The World Wider Web

We have reached my final blog for my Strategic Communication & Emerging Media course. Professor Padgett has been an amazing instructor. He uses an unconventional format to teaching and I feel it is very beneficial to the class. Instead of multiple choice tests, we participated in class discussions and rather than writing scholarly papers, we each created a professional blog. I have learned so much through blogging. My future posts may not be as lengthy or frequent, but I plan on posting every so often. I would like to conclude with a few thoughts on the future of the web and I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to follow me throughout the term.

Ever think about how the internet has changed your life? The internet has only been in existence for 5,000 days. What’s next for the Web? What does the next 5,000 days hold? “The next 5,000 days is not only going to be the web and something better. It’s going to be smarter, more personalized, more ubiquitous in terms of filling your entire environment, and we will be in the middle of it.” (Kevin Kelly) It turns out that there is still huge unlocked potential for the web to serve you.

Tim Berners-Lee invented the internet a little over 20 years ago. He states that when he was trying to create the internet, it was really difficult to explain his vision to people. It’s like that again. “I want to think about a world where everybody has put data on the web and so virtually everything you can imagine is on the web and then calling it linked data.” (Tim Berners-Lee) He states that if we could provide more data on the web, we can make the world run better.

I look forward to see what the World Wider Web has in store for us. 

Techies

Welcome back! This week’s blog will cover how technology may be affecting children and learning. I paid close attention to this week’s topic due to the fact that I have three daughters, ages 5, 11 and 13. The internet has been a part of all three of their lives since they were born.  As a parent, I’m challenged with understanding the good, the bad and the ugly of my children’s technology use and facilitate a healthy, balanced relationship with technology.

As my children grow older, their technology use continues to evolve. It started with video game systems and moved on to cellphones, laptops and iPads. Now they are beginning to become interested in social media sites. It’s difficult to keep up with the various options they have today. One minute they are asking their friends to Kik them and the next it’s Whatsapp. I had no clue what Vine and SnapChat until my children told me. Parents need to pay attention to the online trends and the latest technologies, websites and applications children are using. I try my best to keep up with the times, but until I catch up the best thing I can do is warn them about the dangers of digital communication and monitor their usage.

There are very few studies available on the long term effects modern technology has on child development because we are still in the prime of its existence. The more advanced technology becomes, the more it seems to have control over our lives. When I was growing up, if you wanted to send a message to someone, you wrote them a letter; if you wanted to listen to music you turned on the radio; and if you wanted to research something, you went to the library.

Technology definitely has its advantages, but too much of a good thing can never be good. The amount of time children spend using media technology is alarming. The fear is not only that this technology is replacing physical and imaginative play, but that it also may be diminishing development of social skills, heart connection and empathy for others. In order for healthy development to occur children must overcome challenges and obstacles in the real world, learn from mistakes, and reflect on the adult they hope to become.

A recent study conducted by Larry D. Rosen, PhD, professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills found:

·         Teens that use Facebook more often show more narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies.

·         Daily overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders, as well as by making them more susceptible to future health problems.

·         Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, high school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades.

Rosen said new research has also found positive influences linked to social networking, including:

·         Young adults who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing "virtual empathy" to their online friends.

·         Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, ranging from a two-inch smartphone to a 17-inch laptop.

·         Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

Are our children learning anything from the use of technology? Children need to develop the skills to use technology appropriately in order to survive in our digital world. They will need to know how to use a mouse, type on the keyboard, and navigate the internet as they get older. Digital devices give kids access to educational content from anywhere in the world. The convergence of digital and physical learning is emerging in our schools today. Some parents worry digital tools will replace the teacher or hands-on, in-person learning. In Sugata Mitra’s TED video Kids Can Teach Themselves, he states that “a teacher can never be replaced by a machine.” He quoted Sir Arthur C. Clark, “A teacher that can be replaced by a machine, should be.”

My 5^th grader’s teacher has implemented the use of technology in her classroom. She maintains a classroom blog for the parents and kids to keep up with the assignments. There are links to several learning websites that she encourages the kids to use to help learn certain things that they are studying in the class. I feel like the blog is helpful for me because it gives me an alternative to the written agenda. My daughter doesn’t always write everything in that agenda and I don’t always understand what they are covering by what is written. My daughter seems to be better organized by having the assignments posted on this blog. No more “I left my folder at school” excuses. Everything we need is available on the blog. It makes my life easier and that’s always a plus.

Some researchers argue the technology is taking over the imaginations of small children. Shilo Shiv Suleman is an illustrator, storyteller and iPad book creator. In her Ted video Using Tech to Enable Dreaming, she explains that she originally considered herself sort of a technophobe. She felt that cellphones and fancy cameras had stopped us from being inspired. She states “I was terrified by this idea that I would lose the ability to enjoy and appreciate the sunset without having my camera on me, without tweeting it to my friends. It felt like technology should enable magic, not kill it.”  Sulemon wanted to find a way for technology to help create magic in her stories. She is now using technology to bring her stories to life by merging sounds, images, and interactive capabilities to enable people to embed themselves in her stories. “In the last 10 years, children have been locked inside their rooms, glued to their PCs. … But now with mobile technology, we can actually take our children outside into the natural world with their technology.” (Suleman)

 

What are some ways that technology has helped your children learn? 

Brand New

The internet has brought so many new challenges to companies when it comes to branding and online reputations. Branding online has become an interactive experience that blurs the line between advertisement and entertainment. Consumers are encouraged to participate in dialogue. The internet has made it easier for organizations to target the audience that they want to communicate with.

