mine. I only have the pleasure in knowing there are others with the same fabulous taste in décor.  This makes my Pinterest network the loosest of all my social networks but I’m not using it for human connections, I’m just information gathering.

Twitter Transformation

Using Twitter has been my biggest challenge and biggest surprise. I was also a twitter voyeur. Again just reading the tweets of others and not contributing. I was extremely sceptical of Twitter adding any value to my life. Since starting this course I’ve actually enjoyed tweeting and sharing information; particularly when I find an article of interest to one of my followers. It is also handy to get information sent to me from followers who know my interests. It has been a convenient media for accessing news and other timely stories. Most of my followers are classmates, but it also surprises me when someone I retweet chooses to follow me. I am still learning the appropriate etiquette for this platform. I’m still not sure if I should thank someone for a retweet, but I am still impressed that one of my first tweets (of a Food Network article) received a thank you from the author.

Final Word on Blogging

Another area which is new to me is blogging. Coming up with interesting material each week is stressful since it is ‘out there’, and not confined to the academic wiki only seen by my kind and forgiving classmates. Although it is unlikely this is being read by anyone outside of my class, the point that someone could and judge me, is alarming. Despite this fear, I would like to continue blogging. 

I believe everyone should take risks and force themselves out of their comfort zones regularly. This isn’t like jumping out of a plane, but putting myself out there in all of my networks still gives me butterflies in my stomach. I think that is a good thing. 

Deceive, Inveigle, Obfuscate

(A rare opportunity to quote X-files)

Internet Service Provider Voluntary Blocking

In the Deibert and Rohozinkski article Beyond Denial: Introducing Next Generation Information Access Controls, it is stated that “Internet censorship is becoming a global norm” (p.5). The article focuses on state sanctioned control of the internet but it is interesting how much censorship is actually voluntarily done. Internet service providers all over the world voluntarily choose to filter material for their subscribers.

The majority of web sites voluntarily blocked by ISP’s are those related to child pornography. Very few people are going to stand up and demand they have a right to view child porn. This may be viewed as a public service that your internet provider does so you and your family do not accidentally access such material as well may be considered a deterrent to those setting up such websites. Countries which have ISP’s engaged in voluntary blocking of child porn include Canada and Australia.

What else is being blocked?

Other types of material have been blocking in different parts of the world. In 2009, Ireland was one of the first countries to voluntarily block the popular torrent site Pirate Bay. By 2013, several ISP’s in Ireland had agreed to voluntarily block other bit torrent websites.

In the UK, ISP’s are now required to block ‘adult content’ by default. This requires internet subscribers who would like access to adult themed material to contact their ISP and request access to any adult content.

Is this so bad?

When examining the material which is voluntarily being blocked, is there a cause for consumer concern? Child pornography and downloading copyrighted material is illegal, so there isn’t much of an argument for the right to access either of them. Adult content on the internet can be legally accessed by adults so is it appropriate to require adults to disclose to their ISP that they want access to adult material?  Also, what is adult content? I assume this includes pornography web sites but what about on line lingerie shops or boudoir photography web sites? What constitutes adult content can be painted with very broad strokes. Another concern is that if individuals request access to adult content their internet service provider will now have that information about them.

What will come next?

All of these areas are difficult to argue against not having access to because of the type content being blocked. What else is being blocked as collateral damage when policy is so broad and sweeping? 

References:

Deibert, Ron & Rohozinkski, Rafal. 2010. Beyond Denial. Introducing Next Generation Information Access Controls. In Deibert et al. Access Controlled: Shaping of Power, Rights and Rule in Cyberspace. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Google, the Flu and You

Epidemiology is the “study of patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations”. Typically this area is related to public health. In Kadushin’s Understanding Social Networks: Theories, Concepts, and Findings (2012) epidemiology is related to social networks and the diffusion of information and influence through social contact. Information, just like many diseases, can be spread through human contact. Google Flu Trends is a website which illustrates how closely linked epidemiology is to the loose network of Google users.

Epidemiology and Google Flu Trends

Google Flu Trends uses Google searches as the basis for determining where flu outbreaks are occurring. According to Google they “have found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms”. Google uses its own tools to conduct its own ongoing epidemiological study. By tracking the numbers and locations of online searches of flu related topics, locations of potential flu outbreaks can be determined.

