Topic: twitter

The #SexyShred Fitness Challenge: Proving Social Media Can Spur Healthy Living

The #SexyShred Fitness Challenge: Proving Social Media Can Spur Healthy Living

Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all those other crazy-addictive sites) is an increasingly prevalent aspect of modern life. More and more, it’s criticized for making us “lonely” and less connected to the real, physical world around us. At their worst, online communities can encourage bullying and even eating disorders, but in some corners of the internet, social media is embraced as part of a healthy lifestyle, helping people thrive. Feminista Jones, an avid social media user and sex-positive feminist blogger, started her own health and fitness challenge called the #SexyShred. Her goal was to create a supportive, inclusive community for people looking to live healthier lifestyles using social media. Inspired by the community she’s created, I asked Feminista Jones a few questions about the #SexyShred, its creation, and how social media can spur us all to lead healthier lives and make healthier choices. More »

Celebrities’ No Makeup Photos Might Be A PR Stunt, But They’re Also Awesome

Celebrities' No Makeup Photos Might Be A PR Stunt, But They're Also Awesome

An article in this week’s New York Times explored the latest celebrity trend (that we covered months ago): going makeup-less. Apparently female stars have been “rushing” to post makeup-free pictures of themselves on their social media accounts. Rihanna, Snooki, and new mom Alyssa Milano are just a few of the celebrities jumping on this trend, which the newspaper seems to think is a PR stunt. I don’t agree. More »

#30DayHomies: Join Kristen Bell, Jenna Fisher For A Twitter Workout Challenge

#30DayHomies: Join Kristen Bell, Jenna Fisher For A Twitter Workout Challenge

Veronica Mars star, Gossip Girl voice, and lover of sloths Kristen Bell has added new credentials to her resume: digital motivator. Bell, who Tweets at @IMKristenBell initiated a 30-day workout challenge for herself and her nearly 650,000 followers in May–and has even recruited celebs like new mom (and wise lady) Jenna Fischer and trainer Michelle Lovitt. They call themselves the #30DayHomies, and they are awesome. More »

#McDstories: Best Tweets From McDonald’s Twitter Campaign Gone Awry

#McDstories: Best Tweets From McDonald's Twitter Campaign Gone Awry

I think the only appropriate response to this failed McDonald’s twitter campaign is: Bwahahaha. The fast food company began using the hashtag #McDstories as part of social media efforts to draw attention to the farm-fresh roots of Egg McMuffins. But twitter users quickly began using the tag to share McDonald’s horror stories. The Daily Mail and Business Insider wrote about the fiasco this morning, and now every PR person/social media hack in the world is twittering about the campaign (moratorium on #McFail, please?). But I sifted through all the #McDstories meta-analysis and ‘LOL funny!’ retweets to find some of the best actual horror stories, criticisms and witticisms. More »

Senator Tweets Her Way To 50 Pound Weight Loss Without Becoming A Stereotype

Senator Tweets Her Way To 50 Pound Weight Loss Without Becoming A Stereotype

This spring, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill‘s Twitter followers got a peak into the politician’s personal life, when she announced that she was tired of “looking and feeling fat” and that she was going to start being more public about her attempts at weight loss and desire to get healthy as she approached her late 50s. This month, crediting the support of her husband (and treadmill), she let her followers know that she’d reached her goal of losing 50 lbs–and all without sounding like a “Cathy” comic. More »

Author Ayelet Waldman Announces She Has HPV … On Twitter

Author Ayelet Waldman Announces She Has HPV ... On Twitter

Author Ayelet Waldman, who is best known for her anti-mommy-wars book Bad Mother, does not appreciate Michele Bachmann‘s recent comments about the HPV vaccine Gardasil. Rep. Bachmann, who is one of the candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination, claimed that Gardasil could make people mentally retarded. That claim was debunked, but it sparked a frenzy of online discussions about the vaccine and about HPV. More »

Health Lessons From Congressman Weiner: Sexting Is Healthy

Health Lessons From Congressman Weiner: Sexting Is Healthy

Insert Weiner joke here….or, like Congressman Anthony Weiner did, just insert weiner here. You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that Weiner got caught online with his pants down and held a tearful press conference to apologize. But frankly, I ain’t got no “beef” with his display of his “hot dog” (I’m going to hell for that one). This isn’t just another instance of a politician using social media to reveal his shortcomings (I got a million of these). Congressman Weiner is just doing what millions of us do online anyway: flirt, send photos, sext, and have naughty chats. Turns out politicians aren’t robots. *Gasp* More »

Poll: Would You Want To Unlock Foursquare’s STD Badge?

Poll: Would You Want To Unlock Foursquare's STD Badge?

If you were about to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and diseases, would you want everyone to know? Foursquare, the popular social media app that lets users check into local businesses and attractions to gain points and unlock badges, went out on a limb and assumed that you would…and they were right. Partnering with MTV to meld social media with social awareness, Foursquare created an online “movement” to encourage young people to get tested. Every time users checked into a clinic, they unlocked badges and shared their whereabouts across social media platforms. According to them, their campaign resulted in thousands upon thousands of participants. I know the Foursquare homepage says “it’s more fun with friends!” but this might be pushing the envelope.

Sorry! This poll is now closed.

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Join Us For an Earth Day Twitter Party Today!

Join Us For an Earth Day Twitter Party Today!

Earth Day is this Friday, and we’ve been prepartying for Earth Day all month, and this afternoon we’re finally letting our hair down and hosting an Earth Day Twitter Party this afternoon. Join us on Twitter at 1 PM PST/4 PM EST to discuss simple ways to make your life green, along with our co-hosts, Organic Authority, Rodale News, EcoSalon, Experience Life, and The Green Garmento. We’re all teaming up to help you come up with an Earth Day Resolution that works: a small change you can make to be more eco-friendly over the next year. Don’t be a wallflower, join in! More »

According to Blisstree Women, Saying “I Love You” First Is Cliché

According to Blisstree Women, Saying "I Love You" First Is Cliché

Relationship dynamics are a-changing. Lovertines these days are less concerned with the right time to profess their undying devotion in the course of the relationship, and more concerned with who will succumb and say it first. Those three little words seem to weigh heavily on everyone’s mind.

What if you say it and they don’t say it back? What if they say it to you and you’re just not ready yet? If you’re the first to admit the L-O-V-E, does that mean you’ve given your partner all the status in the relationship? These questions used to be seen as something only women thought about, but a new study published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that not only are men preoccupied with these questions, they are statistically more likely to be the first ones in the relationship to actually say “I love you.” Does that come as a surprise to you? Not to me, it doesn’t. I absolutely refuse to tell a man “I love you” first, and I’m not alone. More »

8 Ways to Be a Better Listener and Improve Your Mental Health

8 Ways to Be a Better Listener and Improve Your Mental Health

Listening is one of the simplest and yet most difficult things to do well and consistently. We often hear or use the phrase “listening is key,” but most of the time we regard the act of listening as an essential part of the communication process, as a simple courtesy, or possibly as a means to getting what we want. But how often do we really consider that the art and practice of listening may have actual and long-lasting mental benefits for us? Not nearly enough, in my opinion. So I asked Dr. Dale Archer, an M.D. and a clinical psychiatrist, for his take on the connection between learning to listen well and better emotional health – and got him to give us eight tips on how to make that important connection last: More »