Online presence equals to brand awareness. Developing a strong online presence and paying attention to your overall online branding increases both positive customer experience and search engine results. Your reputation is online identity and you can gain leads from enhancing your online presence.

Online branding has become a must and has increasing become popular over traditional resources. With traditional media, the messages are sent out to the world no matter what level of trust and interest the company has previously generated. The Internet allows communication based on where each prospect is in the four stages of the relationship-building process. 

Prospects pass through several stages before embracing a relationship with a company:

• Awareness – The consumer can recognize the name of the company.
• Familiarity – The prospect acquires an appreciation of the products or services offered, and various  related features.
• Trust – The customer becomes motivated to purchase a product or service because of the perceived benefits derived from particular features.
• Commitment - A transaction occurs. The prospect and the company are no longer strangers. Both comprehend something about each other, hopefully encouraging many repeated exchanges.

Coca Cola provides a great example of an online experience that builds their relationship with the teenage market. Coca Cola has developed a digital online campaign targeted towards teens called the “AHH Effect”.  The Ahh effect is supposed to generate a feeling of happiness, satisfaction and delicious refreshment one experiences after drinking Coca Cola. The digital experiences include games and films. The campaign consists of 61 URL’s, 25 are designated for user generated content. Coca-Cola is awarding those URLs to teens who submit their own creative interpretations of what AHH means to them.

“Digital, social & mobile are re-writing the rules of marketing. We can no longer have one-way brand to fan communications -- instead the brand must facilitate true fan experiences to drive engagement,” said Pio Schunker, senior vice president of integrated marketing communications, Coca-Cola North America Group. “This campaign is the next step in our evolution of Coca-Cola’s marketing innovation. The notion erupted in 2012 when the iconic Coke Polar Bears watched the Big Game with millions of fans from their arctic living room, then millions more logged on to help 'Gamify' the Big Game with the Showgirls, Badlanders and Cowboys earlier this year. Now, we hope the AHH Effect will reach a new generation of Coca-Cola fans using the right content in just the right digital context.”

Coca-Cola is partnered with some of teens’ favorite online destinations to drive engagement in the campaign. Alloy Digital, Break Media, Vevo and Smosh each will be featured in “The AHH Effect” sites. The Company also has designed specific experiences in association with customer partners, including “Slurpee^® Sucker” and “Can Cans” with 7-Eleven, Inc., “Fry Choir” with McDonalds and “Mobile AHH Giver” with Target.

Companies of every size can benefit from online reputation management. Tim Leberecht explains in his Ted video 3 ways to (usefully) lose control of your brand, that your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Hyper connectivity and transparency allow companies to listen and join the conversation. Openness is paramount. Opening up to criticism and feedback has been beneficial to companies that openly communicate with their consumers. Transparency means giving employees and customers more control to talk about product and services publicly, establishing a one on one communication channel, asking for feedback, and responding to criticism effectively. Transparency is risky but if done well, this elicits more trust, satisfaction, and loyalty from each customer.

The internet provides several tools to increase brand awareness. A corporate blog could enhance visibility to your brand. A blog is interactive and engaging and can help build relationships with customers. A blog can easily be linked to several social media sites, multiplying visibility to your brand. Regular interactions on social networks are important to business success.

Branding isn’t just for companies anymore. A new trend called personal branding has evolved and is essential to personal achievement. Personal branding involves managing perceptions effectively and controlling and influencing how other perceive you. Having a strong personal brand is important in today's online and digital age. Taking control of how others perceive you online has become increasingly essential and is the key to personal success. A personal brand must be authentic. The world's most successful people like Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson and Bill Gates thrive off of their personal brands.

Marie Forleo is an example of someone who has built an incredible personal brand online with over 100,000 followers and fans all over the world. Her award winning web show Marie TV help people dream big and back it up with daily actions to create measurable results. Marie was recently interviewed by Oprah as a thought leader for the next generation. Her brand and vision is to help you realize your greatest potential and use your unique talents to change the world. She reaches over 250,000 readers in 191 countries and leads training programs that teach individuals to succeed in business and life. 

If you were  corporate brand, how would you market yourself? 

Thanks for visiting. I look forward to reading your comments.

The Masses

Have you ever heard the saying “Two heads are better than one?” Multiply that the total number of internet users and you get crowdsourcing. Late last year the Pew Internet & American Life Project released a study revealing that 57 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds online – 12 million individuals – are creating content of some sort and posting it to the Web. Crowdsourcing is based on the framework of collective intelligence (Levy 1997), the idea that knowledge is more accurate when it consists of inputs from a population. Together we are smarter than individually. The Internet allows people to engage with other people and on a much larger scale than previously imagined by communication scholars.

The term “crowdsourcing” was coined by Jeff Howe in 2006. Crowdsourcing has been with us for quite a while; it just got its new catchy name recently. Howe identifies four types of crowdsourcing that all depend on some contribution from a crowd:
1.       Crowd wisdom
2.       Crowd creation
3.       Crowd voting
4.       Crowd funding

Crowdsourcing is becoming more popular among organizations looking for solutions with design, product development and problem solving. Compared to the cost of hiring a trained professional, entrepreneurs have saved time and money on research and development.  Resources are provided on the global scale when using this approach. The power of the crowd is driving the future of business.

