I have been an active internet user and have recently launched an online business service website. I have been hearing lately lot of marketing gurus taking about the use of social media to have better business scalability and was keen on knowing how can social media benefit my business?

The findings that I came across are very overwhelming. It has completely changed my prospective on how easy it is to expand your business by using the various social media tools available. I am today going to share with you what I have learned so far.

What is social media marketing?

Basically it is a process which is used for promoting your site or business using the various social media channels. It helps in driving all the relevant traffic to your website and is a powerful marketing strategy tool.

When we talk about the advantages of Social Media Marketing to Business, they are endless.

· Online Conversations: Using a social channel helps in building a brand value online. A strong social message can create a huge impact on building brand name for your online business. It is more like a viral marketing which keeps multiplying on its own without having to make much effort once initiated using the right methods.

· Quick Turnaround: If you plan your social media marketing strategies right, you can see a quick response. Instantly you can see an increase in your website traffic. But it does not mean that your conversion rate will increase however it will surely generate the momentum.

· Cost Effective: Business social media marketing is the most cost effective and therefore it is being used by many marketers in different ways to directly connect with the customer instantly.

· Search Engine Ranking: When you do it the right way it brings large amount of backlinks that also impacts your search engine ranking.

· Compatible with Other marketing strategies: You can run both the traditional marketing campaign and the other advertising campaign along with your social media marketing promotion.

Connecting with your target audience using the social media tools is the best way to have a more saleable online business. Not only does it helps in building traffic but also helps in improving your search engine visibility level.

Social networking sites and other social methods of marketing have helped many small business houses to achieve their business targets. It is the best way of developing link baits and getting popular. You can have both primary and secondary traffic to your website and increase your chances of getting leads converted to profitable business.

If you are running a new website then having a social presence online will get you noticed and help in familiarizing your services or products with the community of target audience. It is a medium through which gives you chance to be heard or read. An impressive and enticing social media campaign will definitely help you in drawing people to your website. It is the fastest, cheapest and the most reliable way of building relevant traffic to your website.

The constantly changing social platform algorithms make it a lot tougher to engage your readers and prospects with your blogs and social media posts. But, by applying some easy-to-follow and result-oriented writing tips, you can have a better result and engage more people.

Check these 6 exciting social media content writing tips, generate powerful and engaging posts!

1. Research, Research, Research

In case you want your social posts to inspire and engage your target groups, make them relevant to them. The more relevant your posts are, the more success will you taste.

Understand your audience. Check the general demographic statistics and then dive deeper.

Connect with your audience on an emotional stage. Share inspiring success stories from your former content customers.

2. Use Your Prospects’ Language

Now take your research to the next stage.

Figure-out what language your general clients usually employ to communicate their requirements or challenges.

For instance, a post you write on Instagram, for young and wealthy women, will read very different to middle-level executives on the LinkedIn.

Use your readers’ language so that your target group easily understands it.

Your prospects will realize that you understand them and their different problems.

3. Focus on Your Grammar

Go back to the basics! Contrary to the popular belief, grammar matters even while you are doing online content and social media posts.

Good grammar are the building blocks of good writing. It helps you improve your work.

In case you focus on it, your readers easily figure-out and appreciate what you’re writing or trying to say.

Besides, be active rather than passive to make your writing lively.

Check if you’re using passive voice.

Also check if your copy is plagued with too many adverbs and if it’s very difficult to read.

Besides, weed-out all unnecessary words from your copy.

Get to the key points without wasting any time. Help your work flow smoothly.

Afterwards, proofread and remove any words that don’t help further your point.

Read out your copy loud. You will be able to view your post from a different view. You will be astonished to see many unwanted words.

4. Be Positive

It helps to be positive. Negative content repels most. But it doesn’t mean your posts must always be happy. A huge difference exists between ‘positive’ and ‘happy’. You want your readers and prospects to be excited, and enthused by your posts, and that may not always necessarily mean happy posts.

5. Harness the Powers of Images & Videos

Pictures and videos leave a huge impact. Visual content is more engaging, and may normally tell the story faster and more concisely than words alone.

A picture is worth 1000 words, right?

Video, in particular, can better enable you to ‘connect’ with your audience, at a deeper and higher level.

Most often, the common man responds well to videos. The reason: it humanizes you and help them figure out you more closely.

So, use effective supporting images, graphics and videos to tell a story where ever possible, and guarantee conversions.

6. Include a Call to Action (CTA)

Include a call to action (CTA), nudge your prospects to take the action you want.

In case you don’t, many people won’t react. In a classic case of ‘missed opportunity’, they would just go away, post checking your content.

