Syracuse University FIXit’s Twitter account isn’t full of tweets on how to fix a sink or install cable on a TV. Instead of infrequent posts about housing maintenance, @SUFIXIt is an account brimming with positivity, color and inspirational quotes.

Chrisy Brooking, a maintenance administrator for FIXit, runs the social media account along with a team of dispatchers at the Housing and Food Services Maintenance Zone. When FIXit joined Twitter in 2012, Brooking said it had a clear plan for content.

“Everything that we deal with is very negative. Any time a student calls us, there’s a problem,” she said. “So we thought it would be nice to put positivity back out there.”

Posting at least once every two hours of the workday, the account is filled with tips, reminders and positive messages that encourage students to make the most out of life. From messages such as “Look to continually challenge yourself,” to reminders to fill one’s gas tank to recipe tips, Brooking said @SUFIXIt aims to be both helpful and inspiring.

“It’s meant to be a motivator,” said Brooking. “When we see these re-tweets and these likes, it makes our day.”

The pictures and content posted by FIXit come from a variety of sources both on and off of the Internet. Many of the messages come from books, including Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and several texts by Dale Carnegie.

While students seem to enjoy the tweets, Brooking said the account also gets a lot of attention from parents, especially in the case of a power outage or Orange Alert. The Twitter account will post updates and respond to questions as they come in, providing a platform that is both immediate and convenient.

However, Brooking said it’s not just students and parents who appreciate the tweets, but also the employees posting them.

“You can be in a really cranky mood, but you have to keep posting positive things,” said Brooking. “Ten minutes later, you forgot what you were miserable about.”

Published on March 9, 2016 at 12:01 am