When, two years ago, Bradley van der Straten started a group on Whatsapp asking friends who regularly used Instagram to join him and comment on each other’s posts, he couldn’t have imagined what would happen a few months down the line: a global pandemic. From there, the 20-year-old from a province called Utrecht, in the Netherlands, turned this single group into over 200 pods gathering thousands of people around the world. He did all this while still being a student and working on a resort park during the holidays.
“Just a few months after launching my first group, Covid-19 began and, suddenly, I had to start asking people to help me manage the sheer amount of new people and groups joining us. The initial idea was to support each other, attempting to create a level of engagement that social media doesn’t give you easily. But, during the pandemic, it also became a place to meet new people because we couldn’t go anywhere.” – recalls Bradley.
Here, van der Straten talks to us about recruiting an online team to help as admins of groups formed by people, they will probably never meet in real life, avoiding social media burnout, and challenging the controversy surrounding gaming the engagement Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t let you have.
Which countries have the most active participants within your network groups and what are your participants looking for?
Most are from the Netherlands because that’s my country. The second most active country is the United Kingdom. It is very diverse, as we have accounts from 200 followers up to over a million.
Although there is no limit on the number of groups you can join, most people joining us end up participating, on average, in 8 different groups. They try to support each other by commenting on posts and sharing content. If we think a member is in too many groups, we avoid adding that person into other groups.
How many hours a day do you have to spend online to manage and reply to so many people?
It varies. When you have groups like ‘fashion’ you can easily invite several people daily. If you have a group in need of more active people, then you spend more time managing it. Nowadays, the groups are stable as members already know how it works. When, sometimes, a person sends you a DM asking, ‘Can I join another group?’ usually it is a yes because they are all organised by topics and running smoothly. But to answer your question about how many hours I spend managing groups and replying to people online, it is around 3 hours per day.
How do you manage so many groups at the same time and how do you avoid social media burnout?
We manage the groups as a team. In the beginning, with the network groups, it was a lot of checking to see if people were really supporting each other or not. Now that everything is more established, we don’t have many people messaging us. So, we have shifted the focus toward inviting new people and telling them how it works. If you don’t want social media burnout you have to allow yourself time away from Instagram.
I do this on Sundays. I switch off from social media to watch Netflix and do other things.
Are people engaging less, now, as lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions are coming to an end?
Yes. I have noticed people are not posting photos on Instagram as actively as before. Those back to work can’t spend as much time on social media platforms as we all spent last year. However, if they’re on holiday, they seem to be as active as ever on Instagram.
Aren’t network groups a controversial tool to grow on social media as it plays with organic engagement?
It’s true that some people see it as a tool and misuse it. But we want genuine members, to be the ones leaving genuine comments under a post, not bots. When you make an effort to comment something meaningful on social media, people are likely to automatically retribute it. My opinion is that you have support groups and network groups. I have chosen network groups because it is an opportunity to meet and learn from a variety of people, some of them within the same niche as me or living in the same country.
What sort of content is doing well in 2021 for engagement?
Travel and fashion content, such as images and reels, will always do well on Instagram because it is a very visual platform. But, during the pandemic, we saw a big shift when people started toward people sharing more about themselves in a raw and authentic way – people started to be more open to the world about their personal life when they had to isolate from it. Moving forward, personal content, combined with travel, will remain relevant for engagement this year.
I am a blogger and a content creator regularly collaborating with news and industry media outlets to help businesses and entrepreneurs to enhance their PR, branding and online authority.
Rio Pearce, 21, from Rowley Regis, scooped the award whilst in her third and final year as an apprentice for WMR
A West Midlands Railway (WMR) apprentice technician has won “female apprentice of the year” at the 2023 Women in Rail awards.
Rio Pearce, 21, from Rowley Regis in the UK scooped the award whilst in her third and final year as an apprentice for WMR at Tyseley depot.