They may have loved it, and gained from it notwithstanding.

CTAs could be of many kinds with different objects. Use it at the end of your blog, or at any right place through it.

Corporate Social Responsibility suggests that a business should be accountable for its activities in society in the form of societal, legal, and environmental aspects. This modern line includes three key features: getting sustainable returns at the same time, reducing environmental footprints (planet), and balancing these goals with persons involved, from workers to overall society.

What is CSR?

CSR, also called Corporate Social Responsibility, is a cumulative of ethics and duties which engage any business in looking at their impact on society and assessing their responsibilities towards both society and the stockholders. In restaurants, the CSR depends on the legal and functional duties which they have to perform to benefit the society.

According to a research:

Corporate social responsibility can be defined as: “The conduct of an organization which makes it profitable, legal and helpful to society. (Carrol 1983).”

CSR for A Restaurant:

The restaurant industry is one of the fastest emerging service sectors in the world. This industry gives employment to unskilled, semi skilled and skilled people on different designation. It also allows building and enhancing the personal skills by providing training to the workers. In this way, they can create a perfect and friendly atmosphere and serve the community.

In the restaurant industry, CSR is yet a new thought; there are a lot of multinational food chains which are involved in the activities related to CSR. There are many financial as well as societal benefits to be found from developing a CSR policy within a hotel. The restaurant industry has taken various voluntary actions to involve in the development of society and the owners. This initiative represents the devotion of restaurant staff and owner towards the sustainable growth. You may also introduce different programs like quality programs, environmental improvement initiatives, benchmarking etc to play a vital role towards the welfare of the society.

There are many issues for a restaurant like wastage, labour conflicts (equal wages, women’s rights and labor unions), energy consumption. Even though the restaurants are taking initiatives for stepping up their corporate social responsibility efforts, they still lag behind other businesses.

The restaurant industry may have to focus on following things if it has to make policies regarding CSR:

• Waste Management
• Consumption of Water
• Energy Utilization
• Employment Opportunities
• Training for workers
• Environment Friendly Activities etc.

Some benefits of developing CSR policies are:

• It improves the reputation and brand image of a restaurant by assuring that it is following legal and social conducts.
• It helps restaurant to better customer relationships as the CSR encourages innovation and help to make such products which are beneficial for whole society.
• It clarifies the goal of the business and gives holistic data to owners of restaurant which helps to create longterm relationships between staff and owners.
• It encourages labour rights, so the staff may feel secure and perform well.
• It also helps to make environment clean and friendly which creates good image of a restaurant to its customers.
• It works for the welfare of society plus increase the profits of restaurants.
• It helps a restaurant to fulfil the legal, ethical and societal duties.

The concept of CSR is new for restaurant owners and is not so easy to understand. It needs research to find out the best practices which can be executed in restaurants, so that they can meet the requirements of CSR policy.

Everyone wants to shine and be accepted by people. If your goal is to achieve a successful life, personal and career, you will need the help of others. And, to feel accepted and get along well with others, you need to focus on developing your social skills to win more attention.

For someone who is just starting to develop his or her social skills, here are some tips to consider:

1. Have a ready smile always

A person with an approachable outlook is likely to draw people who smile back and start talking. A gloomy face causes individuals to backslide and feel cautious that you might not be open for a chat.

2. Have simple start up conversation questions ready

Questions like age, status in life, school last attended or anything about family. You may also think of ready answers that may come along the way, questions you think might be asked that are occasion related.

3. Take an interest in the conversation

Do not show boredom towards the person you are talking to. Be responsible for taking interest in what the person is talking about. It is your fault if you are getting bored as you do have a hand in making it more interesting by asking interesting follow up questions.

4. Get involved and stay focused

Be attentive to the person you are talking to and use give and take listening and follow-up questions to liven and explore the conversation. Apply your verbal and non-verbal skills. Ask appropriate questions based on related topics being talked about, set your vocal tone and quality and apply bodily movements if necessary to display your feelings.

Nodding of the head, smiles and eye-to-eye contact are non-verbal gestures. Both verbal and non- verbal social skills make the conversation valuable. Your partner will have the feeling that you give due importance to his/her topic, thus giving both of you the feeling of acceptance.

5. Be ready to adapt to situations

If at some point in your conversation, out of the blue, someone tries to butt in and totally twist the topic – adapt to the change. You need to have some flexibility when you are in a group gathering. This will help you to get more accepted by the others. Flexibility is one thing people look for when having a conversation.