Companies like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk provide a web-based marketplace that gives businesses access to a diverse workforce and gives workers a selection of thousands of tasks to complete whenever it's convenient.  The tasks include such things as identifying items in a photograph, skimming real estate documents to find identifying information, writing short product descriptions or transcribing podcasts. Traditionally, tasks like this have been accomplished by hiring a large temporary workforce which is time consuming and expensive. Amazon calls the tasks HITs (human intelligence tasks); they’re designed to require little time, and they offer very little compensation. Every little bit counts and the cents add up and soon enough the cents will add up to dollars. It’s like an online piggy bank for doing various chores.

iStockphoto is a great place for businesses to go when they are searching for images for their advertising or promotional materials. iStock offers  photographs, illustrations, videos, sound effects and more at affordable prices and are exceptional quality. Artists, designers and photographers from around the world come here to create, work and sell original content of their own. 

Innocentive offers a network of scientists. Companies like Boeing, DuPont, and Procter & Gamble now post their most difficult scientific problems on InnoCentive’s Web site; anyone on InnoCentive’s network can take a shot at cracking them. The rewards can vary anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per solution. That’s pocket change compared to paying the salaries of a group of scientists that it would take to solve your problem. Not to mention the money the company will make off of the product. It’s a win-win situation.

Brands often seek engagement with their consumers through crowdsourcing with requests for feedback, contests, polls or surveys. Starbucks “My Starbucks Idea” campaign encourages feedback on the brand and product level. Starbucks is getting a steady stream of feedback and ideas while deepening the bond with their customers. Starbucks has created their own social network webpage where consumers can all gather and submit ideas. The site allows participants to view, share, vote, and comment on ideas submitted. They also keep consumers in the loop on what ideas they are implementing. Below is a list of some of the great ideas that came from consumers:

·         Gratuity when using gift cards

·         Rewards card

·         Free drink when you purchase a mug or tumbler

·         Make Starbucks an after dinner destination

·         Design a cup contest

What a great concept. Starbucks is improving their business with external feedback from customers. Sometimes it’s difficult to think like a customer and what better way to know what the customer want than giving them an opportunity to show you.

Crowdsourcing is not the solution for every business, but it is another tool that businesses can use to improve their brand. If used appropriately it can be a great success. As with anything, there can be cons to using this method with the masses. It takes a lot of time to sort through the many ideas that come your way. Finding the right idea could be like finding a needle in a hay stack. Also, make sure to cover yourself legally. The person submitting the idea may want to sell the idea as intellectual property.

Once an organization decides to give crowdsourcing a try, it is important to motivate people to participate. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators have been proven to be successful. Intrinsic motivation is internal and provides a benefit to the participant, such as enjoyment.  Extrinsic motivators provide an incentive such as money or a prize.

In Clay Sharky’s YouTube video he explains the internet brings us a different kind of society. “Group action just got easier.” We are living thru the largest increase in him human expressive capability and crowdsourcing offers a way for businesses to take advantage of this. 

What are your thoughts on crowdsourcing? How can you see organizations successfully implementing crowdsourcing into their research and development process? 

Blogosphere

Welcome back to week five of Communication Station. I have learned a tremendous amount about blogging this year thanks to my professor, Dr Padgett. Instead of taking tests and writing scholarly papers, our class maintains a professional blog. I really enjoy this unique approach to learning. This week are going to discuss blogging, digital democracy and citizen journalism. The term blog is a shortened form of web log. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and the person who creates the blog and updates it with information is a “blogger.”

Why do we blog? Several studies have examined why bloggers blog. The studies found five motivational factors for blogging: documenting one’s life; providing commentary and opinions; expressing deeply felt emotions; articulating ideas through writing; and forming and maintaining community forums. (Nardi et al. 2004b)

Blogs provide a venue for people to express their ideas or organize their thoughts as well as influence others opinions and provide viewpoints that are alternative to mainstream media. Some scholars say that blogs promote citizen journalism and digital democracy.

The act of citizens playing an active role in collecting and reporting news and information is citizen journalism, also known as “participatory journalism” or “internet journalism”.  The internet can be used as a tool for citizen’s to report news. Bloggers provide a personal feel to the story. Blogs have changed the way we read media and news and the way journalist report the news across the web. Blogging isn't journalism but journalist do blog. Many news organizations require journalist to maintain a blog. Running a blog creates a way for bloggers to connect with their audience on a whole new level.

The availability of new technology has made it easier for citizens to report incidents quicker than journalists are even made aware of the event. New media technology, such as cellphones and media sharing websites have given the citizens the power to report, unscripted, unedited, real-time information 24 hours per day. In some situations the citizen journalist would be approached by news organizations or investigators for more detailed information about an event.

Blogs are important tools used to promote digital democracy. They enhance the participation in political decision making by citizens. They represent the public interest in the digital era.

How many blogs are out there? Professional blogger Eric Pangburn posted the following stats on his blog on April 7, 2013:

• Tumblr.com shows it has over 101.7 million blogs with 44.6 billion blog posts
• WordPress.com has over 63 million blogs
• Livejournal reports to have 62.6 million blogs
• Weebly states it has over 12 million blogs
• Blogster has over 582,754 blogs

This information was posted over a year ago. The numbers are astounding and they continue to grow. There are blogs about any topic that you can think of. With so many blogs floating around in the blogosphere, how do we know which blogs are reputable? You cannot believe everything you read on the internet. Bloggers need to let readers know that the information they are reading is quality. There are several things bloggers can do to let their readers know that the information that is posted is quality information.

The blogger can list their credentials in their bio. When I stumbled upon Eric Pangburn’s Snitch IM blog, I read his bio and realized that blogging was how he supports his family. If your blog has ever won an award or was mention in a popular news article, it’s a good idea to flaunt that information on your blog. Pangburn’s bio says that his blogs have been featured in several top websites including NY Post “Best of the Week”.

