MediaPost | Notes from the Digital Frontier

M-Commerce Up, S-Commerce Down In Q2

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:50:00 -0400

Mobile shopping continued to climb in the second quarter, while retail sales via social media dropped according to a new report from IBM. The share of online sales from mobile devices increased to 15.1% from 13.3% in the first quarter as sales from social media fell from 2.4% to 1.9%, underscoring marketers have yet to crack the code on social commerce.

Social Media Storytelling

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:12:50 -0400

I've always thought of myself as a storyteller instead of a writer.

I love telling the story about how I was at Clay Bucholz's no-hitter or the funny old man that copied my movements at the grocery store.

I like to tell stories all the time through pictures, video, and obviously through my writing.

It's been fascinating throughout the evolution of social media and Facebook. People started out thinking it was kind of a cool thing and today major corporations breakdown every single one of their movements on the site.

But while my photography style and advancement has certainly changed, the fact that I like to tell stories on social media is the same.

During a summer trip to a lake house in Michigan, I uploaded the pictures to my computer and was immediately taken back to Fennville.

The first sunset of when we were there. The bags games where I was winner of only one. The happiest I've seen my family in a while. The romantic picture that quickly became the favorite I'd ever taken.

But I realized when I was sitting there sorting through the pictures, that even before the captions were placed on each photo, there was a fully developed story there.

I share my photos with friends via Facebook because I've never actually made the move to Flickr like a normal photographer, and before I posted those captions, I wanted to let the pictures sit and speak for themselves.

The response was awesome. My friends just got "it". There were "likes" and comments, and wall posts followed.

But the best part about all of it was that someone told me that "they felt like they were there".

That's the best feeling a storyteller can have when they're showing their tales, and that's really what social media has become for a lot of us.

When I look at fellow creatives and their online profiles, they try to tell us a story about themselves through their information given or a profile picture.

I've even been posting almost strictly about the Miley Cyrus song "Party in the USA" or integrating into other events going on, not just because it's hilarious (really it is, I promise), but also because it's helping my build a ridiculous theme for that particular profile.

That theme is helping tell my story about how I like to have fun. It gives the friends I haven't talked to in 3 years something to say to me if they see me again. That ever-awkward ice-breaker is available to them now.

On Twitter, I'm much more engaged with my followers, and while many of the tweets seem as though they're singular events, they all help tell the story of me.

If you follow me, you'll see that I'm a sports fan, comedy junkie, PR nerd, coffee freak, and friendly person.

The story I tell there is one of passion and interactivity. I try to express exactly what I'm feeling at that moment.

It's almost like viewing a realtime portal into my thoughts and feelings.

While many people may think that social media is just something we use to pretend we're still friends with someone from eighth grade, there are many more of us that are trying to tell the world a little story we think is pretty damn important.

The story of ourselves.

Take Your Phones Out, Please

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:51:47 -0400

Last night I attended an event put on by the Ball State Creative Writing Department. It was the first in this year’s series of visiting writers, and the star of the night was published author Michael Martone. I had read some of Martone’s work, but never actually seen him in person, and the impression I got from his appearance when I first walked into the room was one of an older professor-type who would be very likely to call out anyone in the room he may catch using a cell phone or iPod during his presentation. I was wrong.

Before Martone began reading the selections he’d chosen for the evening, he asked everyone to take out their cell phones… and program his cell phone number into them! He then gave out his own personal number, twice for those who were slow to type it in the first time, and told the crowd to text him during the event – to tell him if they liked or disliked a piece, how they thought he was doing, whether they were getting tired of standing because there weren’t enough chairs for everyone, etc. This just brought me back to my first day of Professional Writing class this semester, when the professor told us we SHOULD tweet and make status updates during his class, followed by a joke about how those should also be about how awesome his class is.

While I do think giving out your personal cell phone number to a room full of college students, most of whom are just dying to be publishes writers as well, may be taking things a bit too far, we have to admit that social networking and communicating outside of the actual physical forum is becoming huge at such events. Tweeting and setting Facebook statuses about something your professor said, or about how you’re enjoying a visiting writer is a great way to get others who couldn’t be there involved, and to spread the word about that person’s work. It allows you to really network for them in a way they couldn’t. On the other hand, texting or messaging the main person during the event makes the audience feel more personally attached to what is happening. This works especially well at an event such as the one I was just telling you about, where a good portion of the students there were only attending for class credit.

I didn’t take advantage of the order to text the author during his performance, but I wish that I had if only to see what his response would have been, if there would have been a response. I did, however, create a Facebook status about the event and the book I had purchased there afterward. The status caught the attention of my more literary inclined friends, so I know it did exactly what it was supposed to. Social networking and texting, the use of technology in general can be so beneficial to writers, event coordinators, really anyone in a professional setting… if they’re used correctly and incorporated well.

The Business Man is Right

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:41:11 -0400

I sat on the plane with my notebook in front of me writing diligently about the stories I heard while visiting my family in Maryland.

“Looks like your writing the next novel there” the business man sitting to my right said.

I explained to him that I am an English major and that over the summer I like to read and write so I don’t get rusty. It turns out the business man was in the publishing industry; the industry I want to be a part of.