6. Choose to feel relaxed

There may be times when you will run out of topics to discuss, and get worried about what to say next. Well, relax and let the conversation go as it is. As the saying goes: go with the flow.

Nobody will notice you if you just sit out when there are opportunities to speak up. Make sure to get involved so that your finer qualities and potential are noticed.

These tips to develop social skills will guide you towards the achievements of your goals. Expand your networking. Remember that success is not all about money but also about the number of friends you have made and how you live your life. Get out there and apply these social skills tips as you socialize.

Corporate Values reflect a company’s culture. The values make that the culture is to be communicated which is a difficult task. To understand a suitable value statement for a company, one should understand what culture is and whether the statement really represents the culture of the company.

Simply said: culture is what a group of people have in common, for example facing similar questions and problems because they operate in a similar business. This is the internal element of culture, the other one is external oriented: in what environment does this group of people operate and how does this affect them. How do they interact with the environment?

Social responsibility is obviously a value that is focused on this second element: the interaction of the group (corporation) with its environment.

How it could work: a social responsible company charges more for their products and uses some of the profit margin for social projects…

A first question to ask about corporate values is whether a value should be used as such, like: “entrepreneurial,” “client focused” and also this one “social responsibility” are values that you’d better not use in the corporate values statement. The reason is that they are too vague.

Yet they appear in value statements:

Social Responsibility. We are committed to a culture of being friendly to the environment meeting a high corporate citizenship standard, protecting the health and safety of our employees and impact positively on the communities where we operate… A strong sense of social responsibility… etc.

So what does this mean?

A company like Siemens, a conglomerate of which social responsibility could really be an issue, is investing in Africa in projects to make energy available for the development of small villages. The idea is that energy in Africa is one of the main problems that withholds development and Siemens could play a role there.

Sure.

But does Siemens add the social responsibility to their set of values? No: Siemens’ corporate values are: “responsible, excellence and innovative.” Once you have defined “responsible,” social responsibility is managed automatically, but not as a corporate value, it is not a value that is shared amongst the employees.

Another reason not to use social responsibility is that it is not a value that can be translated to individual behavior. Imagine that two people meet each other on a holiday and they find out to work both for Siemens: would you think they feel related because of Siemens’ Social responsible role in energy projects in Africa? That is too far away and not (emotionally) connecting people and therefore not a cultural element.

Besides this view there is another view on social responsibility and that is the value of long term relations with the (social) environment versus short term business success. Social responsibility is another way of making sure a company does not only focus on the short-term benefits of stakeholders.

Another example is Microsoft and the Gates foundation. This is another view on social responsibility: a clear separation of business (Microsoft) and a responsible role in the global society (Gates Foundation).

One reason to keep these areas separated is that with the concept of social responsibility one enters the arena of politics. On the internet I found this statement: “Responsible business leaders know that business cannot succeed if society fails…” but still, call this a business opportunity and a marketing issue rather than a social responsibility.

Let’s take another example: Google’s social responsibility. For example Google could be held responsible for the increasing junk on the internet. In addition to every time indexing more pages it could operate as a police-officer so that surfers do not litter.

Take Google’s Answers for instance and the following posting:

I am looking for an English translation of Pablo Neruda’s poem “Muere lentamente”. Thanks (1)

Today a newspaper published an article about this poem that was assumed to be of the Chilean Poet. But in fact the real author is the Brazilian Martha Medeiros.

Now who is responsible for this (mistake) and that 10,000 surfers continue to believe in a mistake?

I would argue that Google is. It offers the main gateway to the web and therefore the main party that makes distribution of errors like these possible. It obviously conflicts with Google’s neutral approach of “don’t be evil.” But for how long can thy remain neutral? I think that Google can be compared with the British Petroleum of the internet. BP has reinvented itself by Beyond Petroleum. Google has introduced a new four-colored icon. The step to a more social responsible role is underway I guess.

Regarding corporate values statements … I would leave “social responsibility” out.

John Dryden (1631-1700), the major poet of the Restoration Age, was born at Aldwincle, a village near Oundle in Northampton shire. His paternal grand father named Sir Eramus Dryden was a baroner and his mother was Lady Pickering, the first cousin of Sir Gilbert Pickering. He received his primary education in the village school of neighbouring Tichmarsh. From Tichmarsh, he passed on to Westminster school about the year 1642. From Westminster, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1650.He was close to Sir Robert Howard that friendship caused of his marriage with Lady Elizabeth in 1663, the daughter of his friend, but the marriage proved unhappy.

