As a weekly writer for The Odyssey, a popular social media platform for millennials, I try to write about relatable topics for my generation so people will enjoy reading them and occasionally get a good laugh. Last week I decided to write about keeping Passover since it was happening during that time period when I published the article and shared it on Facebook. I am not usually one to write about religion or really any serious topic, but I felt that it was very relevant to my life. I thought I would try something new and discuss my way of practicing my religion and share it with all of my Facebook friends, hoping they would read and comment on it. I really tried to discuss the topic in a fun and light-hearted manner, so those who could relate to the topic would laugh a little and share my point of view.
I am always curious to see who likes or comments on my Facebook posts but I was especially curious to see the result of this one. Within the first hour it was up, I already received multiple comments and likes, all commending my article or commenting something funny to go with the mood of the text. I had shared some cooking tips that stick to the restrictions of Passover so it made me feel as if I had succeeded when my friends and roommates commented things like “Make more chocolate covered matzah, we love it!” as well as things implying they were going to try a recipe that I provided in the article. These are a few of the comments that I received:
When it comes to The Odyssey, once an article is written, anyone has access to read it, share it, or participate in other social engagements. Therefore, there are always a variety of people that find the article somewhere in their newsfeed, but may not pay any attention to who the author of the text is, since their only interest is reading it. This is why I was curious to see the kind of feedback I would get from my own followers and friends on Facebook. The time that I posted the article was also right around Easter, so it definitely clashed with many other commonly shared posts on Facebook relating to Easter cooking, bunnies, decorations, and so on. I knew that most of the action I was going to receive on my post would most likely only be from people who also celebrated Passover, so there was the potential to get less feedback than usual. I decided going into it that I was ok with that, because I feel passionate about my religion and all of the holidays and celebrations that come with it. To my surprise, I actually received a good amount of likes because I realized that although I was targeting a specific audience which was definitely not the majority of my Facebook friends, the respective audience recognized the topic and showed interest in it.
E397: Digital Rhetorics 
Allison, I like matzoh too! I enjoyed reading your piece. It’s interesting that you increased responses to it by circulating it on a somewhat less public platform—your personal Facebook feed. Good strategy! ~Joe
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Allison, I think this was a really good topic to write about for your social action post. It’s something that means a lot to you, which is important. Personally, although I was raised Jewish and still identity as Jewish, I usually do not keep Kosher for Passover, and this year was no exception for me. However, I like how you sought to post recipes that would enable people to keep Kosher over the course of the holiday. It’s refreshing seeing something a little more light-hearted when it comes to the holidays and especially when it comes to social action posts. Well done!
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I think part of what gets a social action post more attention is that the poster clearly cares about the issue. Since this is something that you really care about, it was easier for you to write about and invest yourself into because it didn’t really feel like doing an assignment (I’m assuming!). I think that this enjoyment and passion behind the subject really shows in the writing, thus attracting more responses.
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