Youth Guide to Action on Maternal Health - Women Deliver

3. Get Connected15When you find a blog or blogger who cares about maternal health, keep track! Youcan subscribe <strong>to</strong> their RSS feed, bookmark the page, or just write the url below:SOCIAL NETWORKSSocial networking websites can help youconnect with other activists around theworld, share news, publicize your work,and build your audience online and on theground. Sign-up is free, though using socialnetworks effectively requires you <strong>to</strong> investsome time <strong>to</strong> set up your profile, makeconnections, and keep your content fresh.Examples of social networking websites:Facebook has over 400 million activeusers around the world.To make the most out ofTip social networks, makesure you set out with realisticgoals and a plan <strong>to</strong> achievethem. For example, aim <strong>to</strong> Twee<strong>to</strong>n a regular schedule, and adda number of new contacts.Or make a campaign throughFacebook with consistent linksand information. Remember:keep your content fresh andrelevant <strong>to</strong> build your network.Starting out: Facebook offers several optionsfor connecting with other users— personal pages, organizational pages, and Groupsand Causes. Explore Facebook <strong>to</strong> see how others are using these <strong>to</strong>ols—then decidewhich combination works best for you. Some things you might find useful:• Post links: Use the option <strong>to</strong> post links <strong>to</strong> your Facebook wall <strong>to</strong> notifyyour friends and followers when you post <strong>to</strong> your blog or find a newss<strong>to</strong>ry, resource, or anything else you want <strong>to</strong> share. You can also linkyour Facebook <strong>to</strong> au<strong>to</strong>matically share status updates and links withyour Twitter and other social networks.• “Share:” When someone else posts a link you think is useful, pass it on!• Event Invitations: Use the “Events” option <strong>to</strong> manage invitations <strong>to</strong>in-person events.Twitter is a network for information-sharing in real time.Starting out: Using Twitter is like blogging, but shorter. Instead of 500 words,Twitter allows you <strong>to</strong> share your thoughts, 140 characters at a time. These shortposts—or “Tweets”—are usually one thought, question, or piece of news. As soon asyou Tweet, your thoughts will go out <strong>to</strong> all of your followers.• Once you sign up, start exploring—searchfor your friends by email address, searchor browse Tweets by <strong>to</strong>pic, search fororganizations, and start posting your ownthoughts.• Use hashtags <strong>to</strong> make your Tweets easier<strong>to</strong> find—hashtags let you tag your posts sothat they are grouped with similar posts.A Twitter Success!TweetsGiving was a global celebration that aimed <strong>to</strong> change the world throughthe power of gratitude. Using Twitter, they raised $10,000 in 48 hours <strong>to</strong> builda classroom in Tanzania. Leveraging the US holiday, Thanksgiving, they askedpeople <strong>to</strong> Tweet anything they were thankful for and include the #TweetsGivingtag and a link <strong>to</strong> the site. Second, the project asked for a donation in honor ofwhatever you were grateful for. These donations, done through PayPal, allowedyou <strong>to</strong> buy a brick in the new classroom for $10 or become a “Top Turkey” for$100. And third, <strong>to</strong> bring the project awareness, it asked that you follow@TweetsGiving on Twitter and help spread the word.Other social media websitesFacebook and Twitter are just two examples ofpopular social networks. Though these two havea global reach, you might want <strong>to</strong> focus on thenetworks that are most popular where you live.TRYIT OUTJoin the conversation!There are hashtagsfor maternal health(#maternalhealth)and the MDGs (#mdgs) - includethem as you Tweet your thoughts,reflections, and new ideas ondifferent issues. When you attenda meeting, event, or conference,ask around <strong>to</strong> see if there is ashared hashtag you can use.Upload videos andTippho<strong>to</strong>graphs <strong>to</strong> Flickr,YouTube, Vimeo and othermedia-sharing sites <strong>to</strong> shareyour advocacy videos, pho<strong>to</strong>graphsof your events, and more.