A couple of weeks before I found myself on the plane, I was talking to a women who I worked with over the summer. She too was asking me what I want to do when I enter the real world. When I told her my career plans she responded with a question I hadn’t asked myself: Isn’t the publishing company going to be obsolete soon?

I had to ask the business man this same question. The Amazon Kindle, the iPad, Boarders Books going out of business along with Barnes and Nobles closing a significant amount of their stores, are all things that could be hurting the publishing industry.

He responded back with a question that I hadn’t considered. He told me that things like the Kindle and the iPad are making the publishing industry flourish. It’s easy to get work published because there is a consumer demand for it; just because publishing industry will have to drastically alter the way they distribute their work doesn’t mean they are going to fail.

After all, what are people buying things like Kindles for anyway?

Since there is a consumer demand for published works there is demand for authors and journalists. To me, this is a win-win situation we have here. The Marketplace of Ideas is flourishing more than ever. One could say this is because published works are easily accessible to consumers now. Or they could say that our generation doesn’t stop writing after they leave the educational system, therefore we never stop reading (because of social networking and such).
As the business man and I walked off the plane together he was persuading me to make the switch to the Amazon Kindle; he was doing a pretty good job of it too. He left me with words of encouragement, a business card, a new perspective on my generation, and with hope that the publishing industry will still be around by the time I am ready to join it.

A Bad Taste *done

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:45:42 -0400

I'm nothing special.

I don't have a photographic memory—I can't memorize a website's URL if I find something cool or interesting online. An easy solution is to bookmark that page.

Simple enough.

As a college student, I'm always on the move and I don't always have my laptop with me. If bookmarked an item on my web browser, I wouldn't be able to access it from the computer lab. As a work-around, I would copy URLs, paste them into an email, and send it to myself.

It was ugly and unorganized, but it worked.

Last fall, my Introduction to Digital Literacies professor introduced me to Delicious: a website that would solve a problem I didn't know I had.

According to Wikipedia, Delicious "is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks." Basically, instead of saving my bookmarks to my browser, I could save them to this website where I could access them from anywhere.

I happily used this service for the rest of the semester. Unfortunately, I missed the news where Yahoo laid off a lot of employees last December, including the entire Delicious team. While this was a time for Delicious users to find an alternative service, I stayed with a bliss of ignorance.

That is, until last weekend.

When I went to Delicious, I was greeted by a new layout. Any confusion I had multiplied when I tried to log in—there wasn't an option to connect via my Yahoo account!

I immediately consulted with the Googles and learned that last week, Yahoo had sold Delicious to a company called AVOS. Users who connected via Yahoo had a small window to transfer their account information to the new AVON service.

As for users like myself who missed that window, AVOS tells us that our "data remains with Yahoo! since they never got your permission to move your account."

It's been a few days and I'm still frustrated.

I'm not upset with AVON—I'm sure they will update the site and make it nicer for its users.

On the other hand, I'm highly disappointed with Yahoo. Not once did I get an email regarding the situation with Delicious. Yahoo was so eager to sell Delicious that any complications its users experienced would just be collateral damage—I got a strong sense of "it's not our problem anymore."

While I patiently wait for the situation to straighten out (if it does), I'm going to revert back to my old ways of saving bookmarks. I'm also considering some alternative options such as Pinboard and Diigo.

Ultimately, my decision will be based on what Avon can do with their Yahoo users. One thing I know for sure is that Delicious left a bad taste in my mouth.

Social Media is a Scary Beast in the hands of a good attorney

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:48:43 -0400

FaceBook is now in the top ten for devices used in making

a decision to divorce and was used as a form of evidence in 46% of all divorces

across the country last year. Just know that whatever you say, can, and will be

used against in you in a court of law when you are dumb enough to post it

online. Every day I watch news stories about police finding a culprit because

of tips derived from reading FaceBook postings. I must say, when I was 18-23

like most of my college aged peers, I was posting things on myspace and other

social media sites that I would never do today. But 10-15 years ago, no one

thought that the use of the sites would incriminate or implicate them in so many

matters civil or criminal.

Is this what your facebook page looks like?

I had two FaceBook profiles: one for personal and one for

business. Because of personal litigation I am going through right now, I

decided to shut one down. It had nothing to do with the truth of what I had

posted but how it could be manipulated to make me appear. When it comes to

matters of Family Law, which is a primary focus of mine in school and in

business as a Divorce Mediator, the truth is rarely what is sought after in

court. It sounds high and noble to seek the truth. In all actuality though, in

the middle of a divorce or custody battle, it has so much more to do with

appearances. Don’t get me wrong. The truth should still be on your side but

you can guarantee that if the truth doesn’t “appear” to have the same effect as

an understanding of the truth, it won’t help you.

Let me get to an example. A man seeking custody of his

kids and has nothing posted on FaceBook can’t have anything used against him.

His ex though posts 20 times a day. She could be a great mother or she may not

be. What an attorney could do is persuade the judge to show that even though

she has the kids, she spends more time with her computer. Then we get to the

substance of her posts. Every other weekend, when she doesn’t have the kids,

she goes out with friends and posts pictures of her bar crawl journeys online.

Even though she isn’t drinking around the kids, the appearance is that she is a

party girl who drinks like a fish while her ex sits at home waiting on when he

might ever get to see his kids again. Let’s not forget to add that she

regularly throws out an F bomb in frustration in her daily rantings on FaceBook.

