My next suggestion relates to another passion of mine – social
media.
Specifically I want you to think of social media as a way
to stay socially connected in real time or over time. I’ll have a lot of
suggestions on this in coming posts, but for today I’ll focus on ways to use
Facebook’s Messenger app since more people have FB and Messenger than any other
social media platform.
There are a lot of features in Messenger that many are
not aware of. For some good wrap ups on these see the Mashable article 10 things you didn't know you could do with Facebook Messenger or the PC magazine article 22 Cool Tricks and Secret Gems Inside FacebookMessenger.
Update (3/27): Facebook has launched a new Coronavirus Community Hub for Messenger, which aims to highlight key ways in which people can use its messaging app to stay in touch amid the COVID-19 lockdowns.
What I’ll focus on is the relatively low-tech idea of
Messenger group conversations and chats – where collections of people who share
an interest can chat about it in real-time or over time. Instructions on how to
uses these at the end of this post.
Think about these possible uses of Messenger
conversations and chats:
·
Starting a binge-watching group based on a
streaming TV or online TV show. People agree to watch a series of shows and agree
on times to chat or maybe they do it asynchronously
after a certain time.
·
Creating a book group – where people all agree
to read a free online book by a certain date. You might agree to have
regular check-in times along the way or you might wait until everyone is done
reading the book.
·
Have family and friends agree to a once-a-week
(or some other schedule) check in. In these times of social isolation hearing from multiple family members at the same time can be very reassuring.
·
Form a group around a shared interest. This
could be something that you can do at home like cooking, crafts or home
projects or something you do virtually right now – like travel (there are tons
of wonderful virtual travel sites on the web). Set up a schedule to talk about
your interests and share tips and insights.
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| The post that got the rainbows in the windows started |
·
Get together virtually with your neighbors near
and far and start life-affirming projects. For example, in my town folks have
been posting hand-made rainbows in the street-facing windows so kids and
families (well, anyone really) can make a game of counting them. (See pic). This came about as a result of a chat.
·
Start a learning group. Have you always wanted
to learn a skill? What can help you stay up with the online class you’ve been
procrastinating about? A group of others doing the same thing.
These are just a few ideas. You likely have other ideas
for ways to use Messenger. I’d love to hear them.
Now, in case you need it, how to get going on Messenger:
Messenger conversations: Facebook
offers a lot of tips on how to set up group conversations and chats inside
Messenger here: Create and customize group conversations
- Mike Johansson
