Author: Amelia Beamer

Media Richness & Advice to the New Administration

When considering media richness, it’s important to consider the chart published in the 1983 publication of the paper “Information Richness. A New Approach to Managerial Behavior and and Organizational Design” that depicts the Information Medium and its level of Information Richness. At the time of publication, social media did not exist, but it doesn’t seem to fit into a specific information medium as listed at the time. If given its own medium, it would likely be above “numeric formal,” but below “written, formal documents.” However, we must consider that the mediums of social media can be both personal or broad in their breadth.

The paper states that it’s premise is “that organizational success is based on the organization’s ability to process information of appropriate richness &, reduce uncertainty and clarify ambiguity.”

While “low variety languages” were considered by Daft and Wiginton to be those used to communicate “effectively about well-understood, unambiguous topics,” it seems that the Trump administration’s use of twitter both during the campaign and since taking office have relied on low variety languages to communicate with their millions of followers. This method seems to have hit a successful note with his die-hard fans, but in order to win over the rest of Washington and the nation, he’s going to need to produce a lot more quality content than simply posting defensive tweets every time someone is critical of him. Examples:

If I were advising his team on social media based on the media richness theory, I would suggest letting the President’s actions speak for themselves through his behavior and acts, if he truly wants to “Make America Great Again.” Documenting these, and starting conversations over the real underlying issues is what will give us media rich content that is not confusing and misleading to the public.

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How Social Media Has Become the Battlefield for Recognizing #LymeDisease

More than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease will be diagnosed this year, but because many doctors aren’t well educated in recognizing it in its early stages, the number could be much higher. Luckily, awareness is spreading, thanks highly to social media. Here are some examples of what Twitter has to say about #LymeDisease.

We actually had a vaccine on the market for a few years, but its creators stopped making it because so few people requested it and it wasn’t making them enough money. Hopefully, with cases and awareness and demand on the rise, it will be improved and offered once again.

Many people don’t believe in climate change, but whatever your beliefs, the warmer and shorter the winters, the more ticks thrive. Ticks are notoriously stealthy, and it takes harsh conditions to kill them off. Additionally, they aren’t only spread by deer as many people believe, but are also carried by mice. The more mice survive the winter, they more ticks have warm bodies to stay attached to and feed on.

There’s much controversy over Lyme disease. The CDC says it’s treatable, but if it isn’t caught immediately, it can lead to permanent damage to the brain, heart, nervous system and more.

The “Spoon Theory” is a way of explaining to those without a chronic condition how much energy it takes to get through each day. It suggests that each person is given X amount of spoons each day, to spend however they choose. The amount of spoons you start with is determined by your health status. Certain activities cost more spoons than others, so essentially, it’s about knowing one’s limits and not wasting your energy on trivial or non-vital things.

Many celebrities, like Bella Hadid and Avril Lavigne have been spreading awareness of Lyme disease by being open about their battles with Lyme disease. In her recently released book, Kelly Osbourne slams such celebrities for trying to make the disease “trendy.”

Kelly Osbourne’s views are not shared or appreciated by many who have Lyme disease because they believe that celebrities sharing their battles are both inspirational and are using their platforms to raise awareness.

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