While her ex may curse like a sailor, there is no proof of it but mom is a

raging alcoholic party girl who spends more time online than with her kids. As

the appearance of each parent slowly grows in the evidentiary hearing, so does

the bias of the judge. It is natural. They cannot be faulted for it. It is

simply human nature to deduce a person’s credibility that way. It may not be

perfect but that is how it is done.

So here are my 5 top tips.

1.

Keep your profiles private with the idea that everyone

can still read them, especially your grandmother who will give all of her money

away to the grandchild she thinks is the most moral grandchild.

2.

Keep it professional. Don’t discuss your personal

feelings of negativity with any one person or thing.

3.

Talk about your socially acceptable passions for

not-for-profits like Blood Drives, marathons, chili suppers, and donations of

goods to those without.

4.

Don’t talk about drinking, alcohol, or partying. Your

boss, or potential employer, could be reading your page too.

5.

Don’t be sarcastic. Sarcasm is difficult to interpret

in text and often makes you look bad. As I was taught, “A sarcastic person has

a superiority complex that can be cured only by the honesty of humility.”

I can't Escape - But Why Would I Want To?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:36:52 -0400

Social media is an aspect of our lives that most of us would have no idea what to do without. But is there too much social media around us? Is everything turning into social media?

My brother told me about Spotify, which I was told would be "the better version of Pandora" because I can choose specific artists and listen to them all day long. On his fancy iPhone, he connects to Spotify and listens to only and all John Mayer while making an hour commute to work. This sounds like the perfect free application on the surface. I downloaded Spotify yesterday and listened to an array of artists for about an hour. I logged on to Facebook a few hours later and saw on my page, every single song that I had listened to on Spotify. It's not that I care that people see who I'm listening to, but why should they care who I've spent the last hour listening to?

Although this could be a great way to network new artists, bands, and songs, it seems that Facebook is getting more and more overwhelming with the amount of information it gives me about my friends. I don't really care about most of what is going on with Facebook lately, and it's making me spend most of my time on Twitter. Google is trying to get in on this social networking fun with Googe+ and I'm sure there will be many others trying as well.

Maybe Facebook could be the new Myspace.

Duck Duck Go

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:29:55 -0400

When a professor mentioned the underdog search engine Duck Duck Go in class, I decided to abandon Google search for a week to test it out. The site was created by a MIT graduate in Pennsylvania and known for its simplicity, little advertising, and user privacy. One week later, I have no intention of returning to Google.

And here is why:

Google search saves all your information, your past searches, and your identity. Everything you do online is bound to show up again, in advertisements mostly. This can be kind of annoying when your spout of frantic searching for a rash medication—or something equally embarrassing—haunts you for the next three months in web advertisements, long after the rash disappeared. This customer-catered Google service does nothing but bombard you with your saved information. It makes you wonder what else they do with that information.

Google also produced applications such as Google Maps and Google Books that take photos of your house, or track what books you are reading, and when you are reading them. In extreme cases, terrorists have used Google Maps to plot attacks, and businesses have been falsely marked as “permanently closed” by competitors.

Techdirt writer, Mike Masnick, defended Google’s controversial “bigness” as not necessarily being a bad thing. He raised the point of Google not harming customers with it’s high capital. Maybe Google is not exactly harming people in their domination of the web world, but their control doe make me nervous. Google’s extension has become too monopolized, putting them in a controversial spotlight.

I asked myself why I should risk the possible privacy breach when there are other search engines available. Didn’t you hear? It’s not cool to be mainstream anymore. So, I stepped out of the blinding spotlight on Google and into a more duck-friendly web.

Duck Duck Go has some pretty neat features. One thing I like about it is the minimal advertising. Another is that history does not repeat itself, meaning it does not save all your past searches. The search is very focused and results in a box around the most relevant sites to your searched phrase. There is a “bang” feature, which lets you fast forward to a specific site.

Yet, with new changes, there is always some reminiscing. I miss some things about Google search. I miss searching by image, Google predicting what I am wanting to find by instantly loading pages as I type, and I do miss the Google maps popping up when I search for a place, as creepy as it may be.

Yet, it’s only been a week and I’m still learning about Duck Duck Go. Maybe I really can get all of Google’s goodness without actually using Google.

If You Can't Beat 'Em... Copy 'Em!

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:21:15 -0400

I am an avid Facebook user. To be honest, I don’t think I have made it through an entire day without at least checking my notifications or news feed in almost 2 years. That being said, I still get as frustrated as anyone every time the social networking giant changes its layout. Usually this only lasts about a week, though, and then I see the changes as improvements and can go on as if nothing is different at all. But this time, I think Zuckerberg’s team took the wrong approach to the problem.

I’ve been told that the latest Facebook changes came about in attempts to better compete with the new Google +, but from what I have heard this “competitive move” is really more of an imitation. Since the changes, my friends who use Google + have actually used their Facebook pages as recruitment for their friends list on the newer network, posting statuses such as “Everyone should get Google+ and add me on it! It’s not that hard to use, considering now it’s pretty much the same thing as what you’re already using.”

