Category: #socialmedia

Global voices unite for free speech following Musk’s commitment to challenge “draconian” Irish “hate speech” law

Influential voices from across three continents have united in condemnation of Ireland’s proposed far-reaching censorship bill – “The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022”.

The bill purports to combat incitement to “hatred,” but offers no clear definition of what “hate” entails. Free speech experts have raised the alarm that the bill may pave the way for the criminal prosecution of a wide range of expression considered unfavorable by authorities. 

 

The video, published by ADF International on 26th January, features Päivi Räsänen (Finnish parliamentarian) and Gabriel Quadri (Mexican congressman) – public figures prosecuted for their peaceful expression on X in their respective countries.  

Räsänen has undergone almost 5 years of criminal proceedings in Finland on account of a Bible-verse tweet in 2019. Finnish state prosecution has appealed her case to the country’s supreme court, where, if admitted, ADF International would continue to support her legal defence. Quadri was convicted and forced by a Mexican court to post apologies twice a day for fifteen days on X for a series of eleven posts reflecting his beliefs about the biological reality of men and women. ADF International has appealed his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 

“It’s incredibly important to exercise our free speech to defend against the degrading of this basic human right, which belongs to everyone. This Irish ‘hate speech’ bill targets free expression with criminal penalties. We must send a clear message to the Irish parliament that censorship has no role in a democratic society. Free speech is broadly protected in international law, and the government has an obligation to uphold this. 

In other parts of the world where similar ‘hate speech’ legislation has been enforced, we have seen innocent people dragged through the courts for something as simple as a Bible-verse tweet, or affirming biological reality about men and women. Ireland should be a place where we can have important conversations about issues that matter to us – yes, even about controversial and sensitive topics. When these conversations are shut down, we all lose out,” said Lorcàn Price, Irish Barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International, who has been providing members of the Irish parliament legal advice regarding the draft bill’s violations. 

Challenged by Elon Musk 

On 23rd January, in an “X Space” hosted by Ben Scallan of Gript Media, Ireland, Elon Musk committed to challenging the law in court should the legislation pass. Musk further committed to funding the legal fees of Irish citizens prosecuted under the bill. 

The commitment to challenging state censorship follows an open letter addressed to Musk from ADF International in October signed by over 5,000 members of the public, including more than 50 recognised free speech advocates from across the world. 

The letter asked Musk to: 

“Designate funds to support legal action challenging state-sponsored censorship of views on X, broadening your offer regarding cases in the workplace; 

Create an intake mechanism on X whereby individuals can apply for this support; 

Host X Spaces to bring worldwide attention to censorship cases involving both governments and the workplace.” 

Upon seeing Elon’s commitment to challenging state censorship in Ireland, signatories of the letter produced the video message to affirm their support for free speech in Ireland and across the world. 

Pictured: Lorcán Price, Irish Barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International

Far-Reaching Censorship 

As currently drafted, the law would allow police to gain wide authority to search for materials that are “hateful,” rifling through text messages, emails, and personal effects to find prosecutable content – including in the form of jokes or memes. 

On the issue of gender, the bill has a vague and open-ended series of “protected characteristics,” allowing for an infinite number of “gender identities” which could give the protection law to ill-defined identities as “two-spirit,” “non-binary,” “demi-girl” etc. The bill would potentially create a legal scenario where perceived offense against a non-exhaustive list of identities can be met with the full force of the law including possible custodial sentences. The bill also criminalises the possession and circulation of “hateful” materials, where the accused would be require to justify their possession of material which may incite “hate”.  It is currently before the upper house of the Irish parliament where further amendments will be debated.  

Header image – Lorcán Price, Irish Barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International, Sara Gonzales, and Andy Ngo among others joining ADF International in calling on Ireland to abandon far-reaching censorship bill

How to use Filters and Effects on TikTok to add Flair to Your Videos

In 2022, if you don’t find ways to enhance your videos, they probably won’t get watched. That is because everyone on social networks have become professional video editors, thanks to the variety of filters and effects that can be found on these apps. On TikTok, the way to create originally, and be viewed more, is certainly to use them both on your videos. Here is what you need to know, if you wish to add flair to your posts.