Undoubtedly, he was an original and discriminating critic. Dr Johnson called him, “the father of English Criticism”. Besides, he was the founder of modern prose style. He was an outstanding poet and dramatist. In his age, minor literary critics were so many with their erratic work, but the major contemporaries with significant work were Thomas Rhymer, John Dennis and Jeremy Collier. It would be better to discuss social and literary background of his age (1660-1700).

A. Social Background:

The Age of Dryden begins with the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660 till the death of the poet in 1700. It will not be exaggeration to say that he was the dominant literary figure who nicely represented the period. His age was deeply influenced by the three historical events: the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the religious and political controversies and the Popish plot, and the Golden Revolution of the year 1688. As far as the Restoration of Charles II is concerned, it increased corruption etc. It took a violent reaction against the Puritan restraints. All the values of society, what the Puritan had prevailed, were violated. The king was very odd had a number of mistresses and illegitimate children. He was irresponsible and unpatriotic who always stood against his promises, broke his treaty with the Dutch and with his own ministers and betrayed his country. His court was dishonourable and the parliament passed the bills against the church and the state with the thirst of revenge from those who were connected with the puritan government of Cromwell. The House of Lords was increased by the creation of hereditary titles, desecrated men and unabashed women. Even the judiciary was not safe.

In this era, the unpleasantness in the field of religious and political parties was strongly vivid. There were the two central political parties, the Whigs and the Tories. They divided the atmosphere of the country with their touch. The Whigs was in favour of limiting the royal power in the interests of the nation and the parliament, where as the Tories was different and it supported the ‘divine right’ theory of the kings. The both parties proved fruitful for the men of literary abilities. They were in pursuit of the support and bribed them with places and pensions. The writers of the day were not free from the political bias and contest.

The religious conflict or bias was more bitter. The nation was dominantly protestant and the catholic worked under a number of disabilities. They had to pay higher taxes and were not permitted to hold any office under the Crown. Such hatred for Catholics was a great issue of that times writing.

Apart from it, in this era the Popish plot comes because the king was very weak in the field of religion but his brother was a Roman Catholic. Charles II had no legitimate son or heir of the throne. After him, his brother James would sit on the throne. The plot was made to exclude him from the throne and create the atmosphere to sit the Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of Charles II. This controversy was called Popish plot by Titus Oates. Shaftsbury made various attempts to exclude James but the king supported his brother and the way was cleaned for the accession of James. The famous poem of Dryden, Absalam and Achitophel reflects or interprets these religious or political controversies or prejudices of the day.

James II ascended the throne in 1685. He had various plots and under them, he tried to establish Catholicism in the country. Such misrule made him quite unpopular in his country in a short time. In reaction, the nation stood against him and the Bloodless Revolution of 1688 restored the country to pleasant and healthy atmosphere after the suffering of immorality and corruption which had been running since the Restoration. James was exiled and the protestant William and Mary sat on the throne.

B. Literary Background:

In literature, this school of criticism is called Neo-classical, pseudo classical or Augustan Age. In this era, literary men began to imitate the French writers. It was a blind imitation led them copy the worst work instead of using their wit. So it was only copy. They call it Augustan Age because the writers of the time considered their age was as glorious as the age of King Augustus Caesar of Rome. That age produced brilliant literary figures as Horace, Virgil, Longinous and Quintillian. Where as, in this pseudo-classical age, John Dryden was a dominant figure that’s why it is called the Age of Dryden.

The rise of Neo-Classicism broke away the chains of Puritanism. The Post Restoration literature was of Elizabethan Age where as the neo-classical literature stood opposite to the Elizabethan Romanticism. Before Dryden, Sir Philip Sidney and Ben Jonson were two great poets of Elizabethan Age. After Ben Jonson, literary activity in England suffered a lot. Between Ben Jonson and John Dryden is hardly found any major critic because of religious and social controversies. The Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660 penetrated a favourable atmosphere with French influence that supplanted sensuous and romantic Italian influence. Charles II and the other literary men were under this influence because they had passed the most time in France. On the return to England, they brought a new gale of French literature, which renounced old ideals and standards. They demanded the English poetry on the new style. The Italian influence was forgone and the literary men started to imitate the French writers blindly. So they copied the worst work instead of using their wit. The influence of French comedy is seen in clumsiness and indecency of The Restoration Comedy of Manners of Dryden, Wycherley and Congreve. The mutual influence of French and Classical models of tragedy is seen in a new genre, the heroic tragedy. It is well represented by Dryden’s ‘Tyrannic Love’. This influence is also responsible for the growth of the opera in the Restoration England.

