Humans of New York: Utilizing Social Media Platforms for Blogs

In case you missed it, Brandon Stanton is coming to Athens, GA! Brandon is the founder of the famous Humans of New York account. He first started with Facebook and then created a Twitter and Instagram account. Instead of having a website to showcase his work, he's utilized these three social media platforms to share his photos, interviews, and even fundraisers.

These are the Syrian refugee families who were/are coming to America. Brandon went to Syria to interview them and help fundraise money for their relocation and other needs. 

With a strong fanbase, Brandon has been able to utilize social media in ways not many others have. I mean, not many can capture so much emotion in a photo and get strangers to tell us personal and intimate stories, knowing that we'd share them for the whole world to see. Yet, Brandon finds a way to do it. Within the past year or two especially, he's done series that were relevant and gave people so much insight into what's going on. When he went to Syria to interview people and their families about the refugee crisis, he opened up a lot of people's minds about what it was like to be living in Syria. When he worked with the beautiful children in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he showed the world the rollercoaster of Cancer and managed to give other people hope to keep on fighting the battle. When he did the series on veterans, I know I learned so much about working in a war zone and then transitioning back home in the United States. Regardless of political opinion, he was also able to interview Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who you know, are kind of important people.

This was the cover photo that began his series on American veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The fact that he's only utilizing social media platforms makes it easier for his audience to engage - they can like, react, comment, and share his content more easily than if he only posted on a website. Social media platforms were originally for interactions and engagement, and that's what Humans of New York is doing. The growth of his "blog" is incredible, and I'm so excited to see him on campus this Thursday!