Rio’s hands-on role includes the diagnosis and repair of train faults as well as safety-critical briefings and working closely with technicians.
Working 12-hour shift patterns, including early starts and late finishes, Rio’s commitment to the job and determination to thrive in the rail industry has shone through and her confidence has grown to the extent that she is admired by young apprentices across the business.
Rio received her award at a gala presentation evening in London, where she recognised alongside inspirational female rail employees from across the UK.
“I am thrilled that Rio has deservedly won female apprentice of the year at the Women in Rail awards and everybody at West Midlands Railway is very proud of her. Rio is an outstanding apprentice who has pushed back boundaries and paved the way many more young women to join the rail industry in coming years.”, says Jonny Wiseman, West Midlands Railway customer experience director.
Founded in 2015, the West Midlands Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands.
“I am delighted to win this award and I would say to anyone who wants to get into engineering or the railway to go for it. I don’t think being a female apprentice is much different from being a male apprentice. I get on with everyone really well, there’s no stereotyping, everyone is super friendly, and we all treat each other equally and with respect.”, says Rio Pearce.
More information on the Women in Rail awards can be viewed here.
Sophia Smith Galer (centre): London-based journalist got a ‘Innovation of the Year’ award for her pioneering use of TikTok
The average person spends 147 minutes per day on social media, scrolling through random videos, photos, and memes.
Our grandparents will say that this screen time is ruining our social lives and making the new generation unintelligent – and I will be the first to admit that some of the content I consume is pointless and strictly for mild entertainment. However, the social media landscape is changing.
Gen Zers (majority of TikTok’s users are aged between 18-24) are increasingly using TikTok as a personalised search engine to learn about the world and broaden their own horizons. TikTok is becoming Gen Z’s main source of information.
Richard Branson once said “Don’t become a slave to technology — manage your phone, don’t let it manage you.” TikTok is helping Gen Z embrace this quote’s mindset.
Not only are TikTokers learning about the latest money-saving methods, receiving information on safe abortions, raising awareness on child safety and listening to opera music, but they are also “reading the news”. More and more teens are turning to social media for their daily news content.
Meet the journalists on Tik Tok working hard to bring the news from the world to your smartphone in easily accessible, quick, and fun versions.
The explanatory one: Sophia Smith Galer
The winner of the British Journalism Awards Innovation of the Year 2021 presents breaking news and fun insights on a variety of topics on her page. She dives deeper into popular media topics to give clear and insightful explanations. For example, one of her popular videos is titled, “If Boris Johnson has resigned, why is he still PM?” Since 2020, her TikTok work has become extremely popular, with over 400.000 followers.
“Her TikTok channel is not ordinary like other news channels. Derbyshire is the only one speaking in all her videos with a polite voice and smart gestures. Her way of reciting news will excite you to know more about a particular topic. You can stay updated about everything happening all around the world just by following her and clicking for daily notifications on TikTok.”
Isaac Robertson – Fitness trainer & Co-Founder atTotalshape
Using a newscaster style of presenting, Victoria Derbyshire brings combines television news with social media styles to create catchy, interesting, and useful content. The UK-focused content creator produces popular videos including “Covid’s on the rise again” or “BREAKING: Russia has attacked Ukraine”.
Burrows is a former Mirror journalist who during the coronavirus pandemic became one of the most followed journalists in the world on TikTok. He is followed by nearly half a million people and his videos have been watched more than 100 million times. Burrows has moved from London to Abu Dhabi to work in the UAE as a journalist. His most viral videos are “The world’s most dangerous places”, “Places you’ll never visit”, and “What will happen when the Queen dies”. Most of his videos follow one of these three topics, with many parts for each one. His quirky, bitesize news stories have captivated the Gen Z audience.
