How Social Media Has Changed the Election Process

Unless you live under a rock, it's been increasingly obvious that this year's presidential election process has reached a fever pitch.

At last week's presidential debate, candidates were fact checked in real-time. Hillary Clinton's campaign was able to release facts, evidence, and strategic ads and materials within seconds of either candidate making a claim. And, in the past week, video evidence has been discovered of Donald Trump saying deplorable things about women and advocating for sexual aggression.

None of this would be possible without social media.

The way the world uses social media has completely and irrevocably changed the presidential election process in the United States and worldwide. Never before in history has the nation been able to dig through a candidate's past Tweets to find discretions and catch them in lies. Never have the citizens been so well informed and well versed in issues and information related to the campaigns than now.

Enterprising journalists, amateur sleuths and would-be detectives have unearthed everything from Donald Trumps missing tax returns to evidence (time and time again) of his gross misogyny and racism.

And indeed, Clinton's campaign has been able to pounce repeatedly on his various scandals, missteps, and quotes, such as this, tweeted live during the debate:

And another funny one, to illustrate my point:

donald trump: I didn't say that

the internet: pic.twitter.com/WrTHriXLgV

— laney (@seinfeId) September 27, 2016

Regardless of what happens at the polls next month, it's clear that the electoral process has been forever altered by the mass availability of social media. In four more years, who knows where we'll stand.

How to Use Instagram Stories to Grow Your Blog

Recently, Instagram unveiled a new featured called Stories, which basically mirrors Snapchat entirely. Two main differences between Snapchat and Instagram Stories are 1. on Stories, you can post any photo you took in the last 24 hours (as opposed to Snapchat, where you can only take new photos) and 2. anyone can look at your Story if your Instagram profile is set to public.

So while the world is figuring out how to use this new feature, I realized that it can be a great way to grow your blog or brand. Over the past several weeks, I've really enjoyed getting to know my favorite bloggers better and see how they're using Stories to grow their brands.

First, an overview of Instagram Stories:

Instagram Stories live up at the top of your home feed. You can see your own Story, and Stories from the people you follow. Tap to view Stories, swipe right or left to see the next Story or skip someone’s Story.

To add something to your Story, tap the new + icon to the left of the Instagram logo on your home screen, or just swipe left. You can either take a photo by tapping the round shutter button, or take a video by pressing and holding the same button. To add a photo taken in the last 24 hours, just swipe down on the camera screen. Add drawings or text by tapping the pen or letter icon, respectively. Tap the check mark button to add to your Story.

You can see who has viewed your Story, block people from seeing Stories if necessary, and add a Story post as a real Instagram post by viewing your own Story up at the top of the screen. 

But now for the important part - how to use Instagram Stories to build your blog:

• Instagram Stories is a great way to humanize your brand, especially on a platform that has become so curated as Instagram. Stories gives your followers a better idea of who you are and how you do things – better than just your super curated feed can, at least. It lets people see the person behind the brand, which is a huge part of personal branding – you have to be accessible to people, while still maintaining your brand guidelines.
• Do you ever take a picture of something that you really like, and you want to post it to your Instagram, but it just doesn’t fit with your feed’s aesthetic? My Instagram is very bright and white, and that works for me, but sometimes I’m in a really cool place that doesn’t happen to have white walls or I want to take a photo of something at night. I don’t want to screw up my carefully curated feed, but it’s a cool picture. Now with Stories, that problem is solved. I can still share it without ruining my vibe.
• Use multimedia like videos and gifs to really add a unique element to your brand and your blog. Use it to show behind the scenes footage of blog posts, DIY projects, recipes, daily outfits, or whatever else you want to write about.

Are you using Instagram Stories?

The One with the Flannel Shirts

You know that ice breaker where you have to say an interesting fact about yourself? For the longest time I really hated that because I could never think of a sufficiently interesting fact about myself. But the other day it hit me - my interesting fact? Last year I made over $3000 in one month from selling old flannel shirts on Etsy.

Yeah, you read that right. Old. Flannel. Shirts.

For those who don't know, Etsy is an online marketplace where vendors can sell anything handmade or anything vintage - 20 years old or older. A lot of people make livings selling things on Etsy. And I have always been really interested in vintage things, whether it be clothes or knick knacks or whatever else.

In May of 2015 I created an Etsy shop and listed a few odds and ends I already had that were considered antique or vintage. I found things at thrift shops and antique stores and listed them and I sold a few things here and there but never saw a lot of success.

In August, on a whim, I posted a listing for a "mystery vintage flannel shirt" as I'd seen a lot of people selling similar things. That day I got a few orders, which really surprised me, so I took the time to update the listing and make it nicer.

Over the next month, I sold 167 flannel shirts and made over $3000 from this alone. But it was absolutely insane - see, I had no idea that it would be as popular as it was, so I didn't have the flannel shirts before I sold them. I was positive that I'd be able to find whatever I needed at thrift stores. When people ordered, I asked them what size and color they wanted and then would purchase that.

But since so many orders flooded in, it became a mad dash to purchase these shirts and ship them out. I had my entire family helping me, and I even had to take a few days off of work to go to thrift stores out of town to find the perfect vintage flannel shirts. In one day, I spent nearly $200 buying flannel shirts from a Salvation Army in Midland.

This was some of the aftermath of that shopping spree:

At one point my mom came over for the weekend and helped me package nearly 50 orders, pictured below. And that was my biggest week, clocking in at 57 orders:

 It became so overwhelming that I eventually closed the listing at the end of the month and took a break. It was INSANE but at the end of the month I'd earned enough money to buy the new computer I desperately needed and pay off the rest of my tuition, so all in all it went well.

But I never ever want to do that again, except maybe if it was my full time job and not something else I had to balance in between an actual job and a full course load. During that month I probably spent like a solid 24 hours altogether just waiting in line at the post office.

20 Reasons I'm Excited for Fall

I honestly love autumn so much. From September through November is my favorite time of year. The colors, the smells, the chunky knit sweaters, the pumpkin spice lattes - it's all great. Here are 20 things that I'm excited about this fall:

1. Apple picking.
2. Scenic road trips with all the fall colors. 
3. Ugly sweater shopping at thrift stores.
4. Fall picnics in the park.
5. Navigating a corn maze.
6. Drinking hot apple cider.
7. Going for hay rides.
8. Pumpking carving.
9. Trips to the farmers market in town.
10. Baking pies.
11. Finding the perfect Halloween costume.
12. A scary movie marathon.
13. Eating caramel apples.
14. Late night fall bonfires.
15. Going for a hike in the forest as the leaves are changing.
16. Trips to the pumpkin patch.
17. Knitting scarves by the fire.
18. Creating the perfect fall playlist.
19. Wearing seasonably dark lipstick.
20. Puddle jumping with my new rainboots.

Hello + Welcome

Hi all! My name is Lizzie, I'm a journalism student at Central Michigan University currently enrolled in a social media class, which this blog is mainly for.

I'm a blogger, marketer, and social media manager. I started my blog October June Creative in January of 2013 and I've since grown it into a site geared towards creative life and style bloggers, as well as a social media management business on the side.

I manage social media accounts for a variety of clients, including other bloggers, small businesses, and more. I really love social media as a way to instantly connect to friends, family, and yes, even customers and clients the world over.

A little more about me: I was a barista for four years, so I know a lot about coffee and I love it even more. I have an orange cat named Scully (yes, from the X Files), and I'm a big fan of 90s sci-fi.

I'm looking forward to getting to know some more of you throughout the semester!