When bloggers post numbers and statistics, it is important to reference where they found the information and provide links to studies or websites.

The blogger could feature trusted logos and awards to their site to establish credibility. Recently I discovered that my dear brother-in-law, Mike Fish, is a blogger. Mike is an attorney specializing in workers compensation. The name of his blog is Alabama Worker’s Comp Blawg. On the cover of his blog he has the law firm’s logo. There is also an image displayed showcasing that the blog was named one of the top 25 Workers’ Compensation blogs by LexisNexis in 2009. I have never heard of LexisNexis, but the fact that the blog won an award makes me think it’s a credible source in the workers’ comp world. If you click on the LexisNexis image you can read the reviews that the blog received.

Best Blogs to Watch:

One of the best newcomers this past year has been Alabama Workers' Comp Blawg, which covers both state and national news. What we like about this blog is that it tells you in plain English what the real impact of a court's decision or other change in law will be, and provides practice pointers and opinions of the writers.

Mike Fish

 High five bro-in-law, so proud of you!

People are starting to take note of the power of influence some bloggers have. Kelly Cutrone, a judge on “America’s Next Top Model” and owner of fashion p.r. firm People’s Revolution tells the N.Y. post “Bloggers are being paid to sit in the front row, and editors are not. They’re talent along with reality-TV people and actors.” There are famous bloggers that are treated like celebrities because of their devoted fan base. Some bloggers are getting six-figure deals.

In conclusion, I want to encourage you to give blogging a try. Don’t be afraid to explore the blogosphere. Sit down and do some deep thinking about a topic that you find interesting. Do some research if necessary and share your thoughts. You would be amazed of what goes on in your mind once you take the time to organize your thoughts and deliver.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to reading your responses. 

Social Mediarites

Welcome back to this week’s edition of The Communication Station. Our topic this week is social media and the many nightmares communications face. Social media is defined as the interaction among people in which they exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Generation Y (born between 1979 and 1997) outnumber the Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) and 97% of the are active on social media.Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn have increasingly grown and will continue to do so. The world is becoming more global and social media is a part of everyday life for most people. It’s the way we stay we connected with family and friends, we gather our news, and it is where we advertise our products and services. 

Many communication leaders shy away from social media because they fear of making a huge mistake that could affect the business negatively. They could also get overwhelmed with comments from consumers. The birth of social media has brought us a new type of leader. Social media literate leaders are in high demand. These leaders need to know how to use social media tools and teach others how to use them effectively. Each platform provides a space for individuals to communicate and share information with people from all around the world, but each is unique in its own way. In order to get the most out of using social media for business purposes, it is important to be familiar with the various platforms available and how each could benefit you.

Social media has been functioning as a strategic communications tool among marketing, advertising and public relations practitioners for nearly a decade and the phenomenon has exploded in the last two years. The article Social Networks Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship outlines that most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks, but others help strangers connect based on shared interests, political views, or activities. Sites also vary in the extent to which they incorporate new information and communication tools, such as mobile connectivity, blogging, and photo/video-sharing. Social media is a marketing tool that allows organizations to get to know their customers and prospects in ways that previously was not possible. Below I will give a brief description of some of the most popular social media sites that we use today and give examples of how businesses could possibly use each medium to effectively communicate or promote their products and services.

Facebook- The most popular social media site out there and the most user friendly of them all. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest with 800+ million users. Facebook allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Facebook can help boost your business and find new customers. Facebook uses the social graph and activities to target demographics and people for Facebook advertising. Businesses can create and share their page to give incentives that become a "fan" and share their page.

Twitter- Combines elements of blogging, text messaging and broadcasting in 140 characters or less in messages known as “tweets” and shared with anyone who has elected to receive them. Twitter has an average of 190 million tweets per day. Users often add the hashtag symbol (#) before words or phrases in their Tweets to categorize then for others or to organize conversations around a theme. Users can click on hashtags to see similarly-themed Tweets. It’s a global dialogue where people talk about their interests. Businesses could reward members for posting tweets or use the site as a customer service tool. 

YouTube- YouTube is a video sharing website. It is the second largest search engine in the world after Google. More than 1 billion users visit YouTube each month. Businesses can create mini commercials, video blogs, interviews, tours and demonstrations to promote their brand.

LinkedIn- LinkedIn operates the world's largest professional network on the Internet with more that 277 million members in over 200 countries and territories. Registered users maintain a list of contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship, called Connections. Organizations can create a LinkedIn company page and engage followers with company updates, news, events and relevant content.

Whichever social media site you feel works for you it is important to deliver valuable content, monitor trends and join the conversation.

Todd Wasserman reports three marketing tricks used by top brands in his article Steal These 3 Social Marketing Tricks From Top Brands:

• Passion - connecting with one of your passions and/or interests
• Personality - entertaining you with their engaging personality
• Transparency - providing interesting and/or important information to you

Following one of these strategies can help clarify which is the best practice for your brand. "These approaches are interchangeable, and a brand can not only switch back and fourth between them, but also use two or three at the same time," says Caitlin Francke, SVP, and Director or Social Strategy at Publicis Kaplan Thaler. "The most important thing is for a brand to stay true to their DNA, identify what they are best at, what they can offer the customers the most of, and focus on that."

In conclusion, social media is good for business. Using social media as a marketing tool for boosting business goes a long way. Attract your audience, pull them into your business and get them involved. 

What is your social media strategy?