Max Foster, a CNN journalist, is a frequent user of TikTok, where he shares personal perspectives on current events and displays his reporter life behind the scenes. His UK-focused TikTok profile establishes a connection with his audience through meme-style TikTok sounds to give commentary on current events. A fan favourite is a video titled “UK energy bills expected to more than double”, with Foster looking sad as the Titanic theme song plays in the background. These types of videos brilliantly contrast his other, more serious news-style videos with lighthearted playfulness. Both styles are equally engrossing, which is why he gets between 300 thousand to 3 million views on each video.
“Cleo Abram is a fantastic technology reporter who’s produced wildly popular series around topics like NFT’s, science and crypto. She also uses animations and graphics to further help illustrate her points and is periodically producing quality content for her followers on TikTok.”
Datha Santomieri – Co-founder at insurance agency Steadily
Abram’s focus on science and technology encompasses a wide variety of content topics like: nuclear fusion explained, artificial wombs, or the big bang. The self-titled independent video journalist’s soft-voiced, calm, and clear explanations of complex topics can get anyone hooked. With 1.2 million followers and counting, this pretty science nerd is dropping knowledge on TikTok in a fun and captivating way. If you ever wanted to learn about why your dog’s age isn’t what you think, follow Cleo Abram.
“I think everyone should have a look at Jeannette Reyes’ page! She has over 1,2M followers on TikTok. Jeannette is an Afro-Latina FOX5 morning news anchor and she likes to show a behind-the-scenes look at her life as a journalist. She TikToks her way through her working day, which I find very interesting. She uses her signature journalist body language to talk about little everyday things. She’s very entertaining and funny and always shares useful content. Highly recommended!”
The US-based content creates short videos from her everyday life, similar to an ordinary TikTok influencer. Instead of highlighting the news, she takes a different approach and gives insights into her personal life. She first went viral by posting her famous “News Anchor Voice” content. Reyes also creates funny and informative content like “The Different Types of Reporters”, “Random Facts about TV News Life”, and “Morning Sickness: What worked and what didn’t”. Reyes was even named one of Washingtonian’s DC TikTok Stars.
Based in San Diego, Megan Healy’s account has a whole host of behind-the-scenes videos – if you’ve ever wanted to try and read a prompter or autocue machine, there’s a chance to try it out at home. The Emmy-winning journalist and 3-time Golden Mike winner is FOX5 San Diego’s weather anchor and reporter. Similar to Jeanette Reyes, Healy gives her almost 500 thousand followers a behind-the-scenes insight into the life of a television journalist. She also creates light-hearted, funny videos about her job, as well as answers questions on viral videos she has covered, how they measure wind speeds, and many other aspects of journalism.
Marcio Delgado is a London-based journalist digging through the weeds of public relations. As he “tries to understand PR people”, Delgado shares tips on the dos and don’ts of PR. Delgado is one of the few media professionals highlighting how the relationship between journalists and communication agencies works. His main content is on how communications teams get it wrong sometimes through wonky press releases and failed pitches.
“Sandra Gathmann is the journalist people should follow on TikTok. She is a renowned journalist from Al Jazeera who does short videos explaining current events and historical moments that have shaped the world as it is today. With her videos not lasting more than 12 minutes, she analyzes and explains how issues such as the Ukrainian invasion began and why it happened.”
Ryan Yount – Founder at software companyLuckLuckGo
Using feature-length videos, Gathmann creates documentary-style, deep-dive explanatory content focusing on the world’s current events. With only 1 thousand followers, she is rising fast within the TikTok news space.
The one who wrote a book about TikTok: Chris Stokel-Walker
UK-based freelance journalist Chris Stokel-Walker is a WIRED contributor and author of two books featuring popular social media platforms: YouTubers, about the rise of YouTube and the creator economy, and TikTok Boom, about how TikTok is shaping the future of social media. His work has also appeared in New Scientist, the BBC, and The Economist. For his 555 followers, his videos focus on TikTok’s rules and regulations, history, and characteristics.
