The Audible - Pivoting at the Line, Pt. 4

It's truly hard to put into words how challenging the last three months, three weeks, three days...three hours...have been for so many of our neighbors, friends, and loved ones.

On-top of a generational health and economic crisis that has completed devastated our livelihood and taken over 100,000 Americans from us, we also must support our African American brothers and sisters to confront systematic racism and inequality and take deliberate action at every level to end police brutality nationwide.

Given the escalation of recent events, it's so clear that we have so many new, pressing responsibilities as a human race. And in my opinion, we face an urgent, generational task that has never been more important - unite, connect, and build community.

Where do we go from here?

In Part 4 of The Audible, let's address the Power of Connectivity and how perhaps through the strategic use of social media and messaging platforms, we can find light in some of the darkest times we've ever faced.

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For Part 4 of my series, I brought in a childhood friend of mine, Brett Blueweiss, who works at Major League Baseball as Manager of New Media & Instagram.

Brett is an expert "community builder" and he leads MLB's strategic efforts on Instagram and social media to curate a positive culture of passionate baseball fans while maintaining connectivity with a diverse, captive audience.

He's tasked with an unprecedented challenge the baseball world has never faced: how do you keep fans engaged and excited about the sport and its players when there's no clear path for fans to return to the ballpark?

As he deals with millions of fans who are desperately waiting for baseball to return, he's using the power of Instagram to reach young fans, unite the baseball world, and connect with each other during times the sports world has never seen.

Together, Brett and I discussed this and the various challenges that we're all dealing with both professionally and personally.

How can we use this time to be better? How can we spread kindness and positivity? How can we maintain close connectivity to both those we love and those we haven't heard from in a while? What can we do to support our friends and neighbors?

As Brett says, “Since we can’t physically be with people, it’s important to try and use social media to unite.” Furthermore, he added, “the vast majority of our country has realized that this is about our neighbors, our friends and our community. Using social media, I hope we can shine a light on the positives – people of all backgrounds coming together and learning more about not just the people we all know, but those we have never met."

While we obviously may not have all the answers - and candidly, we acknowledge that our answers may not be the right ones for that matter - here are a few ways that the power of connectivity can help us during these times:

Maintain active and open conversation: Given social distancing guidelines, many of us have gone weeks and months without the impactful human connectivity that we so desperately need.

As Brett mentions, "it's important not to be robotic in your communication as lot of brands and leagues do. We need to connect with fans on a personal level. This can make someone's day or year."

• At a time when we thought we needed to be off our phones, suddenly those same devices are what keeps us connected to loved ones. Let's use the power of social and our personal devices to make more of an effort to connect with those we love.
• Curate small group messages and discussion threads to discuss relevant topics. Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat, and SMS have all been imperative for me in simultaneously staying connected with family and friend groups.
• Check in with someone to see how they're doing. It's such a simple yet powerful way to show you care and begin a new conversation.

Without games being played, Brett and his team have used league ambassadors and diverse culture drivers to create fun and impactful conversation:

Find more ways to smile: With so much negativity in the world, let's find, focus on, and promote more of the positives in life.

• Cut out any negative energy from your feeds. We don't need to waste our time debating or being angered by those we don't agree with, especially given the polarization of politics and the crisis. Let's "cut the fat" from our feeds.
• Seek out positive, impactful content or accounts that can inspire you or bring positivity into your daily life.
• Share something that you know will make someone else smile (yes, dog photos count!)

As MLB has shifted their content strategy to be more personal and authentic during the crisis, here's a way that Brett and his team have spread smiles and happiness by using the power of fandom, connectivity, and the pros themselves:

Promote diversity any way you can: Having a voice is as important as ever. Showing your support for all minority groups in times of unrest and can impact the conversation and lead to positive action.

• Commit to long-term action plans to confront injustice in your communities.
• Embrace, follow, and engage with non-profit organizations and social activists to be informed or educated on how to properly take action.
• Donate to a cause that support the efforts. Many of us are minorities ourselves and would want the same support from others

The social and content team at MLB has given a platform for a young girl named Ashlynn, @baseballashlynn77. She's a 9-year-old baseball fan who has a brighter future in the sport than most of the boys she competes against:

Use community for education: lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we need to use social media and the power of connectivity to educate ourselves, learn, and absorb new perspectives.

• Use social media to connect with your friends, coworkers, or family members to find books, articles, or essays.
• Keep an open mind to the diversity of thought from others sharing their opinions and perspectives. It's not only important not to judge someone for using social platforms as a voice, but it's even more important to understand their point of view and learn from their take.
• Find platforms or social causes that you believe in to act, donate, or support.

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We all have the resources to connect with each other. Let's use the power of social media to unite us and build a positive, powerful community in a time when we need it most.