The Mobile Evolution

There are 6 billion people in the world, 3 billion are connected. Nokia researcher Jan Chipchase travels the world to study our behavioral patterns. He’s found that the top three things we carry with us where ever we go are our keys, money and our mobile phones. We feel these things are needed for survival. Keys symbolize shelter and warmth, money buys us food, and our mobile phones are great recovery tools. I cannot deny the deep emotional bond that I have with my smartphone. I love my phone, it is my everything. My phone keeps me connected with my close friends and family, it wakes me up, keeps me organized, it tracks the miles I run, I can shop, listen to music, watch videos, pay bills, play games, take pictures of my kids, share pictures of my kids, the list goes on. It’s just amazing that all of these features are bundled up into one mobile device that fits in my pocket. I can take it anywhere and access it anytime.  I know I am not the only one that finds great value in their smartphone and so do organizations trying to find the best way to market their brand.

This week our class readings and discussions were centered on mobile communications. The way we connect has advanced and we are living in a multimedia environment. Smartphones and tablets have certainly changed the way we consume information, interact with each other, and do business. The role of strategic communication professionals has increased the need for trained multimedia communicators in order to succeed in today’s mobile evolution. Mobile technologies have created a whole new process in which organizations market their brands.

Some organizations have adopted the “Mobile First” strategy. This is where they create content for the mobile medium first and everything else next. This strategy works for companies such as news establishments, but “Mobile First” does not tailor to every organizations marketing plan. Instead of “Mobile First” maybe “Mobile Too” is a better solution for most businesses. Integrating seamless customer experiences across all mediums of communication is important for today for most organizations. In this mixed delivery market, consumers will choose the best available device at the time or place they are connected. Marketers must be available on each platform in order to grab the attention of the consumer.

With new social networking platforms popping up from behind every corner, it can be hard to know exactly where to commit your time and resources. The world of social media is evolving at a rapid pace. Mobile social media marketing is on the rise and falls under the mobile marketing umbrella. The mobile device allows mobile marketers to know the geographical position of the consumer with technologies such as GPS and Bluetooth. Mobile media offers data on the consumer’s time and place. We have phones that not only know where they are, but know which direction they are pointing and how fast they are moving. No other channel offers these two pieces of information. Mobile social media allows marketing messages to be distributed at certain times and locations.

Geo location apps like Foursquare have been created to send you deals and tips based on your location. from anywhere in the world to interacts with friends so they know exactly where they are and what they are doing. For marketers Foursquare offers a opportunity to use geo-location based services to promote their brands in real-time.

Due to the mobile evolution, marketing strategies are not only mobile, but they are social too. In the article If you love something, let it go mobile, Andrea’s M Kaplan describes the 4 I’s of mobile social media to help firms in this new environment.         

Four I's of mobile social media:

1. Integrate their mobile social media activities into the lives of users to avoid being a nuisance. 
2. Individualizing activities to take account of each user's preferences and interests. 
3. Involve the user through engaging in conversation.
4. Initiate the creation of user-generated content and word-of-mouth, which allows for tighter integration into the users' lives.                 

There are endless opportunities for brands to engage with their customers. Good customer engagement strategies make it easier to promote new features and updates, collect feedback and build a loyal fan base. 

Cross-platform campaigns increase product awareness across a variety of mediums.Beats by Dr. Dre launched a very successful #showyourcolor campaign. They identified their target audience and found they cherished individuality. The campaign was driven by the self-expression of the fan base. First, television ads were run on major networks featuring popular sports, entertainment, and social figures posing with their Beats product of choice. Next, consumers were invited to like Beats by Dr. Dre on Facebook, where they could design a custom profile cover with the same design as the TV ads. The most creative were rewarded. Finally, Beats took over Times Square for a day, allowing pedestrians to take photos in a photo booth, posing with the Beats products. Their photos and caption of choice were then displayed on one of three digital billboards in Times Square. As a result, Beats by Dr Dre increased Facebook likes by 1.7 million, Instagram followers by 76 percent, and YouTube subscribers by 57 percent.

Pew Research estimates that by 2020 a mobile device will be the primary Internet connection tool for most people around the world. Generation Z or the Net Generation born between 1990- 2000 do not read newspapers or watch regular TV. Social media has been present for the majority of their lives. A study on GenZ by Wikia finds that teens users are connected nearly all waking hours of the day; engaging with open-platform communication and information sharing. In the next decade strategic communication professionals will have to develop new strategies to marketing to this generation.

What social media strategies do you foresee in the future?

Moore's Law on Steroids

This week our readings covered digital technologies and media convergence. I found the readings to be interesting because I never thought twice about the amount of data we produce and what it takes to make our devices to run seamlessly. Due to the progress of technology, various different types of media are combining into one single media. Smartphones are a great example of how one device can deliver several media platforms. It amazes me how you can read the newspaper, watch television, listen to the radio, search the internet and so much more, all from one device. Searching the internet is also becoming a thing of the pat. Today we have app's for just about everything allowing one-touch, instant access. Consumers are choosing their dedicated platforms over the web because they fit better into their lives.

The ability to send, share and receive right at your fingertips, contributes to the endless information stored in our digital universe. Moore’s law states that the power of technology hardware doubles approximately every two years. The law is named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, whose prediction has proven to be true for almost half a century. The music we download, the messages we tweet, this blog I’m writing all require data storage. New technology such as the I-phone and I-pad has made it easier for individuals to create and share information digitally. The volume of information continues to grow relentlessly creating digital chaos, also known as “Big Data”.

