Social Media Archives » Lynda Waddington

20Mar 2019 by Lynda Waddington

Looking back on a year without the Facebook app

Gazette Column

What would make you take a step back from something that had been a part of your life for more than decade? Would it be one big thing, or a thousand little ones? Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the day I deleted the Facebook app from my phone. Since 2006 - a year remembered fondly because of its association with my real-keyboard-and-roller-ball BlackBerry - I had held the social network in the palm of my hand. For the past year, I've received no pinging notifications. I've not scrolled while waiting at the doctor's office. No photos from my travels have been immediately shared. The few posts, shares, likes, comments and other activity I've had since last March have been completed at a computer. And, honestly, those interactions also have…

25Dec 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Holiday gifts for readers and researchers

Gazette Column

Gusts of sharp December wind remind newspaper folk everywhere that its time for a year-end review. I’ll play along, but with a gift-giving twist. Instead of reviewing my work, which is too often a cringe-worthy experience, I’ve instead been plowing through your email messages to me. Kind comments, some of which helped me through difficult moments, once again had my eyes filling. I stand in awe of your quick wit and your generous spirit. Some feedback was brutal, constructive or otherwise, yet the vast majority of dissenting views focused on my words and not me. It’s an exceptional gift that far too few writers can claim, and a testament to a widespread desire for more civility and thoughtful dialogue. Within the messages I also discovered a pattern of questions and…

05Nov 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Support sexual assault survivors

Gazette Column

Recent social media initiatives have shown how prevalent sexual harassment and assault are, and that’s left some men (and women) wondering how they can effectively be supportive of survivors. The first thing to understand about violent crimes, and especially sex crimes, law enforcement and field experts told me this week, is survivors don’t respond in the same way. Some react defiantly, purposefully doing things that were part of the day they were attacked. Others become more cautious. Except for self-harm, there isn’t a necessarily “right” or “wrong” reaction to assault, even if the survivor later seeks counseling to modify reactive behavior. Sexual assault, as hopefully most of us already realize, has more to do with assault and violence than sex. The FBI defines “rape” as any non-consentual insertion of an object or…

23Oct 2017 by Lynda Waddington

#NoMore hashtags to say #MeToo

Gazette Column

How many sexual predators, victims of abuse and hashtags does it take before society comes to terms with “locker room talk” and the harm it causes? Sexual harassment and assault aren’t just “women’s issues,” they are a community problem. Women are not the only victims, and men are not the only perpetrators. Most studies indicate one in four women have been sexually assaulted, and one in 10 men. Break those statistics down further and you find that minority groups — women of color and transexuals, specifically — appear to be especially targeted for abuse. This week those who have purposefully buried their head in the sand were given another opportunity to observe the carnage as women and men told their stories. And, just like so many other times in recent…

18Sep 2017 by Lynda Waddington

When local government goes viral

Gazette Column

Johnson County officials address zoning requests throughout the year, without much fanfare. Thursday night was different. Grant Schultz, who works a 143-acre plot of land on Strawbridge Road, near the tiny village of Morse, hoped to spur agritourism and bring in more farmworkers by rezoning about half the property as AR, or agricultural residential. He made application to the county, indicating that he wanted to install about three dozen cabins on the property, in addition to a fish farm and orchard. He and county planning officials disagreed. Ultimately the county’s planning and zoning commission rendered its decision, sending the matter before supervisors with a unanimous recommendation to refuse Schultz’s rezoning request. This is when an otherwise local zoning matter drew national and international attention. [caption id="attachment_1329" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A typically…

24Apr 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Middle-aged women (still) leading political activism

Gazette Column

A funny thing happened in the wake of last year’s presidential election. No, it wasn’t that more women signed up to serve as foot soldiers on the political battlefield. They’ve always been there — marching, dialing and door knocking. The humorous part is how some are now surprised, how those individuals have forgotten or never understood herstory. According to common belief, women are not generally political leaders. We’re told that politics is too nasty a business for most women, or that most women simply aren’t capable of grasping the nuances of public policy. But that only holds true if “being politically active” is defined as giving major speeches or running for elected office. Women have — for more years than I’ve been walking the planet — served as the backbone…

19Feb 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Lawmakers are wrong to rely on bubble

Gazette Column

Raise your hand if you’ve been blocked on social media by an elected official. If my feed is any indication, quite a few Iowa hands just flew into the air. “My friend, so I thought, Rep. (Name Removed), deleted me as a friend on Facebook last night. I was having an open and civil discussion about the collective bargaining bill and he began deleting comments from myself and other state employees,” wrote one poster. Another note read, “Rep. (Name Removed) is blocking anyone that tags him on Twitter.” The representative’s Twitter account was deleted shortly afterward. Several other examples exist — 45 at my last count — but these two suffice. [caption id="attachment_488" align="alignleft" width="300"] (Social Media Photo Illustration by Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)[/caption] Maybe some of this deleting and blocking…

16Oct 2016 by Lynda Waddington

Can’t blame Donald Trump for ‘Repeal 19th’

Gazette Column

Given the trajectory of this campaign cycle it’s easy to imagine Donald Trump pushing to disenfranchise half of America. But the #RepealThe19th hashtag predates his campaign. News stories surfaced this week linking Twitter hashtag #RepealThe19th to Trump supporters. According to those reports, Trump supporters hatched the plan after viewing projections by FiveThirtyEight pollster Nate Silver of what the election would look like if only one gender voted. The United States of Women vs. The United States of Menhttps://t.co/F455bP3D8I pic.twitter.com/qjr6zLh640 — 538 politics (@538politics) October 12, 2016 In a male-only world, Silver predicts Trump would receive 350 electoral votes and move into the White House. A companion map, showing only female voters, had Hillary Clinton earning 458, and Trump with just 80. After the maps were published, some Trump supporters posted…

15Feb 2016 by Lynda Waddington

Love in a time of social media

Gazette Column

We grew up hearing how “love is patient, love is kind,” but now we have social media. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are the top 10 things I’ve learned about love from Facebook, Twitter and a never-ending dredge of other social media sites. 1) A parent’s love for his/her child isn’t suitable for public consumption. Children between the ages of 14 and 29 would prefer their online friends believe they spontaneously sprouted in a cabbage patch. And, just like those round-faced dolls, parents should contain their pride and ownership to a single signature on a well-hidden butt cheek. 2) “Rick rolled” is not an amorous activity. Engaging in it does show your age. 3) Segregation is alive and well. We no longer live in a world where love and…

30Nov 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Thankful for end of Benghazi conspiracies

Gazette Column

There has not been a single week I’ve failed to receive an email message from a reader questioning or demanding why I’ve not written about the so-called Benghazi scandal. Sometimes messages are long and linked to external content. I’ve also received messages with a single word in all capitals: “BENGHAZI” (correct spelling optional). My best guess is the number of exclamation points following the word is indicative of the writer’s current frustration level. One punctuation banger denotes reading of Facebook headlines. Two bangers indicates a recent twitter hashtag search mission. Three or more are evidence of recent consumption of Fox News, the national leader in Benghazi propaganda distribution. The last time I received an email referring to Benghazi was Thursday, about 24 hours before a Republican-led U.S. House report debunked every conspiracy…