This reaction was against the romantic inclinations and favoured realism to a great extent. In case of realism, its inception was very bad. The early Restoration writers painted realistic pictures of a corrupt court and society. Their emphasis was on vices rather than virtues and produced coarse and low plays without interest or moral significance. Later, it got change and increased the writers’ interest for the study of practical motives which ruled human actions. One can not gainsay from this statement that it was the reaction against the extravagances of both the Elizabethans and the Metaphysical. John Donne is a metaphysical poet and his followers liked a revolt in favour of order, balance and sanity in literature. They used unlimited hyperboles, far- fetched and violent similes and metaphors and conceits. This reaction supported the tendency towards directness and simplicity and expression. The writers of previous ages were fond of using extravagance in thought and language. The sentences were enriched with classical quotations and references. The Restoration writers opposed it and formed rules and said fare well to the romantic fancy. So the emphasis was on correctness and decorum. Correctness means to foster moderate opinions moderately expressed. The decorum was to pursue the rules of ancients as interpreted by the French. Dryden clearly marked this new tendency and by virtue of his influence, the writers developed that formalism of style which was wrongly called classicism.

In this age, the growth of science, religious and political controversies was found. All gave birth to prose. Arnold says, “The Restoration marks the real moment of birth of our modern English prose.”The previous writers were erratic and their work was over loaded with classical allusions and quotations.Actually, the Elizabethan prose was not appropriate for telling a plain story. The epigrammatic style of Bacon and the grandiloquent prose of Milton could not be suitable for scientific, historical, political and philosophical writings or novel -writing. The spirit of this new type of prose developed and Dryden was the chief leader. His work,’Dramatic Poesy’ introduced a new model of prose which was completely different from the prose of previous ages. He wrote in a plain, simple but precise style, free from exaggeration. The other writers also came under his influence and they also helped to develop the new prose style by their own individual advance. It was rather free from monotony.

Prose was the eminent style or weapon of this era. Even the poetry of this era was also prosaic and it was used for narrative, satiric or didactic purposes. The poetry was for the purpose of persuasion but not for inspiration. It was the favourable style of narrating the controversies that caused the growth of satire. The best poetry of this eon is satirical. Dryden’s ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ is a best known political satire. In this satire, Dryden defends the king against the Earl of Shaftesbury who is represented as Achitophel. His other work ‘Mac Flecknoe’ is an example of personal satire. It also contains a scathing personal attack on Thomas Shadwell who was once a friend of Dryden. ‘The Rehearsal’ depicts the literary vices of the time and is the first literary satire in English literature. His other two poems ‘Religio laici’ and ‘The Hind and the Panther’ are theological and controversial.

The other contribution to this age was the growth and the perfection of the heroic couplet. Chaucer used it but insisted on the thought or notion. Where as the writers of the Restoration gave importance to the form. Waller and Dryden used it with literary fashion. The couplet became “Closed”. Its pair of lines showed a complete thought and was stated as precisely as could be. So it became the order of the day and all other forms of versification were expelled. The dominancy remained a single century and later its freshness passed away.

Such controversies disturbed the age a lot but added a great help in case of literature. It also proved John Dryden an exponent of this neo-classicism and Bunyan was, too, appreciated who worked like John Milton. It brought novelty and expelled monotony from the literature.

A social support network is a group of people who you can count on to support you. They may be the first people you call when something upsetting has happened, when you have a difficult decision to make, or when you have fantastic news to share. Some of the people in your social support network might be professionals and support you in very specific ways (i.e. your family doctor or your life coach), and other people in your network you might live with or be in contact with every day.

First, let’s talk about why social support is important and why it matters to your self-care. Research has shown that a lack of social support (isolation) can contribute to an ongoing state of chronic stress, which will negatively impact your immune system and put you at risk for dangerous conditions.

Now, what can strengthening your social support network do for you? Social support can improve the functioning of your immune system, protecting you from disease, and it can increase your vitality, decrease your stress and improve your self-esteem.

WHAT MAKES A SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORK SOLID?

STRENGTH – Make sure that you’re not counting on one or two people to provide all the support you need. That can be hard on them, and on you (if they’re suddenly unable to be there for you). Reach out regularly to several people.

VARIETY – Similarly, having many people in your support network gives you access to their different skills, perspectives and experiences.

COMMON GROUND – If you’re dealing with a particularly difficult challenge or have a very specific goal, then finding and regularly interacting with others in the “same boat” can have extremely beneficial results. Whether it’s finding out how others have handled a situation, or sharing some of your experience, groups like this can be a great boost to your self-care program.