So why would Facebook, a well-established and developed social networking site, choose to compete with a new, still developing, one? I don’t have a Google+ account, but if the new Facebook layout is as similar to that as people are saying, then it seems like Google still has some kinks to work out. Kinks that Facebook has now adopted, which seems to only move the site backward. Statuses updates now require more work; the user either has to refresh their page or click on an update link to see more recent statuses, whereas before all they had to do was move their cursor just a little bit on the page; and the news ticker, now the only part of the home page that automatically updates, shows up next to the main news feed, but on no other pages. Would it not make more sense to have a newsfeed ticker on all of the pages EXCEPT for the main news feed page?

From the statuses I’ve seen and conversations I’ve heard regarding this new layout, it would seem that the Facebook team managed to do the complete opposite of what they were attempting to do, which was keep users on their site and off Google+. Instead of examining potential flaws in Google +’s layout and features, and using those observations to get ahead of the game, the Facebook creators chose to take a step back and allow Google+ to start out on their level. As upset as users seem to be about these changes, and as many of them that have started using Google+ due to these changes, too many of Facebook’s users are loyal to the site – or possibly more to their friends who continue to use it – that these changes shouldn’t cause too big of a problem. Or at least not yet.

Internet shopping: A Life Saver or PITA?

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:59:03 -0400

Interesting dilemma I had today. I needed new hearing aid molds that go from the unit to your ear canal. Depending on where you live, you can walk into a drug store and just buy them but oh no... I am in the middle of a corn field... a lovely corn field but still a corn field. I went to an audiologist (not my audiologist) and he would not sell me a temporary mold without testing, diagnosis, transfer of charts, blah, blah, blah. That is so ridiculous. They are temporary for a reason. I already have an audiologist 2 hours away but I did not have the time to drive there and back and I can survive without my hearing aids... I rarely even wear them. So I go to another audiologist down the street and she is too busy and would prefer to do a test on me first. Why? I don't get it. Who walks into a doctor's office asking for temporary molds for $4000 hearing aids without actually needing them?

Frustrated, I got online and went to Amazon and looked for them but didn't see anything pop up. I then went to Google and typed in "hearing aid temporary ear mold" and presto - a company popped up #1 and I purchased a pack of 10... hopefully those will last awhile. They were also 24% of the price of what the audiologist wanted.

I guess the point is, "Does the internet prevent finding products in stores because of limited demand knowing they can be simply purchased online?" or "Would I have been able to get the temporary molds had it not been for the internet without driving for two hours?" I recall getting my first computer, a Commodore Vic-20, way back in 1984 I think it was. I recall setting a phone on the 300 baud modem to connect in to Ball State University. Those were the days. Since then, I have seen the internet develop and create entire new industries and watching other industries crumble because they became obsolete. I love internet shopping but when you need a medical device as simple as a temporary ear mold for a hearing aid, you shouldn't need to wait 2-3 business days for regular shipping or pay an extra $20 to have them shipped overnight.

What else is missing from store shelves today that you can only find online?

Lion King Resurrects Memories, Creates New Ones

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:31:11 -0400

I have a confession to make.

I paid more money than I make in a year to see The Lion King in IMAX/3D.

I’m aware that this is a tech blog, so don’t worry, it’s headed in that direction. But instead of starting from the straight technological path, let me guide you from my starting point.

As a young boy at the age of 8, yet another Disney movie headed to theaters. This meant one thing for my mother and Aunt: dragging about 10 children under 13 to watch their animated masterpiece.

I was already fascinated with the Ninja Turtles and cartoons in general. The fact that it wasn’t real, but personified animals that came to life from a pencil always wowed me.

I wanted to be the voice of the characters and a lot of my impressions come from my love of imitating the characters. My favorite as a child was Nathan Lane’s “Timon”, my adult favorite Robert Guillaume’s “Rafiki”.

Parts of this story were helped to life by the latest change in technology at the time. One of the most memorable scenes, the wildebeest stampede, was actually used in conjunction with computer generation to help make the stampede look authentic.

These changes have progressed rapidly, and now it’s more difficult to find a major hit animated through graphite and ink than it is through computers and 3D technology.

The Lion King was revolutionary in its own time and many people were probably thinking that Disney would be crazy to bring back the flick to screens as a 3D film.

But Disney didn’t listen to the criticisms, and brought Mufasa back from the dead so that he could be trampled for a second time, but this time by cloven hooves in 3D.

As I settled into the seat where I knew I had overpaid, I got chills. I wasn’t reliving my childhood like I had expected. No memories of Raisinets, Junior Mints, or Snow Caps danced on my tongue. I wasn’t just there because I was 8 and it was a Disney movie.

I was there to watch how they adapted a film I grew up with to the technology that’s grown up with me.

And.

It.

Was.

AWESOME!

Obviously it’s not designed to be in 3D, so there are some areas where it didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to have the technology, but it’s still a visual treat.

The opening sequence places layers of birds in flight and resting on an elephant’s tusk that seem to jump ahead of the background. Pumba looks rotund. Even Timon seems to jump off the screen.

This mash up of timeless film and new age technology makes more sense than just dollars for Disney.

It opens the film to a new generation and allows new parents a chance to share this film with their own Simba’s and Nala’s. And technology made it possible and profitable.

