{"id":1301,"date":"2015-10-04T22:03:42","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T02:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/smackhigh-discouraging-bullying-through-social-media\/"},"modified":"2015-10-04T22:12:36","modified_gmt":"2015-10-05T02:12:36","slug":"smackhigh-a-social-media-platform-fighting-teen-bullying","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/smackhigh-a-social-media-platform-fighting-teen-bullying\/","title":{"rendered":"SmackHigh: A social media platform fighting teen bullying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can SmackHigh, a new social media platform for teens help reduce\u00a0bullying?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

SmackHigh curates content\u00a0from high school students across geographical regions\u00a0and features them on the platform’s\u00a0Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat feeds as well as\u00a0on their mobile app. \u00a0Dedicated feeds by state allow for more focused discussion and building of\u00a0inter-school community through friendly smack talk and shared experiences<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"SmackHighMa\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The company started as a joke in 2013, when high school students in Massachusetts started using the Twitter account “SmackHigh” to talk about sports and social happenings. \u00a0Two years later, SmackHigh\u00a0has a following of over 850,000 high school students and is\u00a0in 26 states [1]<\/a>. \u00a0It’s not hard to see why students like it:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\"SmackHighIG2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Alright it’s cool, but how again does this fight against bullying?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unlike other anonymous social media platforms, SmackHigh using volunteer brand ambassadors to filter submissions before posting them on the platform’s social media channels.<\/strong> \u00a0The platform’s website clearly states the community values<\/a>, and asks the community not to post threats, hateful content, and harassment and bullying. \u00a0This can be contrasted with the popular social media platform Yik Yak, which was used by students to find parties within a 5-mile radius but had issues of bullying and racist comments.<\/p>\n

In the Boston Globe’s\u00a0recent profile<\/a> of the company, it notes that\u00a0users have started to censor themselves after observing\u00a0that the brand ambassadors were blocking negative posts about specific classmates. \u00a0SmackHigh now has over 7,000 brand ambassadors curating submissions. \u00a0Although it’s difficult\u00a0to claim\u00a0that SmackHigh is preventing bullying outside of their platform, it is providing a safe space for students to interact.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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What is SmackHigh doing to grow?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

SmackHigh’s platform benefits from both direct and indirect network effects and scale is critical.<\/strong> \u00a0On the direct network effects, more students on the platform means more varied and interesting content for each student user. \u00a0And SmackHigh has\u00a0built a partnership with Atlanta’s Fox 5 Sports <\/strong>which can serve as an interesting model for indirect network effects [2]<\/a>. \u00a0SmackHigh uses its platform to tell Fox what the most popular game of the week is in Georgia. \u00a0In return, Fox broadcasts the game and shows the SmackHigh brand.<\/p>\n

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