Big ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ events and great college news (not to mention blazing maple trees in autumn glory) bring out the likes among followers of the college’s official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter channels.

Here are the top five social media posts for each ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ channel in 2018 as ranked by SproutSocial engagement metrics.

Facebook

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College has 17,630 followers on Facebook.

1. Feb. 10 — NBC gives a big ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ shout-out as Olympian Dinos Lefkaritis ‘19 enters Olympic Stadium

Marching as a team of one — between Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei — of Larnaca, Cyprus, drew an extended shout-out from NBC announcers Mike Tirico and Katie Couric during Winter Olympics opening ceremonies last Feb. 9.

Now back at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Lefkaritis is completing his academic studies (he’s an economics major and pursuing the Combined Program for engineering) and skiing for the Bobcats.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10155970549010822

2. Aug. 9 — J.J. Cummings ’89 takes command of the world’s largest aircraft carrier

The U.S. has 11 nuclear-powered carriers, and a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ grad, Navy Captain J.J. Cummings ’89, now commands one of them: the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and the world’s largest.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10156420037915822

3. Nov. 15 — Jared Golden ’11 wins Maine’s 2nd District congressional election

Nine days after the general election, Jared Golden ’11 was declared the winner in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

Golden’s election took more than a week to decide because neither he nor incumbent Bruce Poliquin got a majority, so the election was decided by Maine’s new ranked-choice voting format.

He’s the second alumnus to win a House seat in 2018, joining Republican Ben Cline ’94, elected to represent Virginia’s 6th Congressional District.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10156646793930822

4. Feb. 19 — ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ ranks first nationally in Fulbright Student Awards

In February, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was announced as the No. 1 producer of Fulbright Student award recipients among U.S. liberal arts colleges for 2017–18.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10155995766400822

5. May 17, 2018 — ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ announces state-of-the-art science building

In May, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ announced that it will break ground in 2019 on a new science building.

To be located on Campus Avenue, the three-story structure of approximately 65,000 square feet will offer versatile teaching and research spaces, advanced instrumentation rooms, and areas designed to promote study and interaction.

https://www.facebook.com/6177010821/posts/10156223538670822

Instagram

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College has approximately 10,800 followers on Instagram.

1. April 7, 2018 — Hedge Hall maple tree (Take 1)

Between the never-ending winter and the stress of finals, early April at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is not exactly a student’s favorite time of year.

Playing on that vibe, this juxtaposition of images, one taken from Hedge Hall in winter and the other from Hedge in gorgeous autumn, played on the meme “If you don’t love me at my…, then you don’t deserve me at my….” while reminding students just how beautiful ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was six months prior.

The post originated on the college’s Twitter feed (see below) before taking on new life on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhSVuAbh_yn/

2. Oct. 17 — Hedge Hall maple (Take 2)

This year’s look at the blazing Hedge Hall maple tree was taken around 4:40 p.m. on Oct. 16.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpDCGk2nnZO/

3. Oct. 21 — Women’s  Varsity Eight wins Head of the Charles race

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ women’s varsity eight defeated 27 boats to win the Women’s Collegiate Eights at the 54th Head of the Charles Regatta.

The defending NCAA champion Bobcats took first for the second straight year and for the third time in program history.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpNmmIwn2K3/

4. May 25 — The Class of 2018 Class Photo

Two days before Commencement, members of the Class of 2018 gathered at Garcelon Field for their traditional class photo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjNjagZneae/

5. Jan. 27: Gail Dow ‘60 cheers on Puddle Jumpers

Decked out in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ regalia, loyal alumna Gail Dow ’60 of Lewiston turned out for the 2018 Puddle Jump on Jan. 26.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BedJwnrhtxs/

Twitter

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College has approximately 12,500 followers on Twitter.

1. Aug. 1 — Benjamin Mays’ birthday

Featuring a tweet by Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King, the college’s birthday tweet honored Benjamin Elijah Mays, a member of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 1920, as “undeniable proof of the emancipating potential of education.”

Each and every day here at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the inspiring life of Benjamin Elijah Mays, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 1920, offers us undeniable proof of the emancipating power of education.

— ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College (@ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½College)

2. Feb. 23 —A dean’s statement to support civic action

After the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., high school students around the nation held walkouts to protest gun violence, risking disciplinary action by their schools.

Since disciplinary actions are reported as part of the college-application process, many high school students feared that their 17 minutes of protest would affect their acceptance status.

On Feb. 23, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger announced that “ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Admission will not penalize you for participating in peaceful protest,” and explained why.

Please read this important message from Dean of and Financial Aid, Leigh Weisenburger.

— ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College (@ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½College)

3. Nov. 15 — Jared Golden ’11 wins historic election

Nine days after the general election, Jared Golden ’11 was declared the winner in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District as Maine became the first state in the U.S. to employ ranked-choice voting for a federal office.

Jared Golden ’11, D-Maine, wins the ranked-choice vote in ’s 2nd Congressional District; he’ll join fellow alum Ben Cline ’94, R-Va., as newly elected members of Congress.

— ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College (@ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½College)

4. April 7 — Hedge Hall maple tree, Take 3

This winter-fall juxtaposition of scenes outside Hedge Hall, using the viral meme  “If you don’t love me at my…, then you don’t deserve me at my…,” gained lots of attention.

If you then you don't
don't love deserve
me at my me at my

— ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College (@ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½College)

5. March 25 — “Voices of 2018” with Rakiya Mohamed

In an installment of the video feature “Voices of 2018,” double major in biological chemistry and African American studies Rakiya Mohamed ’18 of Auburn, Maine, explains how she balanced two very different subjects.