Does it Really Work?

According to the article Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data, “about 90 million American adults are believed to search online for information about specific diseases or medical problems each year, making web search queries a uniquely valuable source of information about health trends” (Brammer et al., 2009). This is not the only innovative method used to locate influenza activity. Brammer et al.’s article also notes that over the counter drug sales as well as tracking telephone call volumes to health information centers are other methods used. In areas where there are a high population of internet users, it is believed to be possible to accurately detect flu outbreaks (Brammer et al., 2009).

On the other hand, this type of analysis is only accurate as long as what Google is actually tracking is kept private. According to Information Week, a 2008 New York Times article about Google Flu Trends, provided an actual query Google was tracking. This prompted the general population to search this particular query and as a result inflated data was collected. Google has since adjusted its algorithms to better assess media influence. The term “viral marketing” used by Kadushin (p.160, 2012) is particularly apt for this situation. Viral marketing involves information transmitting from the media to opinion leaders and then to their immediate circles. The information transmits to the next circle and so forth as the information is diffused outward. Opinion leaders who read the New York Times article would have shared the Google query with their circle and then it would have transmitted to other circles. This lead to incorrect flu epidemic identification.

In Google We Trust?

The studying of disease outbreaks may be viewed as an altruistic act on Google’s part, but it begs the question, what else is Google tracking and collecting about you? According to an Upstart Business Journal article, your device, location and local storage may be collected by Google when you use their applications. As the New York Times incident above proves, data collecting algorithms are only useful when kept private. In the Democracy Now! video, Illusions of Security: Global Surveillance and Democracy in the Post-9/11 World, Maureen Webb discusses using internet searches to predict who may be a terrorist. This type of predictive technology and the criteria it uses is kept secret which prevents individuals from being able to modify their behaviour accordingly. As Webb points out, “you’ll never know what information has been used against you, you’ll never be able to correct or contextualize it”.

References:

Brammer, L., Brilliant, L., Ginsberg, J., Mohebbi, M. H., Patel, R. S., & Smolinski, M. S. (2009). Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data. Nature, 457(7232)

Kadushin, C. (2012). Understanding Social Networks: Theories, concepts, and findings. New York: Oxford University Press.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma & eBay

In Howard Rheingold’s video, Introduction to Cooperation Theory, he discusses three different social dilemmas (or mythic narratives). The first described is the prisoner’s dilemma.

What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma?

The prisoner’s dilemma is a situation where two criminals are arrested and imprisoned for a crime. The individuals are jailed separately and cannot communicate. Each prisoner is given the same deal. One prisoner can confess and be set free, but the other prisoner if remains silent will receive a longer sentence (and vice versa). They can both remain silent and both serve a shorter sentence. If they both confess they will both serve a medium length sentence. The dilemma for each prisoner is what to do without knowing what the other prisoner will do.

This dilemma is used to describe a mathematical concept in the area of game theory. “Game theory can be defined as the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent and rational decision makers” (Myerson, 1991, p.1).  The prisoner’s dilemma is a narrative developed to explain the theory to non-mathematicians. Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher are attributed as developing the theory as part of their work for the Rand Corporation in 1950.

The prisoner’s dilemma is not only limited to mathematical research. David Gauthier, a philosopher used the prisoner’s dilemma to explain rationality and morality. “Gauthier suggests that people often act morally and overcome the prisoner’s dilemma because they recognize that obeying morals is in their self-interest” (Burke, 2007, p.8).

How does this Relate to eBay?

Rheingold’s video uses ecommerce as a modern application of prisoner’s dilemma. He discusses how a buyer will not pay for an item they have not received, while a seller will not hand over an item for which they have not received payment. Both individuals end up with unsatisfactory results.

Despite Rheingold’s example, these types of transactions take place all the time through ecommerce. Large retailers such as Amazon conduct business in this manner, as do small businesses and individuals on eBay and Craigslist. According to a CNET article, eBay plans to double its current transactions by 2015. That would amount to $200 million active users on eBay alone.

Why does eBay work?