A study by EMC Corporation measured and forecasted the amount of digital information created and copied annually. The study found that the world’s information is more than doubling every two years. In 2011, 1.8 zettabytes were created and replicated. The article Worl' Data More Than Doubling Every Two Years—Driving Big Data Opportunity, New IT Roles gave some great examples of equivalents of 1.8 zettabytes of data to help you put things into perspective:

• Every person in the United States tweeting 3 tweets per minute for 26,976 years nonstop 
• Every person in the world having over 215 million high-resolution MRI scans per day
• Over 200 billion HD movies (each 2 hours in length)-would take 1 person 47 million years to watch every movie 24x7
• The amount of information needed to fill 57.5 billion 32GB Apple iPads. With that many iPads we could:
• Create a wall of iPads, 4,005-miles long and 61-feet highh extending from Anchorage, Alaska to Miami, Florida
• Build the Great iPad Wall of China-at twice the average height of the original
• Build a 20-foot high wall around South America
• Cover 86% of Mexico City
• Build a mountain 25-times higher than Mt. Fuji         

Media has evolved so much that IT professionals need to make changes to data in order for everything to operate seamlessly. More data requires more storage, which requires more IT professionals. EMC’s study reports that the skills, experience and resources are not keeping the pace to manage the data. Over the next decade (by 2020), IT departments worldwide will experience:

• 10X the number of servers (virtual and physical)
• 50X the amount of information to be managed 
• 75X the number of files or containers that encapsulate the information in the digital universe, which is growing even faster than the information itself as more and more embedded systems, such as sensors in clothing, in bridges, or medical devices. 
• 1.5X the number of IT professionals available to manage it all. 

Technological changes are creating a challenge for data experts. More data does not always equal more value. More data is making it difficult to extract meaning from too much data. Decluttering our digital lives is important to protect us from the digital dirt that may live out there.

Adding information to the digital universe leaves a digital footprint. A digital footprint is a trail of your digital interactions. Your digital footprint is your identity. Everything from your name, age, address, sites you have searched, things that you have shared or purchased online leave a trail of what you have done digitally. Unlike the footprints I made in our recent snowstorms, these footprints live somewhere out in cyberspace and can last forever. My college friends and I always say “thank God we didn’t have Facebook while we were in college”. Not that we were extremely wild and crazy in college, but our digital footprints would have been the last things on our minds. We would have been careless with what we posted and shared. Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital existence and are more careful about what they share. Educators are increasingly teaching their students to be cyber smart. A negative digital image can affect your relationships, entrance to a university, and employment.

Pew Research has found that more than half of all adult internet users have used a search engine to follow others’ footprints. When asked about eight different groups of people one might search for online—ranging from family and friends to romantic interests and business colleagues—53% of adult internet users said they had looked for information connected to at least one of these groups.

• Most are casually curious in their searches for others. Just 7% of those who have searched for information on key people in their lives report doing so on a regular basis.
• Users are most likely to search for someone they have lost touch with. Fully 36% of adult internet users say they have used a search engine to find information about someone from their past.
• 19% of adult internet users have searched for information about co-workers, professional colleagues or business competitors.
• 11% of adult internet users say they have searched online for information about someone they are thinking about hiring or working with.
• 9% of online adults say they have searched online for information about someone they are dating or in a relationship with. Perhaps due to safety concerns, online women tend to do their dating homework more than online men.

While you are researching information about a potential employer, they are researching you right back. According to a survey from CareerBuilder , one in five employers search social networking sites for information about job applicants. 

It is important to think about what we are contributing to our digital universe before we share. Is it digital clutter? Do you want it stored somewhere forever? How much data space will be required? Would you share with your future employer? 

The Sometimes Picayune

In my last blog I mentioned that my posts would probably not be as frequent as they were, but my Strategic Communication and Emerging Media class also encourages a weekly blog. Lucky for you there will be more blogging from me coming your way. For those of you just joining, welcome to my blog.  My name is Nicole Johnson. I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. I studied Spanish at the University of Southern Mississippi (Go Eagles!). Currently, I am a Marketing Communications Coordinator at a health insurance company. I decided that I enjoyed working in the field of communications and wanted to learn more, so I enrolled in Troy University’s Strategic Communications graduate program. I feel that continuing my education will help me excel in my current position and advance my career in the future. The primary purpose of this course is to explore the quickly changing world of strategic communications and how it is being transformed by digital and social media. My topics will cover information based on our readings and discussions in class. The topic of this weeks blog will touch on the decline of traditional media due to the presence of new media sources.

Growing up in the out skirts of New Orleans, I was raised to appreciate tradition, which is why I’m a bit nostalgic about the local newspaper, The Times Picayune. We would celebrate Mardi Gras, go to Jazz Fest, eat beignets, and enjoy our crawfish boils. I can remember grabbing the Times Picayune from the front porch to lie out on the picnic table for our weekly crawfish boils with family and friends. I use to make copies of the comic strips on silly putty by flattening the putty with my elbow. On weekends that we would drive out to visit my grandma in Slidell, we would sit at her dinner table and help clip coupons. As I grew older, I would read the Lagniappe to see what’s happening around town. The Times Picayune was unlike any other newspaper for a city unlike any other city in the world.

When I moved off to college I did not really think twice about my local newspaper. If I wanted to see what was going on in my hometown, I would rely on the internet and view the news on www.nola.com instantly. Well in those days we had dial-up and the internet wasn’t near as fast as it is now, so it wasn’t instantly but it was quicker than looking through the newspaper. 

