Now Trending at Options for Women #LIFE

March 19, 2019

Have you seen what’s trending on Social Media these days aside from politics as usual?

* Dogs Everywhere Are Taking The Snoot Challenge
* Japan Has a Pokemon Train
* Ziplock Announces Its Own Fashion Line
* An Intimate Look Inside Kylie Jenner’s Closet
* Pumpkin Spice Lattes Are Back!
* Mind-blowing Hyperrealistic Pencil Drawings- a Must See!

We’ve come to a point where Social Media isn’t just about communicating with friends anymore. Daily, we’re bombarded with trending stories designed to amuse or shock us (SMH) instead of being served posts from friends or from sources whom we really care about.

Have you ever wondered who decides what’s trending? Somewhere in some back room, behind all of our our device screens, the Google and Facebook marketing wizards are working hard at promoting the type of data that will compel us to click, engage and perform a “conversion,” when we respond to their message.

All the inorganic information populating our newsfeed is the result of a calculated algorithm and is crafted to capture our attention, to make us gawk at an image, no matter how outrageous, in hopes that the gawk might turn into a longed for conversion. Whoever decides what we see on our newsfeed doesn’t necessarily care about the message as long as the post acquires lots of hits. Anyone who follows Cute Kitten videos on YouTube and Facebook knows what I’m talking about, but the story about your neighbor who bought school supplies for a local needy family rarely goes viral unless a celebrity is involved or if it promotes a popular brand.

Make no mistake about it, Options seeks a Social Media presence. We want our network to know about the life changing work we do. But unlike the story of the chihuahua who celebrated her quinceanera, a video that garnered 4.1 K views about a month ago on Facebook, our headlines are more subdued, less zany, without the shock appeal that causes folks to gape at a car crash while driving by on the turnpike.

Maybe our posts will never attract 4.1K hits or hundreds of Likes, but we believe our stories do have the wow factor based on the integrity of their content. Little things happen here that won’t send shock waves running up and down your spine, but they are important little things that result in big changes, like reconsidering an abortion decision, or like reaching out for help and finding it. Here are just a few of the stories that are trending at Options these days:

* An angry and disappointed mom of a pregnant teen offered her daughter full support.
* A client who wanted an abortion changed her mind after an ultrasound.
* A single mom decided to go back to school to be a counselor to incarcerated women.
* A crack addicted mom placed her baby for adoption.
* A social service agency referred a young woman to Options for pregnancy support services and guidance.
* A woman who had an abortion several years ago returned to Options because this time she decided to carry.
* A post abortion client was finally able to receive forgiveness and healing.
* A client returned to Options to introduce us to her three month old son.

These Options stories may seem unremarkable when stacked up against the the kind of images and headlines that go viral on Instagram or Facebook. It may be easy to scroll right past them to click on the video of how to make coconut curry soup, (a post that is trending as I write this). But really, they are remarkable.

Think about, for instance, the woman who found forgiveness and healing after being depressed and tormented by an abortion. Think about the courage it took for her to come here and revisit her experience.

Think about the the teen who feared being kicked out but instead found the love and support of her caring parent. Think about the changes we witnessed in their lives during the months they came here. Amazing!

Getting back to conversions, how about this one? A pregnant woman found hope at Options for Women and chose life. Worthy of some Likes?