Of course there are flaws, but they weren’t even worth bringing up. The release doesn’t just take you back, it gives you a whole new feeling and helps sum up a great philosophy on life.

Your past is your past, but don’t ever let progress pass you by.

Keeping it Real

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:33:21 -0400

For this blog entry, I want to take the time to really appreciate how privileged my fellow bloggers and I are to do what we do with MediaPost, Ball State University, and even our country as a whole.

Overall, bloggers and other critics have a reputation of being blowhards with a keyboard that only know how to complain about every little thing.

While the above sentiment isn't far from the truth, we should all be happy that we can write lengthy blog posts of celebrity gossip, political opinions, and even our cats. I know it's trite to say that we shouldn't take our freedom of speech for granted, but...

We shouldn't take our freedom of speech for granted.

I know our country isn't perfect. We've got our share of political, economic, and social woes, but at least we're able to complain about them. The US government goes to great lengths to make sure our 1st amendment rights are alive and well—even as far as allowing the infamous Westboro Baptist Church to protest military funerals.

Some people may look at the WBC's protests and think, "Well, that's a reason against free speech!" On the contrary, while I am against such protests, the beauty of it all is that one could express what he or she believes—even if it's the most unpopular opinion on the planet.

Other countries aren't so fortunate.

Last June in Taiwan, a woman was arrested for criticizing a restaurant in her blog because its food was too salty and there were cockroaches in the kitchen.

The lesson: if you don't like a restaurant Taiwan, don't say anything or you'll be arrested for libel.

In a more tragic case, a woman in Mexico was decapitated for blog posts she wrote on a website known for being critical of drug cartels in the area. These cartels are responsible for the deaths of over 80 journalists in the last decade in Mexico.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a countless supply of these stories coming from all over the world; each one is a sobering reminder of how much freedom we truly have in this country.

As I mentioned above, this blog post is about my appreciation towards being able to blog about my opinions, criticisms, and nonsense from my brain to this website. We have the agency to do something that the most oppressive rulers fear; we’re doing something that will get us arrested or killed in other places. How's that for perspective?

All I want to say is: I appreciate writing the words you're reading.

Google? Fox News? GOP Debate?

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:15:08 -0400

I never thought those three institutions would merge but they did. Clearly the way the world uses media today is morphing the scope of politics and the 24 hour news cycle into an entirely new beast.

For those that did not get a chance to see the GOP Presidential Debate the other night on September 22, 2011, Google and Fox News joined forces to create a really elaborate change in how questions would be presented to the candidates. It seemed like such a novelty. It seemed almost like they were just saying, "ha ha! Look what we can do!" with no understanding of why they were doing it that way. It seemed to take forever to get the questions out because every question had to be introduced with how it was produced online through submitted videos. Then following the playing of the video question, the crowd would erupt in cheer in their elation of how marvelous the question was... or appeared to be. Of all the things I could ask a presidential candidate, there are certainly better ones that could have been asked.

How I would have loved to have had my tweet appear on the big screen and get the candidates to answer one of my questions? What would you have asked? The only one up there talking that was honest and least like a politician was Ron Paul and sadly enough, the majority of questions were aimed at Romney, Perry, Cain, and Bachman. Clearly the debates are no longer about reaching a conclusion over who should be president based on substance but more about a dramatic Hollywood style production focused on getting ratings and showing off new technology.

While I loved Google had a part in the production and the new technology that allowed me to watch the debate on my Roku Box through the YouTube channel, I am not so sure that Google is what made is the highest rated debate for the season according to Nielsen. Being a conservative debate, those most interested in watching the debate only watch Fox news and wouldn't have known how to change their TV box over to NBC or CNN. Oh, I say that in jest... kind of. It is kind of hard to argue with the numbers that show that the majority of Fox viewers are made up from the oldest demographic.

It seemed like the most amazing part of the debate was the new buzzer courtesy of Google. The world will forever know the sound of the new bell and how dogs have made more shovel-ready jobs. That was another line that created more articles about the joke than articles about the candidates' substance. Limbaugh wanted to take credit as he said something like it earlier in the day but Jim Villanucci of the Tonight Show and political blogger Jeff Carter both coined similar lines long before Limbaugh did. No surprise considering Rush often assigns responsibility to the wrong person. You have to love factcheck.org

Facebook Grumbling

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:58:34 -0400

My least favorite thing about any kind of a facebook layout change is my facebook newsfeed being blown up by facebook statuses reading, "Seriously, facebook?! I hate the new layout!" or "Way to keep changing, facebook." My question is... what in our lives is not constantly changing? Why is it so important to everyone that facebook stay the exact same as it was when it was first brought about in 2004? (Thanks, Mark Zuckerberg).

If facebook was the exact same as it has been since it was first engineered, the technology would be so outdated that facebook would have ended up being what myspace is to us now... a distant memory. With so many people getting more involved in Twitter and Google+, of course Facebook has to make some changes to compete with the popularity of the new emerging media. I know I am in the minority, but I like the Facebook changes. I like the simplistic nature of Twitter and seeing updates as they are happening, which Facebook has now incorporated into its new layout.

This is only the beginning, too. It is clear by now that people are so attached to Facebook that it is never going to leave us the way that Myspace did. We've been in a long-term relationship with Facebook now, and it's hard to accept change. Change is on the way, though. This is the new launching season for Facebook. While I'm sure most users will see it as too much too quickly, I will be embracing the change.