SOMETHING TO REACH FOR – Make a point of building or strengthening your relationships with people who inspire, encourage and support you, and who empower you to grow and to be your best self. For instance, someone who is very committed to his or her own self-care will inspire you to make positive self-care choices. And someone who is very loving and supportive will help you to feel good about yourself.

5 WAYS TO NURTURE YOUR SUPPORT NETWORK

1. Call or write when things are good as well as when they’re not. Sharing your gratitude and appreciation can help to deepen your relationships and will also intensify your good feelings.

2. Be open to new people. You never know when someone new is going to come into your life or the unique gifts they will bring. I believe that sometimes we’re meant to connect with certain people only briefly – so instead of thinking, “I don’t have time for a new friend,”, go with your heart and get curious about what you can learn from interacting with this person.

3. Offer to help. Whether it’s people you know or people you haven’t met yet (i.e. through a volunteer position), helping others can be a wonderful boost for your own self-care. AND remember that YOUR self-care still comes first!

4. Live by the Four Agreements, as created by Don Miguel Ruiz – Be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions and always do your best.

5. If you don’t feel like talking to anyone, talk to someone. Sometimes we choose to be isolated. It can be really difficult to reach out when we feel like this. Do it anyway.

It’s important to remember that your social relationships can also have a negative impact on your self-care. Unspoken truths, unintentional sabotage, or continuously taking on the role of care-giver can all add stress and affect your commitment to self-care.

So instead, nourish your positive relationships and keep your social support network strong and working for you.

© Copyright 2005, Genuine Coaching Services. All rights reserved.

Every child who is adopted from foster care deserves a clear, detailed record of his or her life prior to adoption. While a foster child is waiting for a forever family, a lifebook can help her to make sense of the past and prepare to go forward.

Once a child is placed with a permanent family, lifebooks are a connection to the past that can inform and improve the future. Done with care, lifebooks are an invaluable tool for helping children through difficult life transitions and enabling them to take ownership of their unique histories.

Simply stated, a lifebook is a book that presents a child’s life story. Like other books, lifebooks can contain pictures, artwork, text, and other meaningful memorabilia that convey information about a child’s personal history. What child doesn’t like being the star of his own story for an audience of his choosing?

It is very simple in principle…until you begin to factor in abuse and neglect, multiple placements, loss and grief, complicated legalities, and disruptions. How can you translate abuse, drugs, and rejection in terms and images appropriate for a five-year-old? You may have to learn some new skills, but a well-constructed lifebook can hold a tale of even the most profound loss and pain.

Key Components

When I was a new adoption worker, the experienced writers in my office created a lifebook template/checklist of sorts. All of our lifebooks included:

o information about the child’s birth

o a copy of the child’s birth certificate

o birth family information

o why the child entered foster care

o a history of different placements

o a worker’s blessing page

To bolster children’s self esteem, our template included a very upbeat birth page. One common line was, “When you were born, the doctors ooohed and aaahed…”

While I believed in all the lifebook components, I never liked this line. For me, it just did not ring true. So many of our children were tiny drug-addicted babies, fighting for their lives. Lifebooks are supposed to be about the truth.

Lifebook Truths.

Because lifebooks are historical documents, it is never okay to lie. Sometimes, though, you may not know much about a particular event–say, the moment the child was born. In such circumstances, you may need to say, “I’ll bet that….”

For example:

I’ll bet that your birth mother was happy to have given birth to such a beautiful baby girl, but she may have felt sad and confused too because of her problems with bad drugs.

Official documents such as birth certificates and hospital birth records are a great source of factual information, and kids love to see the important pieces of paper that validate their very existence. Foster kids sometimes need to be reminded that they, like everyone else, started life by getting born.

Another way to promote lifebook truth is to involve the child. After all, this is his or her story. Grab crayons and markers, and find a quiet space. Younger children may enjoy dictating while you write; pretend they are guests on a talk show and interview them. Other kids may want to write down their own words, and have you transform them into neat, printed pages.

Some truths are hard to explain and accept. But if an event is an important part of the child’s history, include what you can in a developmentally appropriate way. A teenager may be able to understand “sexual abuse” and a birth parent who was “addicted to cocaine and alcohol,” but a younger child may make better sense of phrases like “bad touching” and “couldn’t stay away from bad drugs.”

Omissions say to a child that things are so bad they can’t be shared. Then the child may fill in the blanks with much scarier imaginings and a sense of guilt or shame. Truth leads to healing, and troubling past events, over time, can fade into “just the way it is.”

Family History

Think about your family for a minute. Which relatives do you take after? Whose athleticism matches yours? Whose laugh echoes yours at the same jokes? Whose nose is (for better or worse) stuck on your face?

