#BlackLivesMatter

          #BLACKLIVESMATTER                                                    

                                  https://www.good.is/videos/clinton-speaks-blacklivesmatter

The #BlackLivesMatter is the movement that was formulated in 2013, after a man shot and killed an armed black teenager. A California activist by the name of, Alicia Garza, responded to the judges decision after the murderer was alleged to have been cleared of the teenagers murder, she responded by a Facebook post, " Black people I love you. I love us. Our lives matter, that is when the campaigns and the hashtags sprung from and the movement has been on since.

http://defendernetwork.com/news/national/black-lives-matter-plans-black-christmas-resist-white-capitalism/

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-15681097-stock-footage-toronto-april-black-lives-matter-demonstrators-continue-camping-outside-police-headquarters-on.html?src=rel/1801313:6

I can remember seeing the police brutality in the news, my very first thought was, is this another apartheid happening in a democratic country or is it just how black people are destined to live. The #BlackLivesMatter  awakened so many emotions in me, mostly frustrations, because honestly when and where rather did black lives really ever matter?  They have never ever did matter, and we have always witnessed this, from generation to generation. I guess the point I am trying to make is what can a mere hashtag change, what can few campaigns with celebrity do, can they really make a difference, how many times have these campaigns been done but still black blood must spill.

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-14130041-stock-footage-hd-video-of-a-dark-blue-flag-with-large-white-letters-proclaiming-black-lives-matter-flapping-in.html

 ADVANTAGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA

No one can honestly deny the fact that social media is very advantageous to brands and also to the public relations professionals. social media has the power to reach a lot of people in a number just a few seconds, and that is where the power of social media lies, social media can help professionals interact with people, especially if they are may be representing brands, they get the opportunity to interact with the consumers or clients of that particular brands. social media is very convenient and almost everyone is opting for it these days. 

DISADVANTAGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA

The disadvantages of using social media may be that if public relations professionals participate on social media and engage in topics such as BlackLivesMatter and not personally engaging or supporting the movement, this may make the brands they are representing seem as though, they do not care about what is happening and all they care about is sitting behind the desk and texting about what is happening.

Lack of feedback is also a disadvantage to professionals engaging on social media, reason being that if you do not receive any feedback then clearly it means that, no impact was done, and its also hard controlling negative feedback on social platforms, especially with the fact that negative feedback is bound to attract attention and may be damaging to brands

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

Public relations practitioners need to know when and how to use social, they should post in-relation to that particular topic. i know that black twitter is fun and people enjoy posts most of the time when someone is getting trolled, however in such sensitives issue such as this one, you shouldn't risk being controversial, such movements carry a lot of emotions and seriousness about them. https://www.good.is/videos/clinton-speaks-blacklivesmatter

#FreeEducation

                                     #FEESMUSTFALL

https://www.google.co.za/search?q=fees+must+fall&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiX5NeGgOfZAhVLAcAKHR9EDKcQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=745#imgrc=q0OOmmfZyW6KbM:

#FeesMustFall is a student headed protest or campaign rather that began 2015, October. It was was started by the University of the Witwatersrand student council., basically the aim of the of the movement was to fight against academic fee increases, though it this may have been achieved, the issue of how the government will manage to pay for these fees is still yet to be revealed. one thing is for sure that the students fought for what they believed in and they came "first". Though the #FeesMustFall had a positive motivation towards it, a lot of damage was done by the marches, leaving universities to deal with the damaged, burnt buildings.

https://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/27/africa/fees-must-fall-student-protest-south-africa-explainer/index.html

  ADVANTAGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA

The advantages of using social media for public relations practitioners regarding such topics is that, they get to engage and have a conversation about what is happening, and whatever they write about on social media gets to be read by a lot of people,because a lot of people use social media and Public Relations Professional can target those people and target them as their wide spread audiences.

DISADVANTAGES OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA

There are disadvantages to using social media, these disadvantages can have a huge impact on professionals and the brands in which they are representing. One of the disadvantages is that, using social media you are bound to make mistakes and often time it may be damaging mistakes, for examples, with the #markfishchallenge, black Twitter made fun of the mistake that was made by Mark Fish after posting the wrong picture claiming it was him and the late Hugh Masekela, honestly I think that was a funny mistake to make and so did black Twitter, however had that been a brand making such a mistake the damage was going to be far greater for the brand, the brand would have been perceived as ignorant       .https://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/27/africa/fees-must-fall-student-protest-south-africa-explainer/index.html

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE

The recommendations i would make for public relations professionals is that they should research about a particular topic that they may want to partake in, the professionals if ever they may want to discuss and post about the fees must fall they should at least must have a bit of background about it, this may help them avoid negative feedback or making mistakes. Do not just post unnecessary stuff on social media, people on social media are not interested to hear about your day, no one has time for that, yes most times social media used for fun, but what professionals need to remember is that they are representing brands and some formality it is needed or rather required. Lastly public relations professionals need to respond to comments on social media and not delete the negative responses, by doing so, the professionals get to engage and take the criticism and improve for next time.

http://www.isiseko.org.za/interview-with-mbulelo-bikwani-on-feesmustfall/

In conclusion, my only hope and wish regarding the #FeesMustFall is that may be use this opportunity to our advantage, may we not have youngsters sitting at home or by the Pakistani-ans shops doing nothing with their lives. The youth needs to take their studies seriously and work hard so they may not fail and then think, hey it doesnt matter, education is free after all. 

https://studentvillage.sv.co.za/student-life/-opinion-fees-must-fall-a-sacrifice-for-a-greater-good

https://studentvillage.sv.co.za/student-life/-opinion-fees-must-fall-a-sacrifice-for-a-greater-good