As Many Effects and Filters as you can ever desire

The truth is, there are so many effects and filters on TikTok, that it will take you a while to try them all. However, once you do so (or at least tried a few), you should know that there is an important element to keep in mind when using TikTok filters: You want to stick to one or only a few, so that people can recognize your videos easily. Although you may think it is fun to change all the time, it is not the best way to get followers and to keep them viewing your creations, afterwards. Stability is key, and it is true about filters on TikTok, as well.

How to go about adding Filters to Your TikTok Videos

Filters are the first thing you should play around with. You will find them on the top right side of the screen, when you are in a “Create” mode. So, once you have started the app, jump into this mode right away, which you can enter at the bottom of the screen, right in the centre space. Once you have located the filter tab, click on it and a menu will appear, this time at the bottom of your screen. You can now take a look at all the options you have, by swiping. If you are looking for something more precise, in one of the categories, just click on the tab instead of swiping, and you will see the various options, including Portrait and Landscape.

Now that you have found the filter that you want, and you have selected it, you can choose its intensity, by sliding the grader to the left (less intense) or to the right (more intense). Do so until you have found the right one for you, and start recording your video. If you want to close the filter, just click on the “Stop” icon, on the left side.

How to go about adding Effects to Your TikTok Videos

Once TikTok is on, click on the “Record” button, at the bottom. Once that is done, you can now tap on the “Effect” button, also at the bottom of the screen. To choose the effect that you would like to use, first choose the category you want, by swiping left or right. There is more than a dozen, such as green screen, music and animals. Inside them, you will often have up to 50 different elements to choose from. Once you click on one, it can be used automatically, for the most part, while some will require additional inputs on your side.

The Best LinkedIn Tools for Lead Generation

LinkedIn Automation tools are designed to automate your LinkedIn activities. They help users generate new leads and improve sales. Some even allow message personalization and data tracking — further connecting you with awesome people in your industry.

Today, there are a lot of LinkedIn tools for lead generation. Choosing the best one for your needs can be quite difficult. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of handpicked automation tools. We also discuss their features and how you can benefit from using them.

1. Octopus CRM

Octopus CRM is one of the leading LinkedIn lead generation tools today. With Octopus CRM, generating leads is easy. You can also build your personal lead generation campaigns while boosting your business growth on autopilot.

One thing Octopus CRM does best is creating lead generation funnels on the platform. Through automating tasks with Octopus CRM’s B2B lead generation tool, users can save up to 25 hours per week!

Don’t you just hate LinkedIn’s invite limit? Well, Octopus CRM can help you bypass the invite limit by sending connection requests through email. This is totally safe and you will not risk any bans on your LinkedIn account. Aside from its amazing lead generation capabilities, Octopus CRM can also nurture leads by giving you access to bulk messaging, following-up, and auto-endorsing features.

Another great thing Octopus CRM can do is help you keep an eye on the results of your lead generation campaign. With it, you can watch your LinkedIn stats, evaluate the performance of your lead generation campaigns, and monitor your LinkedIn activity.

 

2. Dripify

Dripify is a Lead Generation software for LinkedIn. It’s also an automation tool that’s designed to improve LinkedIn prospecting. Like Octopus CRM, it runs on complete autopilot. With Dripify, generating leads on LinkedIn is easy as pie. You can even close deals on LinkedIn even when you’re away from your computer. This is because Dripify provides complete automation plus it works in the cloud. All you have to do is set your sales funnel and then Dripify will do the job for you.

 Dripify is a great tool that’s beneficial for many business owners, sales teams, marketing agencies, and of course, recruiters. We all know how tough it is to run a business these days — and Dripify saves you time by helping you find leads so you can focus on money-making tasks throughout your day. If you have a dedicated sales team, you can automate LinkedIn lead generation with Dripify. You can also use Dripify’s dashboard to manage campaigns and view analytics. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of everything from your control panel.

Dripify’s personalized campaigns are also great for digital marketing agencies. Your messages won’t look automated plus you can easily switch accounts! And if you’re a recruiter, you’ll be glad to know that Dripify can help you find the right talent fast. Did you know that you can reach out to a maximum of 2000+ potential candidates per month? This will surely fill your open vacancies in a short time!