Much of our identity comes from being part of the generations that came before us. Children who live with their birth family can see the traits they share with relatives. They also hear and relive family stories at the dinner table, at family gatherings, and through shared memories.

Children who are adopted from foster care may have vivid memories of their birth family, but relatively few positive stories or happy shared moments. Once the birth family is out of their lives, they lose major connections.

Can you imagine going through life without meeting anyone who looks like you? Imagine what it feels like to go through a significant life event–having a baby or being screened for cancer–without knowing your family medical history?

Lifebooks can help answer questions that keep kids, teens, and adults up at night wondering. Adoption social workers often have access to detailed social histories, old medical records, and other social workers who once worked with the birth parents. If visits with birth parents are still going on, you have a golden opportunity to gather important facts and images.

In my view, any chance to get information or pictures should be considered a last chance. Additional family photos and details about the birth family will be a treasure to the child–and to those who parent the child for the rest of their lives.

And let’s not forget siblings; they have a special magic all their own. A simple page with siblings’ names, ages, pictures, and locations can work wonders.

Asking Why

One of the hardest and most critical parts of lifebooks answers the question: Why don’t I live with my birth family?

It is unwise to tell a child that their birth parent was sick (unless it is an honest part of the story). Don’t sick people usually get better? And if Mom gets better, shouldn’t the child go back home? What if Mom doesn’t get better–is she dead, or dying? Why give the child this worry?

I tell children that their birth father, birth mother (or other caretaker) had grown-up problems and wasn’t able to take care of him- or herself. In fact, the caretaker took such poor care of him/herself that he/she couldn’t possibly take care of a child–any child–at that time in his/her life.

By placing responsibility squarely with the adult, we can help children work through nonsensical thinking evidenced in rhymes like: “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back.” Many children with abuse histories believe they were bad or somehow responsible for being taken from their birth families. As social workers, we must make sure that kids don’t carry this burden of false guilt through life.

I often directly ask children, “Why do you think you aren’t living with your birth family?” In 10 minutes, I get more information from this question than most therapists do in 10 sessions. Depending on the circumstances, I will then discuss each child’s specific situation.

Placements

Pages on placements are often the most straightforward. Start with here and now; do a page on the child’s current school, favorite foods, good friends, sports, and favorite activities. Get any photos you can. Do the same for past placements in foster homes, group homes, or emergency shelters.

If the child is just about to enter an adoptive placement, a favorite page may be one commemorating when the adoptive parents and child first met. Interview the parents and child separately, and then share their quotes. Now you are accumulating text for the lifebook.

Seek out school report cards, awards, and positive quotes from teachers and foster parents. Awards and praise can help children feel good about who they are–a feeling that can give them the ego strength to deal with difficult transitions.

The Worker’s Blessing Page

As a social worker, you probably have worked with this child for months, if not years. Just before the child is placed for adoption, take time to write one page for the end of the lifebook. Talk about the child’s strengths and what you think is special about him or her. Include a funny story or thought.

It is important to give a child permission to move on and be happy. This is a powerful message for the years to come.

Getting It Done

A team approach to lifebooks may be most rewarding. If foster parents can capture a few moments of the child’s life–maybe grab a picture of the birth family and share a picture of the foster family too–then the lifebook has begun. Social workers and therapists can add to the record.

When the child is adopted, carefully transfer the book to the adoptive family. Coach adoptive parents to keep the lifebook somewhere special and secure. If the child wants the book in her room, make a copy of the original for her to keep. The child gets to decide when the lifebook comes out and parents should never share the book without the child’s permission.

It may be that the book will become a part of adoption anniversary celebrations, provide help with a school family tree assignment, open the door to conversations about adoption and identity as the child gets older, and help the child to deal with the painful loss of his birth family. Then too, it may be something that the child can only appreciate once he starts his own family. The lifebook should be available whenever the child is ready.

Soon after I began working on lifebooks for children, I heard back from families whose children had my first plain, typewritten efforts. To my delight, they reported that the lifebooks became more valuable over time. Lifebooks give foster and adopted children crucial, life-affirming information: basic factual data about themselves, as well as an understanding of where they came from and why they have a new family. It also gave them permission to remember and grieve their losses and better bond with their new families. What a gift!

“Language shapes thoughts and emotions, determining one’s perception of reality.” Benjamin Whorf

From the day that the United States won its independence, intellectual Americans have attempted to define the new identity. When we speak about American social identity these elements and names come to the mind:

Religion

Language

Democracy

Pragmatism

Nationalism

Melting pot, apple pie, hollowing and…

I chose language which I think is very key factor in developing social identity in every culture.