In 2012, the two time Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper announced that The Times Picayune will only print the news three days a week in order to focus on its online "new media" source, www.nola.com. They began to only publish on Wednesdays, Fridays and a special Sunday edition to be distributed the night before. This was a first after 175 years of service to the Crescent City. The decision makes New Orleans the largest city in the United States without a daily new publication.

There is a growing number of other newspaper organizations dropping to only three publications per week and focusing on the online editions. Online news is becoming more and more popular. Instant news updates make online news more attractive to news readers. By the time news is printed and delivered to your door, the news you are reading is yesterday’s news.

Mass media’s landscape is quickly changing. There are many new ways to get the news these days. The internet and digital devices such as the smartphone and IPad make accessing the news you want to read so much more convenient and it’s free.

Pew Research reports that 50% of the public cites the internet as a main source of national and international news. Among those, younger Americans ages 18-29, 71% cite the internet as a main news source. Ages 30-49, not far behind at 63% get their news online.

Pew research also reports that more Americans consume news on mobile devices: 64%of tablet owners and 62% of smartphone owners said they got their news onmobile devices in 2012.

Technology has played a major role in the digital switch from traditional media. Our smartphones are more than just phones. They allow us instant access to the information we desire to read. Why would I pay money for information that I have on my I-Phone, laptop or tablet for free? It’s not really free, because I’m paying my monthly phone bill and internet connection bill in order to have the luxury of digital access at my fingertips. I choose not to read the newspaper because I prefer to look up my news online. The newspaper would create unwanted clutter in my house, which I do not need with a family of five.

People are different and not everyone has internet access or a digital device. Even if they do they still appreciate traditional news. A traditional media generation still exists and they want to feel and smell their news in their hands. They enjoy the whole experience of it. As long as this generation still exists, there will be a market for the traditional news. The problem is, the news organizations struggle to accommodate this generation with the decline of subscriptions and advertisers.

Newspaper designer Jacek Urko made some interesting points in his Ted Talk video Can design save newspapers? He has proven that design can reconnect people to the newspaper. Design can change your brand, product and workflow. Urko redesigned newspapers by experimenting with artistic pictures, type and illustration and had fun with it. The front page was his opportunity to grab the reader’s attention with an artistic statement of reality. Then he treated the entire newspaper as one composition. Like a musical piece with ups and downs. He spread articles over two pages instead of one. In Bulgaria alone circulation increased 100% after redesign.

Maybe newspaper organization should give the power to the designers like Urko suggests. Redesigning the newspapers may be what they need to help them survive a little bit longer. If it worked for so many other countries, why not give it a chance?

What are some things that you think could help save newspapers? 

What the Future Holds

Well this is the last week of my Leadership and Media Strategies course. I have truly enjoyed and learned so much from this course. When I discovered that I would have to create this professional blog each week I felt a little intimidated at first. Blogging isn't so bad and you just might see more blogs from me, but maybe not as frequent.

This week we watched a Ted video, Medicine’s future? There’s an app for that by Daniel Kraft, which spoke about the future of medical technology. This video caught my attention since I have worked in the health insurance industry for the past ten years. I have already started to hear about virtual office visits/telemedicine at work. This is where the physician can treat a patient from a video chat type setting making it easier for a patient to visit their doctor. Kraft also spoke of mirrors that have pulse rate monitors, artificial retinas, assisted living contact lenses, telephonic microscopes and scar less surgery. Stethoscopes are now digital and there’s an app for that.

Medical professionals are now moving toward digital medicine. Medical records are stored digitally, eliminating the need for paper. Digital records make it easier to transfer information from doctor to doctor and information can be accessed from where ever you are from any digital device.

Electronic devices like the Fit Bit and heart rate monitors are now available. These devices allow people to easily track their own health and this information could be shared with their doctors to help make critical medical decisions. I recently bought a Fit Bit and I love how it monitors my sleep. If I ever need to see a doctor about trouble sleeping, I will show the doctor the reports I get about my sleep from my Fit Bit. 

The advancements in medical technology are so fascinating and I look forward to learning more about them in the future. Like the way we communicate and get our news, the medical industry is changing to be more accessible and convenient.

Thank you for reading my blog. I look forward to reading your comments.  

Lessons Learned

This week our readings were on evaluating media strategies. Evaluation research determines if a plan was effective, how it reached its goals, and creates efficiency. Evaluating your before, during and after can help build a successful campaign to sell your product or service. Leaders should account for the cost and time for evaluation of both tangible and intangible products when implementing a project. The cost for evaluation research should be around 10% to 15% of the total project budget. Many organizations skip this vital step and it leads to duplication of mistakes in the future. Without evaluation, campaigns are subject to criticism.

To improve the probability of program success the evaluation process should encompass three policies:

• Determine the expected outcome and impact of the program.
• Understand how or why something worked and why something did not work.
• Implement more effective plan in the future.

Eight years ago, my husband Gary, and I started a recycling company called “Curbside Recycling.” I was in charge of the clerical aspects of the operation and he did the muscle work. This was in addition to our full-time jobs and two of the three beautiful daughters we now have. Still to this day, I do not know how we did it.

Most areas had recycling services provided by the city, but some areas had nothing available. We outlined the areas that we knew needed a recycling service and targeted those residents. We started out by creating door knob hangers and flyers to advertise our company. That brought in about 50 customers and we worked with what we had for a while. Then we decided to test different strategies to bring in more customers. The cost of advertising can really add up, so we decided to track the amount of customers each attempt brought to our company.