 Furthermore, Dripify’s advanced algorithm will keep your LinkedIn account safe. Whenever a user signs up with a free trial, Dripify gets a unique IP address from their local region assigned to their account. Dripify will always simulate human behavior when it does tasks for you. Its highly personalized drip campaigns use a variety of LinkedIn actions and delays to make your campaign more human and not bot-like. So rest assured that it’s completely safe and secure.

3. Phantombuster

Phantombuster is currently one of the most used automation tools for LinkedIn lead generation. It is often used in combination with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. With Phantombuster,  you can automate almost everything. It’s also very efficient and fast. Like Octopus CRM and Dripify, it runs from the cloud. It benefits mostly salespeople and marketers who do repetitive things each day. With Phantombuster, they can extract the data they want, automate actions, and get the job done lightning quick!

With Phantombuster, the whole web is a source of data. You can use it for your CRM, database, social networks, and more. Once you set up your actions, the program runs automatically. You can also do chain automation to create better and more advanced workflows. There is also an available template for almost all social networks and websites so you don’t have to create workflows

4. Skrapp.io

Do you want to find lead emails in bulk? Try Skrapp.io. This automation tool does one thing really well: finding B2B emails of contacts from Linkedin’s regular or sales navigator search results. So, how does Skrapp.io software actually finds those emails?

According to their website, their algorithm works by indexing public web pages based on LinkedIn accounts. It basically simulates emails based on companies’ email patterns. It’s very accurate too since it verifies the emails by interacting with email servers. With Skrapp.io, you can find thousands of prospects on LinkedIn. If you’re an email marketer, this tool is just a godsend!

5. Zopto

Zopto is an automation tool for scaling your outreach and generating leads on LinkedIn. Like Octopus CRM and Dripify, Zopto is a cloud-based lead generation tool that works on the background.

It can automate various LinkedIn processes to help you find new customers and markets. Zopto is a wonderful choice for people who are just starting their LinkedIn growth journey. Beginners who don’t have any idea about automation will find Zopto’s processes very easy to understand.

Some of Zopto’s best features include full automation of LinkedIn lead generation with delays to simulate human behavior. Zopto also has enabled multi-user profiles and access to team performance. It also has an in-app LinkedIn chat and if you’re not sure how it works, dedicated support to help you out. Unlike other automation tools, Zopto doesn’t have a free trial. However, it does have great integrations through Zapier and webhooks.

6. SocialPilot

SocialPilot is a LinkedIn tool built for marketing teams. It can be used to post on several social channels including Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. SocialPilot is built for social media teams of all sizes. It can improve their workflow and boost their marketing efforts.

SocialPilot also has amazing analytics where you can track and analyze your LinkedIn social performance. It has collaborative features that allow you to work with your colleagues. With SocialPilot, you can manage multiple clients’ accounts effortlessly. You can easily take over ad campaigns and upload 500 posts with bulk scheduling. It also has its own URL shorteners and a social media content calendar.

SocialPilot is very promising and has been growing tremendously throughout the years. It also has very good customer support that is responsive and reliable. Social Pilot is designed to help users boost their marketing campaign in a short time. It is also applicable to many customers including agencies or freelancers. So if you want a tool that can schedule and publish posts for your LinkedIn accounts, try SocialPilot.

Conclusion

Using the LinkedIn lead generation tools above can help you improve your marketing efforts. Not only will these tools increase traffic and engagements, but also improve the effectiveness of your other LinkedIn marketing strategies. At the end of the day, LinkedIn is just a social channel. Using it to generate leads can be easy by using the right techniques, knowing the right time to post, and tracking your activities to see which works best through trial and error.

How to Find Anyone Online with Just a Name

Have been looking for your long lost high school pal? It can be difficult to find people if you have limited information about their identity. Fortunately, there are many online resources that can guide you to the person even if all you’ve got is a name. 

The beauty of all search engines is that they will provide information from all sorts of websites. For instance, the results will show you the profile of your subject if he has registered in the best casinos in Ireland. Below we will discuss the social networking portals and search engine tricks you can use.

Find Someone without the Last Name

The probability of finding someone is higher if you know their city, last name and first name. However, online searches can still produce results if you know their city and first name.

Search engines are recommended for searches that are limited to the first name. Below we’ll discuss how to find someone with just a first name.

The first name might be enough when finding a popular or famous individual like Tupac or Neymar. However, it won’t be enough if the name is common. It’s therefore advisable to also include other details like their profession, their hometown or where they study. Type these details into Yahoo, Bing or Google and go through the search results.