If you apply the prisoner’s dilemma to ecommerce, these transactions should not be taking place. In the book Understanding Social Networks: Theories, Concepts, and Finding, Kadushin (2012) discusses how “even in the modern era of the internet…there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction, at least to establish the basis for future non-face-to-face interaction and to develop or renew trust (p.126).  Face to face interaction does not occur in eBay transactions. Using PayPal for financial transactions can help ensure the seller receives payment, but what ensures that the merchandise is sent to the purchaser?

Developing Trust

eBay has a system in place which helps buyers and sellers to provide feedback to each other. This information system, known as Feedback creates a public score of each user on eBay. Individuals with positive feedback (buyers and sellers) may appear more trustworthy to other users. This can develop the trust which cannot be developed through face to face interaction. As Kadushin (2012) states, “success breeds success” (p. 116) so increased positive Feedback will promote more transactions for the user.

This also follows Gauthier’s view on human behaviour. Buyers and sellers in ecommerce tend to behave in a rational manner which ultimately is in their self-interest.

References

Burke, M. (2007). The Emergence and Evolution of Social Norms: Rational Cooperation in a Finitely Repeated

Prisoners’ Dilemma.  Wesleyan University. Middletown, Connecticut.

Myerson, R. (1991). Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict, Harvard University Press

Working in a Silo – It is really so bad?

In his book, Understanding Social Networks: Theories, Concepts, and Findings, Kadushin (2012) discusses how “most large organizations develop separate divisions or units that specialize in a particular area (p.97). These separate divisions are often referred to silos and are thought of negatively as reducing productivity and preventing teams from working effectively. This is due to the separation of working in individual areas creates as well the potential need for information in one silo to “go up the chain of command and then down again” (Kadushin, 2012, p.97) into another silo just to get work done.

This type of workplace organization is difficult to see in a positive light. Segregating individuals and enforcing a chain of command does not seem to benefit anyone but management who are attempting to “decrease the span of control, as well as preserve organizational secrets” (Kadushin, 2012, p.97).

There is another way

There is another way to look at this type of organizational structure and that relates to Dunbar’s number. This theory states that humans are only capable of maintaining 150 relationships. According to Robin Dunbar who developed this theory, the number of relationships a person can maintain is due to the size of his neocortex. These relationships can include coworkers, as well as family and friends outside of work.

For example…

Consider an individual whose social network entirely consists of coworkers. That would mean that this individual would be capable of developing a meaningful connection with 150 people in his office. If this were a company of 150 people or less this individual may be well connected within the organization. If he had a question, he would likely know who to go to due to having a genuine connection to each person.

But what if this was an office of 600 people? This individual would still be familiar with a quarter of the staff, but who they are in the organization could be random. Finding the proper authority on an issue may require going through more people in his network. The person necessary may be a ‘friend of a friend’ or someone a few connections over. How quickly the right person could be found would depend on accessing the right connection. Managing to talk to the right contact would decrease the degrees of separation between the individual and the co-worker with the information they need.

Now consider taking all of the 600 employees and splitting them into four or more separate areas based on the project they are working on. This would allow workers a better opportunity to know members of their team. They would be working in silos, but at least they are surrounded by people working on the same thing, and provide immediate access to information pertinent to their work. Information does not need to travel up, across and then down another silo. Knowing the people in your silo would help you know the right connection to information in another silo. This can decrease the individual’s network costs.

Real life examples

The company GORE-TEX utilizes this model and limits the amount of people in each factory to 150 people.

Hutterites and Amish communities have around 150 people and split once their numbers grow too big.

There are several articles on social media and whether Dunbar’s number still applies today. With connections through social media, is it possible to have more than 150 relationships?

Social Media & Pareto’s Principle: What can’t be applied to the 80-20 rule?

80/20 80-20 80/20 80-20 80/20 80-20 80/20 80-20 80/20 80-20

In Clay Shirky’s Ted Talk ‘Institutions vs Collaboration’, Shirky discusses the power law distribution to explain how often only a few people will contribute the majority photos on Flickr, while the majority of people will only contribute a few. This distribution is commonly known as the 80-20 law or Pareto’s Principle.

Where did it come from?