“What is the point of getting this education if you’re not going to go out there and do something with it — do something bigger than you with it?” asks Mohamed, who delivered the Senior Address during Commencement.

She's a scientist, but she's also a scholar in African American Studies. See how Rakiya Mohamed '18 of Auburn, Maine found the answer to the question, "Who Am I?" in the latest "Voices from the Class of 2018."

— ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College (@ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½College)

The milky white and gray at center of the image shows smog and fog event over China. The brighter whites at left and right are clouds. (NASA Earth Observatory)

Within two days of its online debut in China last February, the environmental documentary film had been viewed more than 100 million times in that country.

The film also lit up social media, racking up nearly 300 million mentions on , China’s version of Twitter.

Matthew Auer

The film exposed how the Chinese government and big state-backed companies are driving China’s air pollution to deadly levels. State-run newspapers praised the film, and China’s minister of environmental protection called it his country’s Silent Spring.

The robust national conversation was surprising, given China’s history of cracking down on dissent and its penchant for silencing critics. The free exchange of ideas, however, didn’t last long.

Stern warnings to media outlets to curtail coverage and commentary on Under the Dome came about a week after its debut. Not long after that, the TED-like video began to disappear online, and newspapers deleted their earlier coverage and commentaries.

But while , BBC and other influential news outlets reported on the censorship, nobody, it seemed, had noticed that censors had moved against Sina Weibo users even before they issued their first censorship directive.

“The government’s tolerance of dissent in this case was pretty limited, and there was an uptick in the energy and ambition of the censors versus what we normally find.”

A new report co-authored by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Dean of Faculty Matthew Auer in this fall’s issue of the journal pulls back the veil for the first time on the social media censorship surrounding Under the Dome.

Auer is an environmental policy expert who has published widely in the areas of climate change politics, sustainable forest management, and foreign aid.

By tapping into “metadata” attached to Sina Weibo posts, Auer and , an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, were able to document that government censorship related to Under the Dome had begun much earlier than anyone had realized.

Co-authored by Dean of Faculty Matthew Auer, a report in Index on Censorship pulls back the veil for the first time on the social media censorship surrounding Under the Dome.

As Auer and Fu examined the Weibo data, two primary patterns emerged.

First, digital images that showed citizens protesting the state’s role in polluting were censored shortly after they were posted by users.

Second, narrative posts that were condemnatory and that also mentioned the state, were taken down.

“The fact that they took down images of people protesting is no surprise at all,” Auer says. “We’d expect them to be sensitive to that because demonstrations are thought to be direct threats to public order and the power of the state.”

So while the Chinese government has “an allergy to people trying to challenge authority,” Auer says, “nevertheless, this was a remarkable moment because there was this appearance of openness on the part of the government in allowing this video to go forward.”

The work done by Auer and Fu also found many examples of censors taking down posts that were merely sarcastic or mildly critical of the government. Those kinds of posts are often left alone, Auer said.

“The government’s tolerance of dissent in this case was pretty limited, and there was an uptick in the energy and ambition of the censors versus what we normally find,” Auer says.

And there’s evidence that the government also monitored the social media conversation to identify targets for arrest. Auer said he later saw European press reports that identified some of the arrestees, including people appearing in censored digital images.

Auer’s research partner, Fu, is one of the leading experts on social media in China and teaches at the . He oversees the “Weiboscope” project that used the platform’s backend computer code to track the activity of influential microbloggers in China.

There’s evidence that the government also monitored the social media conversation to identify targets for arrest.

Social media’s power to convene like-minded people virtually, as well as the digital breadcrumbs left behind by the postings, make for rich research material. This has been evident with the role social media played in the Arab Spring and in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Auer said he sees great potential in using social media as a window into the minds of Chinese citizens relating to environmentalism and climate change, two global issues that are greatly influenced by policy decisions inside China.

“In China in particular, you have a country that, based on people’s decisions and habits – so goes the planet” environmentally, Auer says. “The extent that you can detect people’s thoughts about climate change through social media, and see how messages are shaped and opinions are formed — there is increasing research interest in these questions.”

While Auer recognizes the opportunity social media presents for research purposes, it’s somewhat ironic that he personally avoids social media.

He’s not on Twitter, doesn’t have a Facebook account and has, thus far, also eschewed LinkedIn.

“I’m almost like the doctoral student in the theology program who’s an atheist,” Auer said with a smile, adding “I’m exploring user-behavior on social media, but not really using it myself.”

Danforth’s talk, titled The Hedonometer: A Remote Sensor of Global Happiness, is open to the public at no cost. It is sponsored by the departments of mathematics, psychology and economics, and the Division of Social Sciences.

Danforth, an assistant professor in the UVM department of mathematics and statistics, and department colleague Peter Dodds have created a system for measuring the national mood by compiling expressions of happiness or displeasure collected from Web texts.

According to this research, Election Day 2008 was the happiest day for Americans in the past four years. The day Michael Jackson died was the unhappiest.

Danforth and Dodds began their work at the Web site www.wefeelfine.org, which searches more than two million blogs for sentences beginning with “I feel” or “I am feeling.” They then applied to their search results a standard psychological methodology for associating particular words with degrees of happiness.

They argue that blogs are an adequate indicator of happiness among the overall U.S. population because they are written from all over the country and bloggers are racially diverse and almost evenly split between genders. (More recently, the pair have applied their methodology to Twitter updates and song lyrics.) They hope their insight into how the population feels will improve public policymaking and the understanding of social phenomena.

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