Why #YesAllWomen is Important

By now, many Twitter users have seen the #YesAllWomen hashtag that's been trending over the weekend in wake of the terrifying shooting that happened in Isla Vista Friday night. For those who have been away from the news, a 22 year old man went on a shooting rampage that was primarily fueled by his hatred and entitlement towards women. Many issues have been brought into the spotlight including the mens' rights movement, and pick-up-artists, both groups that are steeped in a vision of traditional masculinity and an intent to keep things that way.

As usual, unfortunately, when women speak up about what it's like to live in a society where others feel entitled to their bodies, some guys have responded by saying "not all men are like that". I can agree, but enough men are like that for women, including myself, to be the subject of unwanted advances and the worry over saying no to the wrong individual. Enough men are like that for women to be perpetually wary when out in public.

#YesAllWomen is important because as it caught on it gave women room to share their stories of male entitlement. It gave platform to illustrate the fact that as a society gender equality has a long way to go. Women shared stories about sexual assault, threats made towards them, the constant worry that just the act of going outside by yourself makes you subject to objectification. Even men have joined in to support the idea that yes, all women are people deserving of basic human respect.

As mentioned above, I have been subject to unwanted male attention. My first few weeks in Rochester a man tried to proposition me from his apartment window. Another man was after me for eight months, he didn't stop until I showed him my engagement ring, saying I had a boyfriend wasn't enough. I've heard the line, "I'm not a rapist," in response to a refusal to give out my number to a complete stranger. One man asked if he could follow me when I went out for a walk. Even with mentioning my status he still tries to talk to me when he sees me out and about. It's frightening to think I could say no to somebody one day and they'll assault me in some manner. Even worse, I might get told that I could have avoided such suffering if I just said yes. I shared my own stories and added to the voices who have had enough.

It's not just me though. I have a friend in Pittsburgh who gets called racist for turning men down. Another friend in Portland is dealing with a man who constantly buys her gifts despite her having a boyfriend. I saw a couple teenage girls get catcalled by some men on Monroe Ave one afternoon. The East Ave Rapist plead guilty a month ago after attacking two women last year, he also intended to kill one of them. Women everywhere have stories about the physical and verbal violence they face from men on a regular basis.

Of course not all men are like that. The ones who know about this behavior openly support the women in their lives, be they family, friends, or acquaintances. The men who don't, are horrified when they such stories. I think we should spread the conversation offline to raise awareness and take a stand. Nobody should have to feel like a piece of meat just for leaving the sanctuary of their home.

Encountering the Black Hat: Why Slow and Steady is Better

Last night I attended a social. Open socials are not my strong point, especially if I'm in a room of unfamiliar faces. I gave it a shot though and had the opportunity to try a new product out. I won't name any names, because I believe it to be poor taste to name names when bringing up examples of what not to do.

Now the product itself was great, and it was wonderful that the Developer had it out for people to use and enjoy. It gave people a chance to try it out, there was even an opportunity to win a T shirt. The in-person engagement was spot-on. After I tried it out I had the opportunity to discuss social media with the Developer. We agreed that it is crucial to marketing, and agreed that Facebook's pay for play tactics were questionable particularly for small businesses/start ups. That's where it ended though.

He encouraged me to look into Black Hat tactic tools for building engagement. Some are quite pricey, but they can build your numbers via bots crawling social networks for you. Many of us have likely encountered bot use as users, how else do porn blogs follow Tumblr users minutes after posting something tagged #nsfw? Or when your tweet includes a key word that some company enters into a search and you find a new follower who is selling something you may have minute interest in?

In SEO, Black Hat incorporates many strategies that are both outdated and put into overkill. Keyword stuffing is a big one. Other tactics include hiding those stuffed key words, or human visitors going to a page different from the one that search engine crawlers are directed to. Things that will get your page taken off Google listings if Google finds out.

Real social media strategy takes time, patience, and a human touch. Manually combing for followers might be tedious, but you're more likely to find your brand advocates there. If you want to bring the followers to you, make yourself visible. This product developer could have easily Instagrammed photos from last night, added some key hash tags, and viola, new followers. If people check the tag for the event they attended and see themselves, they'll be happy to be acknowledged. This developer could tweet where the next product demo is going to be and tag the location to let fans of that location know. All it takes is some time and effort and you can build a good strategy.

In the short term Black Hat can lead to a quick boost in profit and numbers, but it won't last. The numbers you gain are more likely to be empty figures than customers who have an actual relationship with your brand. Social media is about building a relationship online, it's not just an numbers game. If you think it is, you're committing an indignity to your followers. Yes building your audience takes time, but those followers will be the ones who remember you and will remain loyal. They'll be the ones who tell their friends about your brand, and they'll be your promoters. Ultimately they'll be the ones who may be key to keeping your brand in business. Slow and steady definitely wins on this one.