The Youtuber turned TikToker gained her fame with a viral video of her zero-waste journey of fitting two years’ worth of trash into a single mason jar. Now, Kellogg creates videos on what she no longer buys,how to not waste food, and sustainable habits and activities. For her almost 300 thousand TikTok followers, Kellogg is a supporting, comforting presence urging people to become more zero-waste in their everyday lives.
Happy GoodNewsFriday! Did you know Jaguars are native to the U.S.!? 1) Singapore has launched a reforestation campaign to plant 1 million trees by 2030. (World Economic Forum)2) The EU will end sales of vehicles with combustion engines by 2035 to reduce CO2 (France 24) 3) Jaguars, aa near-threatened species, could return to the Southwestern US to repopulate and improve existing ecosystems (EcoWatch) Which good news story was your fav?? #GoingZeroWaste#ecofriendly#eco#sustainability#climatechange#environment#zerowaste#goodnews#sustainabilitytiktok
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria further intensify refugee crisis
The recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit along the border between Turkey and Syria has left heavy casualties among the 42,000 displaced Syrian refugees living across southeast Turkey’s six refugee camps.
In Turkey, the number of people killed has risen to 6,957, according to the country's disaster agency.
The recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit along the border between Turkey and Syria has left heavy casualties among the 42,000 displaced Syrian refugees living across southeast Turkey’s six refugee camps.
More than 6.8 million Syrians have been forced to flee their country since 2011, according to UNHCR. And approximately 5.2 million have found refuge in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Another 6.9 million Syrians are internally displaced.
In Syria, the earthquake has temporarily closed the northeast Bab-al-Hawa corridor linking northern Syria with Turkey. The corridor is the lifeline for over four million people left isolated and heavily dependent on humanitarian aid. Out of 5.6 million people the World Food Project provides food assistance to in Syria, 1.4 million live in the northwest.
It would be timely for the U.S. and European countries to lift the sanctions against Syria to allow for critical earthquake relief aid to reach the population in need.
The Sweden-based non-profit international advocacy and humanitarian aid organization A Demand for Action (ADFA) is one of the first responders reaching Syria. With private donors funding the all-volunteer organization, ADFA’s first aid shipments arrived in Syria on Tuesday, February 7.
“It’s been a race against time to get to the front lines of the disastrous earthquake in Syria and Turkey,” says Nuri Kino, ADFA founder and award-winning Swedish investigative journalist, author, filmmaker, and human rights advocate.
Working in cooperation with the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo, Butrus Qasis, ADFA volunteers are organizing the distribution of thermal blankets and other necessities for the earthquake victims to withstand the frigid winter temperature. They are distributing food and personal hygiene products to 300 displaced families now housed in three shelters within churches across Aleppo.
“We’ve raised $40,000 thus far from our generous donors, and since we don’t have any administration costs, we are able to do more,” says Kino. “We are scanning the cities close to Aleppo to find food, blankets, everything we can.”
The worst part of the day, Kino says, is “speaking to parents whose children are under houses that have collapsed.”
“What we do is a drop in the ocean, but an important one,” says Kino, who is simultaneously coordinating a bus to Sweden of Ukrainian refugees that will depart in two days .
“We never feel that we are doing enough, for anyone or anywhere. The need is enormous around the world.” Kino says ADFA has started a new chapter in Aleppo and may start one in Antakya in the southernmost region of Turkey.
This is ADFA’s first operation in response to the massive earthquake that continues to ravage Syria and Turkey.
“The ADFA volunteers have set aside their own family responsibilities for a while, and are generously giving their time to do this work of compassion. We will not rest until we have helped as many as possible,” Kino explains.
The recent earthquake in Turkey is the deadliest in the country since 1999.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces, according to news agency Reuters. But residents in several damaged Turkish cities have voiced anger and despair at what they said has been a slow and inadequate response by the authorities. In Syria, already devastated by 11 years of war, the confirmed toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest.
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