Each town had a monthly newsletter that was mailed. We bought ads in a few of them and waited to see the results. The phone calls started to trickle in and we were quite pleased with the turn out. We also set up tables at local events and passed out information and register people that were interested in joining. One time a friend that worked for a news station offered a spot on the air to spread the word. We started a “refer-a-friend” email campaign with our existing customers. Each strategy was beneficial, but we wanted to focus on what worked to bring in the most clients.

The newsletters ads presented the most registration of new customers. We decided to stick with worked best for us. We ran a few more ads, but added the incentive of waiving the sign-up fee if the member referred-a-friend. The second ad brought in more new customers than the first.

I also decided to email our existing customers a short survey asking a few questions to find out how the liked their service. One question asked what they liked about our service. Another question asked what we could do to improve our service. Some customers reported that the recycling bins were not big enough to fit all of their recyclables. Others requested that we not pick-up so early in the morning because they kept missing pick-up. I was pleased that some customers like my monthly recycling facts that I provided on their invoice.

After reviewing the results from the surveys, we made some business decisions to change some things to ensure customer satisfaction. We changed the pick-up times to an hour later and we began to offer customers the option to purchase bigger recycling bins.

After three years of service, the city began providing recycling service in the areas we were working in. It was bitter sweet to have to close our business. Our third child was on her way and it was time to venture on to new opportunities.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have attempted some social media exposure and evaluated the effects. Back then social media was not as popular as it is today, but it still would have been interesting to see the results.

Organizations should implement rigorous evaluations into their practice. They should make sure the goals are specific and measurable. Know if a program worked, how and why it worked, and make the future programs better. Also, be prepared ahead of time to alter your program for changes in the way we communicate and technological advances. 

Evaluation provides useful feedback which aids in decision-making. It provides effectiveness that help you reach the outcomes you seek. Evaluating your media strategy can help you stay on course and reach your destination.

Keep Calm and Communicate

During an emergency or crisis situation a strategic communication plan should already be in place for any organization. Without a plan, a crisis could go from bad to worse. Our environment changes faster than we can keep up with and it is important to continuously revisit a communication strategy plan in order to ensure that it is in line with the pace of change. The growing presence of social media has created challenges for public relations (PR) professionals. The speed that consumers produce information goes beyond the speed by which PR professionals can respond to the incident. The audience is global and the information can spread rapidly. Client demand for advance preparation has increased dramatically. How do brands protect themselves and their reputations in the social media era?

We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto. Communication has changed and will continue to change. Crisis anticipation can assist with the development process of strategic communication planning. If an organization is not prepared in advance when crisis strikes, communication professionals are left organizing statements at the same time consumers are posting comments, videos, blogs and pictures related to the event. Being prepared to address a challenge quickly in a crisis is the key to maintaining a good reputation.

Crisis situations are often covered by the media but the internet has created ways to communicate with audiences directly and timely. The longer you wait, the more damage can occur.

On April 15, 2009, two Domino’s pizza employees in Conover, NC posted a video on YouTube that was filmed in the restaurants kitchen as a hoax.  The video was of a male stuffing cheese up his nose before he put it on a sandwich, farting on a piece of salami, and sneezing on cheese sticks, and then disguising the boogers underneath the cheese and boxing it up. His female co-worker filmed and narrated then posted the video to YouTube.  The video went viral with over a million views in three days. In just a few days the pizza chain’s reputation was damage by the careless acts of these employees.

Anti-Domino's comments began to spread on Twitter and other social media sources. The videos were reposted on other sites, including Good-AsYou.org. The site's founder, Jeremy Hooper, sent an e-mail to Tim McIntyre, vice president of communications for Domino’s Pizza. The Domino’s corporate team was also alerted within 45 minutes of the incident from a consumer affairs blog, The Consumerist.

At this point Domino’s officials had to determine how they were going to deal with the damage to the company’s reputation. Domino’s was criticized for remaining silent for the first 24 hours. Domino’s executives feared that an official press release issuing an apology may make more people view the video. Patrick Doyle, President of Domino’s U.S.A., responded to the video hoax by creating a Twitter account for the corporation and creating a YouTube video of his own to respond to the incident.

Other organizations may find themselves in similar situations and learn about crisis management and social media from this experience. The Domino’s crisis changed the way other corporations should deal with a hoax crisis. It brought attention to the importance of incorporating social media into a crisis communication plan. Domino’s remained silent when answers were needed. Domino’s did not respond quicker because they did not anticipate the pass-along value of the video. Domino’s was missing a strategy for digital crisis. There was no online surveillance or social media presence. What Domino’s did right was respond to the incident through traditional and social media. The video response from the CEO of the pizza chain on YouTube targeted to the core audience.

No organization is immune to crisis. The effects of social media are enormous. Harmful situations can arise from external or internal members. The benefits of using social media as a crisis communication tool can outweigh the risks. It creates a way of delivering time sensitive information quickly to the citizens. The ability to effectively communicate during a crisis can save a brands reputation.  Effective communication involves taking responsibility, stating the facts, timely communication and staying positive.

After the situation has settled down, post crisis evaluation is necessary to learn what went right and what went wrong. Implementing what was learned to the communication plan and continuously making changes to keep up with the constant changes in technology. Organizations today should monitor all content on social media sites. Make use of the programs that allow you to filter words that could possibly harm a reputation on the internet.

Creating a social presence prior to the crisis situation can also assist with a brand’s reputation. Consumers expect to be able to communicate directly with an organization via social media. The dialogue is also available for everyone to see. The organization should allow both positive and negative posts. They should address even the smallest complaints in a professional manner. Organizations should be sensitive to the power of social media and take action to protect their brand.

What examples do you have of a good or bad crisis communication response via social media? I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and look forward to your responses.