And avoiding looking at my "Facebook grumbling" newsfeed until the changes are over for now.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 09:33:56 -0400

Now I’m not sure who beat up whom for their lunch money back in the day, but I think it’s safe to say that this rivalry between Apple and Windows sometimes gets out of hand. I was raised in a world of PCs, but ever since my major at Ball State required I have a Mac, I have been a loyal Mac girl. Even before I was a Mac user, however, I had two iPods. The first was a second-generation iPod Nano, which I had for almost two years before buying myself an iPod touch for my eighteenth birthday.

Now, the Nano was great for the whole first year that I owned it, but just after that it began to have a few small problems. The click wheel became completely desensitized and the hold switch didn’t do a thing. So when the iTouch came out, of course I had plenty of reason for wanting to upgrade, or at least that’s how I justified it. I gave the Nano to my younger sister and bought my iTouch the next day. Again, this device worked just fine for the first year, and only for the first year. Around that time, iTunes ran an automatic update on my device that made it impossible for me to see the pictures I had put on it, even though they still took up a good chunk of the memory. Shortly after that, the power/hold button ceased to work, along with the volume buttons – fortunately I could control that on the touch screen. When I took my iTouch into a Genius Bar, they tried a reset – which I had already tried myself, seeing as it’s the only quick fix in the instruction manual – and told me they couldn’t fix it. I would have to get a new one if I wanted my battery life to last more than three hours or to be able to use the full eight gigs of memory I paid for.

Feeling jaded by Apple, I bought a Zune to replace my iTouch. I had two friends with Zunes, and each of theirs had lasted them at least four years already and had no problems. I did my research, chose the one I wanted, and brought it home to set it all up. That’s when I was first struck by the pure hatred that flows out from the Apple-Microsoft relationship. Zune software will not load on a Mac. It’s not compatible. I had iTunes on a PC for years, but a Zune library on a Mac? Out of the question. But instead of giving up, I did some more research and installed a program called VMWare Fusion, which is supposed to run Windows in a window on your Mac desktop. It does, and I was able to install the Zune software, but it is painstakingly slow just to import a CD or to put a song on my Zune. It took 4 hours one weekend to put 10 albums on my Zune. And yet another problem with this brilliant fix: the Zune software automatically imported all of the songs on my Mac, except for those I actually bought on iTunes.

So now I have an iTouch I can’t turn off or hold, therefore giving it an almost useless battery life, that I use when I want to listen to songs I bought on iTunes, and a Zune for when I want to listen to the few songs that did transfer programs. The Zune has had amazing battery life, considering I rarely charge it due to how slow it makes my computer run. So I guess all of this boils down to: why can’t Apple and Microsoft just get along, if only for the frustrated customers?

Hastings and Qwikster: When Sorry Isn't Enough

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:48:18 -0400

Technology, media, and the way we consume it all changes at such a rapid pace that companies once on-top-of-the-world are in the trash heap faster than they can figure out what they did right to ascend to the top.

That’s why I think it’s particularly funny that not two weeks ago a fellow NDF blogger posted about Netflix, because I’m about to do it again.

Now I’m a communications-minded individual and usually rational (unless it pertains to the Red Sox or Packers). I think about problems and try to take a minute to digest the information that is coming at me, compose my thoughts, then convey them…

Netflix has taken a staunch opposition to this theory.

Reed Hastings, the Co-Founder and CEO of Netflix, decided that because of the ever changing technology in his own business it was time to raise the Netflix prices.

I had no issue with the price increase, I really didn’t. It was the blatant failure to act like a responsible company that communicates with its consumers that has me upset.

How can the CEO of a company that so desperately needs to change it’s customer service image hide himself so thoroughly. And here’s another hint to a technology company planning on splitting half of their services to another company: Make sure you have rights to the social media accounts.

The embarrassment that Netflix and Hastings has set up for themselves is beyond anything I can process. Especially because the Quikster twitter account is run by an illiterate pot-head.

While this Qwikster account is funny, Hastings’ public relations and marketing team completely dropped the ball.

Of course it’s always easy to spot the flaws in a case study, it’s much more difficult to come up with a solution (something everyone should be focused on).

Many people claim the solution is simple: Put the prices back to where they were and continue operating business as it was.

This solution to me didn’t seem so simple.

Hastings has completely destroyed his customer’s faith in not only himself, but the company. Many companies erode that trust away over time, but Hastings personally took a pick ax to his company image, so to me, just “going back to the way things were” isn’t a real option anymore.

He has to show that he has SOME business acumen, something he’s never really shown after Netflix’s launch. Show the customers that you’re not blind. Instead of writing an e-mail that says something to the effect of “I’m sorry I want you back… But I’m not changing” isn’t a good start.

Try something crazy like keeping it within one company, then explain why the growing costs needed to happen. And instead of trying to split it into two separate companies so that people will have to keep both accounts separate, DON’T split it into two separate companies so that people will not have to keep both accounts separate…

The amount and types of public relations gaffes are unforgivable for a technology company, and they’ve opened to door back up to a number of other streaming video competitors. It’s time to start looking at what the competition has to offer.