Alternatively, you can click on the Images tab if you know how the individual looks like. This method is quite effective when normal searches fail. Other effective search engines include DuckDuckGo, Monster Crawler, DogPile, WebCrawler and WayBack Machine.

Facebook Search by Name

It’s advisable to use websites that carry personal information when seeking for someone. Some of these popular sites include LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Facebook is the oldest of these sites and it contains the most subscribers.

It is smarter to start with a Google/Facebook combined search before going for the Facebook internal search. For instance, you can type in “Christian Maguire site:facebook.com” and go through the search results. You can also click on the images tab if you want a thorough search. This trick works even better when your search string also includes location.

The second method is to enter Facebook and type the individual’s name into the search box. You can improve the quality of the search results by making a few tweaks. It’s possible to narrow down results by manipulating the filters to match specific times and places.  These filters will expose older posts even if the person hasn’t posted in a long time.

Other Apps, Sites, and Online Records

Use ZabaSearch to Search for Addresses and Phone Numbers

You can look for your old friend by tying in his/her address or phone number using this unique search engine. It comes with an index that has information about unlisted and listed addresses and numbers. You can start by typing in your own name to see the results. You’ll be creepily-impressed by its accuracy.

Use Pipl to Explore the “Deep Web”

Pipl will help you dig deeper than Google. Pipl’s search results are impressive because they contain information from the “invisible web.” The information includes Amazon wishlists, MySpace pages, press mentions and personal web pages. It’s a search engine that provides accurate information about people with “real” online names. You can use country, state, and city information to filter results for common names.

Wink Helps you to Search Numerous Social Websites

It’s easy to get results from many social sites using Wink. It’s easier than looking through each site on an individual basis. Wink will give you comprehensive search results for sites like Xanga, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and Friendster. The results will be provided in one search.

ZoomInfo Will Help you Get Employment Results

This search engine is normally used to provide information about individuals and companies. The information is normally useful in matching people with the best possible jobs. ZoomInfo will provide you with a person’s current job title and employment history. Type in the individual’s full name and search. It’s advisable to use geographical filters to reduce unnecessary results.

Search for the Phone Number

Search engines can be helpful when finding information attached to a certain phone number. This is usually a straight-forward method if an individual’s phone number is advertised or listed online. It works best if you separate the numbers by experimenting with parentheses, periods and hyphens. You can also place the number in quotes. You can pay a fee to find cell phone information through reverse-tracking.

How to Find Someone by Username?

This is how to find someone if you don’t know their last name. The best way to unearth someone’s identity is to start with Google. It’s as simple as looking for the individual’s username to reveal their social media profile.

The username can be complemented with quotation marks to decrease unnecessary search results. This means you should type in “username” into the search bar. The results will be specific to what you’re looking for.

People search engines are also effective if social networks and Google don’t give you the desired results. Sites like Spokeo and BeenVerified have a reputation of providing verified and updated information.

There are other alternatives such as Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Finding Friends of a Friend

You can use recommendations from various social networks to track down the individuals. These recommendations are usually profiles of people who are connected to the main subject. You can gather clues from the person’s inner circle. It’s therefore possible to find someone without a last name.

This method works very well in Facebook because the site exposes you to mutual friends and it allows you to send a friend request. You can also speak to a person using direct messages.

Conclusion

Search engines and social media platforms have made it easy to find long lost friends even if we don’t have sufficient information. In fact, search engines like WayBack Machine are so powerful that they can recover information that has already been deleted on the internet. You might need some luck and perseverance but you will find your subject if you use the above methods. You can even use professionals to help you locate the person you want.

Standing Out On Social Media With Animated Videos. #SocialMedia #Videos

Today, all of us have become active users of various social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Social Media has become a significant medium for us to connect with our friends, family, and millions of other people. But do you know that Social Media is also a very potent tool for the promotion of business products and services? Yes, you heard it right.

An Animated Video on Social Media is a highly effective way for business promotion and advertisement. It not only generates high web traffic but also increases the online engagement of the customers.  2D-3D Animated Videos combines audio-visuals in a highly attractive manner. Such videos are short & simple and therefore easy to retain by the human mind.