Pareto’s Principle was developed by Joseph Juran although named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist. The principle states that “80 percent of consequences stem from 20 percent of causes” (New York Times).

Although Pareto first identified this phenomenon in the late 1800’s, it is still prevalent today. The 80-20 law is used in business (80% of your sales will be from 20% of your customers) as well as wealth distribution (20% of the population have 80%of the wealth).

Picture by Hay Kranen / PD

A graph like the one above is used to illustrate how 80% of the consequences (sales or wealth distribution) along the vertical axis can be related to 20% of the population or customers (horizontal axis).

Although Shirky uses Flickr as an example in his Ted Talk, this distribution can be applied to many forms of social media in various ways. Below are several examples of how Pareto distribution can be applied to social media.

Examples in Social Media

According to the article, ‘Statistics and Social Network of YouTube Videos’ the “lifespan of YouTube videos follows a Pareto distribution” (Cheng et al., 2008, p.237). The number of views a YouTube video will receive peaks initially and then drops off sharply as time passes.

“80% of Twitter engagement consists of people clicking on a Tweet, while the remaining 20% is a Retweet or a Tweet.” (CNNMoney)

Use the 80-20 rule when tweeting. Eighty percent of your tweets should be interesting and useful to your audience. That allows 20% of your tweets to be for self-promotion (Klout). This rule applies to many social media platforms including Facebook.

Similarly when using Pinterest “focus no more than 20% of your social content talking about yourself, and 80% talking about other items/topics related to customer interests within the context of your niche, industry, etc. or that humanize your brand in some way” (SteamFeed).

Facebook ads have an 80-20 rule. Sponsored news feed posts cannot cover more than 20% of an image. (BlueStorm Digital)

It’s everywhere

The 80-20 rule is easily applied to social media as it is to other areas. When web researching the term ’80-20 rule’ popular searches include diets and relationships.  The reach of this principle is widespread. Has the Pareto Principle become an overused and over coined term or are all these examples genuinely following into 80-20 rule?

Sources:

Xu Cheng; Dale, C.; Jiangchuan Liu, “Statistics and Social Network of YouTube Videos,” Quality of Service, 2008. IWQoS 2008. 16th International Workshop , vol., no., pp.229,238, 2-4 June 2008

Social Media Square off – Men vs Women

There is plenty of information regarding which social media sites are favoured by men or women, but how does ones gender affect how one perceives themselves in social media? If more females use Pinterest as an article in Social Media Today indicates, then do females care more about their popularity or perceived ranking on Pinterest than on other social media sites they use? If men favour LinkedIn, do they care about their popularity on this site more than others as well?

Ladies First

According to this infographic, women trust information they gather the most from Pinterest and blogs than other social networking sites. When examining what each of the four platforms mentioned (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and blogs) are used for, Pinterest and blogs are popular for entertainment and gleaning information, not necessarily for sharing it. Pinterest and blogs are most popular for making shopping decisions and looking for advice. Facebook and Twitter are the most popular platforms for the only category directly related to sharing out information, which is updating friends and family.

If Pinterest and blogs are used by females mainly for information gathering while Facebook and Twitter are used more for sharing information, do females care more about their status and rank on Facebook and Twitter more than the others?

And Then the Men

The information I have found in another Social Media Today article indicates that men account for the larger share of users on Google+, LinkedIn and interestingly enough YouTube. So if men are more active in these forms of social media, does this mean they care more about their image and social rank on LinkedIn than Facebook?

We Are All Different

According to a 2010 article in Forbes, women and men use social media differently. “Women often use online social networking tools to make connections and share items from their personal lives, men use them as means to gather information and increase their status.”

So if women and men’s attitudes haven’t changed since 2010, we can say men use YouTube to gather information and LinkedIn is a status seeking tool. I’m not sure what Google+ would be used for in this example, perhaps a combination of the two?

Question Remains Unanswered

Does this mean men care more about their social status on LinkedIn than on Facebook or other social media platforms? Will men spend more time curating their professional profile and endorsing others in hopes of receiving endorsement? Do females ‘like’ others posts and share boards in hopes of receiving the same love back from other users on Facebook and Pinterest?

Readers, I invite you to weigh in.