NaBloPoMo Social Media Challenge

Photo credit: Roberto Kaplan

I have a confession to make: I lost my mojo, my 'magic power' according to the world of google, my spark, my joie de vivre according to me.

With certain circumstances weighing me down, my heart feels heavy today, and my somewhat vague concept for today's writing prompt seems to be one that I would prefer to throw out the window. I feel completely incongruous to it at the moment, feeling extremely disheartened. This manifests as a lack of interest and motivation.

However, (since) I am determined to keep my NaBloPoMo commitment, i.e., blogging daily this month, AND considering the time and for the benefit of my readers and this blogging challenge, I will let you in on my original idea for today's theme. Consider though that this is a work in progress.

Today's themed post is a challenge for one's intellect or at least speaking for myself! I'm not exactly sure if my mind is quite ready for it given that I haven't given it much thought with my busy schedule of full-time work and blogging and reading and commenting, not to mention travelling and cooking and eating and the like in between, during, before, and after all that! ;) However, I will do my best - that's all I can do anyway, right? ;)

The question posed today is in the form of the following statement: "You are given unlimited funds and a fabulous team of programmers and told to create your own social networking platform. Tell us all about your ideal, fictional social media site."

Off the top of my head, what comes to me (not as an immediate reaction) is the following.... No, wait! BEFORE I share my idea, I NEED to share the definition of social media in the first place! After all, we may not all be on the same page about it, right? I want to ensure that I understand the question!

So this is what google has to say about it: so·cial me·di·a - if you sound this out phonetically the way it is written, you may sound like a robot! ;) - social media is a noun (with social medias being the plural: I don't agree with that! Shouldn't it be 'medium' as singular and 'media' as plural?)

Anyway, getting back to the definition, here is what google defines it as: websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

For a backup coverage definition I sought out Wikipedia's opinion and this is what that site had to say, "Social media is the social interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks." And for those research buffs, there is a more expanded, i.e., continued definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media.

In advance, what I would like to ask of you dear readers is to be gentle with me, keeping in mind that I am not technological savvy. I am learning as I am going and my limited technological tools, i.e., computer and cellphone, not to mention my limited knowledge of them, testify to that! ;)

Thus, I would appreciate if you file that in the back of your mind as you read the following, remembering that this is my initial reaction to the question.

How about something along the lines of a site (website) on which people could only write positive comments? Yes, you read that correctly! For instance, what a person thought about their day, the weather, their work, what they love/appreciate/admire about another whether a loved one - human or pet (they're family anyways) - or what good deed someone did for them.

IF there were to be likes on a page/site, it would be in the form of points, solely based on the accruation - that word was just invented by me - not in terms of number of admirers, but rather how many good deeds a person did with a maximum of one (1) point per day.

And perhaps once they reach a certain level of points, like say one for each day of the year, then they receive a reward of some sort: a small token of appreciation for their gestures...possibly to be determined by them and/or another.

Then, if the points increase to a maximum limit (of so many points undetermined at this time of writing), a person can choose where an allotted amount of money goes towards a charitable organization of their choice or perhaps they get to interact with an author, inspirational speaker, movie director, or artist - favourite? - online via Skype or other medium for a short period of time; they are busy people after all!

Thus, people get rewarded for kindness. And this is all created with a pseudonym or avatar identity - or is that only for bonus points? - so no one really knows who is who (except for the behind-the-scenes registration information). It makes giving and being of service more genuine.

After all, is there enough positivity in the world? It seems there is too much focus on negativity, including and especially sensationalism to the nth degree; see the fourth definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nth_Degree.

Photo of billboard I took

Those were my thoughts on the question, however strange they may seem. Tell me how they sound to you: what do you think of my zany idea?

I won't be offended if you don't like it at all...I don't think! ;) After all, this 'game' would need to be expanded and thought out more at length in terms of its details.