Also, these videos can be customized as per your business needs which make them even more interesting. You may share these videos across all social media platforms for a wider reach. And, the most amazing part is, animated videos are very budget-friendly. It is considerably cheaper to make an animated video as compared to a live video or a film shot. So, with so many benefits of Animated Videos, why not make one for yourself to entertain and yet deliver your message to the target audience?

So, IS Social Media Bad For Us Really? #Social #SocialMedia

Guest Post – For some, the mere mention of the phrase “social media” can turn them away from whoever uttered it. Nothing can be worse than this attention-guzzling, addition-forming, artificial-feeling method of staying connected with friends and family. But maybe social media is simply getting a bad rap. According to a new study by Carphone Warehouse, being on social media can have surprising benefits. For one, more than half of Britain would say it allows them to maintain invaluable relationships with their loved ones.

It got us thinking – perhaps there’s more to social media than doomsday headlines might suggest. So, we looked at some of the ways social media has the potential to actually enhance our lives. So, we decided to do some investigating. Here’s a short exploration of why social media is probably not bad for us after all.

Social media can bring families closer together

The study shows that two in five Brits think the internet allows their families to be closer, bringing them together during family events through video calls, for example. What’s more, 35% of Britain would go so far as to say their family relationships would suffer if it wasn’t for the internet. A 2019 Stanford University study into The Welfare Effects of Social Media came to a similar conclusion. They found that Facebook, in particular, can be a vital social lifeline for those who are otherwise isolated. Any discussion of social media, they say, “should not obscure the fact that it fulfils deep and widespread needs.” After all, whether our family is halfway around the world or right next door, social media gives us that extra method of connection to help us strengthen family bonds.

The internet makes our lives easier

We can’t mention social media without alluding to the internet as a whole. The new research found that an impressive 7 in 10 Londoners would say the internet has made their family lives easier. Look into this further and 7 in 10 people aged 25-34 would specifically credit apps with making their and their family’s lives easier. With 2.1 million Android apps and 2 million Apple apps to choose from, it’s no wonder we’re making the most of the massive library at our disposal.

That said, we’d be amiss without pointing out that it’s important to keep a close eye on what we do online to ensure our lives are made easier because of it. For example, are you using the internet for its ability to give you real-time information and news or its ability to distract you from what you’re really supposed to be doing? Is the internet a way for you to get easy and instant communication with loved ones or do you use it as a form of procrastination instead? Keep an eye on how you use the internet to make sure it’s playing a positive role in your life.

Social media spreads social awareness

It’s fair to say there are no borders when it comes to social media platforms. As long as you have an internet connection, social media allows you to interact with people all around the world. What we have, essentially, is a worldwide window to peoples’ lives (or, at least, the online life they choose to display).

This might be one of the reasons why social media activism has been credited with amplifying movements such as the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter campaigns for equality. Many of us can gain a better understanding of the issues around the world – and sometimes intimate access to the people suffering because of it – through social media. As Ethan Zuckerman explains, “social media is critically important in giving voice to communities who’ve been systemically excluded from media.” Whether we’re talking about marginalised communities or simply the 4.5 million social-media-using 55+ year olds, these platforms are allowing more people to be heard

 

With 19 million Brits vehemently stating that the internet, apps and technology have had no negative impact on their family lives, the hysteria about social media’s evils might be unfounded. After all, the internet – and social media platforms in particular – can be of great benefit to society (if used wisely), helping us stay connected to loved ones and learn about people around the world.

Leanne Coyle wants to raise mental health awareness with Instagram. #smileforme2018

Leanne Coyle is a 21 year old girl from Cavan, hoping to raise awareness about the importance of mental health. In an attempt to raise mental health awareness and to make 2018 a happier year, She has created a new Instagram page to showcase the positivity of a person’s smile. Mixing her love for photography and people together to hopefully gather up 365 different smiles, one for every day of 2018.

Leanne tells us:  Having worked in retail for the last six years, even when I think the day can’t get any worse, it’s always the smiles that make the day much better.

#smileforme2018 Instagram Page

Leanne also says: I will be travelling all around Ireland gathering pictures so I could be anywhere at anytime. Please feel free to follow my Instagram page and follow the journey of smiling strangers throughout the year. Here’s to a happier, more positive year. #smileforme2018

Follow Leanne and #smileforme2018  HERE

Update. Now also on FACEBOOK