My Thoughts on the Image
We sometimes seem to forget of how lucky we can be. I take these moments in the morning capturing the sunrise and enjoying nature to remind myself.
How I captured the Attention of 10k+ people in a day
I have been sharing my thoughts and experiences online since I set up my first website in 1998 on Tripod.com; a version full of ads is still available on the free hosting service.
It took me some time to set up my personal blog (this one) as a project. After running multiple blogs which were geared towards using social platforms and digital marketing, I wanted a place to cover some of my personal experiences on a variety of subjects. I have been publishing my thoughts since May 2010.
Another Ugly 4th of July for Puerto Rico
This past 4th of July weekend, I wrote about how Puerto Rico’s beautiful beaches are trashed daily. I have written about this topic on multiple occasions and felt it was sort of ignored.
Living on the beach has given me the experience of observing how most individuals that visit the beach decide to litter. Objects vary from something as simple as a cigarette butt to an old beach chair. Others have their BBQ’s and drop the hot commercial charcoal on our beautiful beaches.
Our government and even those that are trying to help, have created an understanding that someone will come and clean-up their mess.
More than they can Carry Sober
The main question I ask myself is why are people bringing so much stuff and why are they not taking it back.
With time, I have realized that most of those who leave trash behind are publicly intoxicated. They can barely carry themselves much less bring back the trash they brought.
Although it is illegal to have bottles of liquor on the beach, nobody gets fined.
A Different Approach
On this occasion I put into practice a few things I have learned from my 52 books in one year challenge. There are two main books I took advice from which are, The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand
by Ekaterina and Jessica and Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing
by Andy Crestodina, a book I received a bit more than a week ago when I visited Chicago for the Genius Shared Business retreat.
From Visual Storytelling, I got a better understanding of using pictures and a mix of text to attract people to a website or post. On Saturday, I observed cleaning crews working for hours since Friday night. I decided to take a picture and add a message below.
I made sure the image had my personal blog’s logo and two lines; one saying “Happy 5th of July” and the other one pointing people to my blog.
Once I had the image, we shared it via our multiple social platforms. It quickly captured the attention of Mi Puerto Rico Verde’s Facebook page, a site dedicated to the environment. This started a chain reaction of getting coverage from other local mass media characters (one who even took my image and did not give attribution; he shall remain nameless).
The Image as a Starter
The image gave us some time to create a post which could be read and understood very easily by the public. We used some sarcasm and tried to insert some humor with the items left behind in the photos I took.
Longevity
I took many of the tips from, Content Chemistry, and optimized the content to improve the probability of any tourists looking for Puerto Rico’s beaches, to stumble across this blog post. My heart breaks when a tourist invests their money and time in coming to the island and they are confronted with reality and not what was marketed.
Once the content was optimized and edited, we went ahead and published the post. Optimizing the content will also send a message to those folks who can change a few laws and get resources to stop this from happening. If they want me as an ambassador of the island, they need to clean up their act.
Breaking a Blog Record
I was amazed by the analytics of the site and realized that I had broken my personal blog’s record by getting close to 11K people to visit my site in one day.
I used some tactics that were new to me, mixed with my experience of writing, and getting reactions online. I pushed the envelope with my post, Let the Puerto Rican Beach “Pigs” Pay, and it got people angry.
I can only hope that their reaction is enough to do something to change the garbage issue amongst other one’s affecting our island. A few individuals already decided it was easier to just get angry at me instead of working together at attacking the root of the problem and help hide the pollution problem. The highlight of this story was that many more people stepped up to the plate and voiced their opinions publicly, supporting the fact that I put the spotlight on a subject many rather not talk about.
Bonus: Some of the Tricks to get the 11k Visitors
I will be sharing in more detail some tips I used when writing this very opinionated post that got me traction. Sign-up via my newsletter so you can also use these tips to get your message out and hopefully seek change.
Let the Puerto Rican Beach “Pigs” Pay
Today I saw a tweet by the Police of Puerto Rico communicating to every responsible citizen to bring bags for their trash and make sure they take the trash back home.
Camino a la playa con la familia? No olvide llevar una bolsa de basura. Pásela bien y mantenga la playa limpia. pic.twitter.com/mwpkd87FWP
— Policía Puerto Rico (@PRPDNoticias) July 4, 2014
The biggest problem is that the authorities find it easier to take this approach and preach to the choir than actually do something about it when it is in front of their eyes.
Few adhere to local beach laws
While living on the beach, I can confirm that only a small fraction of the population picks up after themselves and even fewer take their trash home to dispose of that trash properly.
As I write this, it’s 8:00 a.m. and there are people already drunk with pitched tents (actually illegal to set up) and speakers which are probably more appropriate for a reggaeton event, not the beach.
A Simple Solution
If the cops had the proper support from politicians and authorities, they could start giving fines to everyone violating the current laws of non-alcoholic beverages on the beach and leaving no trash behind. In very little time, people will think twice about bringing stuff they can’t take back and if they continue to do it, they become an income source for the government instead of an expense.
When in Rome
This problem amplifies itself when tourists walk through our beaches and see the locals trash the beautiful beaches of our island. Some of them join in the habit of throwing trash on the beach and being publicly intoxicated not knowing the risks. I have seen tourists get mugged, alerted the police, and the cops have their hands tied in how much they can do with the current laws.
Volunteering comes with a price
A few weeks ago I saw how groups of volunteers and contractors (paid by the government) cleaned up the mess from “La Noche de San Juan”. An environmentalist was injured while documenting the trash on the beach by a vehicle who was there hauling the trash off the beach. Some of the drunks were actually giving those cleaning a hard time, while the cops and press observed and did nothing to protect those doing a good deed.
Income from the Pigs v.s. an Expense
We need to fix the problem in others ways than just running campaigns that cost money the government does not have. Why not flip the situation around and create an income opportunity for our almost bankrupt government by making those who decide to trash the place pay.
When our politicians and authorities decide to work together and find ways to limit expenses, then our island will be in a much better place. But then again Colonial Sickness Causes Delusions on Celebrating Independence.
If you can share this post and share your thoughts on other possible solutions it would mean a lot to me.
Bonus: Sound Pollution and More
The image below was taken today, July 4th, 2014, when I observed how locals violated many laws by bringing cars on the beach and setting up equipment that will blast music to everyone on and near the beach, possibly without a permit.