Hey La...My Boyfriend's Back

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:25:44 -0400

Pandora? Oh yes, I remember you.

You were the one that went and left me high and dry when I became too attached—forty straight hours just isn't enough to appreciate all of your goodness. Oh Pandora. Your coldness and lack of social networking drove me to sites like Grooveshark and 8Tracks where I felt unconditionally loved. They were so new and exciting.

"Pandora, have you been working out?" You're lookin' fine with a sleek and interactive new design. What did you say? You want a second chance? Hmm.

Give me one good reason, other than your, now unlimited free music, that I should come back to you.

There are several reasons that I just might choose Pandora again. According to Pandora's press release on Tuesday, these are the new features of the "New Pandora."

1. Simplified Station Creation - "Enhanced auto-complete choices and personalized suggestions." Personalization is similar to Grooveshark's search feature, which gives options for related stations.

2. Discovery of Music with Friends - A new profile feature where you can see you bookmarked stations, followers, and users that you follow. New also, is the sharing of stations on Facebook and Twitter through specified URLs.

3. Improved Control - The "like" buttons are larger and you can shuffle stations.

4. Enhanced Artist Information - I had trouble seeing lyrics and bios with the old Pandora. The revised version is actually pretty cool. You can even sample music from selected discographies. And, while you are skimming comments from other users and what not, the music player's bar at the top of the page allows you to effortlessly continue listening.

5. Unlimited Listening - 40 hours? Not anymore.

Is there anything else to ask for? Oh yes, you must be wondering if it will work on your iPhone. No worries, the "New Pandora" uses HTML5.

I think I fell in love.
Again.

The Mail may Fail

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:18:03 -0400

This past week, I've heard read articles and heard news of the decline of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

I know what you're thinking: "What's a United States Postal Service?"

Yeah, I'm not sure either.

According to Wikipedia, the USPS is "a United States government-owned corporation responsible for providing postal service in the United States."

Apparently their main function is to deliver paper documents called "letters" from one address to another. I heard it's a lot like email except that the process could take days.

Days? How would I let my professor know I'm "sick" today?

I digress.

The USPS has been in serious financial trouble as of late. A weakened economy, teh interwebs, and Congress' habit of putting problems on the back burner has resulted in a very possible end to the government run postal service.

Plans to resuscitate the USPS involve closing hundreds of facilities and ending Saturday mail delivery.

Goodie! People will surely flock to their post office to use a slower and even more inconvenient service!

Instead, the government should just put the USPS out of its misery. The prevalent use of banking, paying the bills, and corresponding with one's school or job is done online. The USPS could simply become privatized or be run by services such as Fedex and the UPS.

Do people even need to use the postal service anymore?

On the other hand...

The whole point of the USPS is to provide people with a basic service at a reasonable price. Some people simply can't afford to own a personal computer and the use of a public computer for banking and other transactions isn't a good idea.

Also, if the USPS became privatized, a company could increase their prices far more drastically than the government would have dared.

Did you know that the USPS is the second largest civilian employer in the country? I haven't even talked about the projected loss of 35,000 jobs by 2013.

Simply put: our government can't afford the USPS as it stands today and its forecast is looking grim.

I honestly don't really mind one way or the other. I'm still trying to figure out what a United States Postal Service is and why I should care.

Is Google to Blame?

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:22:52 -0400

For one of my English classes this semester (one that deals with digital literacy’s) we were instructed to read an article by Nichols Carr titled “Is Google Making Us Stupider?”

Initially is said absolutely.

My reasoning was this: I look up definitions for words or a quick fact for a paper I am writing I use the information-hardly giving my brain time to process the information. The result is I forget it. I used to think this was the fault of my memory, or rather, my fault. But after reading the article I blamed Google and the Internet in general. For a couple of hours that is...

Until, I got to my English class, where it was time to discuss our opinions about what the article was trying to assert. I voiced my initial opinion and some of my classmates agreed with me. I said that if I can’t look up, for example, a definition in a dictionary I am less likely to remember what the word means.

As I was listening to the counter arguments, given by education majors and telecommunications majors, I was opened up to a new set of opinions that I hadn’t thought of before.

Our generation and society has easy access to facts, statistics, definitions, scholarly articles and ‘how to’ videos than any other generation before us. Let’s say I don’t know what the word “equilibrium” means (I do in fact know what this word means; I am just keeping with my ongoing ‘definition’ example). I look up the word on dictionary.com and I am instantly given the definition of the word, and I can apply it to an everyday experience instantly. No other generation had the ease of access like we do.

My opinion changed: the Internet is black and white. Either you use the Internet with a purposeful reason; to broaden your knowledge. Or, you use the internet like a blooming idiot; looking up stupid videos on Youtube like some guy doing something ridiculous who then ends up hurting himself just to get a couple thousand views.

My assertion: Google isn’t making us stupider. The people who use Google in a stupid way is what makes the general public think that we are are.

A Product of NO Comparison

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:14:17 -0400

I don’t leave my house without my wallet, cell phone, keys, or Amazon Kindle. My Amazon Kindle allows me to search Amazon for new books, read whatever I want, anytime I want, house my collections of books all in one digital library and now even store most of my textbooks in one collective place. Because I have my actual Kindle and an application for it on my Mac, I can sit in class and read along in a textbook on my Macbook screen.