Regarding the topic these kinds of questions come to the mind.

What is social identity? What is role of language in social identity development? So first of all we shall define identity and language.

“Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe an individual’s comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. The notion of social identity is defined as the way that individuals label themselves as members of particular groups (e.g., nation, social class, subculture, ethnicity, gender, etc.)”. Social identity is some thing like personality and individual identity.

“A language is a system of visual, auditory, or tactile symbols of communication and the rules used to manipulate them.” It is a means of communication between people. Language is not only a vehicle for the expression of thoughts, perceptions, feelings and emotions, and values features of a community; it also represents a basic expression of social identity. Language is an important element which influences cultural and intellectual aspects of human life. Not only language creates several communications among people but also it makes bilateral relation between different groups and societies. Events and realities are expressed by words and sentences. Politicians assert their abilities and their policies through language and words. Nowadays, since the role of media became very crucial we can learn about importance of language. So we can say individual’s ideology, religious concepts and literature are indebted to the language and actually all of them shape social identity of a nation.

In some countries like the United States as a result of verity of nations within geographical borders, there are many languages.” English is spoken by about 82% of the population as a native language. The variety of English spoken in the United States is known as American English; together with Canadian English it makes up the group of dialects known as North American English 96% of the population of the U.S. speaks English well.

The Spanish language is the second-most common language in the country, spoken by almost 30 million people.” Therefore these two languages had more effect on American social identity, English as language of Native Americans and Spanish as language of immigrants.

“English is a dominant international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy .The influence of the British Empire is the primary reason for the initial spread of the language far beyond the British Isles Since World War II, the growing economic and cultural influence of the United States has significantly accelerated the adoption of English.” English gives feeling of superiority and self confidence to Americans. If we look back to the past English has been the language of the most powerful empire which is British Empire and now English is the language of most powerful country which is United States. In deed power and English are inseparable. Regarding these matters American deserve themselves as a superpower and exceptional nation.

Spanish language is the second most common language after English. The Spanish language has been spoken in North America since the 16th century. “The United States’ Spanish-speaking population increased historically because of territorial expansion due to wars and land purchases. Modern factors continue to increase the Spanish-speaking population. The influx of large numbers of Spanish-speaking immigrants to the United States has elevated the number of Spanish-speakers throughout the country, making them majorities or large minorities in many districts.”

There are many other languages in the U.S. which belong to different cultures and these languages like some other factors are responsible for American salad bowl.

As it is mentioned above language is one of the most significant elements of social identity which gives a feeling of dependence or independence, superiority or inferiority and power or weakness. It even influences our personal identity as a part of social identity. It can specify your social level and your position. More over language conveys the whole story of a nation and keeps the identity of a nation.

When the internet was first developed, most of the information you could find about a product or business was published by the product creator on a business website. These first generation company websites enabled consumers to search for information, find product details or specifications, and use that information to determine which product or service to purchase.

Today, the internet and its use have evolved light years into the future. Business websites are more creative and extensive and websites with user-generated content are becoming increasingly more popular. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many others are giving individuals and businesses a place to connect with their current and potential buyers. As a result, when it comes to reaching out to our potential markets relying solely on websites and traditional marketing channels will no longer be sufficient.

Social media can have a strong impact on the way a business grows online. To realize the full impact and far-reaching benefits these sites can offer you will have to overcome the perception that they are for recreational use only. Social media opens the door of opportunity for businesses to add to the communications aspect of their marketing plans and cannot be overlooked as an effective online marketing strategy. By creating profiles on social media sites, you have the opportunity to target your market by connecting with people who have some sort of interest in what you have to offer, reducing the amount of time and money you may spend trying to find a focused group to talk to.

Start your social media marketing campaign by choosing one or two of the most popular social media sites. There are dozens but you should start small with one or two so you can focus your efforts before adding others to your campaign. The most popular include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Delicious. After creating a profile on one of these sites, you can use it to make connections, network and promote your products and services with those interested, and gather customer feedback. Other benefits can include a surge of back links and traffic to your website, both from your social media networks and from those who post on their blogs and websites.

Let’s not forget the most important benefit – customer engagement and feedback. By putting yourself on social media websites you will be opening yourself up to public criticism. Granted, the majority of your contacts will likely praise what you do, those who have had bad experiences are likely to speak up as well. These instances will provide you with the opportunity to address concerns, both publicly and privately, and can enhance your customer relations.

Aside from a time investment, you will find that working with these sites is a low-cost alternative to traditional marketing methods. Anyone with internet access can take advantage of these networks to build connections and make information readily available to the public.