What Are Facebook Stories?

First of all – what ARE Stories on Facebook? If you are familiar with Instagram or SnapChat you know all about Stories, but if not, here is a quick description: Right now on Facebook, you may see them at the very TOP of your News Feed displaying horizontally about 4 in a row. And then occasionally as you scroll through your News Feed, you may see more Stories. What is the purpose? Stories are just another way to give your audience content but the difference from the traditional News Feed is that it relies more on visual content than written content, and Stories go away after 24 hours. Think videos and pictures. There are filters you can add, stickers, fun text, etc. Take a look next time you are on Facebook and scroll through a few.

Personally, until a few weeks ago, I ignored these entirely! Low and behold Facebook Stories launched in 2017, and so I ignored them for almost two years. It was just one more way for me to waste time as far as I figured (exactly what Facebook wants!), and they feel very “Instagrammy” to me – visual instead of content. I tend to think of Facebook as my content friend, and Instagram as my photo/visual friend. So, I just skipped them. But apparently, Facebook is banking on these Stories to be the next big thing, and Businesses should pay attention.

CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg was quoted saying that Stories is going to be a big part of Facebook’s future. Facebook has predicted that Stories will be one of the top forms of sharing in 2019. And, with 500 million daily active users – and I’ve read 150 million active Story users… I think we better get on the Story Wagon.

Since this revelation, I have been paying more attention to them. They seem to be mostly businesses posting, and many of them are littered with fun bold text, stickies, smiley faces and the like. A few have an option to “Scroll up for more” which leads to a link. Most are videos.

Now that we understand what they are, why does your business need to participate?

  1. TOP REAL ESTATE! These are right at the very top of everybody’s News Feed. You don’t get any better than that. That is reason enough right there!
  2. Easy to cross-post from Instagram. For once, Instagram and Facebook are synced up here and you can easily cross-post to Facebook when you post a Story to Instagram. Hooray for efficiencies!
  3. Fun options. The fun filters, stickers, and creative ways to add text are really fun, and introduce a whole new element that is easily accessible on your mobile device. You know, add a pair of kitty ears to that baby and BAM! Instant laughter. All joking aside, there are really eye-catching features that are different from your normal News Feed.

Of course, there is data and analytics available in Facebook for these, and advertising is being tested more and more. Perhaps this IS the new way to get in front of the audience your business isn’t getting to from the traditional News Feed. Watch and see!

Any feedback on how Facebook Stories have worked for your business?

About Digital-Melissa: I am a veteran of all things internet, located in Rhinelander, WI. 20 years in eCommerce with everything from design to copy, social media, marketing, project management, website help & management plus more. Contact me today if you’d like to talk about how I could help your business.

My First Interview in 20 years. I think?

Interviews

So I had my first interview in 20 years! How exciting! Well, not really. And, I’m not sure it qualifies as an interview. This was a very interesting experience. I am a bit confused about how I felt about it. The company sounded awesome, the position Just Right… But this interview made me feel not great about the idea of the company.

Why? Well, because it was an interview with myself, basically. I logged onto a website, had my video camera working, and was presented with six basic interview questions that were just presented on the screen in text. I then had to answer – on video. No other person involved.

Job InterviewEven more odd was that I could review, and re-do my answers as many times as I wanted to. I reviewed my first answer, and was HORRIFIED. Is that what I look like? Is that how I sound? What did I just do with my face! OMG. It was a truly horrifying thing. I have not done any video (unless you count a few videos of me running my dog in an agility trial), so perhaps just because I am not very familiar with it was what bothered me? I quickly decided to NOT review or re-do any answer.

Why did I decide not to review and re-do any answers? Aside from the torture of watching myself on video repeatedly – that is just not how life works. You do not get to re-do your answers and conversations with people. This is life. It is face-to-face (be it in person or on video chat), or at least voice to voice! A person gets so much from interaction with another person that this recorded answer idea is just BAD. I get they were looking for something different, and if a person wasn’t REALLY interested, they would not go through the torture of a video. But couldn’t they get what they need from the standard email with questions to answer instead of this video Q&A? The job didn’t have anything to do with video, so doesn’t really mesh. I’m open to trying something new of course, but it really was so awful!

In the end, I received the “we have gone a different direction” email that I expected, honestly. It definitely was a memorable experience, though, not one I will quickly forget. Has anybody else had this type of experience?

Prozac for Dogs: Try It

Emme on the Deck

Prozac for dogs is a miracle, and more people should consider it. Yes, MY dog is on Prozac (Fluoxetine). She has been on Prozac since she was just over two, and had I done it earlier, life would have been a lot easier and simpler.

I urge all pet owners who have extreme behavior problems (reactive, anxiety, etc., ruling out health issues first) to consider medication such as Prozac for dogs as early as possible. The thought of medicating my dog scared me at first – I mean, what sort of failure of a pet owner would I be to need Prozac for my dog? Sure, drug her up! Had I not had this stigma in my head about putting my dog on medication, we could have gotten on a path to happy lives a lot faster.

Our Prozac Story

Emme is as well bred as dogs get. She is from world-class lines who have health and behavior history for years and years. But she has a screw loose. Or maybe three or four screws loose!

Her reactive and guarding behaviors started as early as 16 weeks old. She bit me after I tried to take a chew away from her. At six months old she started viciously attacking my partner. We could not identify what was causing this behavior. Likely it was escalated resource guarding gone wrong. These traumatic months for us turned into years. I tried every “natural” remedy I could find. We tried training. Nothing worked.

Finally I caved, and started her on Prozac for dogs. And it changed our lives.

Were it not for the Prozac, she may have been euthanized. That’s right. Euthanized. Let that sink in. That is how dire our situation was.

And now – because of the Prozac, she’s an awesome dog. I often wonder how many other dogs could be saved if their owners knew the options open to them?

Close friends & family know my dog is on Prozac. But when I tell others not within our close circle, I usually get funny looks, or an eye roll. I’m told I should train my dog better instead. These people do not have our experiences. They do not know. All the training in the world won’t help. The medication helps Emme’s brain allow her to be receptive to the right behaviors. It helps “take the edge off” her anxiety and helps her be able to redirect to proper behaviors. It helps her learn. With the right dosage (and no ill effects), we are issue-free for years.

Prozac Saved Our Lives

Prozac for DogsWe still have our issues: dog reactivity, leash reactivity, general crazy sometimes. But I know how to work through them, and with the help of the Prozac, Emme is able to calm down quicker and redirect to me and yummy treats. If we see you on the street with your dog, don’t be offended when we spin around and go the other way without any word – I just can’t take my focus off her and redirecting her. We try to avoid situations where she may feel threatened or confused, we avoid putting her into a position to guard me (she loves me so much, lucky me). Without the Prozac I’m not sure any of this could have occurred.

Now we get to enjoy all the things we love:

  • Agility competitions
  • Dock diving
  • Barn hunt
  • Rally
  • Walks and visiting her favorite people!

She is a happy dog and lives life to the fullest!

Talk to Your Veterinarian

Putting your dog on medication is not something you should do without first ruling out any other medical issue. Take your dog to the veterinarian for a full physical exam. This should include: behavior history, thyroid panel, and any blood work your vet recommends. If possible, consult a Certified Veterinary Behaviorist. They are best equipped to help you with behavior modification exercises and the right type of medication. (Sometimes several different medications need to be tried to see what works best). We did all of this and MUCH, MUCH more before finally settling on this medication.

I hope this post helps out some other dogs and dog owners who may not know where to turn next.

Recommended Behavior Training Reading:

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