There is nothing that can compare to the easy availability of reading or the price of a Kindle book versus a normal book in hand. I saved over a hundred dollars on textbooks this semester by getting them on my Kindle instead of through rental companies like Amazon or Chegg. Because of this price difference in e-readers for textbooks, there is nothing that can compare. Not only is it far cheaper for me to have my entire book collection to be digital through my kindle, but it is also extremely convenient. Barnes and Noble’s Nook does not even have this textbook capability yet, which makes my choice of getting a Kindle instead of a Nook even more informed.

Being in college is already so expensive. And for English nerds like me, it is difficult to afford all the books that I want to read in my free time along with textbooks and other school needs. The initial cost of purchasing a Kindle is definitely worth the money that I have saved so far on textbooks and leisure reading purposes. Looking at my old worn out book shelf full of extremely used books like the Harry Potter series and dusty copies of Shakespeare plays read in high school, I wish I could have had all these beat up, used books in a “digital library” where dust can’t accumulate and coffee stains can’t cover the immortal words of J.K. Rowling. What did I ever do without my Kindle?

The Message of Media

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:52:55 -0400

Whether you call yourself a tweeter or not, if you haven’t taken notice of the role of social media in society right now, it is time to get your head out of the sand and look around a little. I am not just referring to Facebook groups and blog posts, but to media in business markets as well. The world is watching as social unrest and a wave of violence rolls through Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and now England. Regimes struggle for power over increasing revolutionaries.

Culture is shaping the change as much as change is shaping the culture. What I mean is as social media lets organizations form and take action quickly and the information reaches a lot of people. Media narratives have been accused of adopting similar tones to the uprising. I watched Levi’s “Go Forth” video ad campaign before I found out it was canceled because its message was too similar to the violent London riots this week and could influence more rioting. I had to watch it again to see what all the fuss was about. I didn’t remember any violence or gang references in the video.

A spokesman for Levi’s, in defense of the campaign ad, said it was not about specific political events, but meant to inspire “optimism, positive action and a pioneering spirit” in the world. How similar is the video to reality? The voiceover is Charles Bukowski’s poem, The Laughing Heart, which is about living—not destroying. It’s about taking chances—not taking power.

On the other hand, the ad’s audience targets young adults who have been the driving force in the recent uprisings. And while it may seem trivial, media has an uncompromising influence on the youth.

Or perhaps, the criticisms were out of elitism fear of social changes. A Vanity Fair article on inequality that I read for a class recently reflects on the implications of the oppressed protests and its possible spread to other countries with widening gaps between the poor and wealthy. Perhaps the censoring of media is to maintain things the way they are, and we should stand up for change. Is media influencing us enough to take to the streets?

Watch it for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT16DcHcjRA&feature=player_embedded

Be on the watch

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:35:28 -0400

On the other hand, the ad’s audience targets young adults who have been the driving force in the recent uprisings. And while it may seem trivial, media has an uncompromising influence on the youth.

Watch it for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT16DcHcjRA&feature=player_embedded

Arrrr, We Be Goin' on a Journey!

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:24:40 -0400

A few days ago, Media Post writer Karl Greenburg wrote an article about Dodge's new exciting ad campaign—one that's more than a set of commercials that the audience will "ooh" and "ahh" on.

Dodge is offering a journey.

Like pirates of yore who sailed the seven seas for booty, participants will set out on a country-wide treasure hunt for a grand prize. To get things started, Dodge will broadcast commercials and YouTube videos on a set date that will provide subtle clues of its location.

What is the prize, you ask?

A shiny, brand new 2012 Dodge Journey!

Dodge doesn't have just one, but three of these SUVs up for grabs—one for the Western, Midwest, and Eastern regions of the United States. The company literally placed these vehicles out in the wilderness and told the audience, "If you can find it, you can have it."

Unfortunately, if you live on the West coast and this is your first time hearing about this contest, you're out of luck. The first Journey has been found by this adorable father-son duo.

Admittedly, I didn't even know about the contest until after one of the Journeys was found. I originally learned about it from my girlfriend who stumbled upon her friends discussing it on her Facebook news feed.

From there, she had a hard time Googling any information about the contest and there was virtually no information up on its main company website.

All this made me wonder: is Dodge being effective with their novelty ad campaign?

Upon further investigation, I noticed that after each of their commercials there was a Twitter hashtag #journeysearch. As of tonight, there are about 20 results worldwide that contain this tag with the majority of these being from Dodge and Chrysler’s own Twitter accounts.

Maybe Dodge didn't plan on their Journey being found in two days. Maybe they're not advertising effectively.

On the other hand, it's a month-long event; perhaps hype will build as the clues for the other Journeys are revealed.

In the meantime, I've marked my calendar for the 16th when Dodge releases clues about the Midwestern Journey.

Arrr, I may be searchin' for treasure, mateys.

9/11/01 - What if Twitter and Facebook had existed then?

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:39:29 -0400

The use of social media and technology has grown by leaps and bounds since September 11, 2001. Facebook, Skype, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and FourSquare have risen to become some of the most trafficked websites available. Imagine what that day would have been like today.

Today we would tweet it, send Facebook messages checking to see if everyone was ok, and live-blogging it. We would have tweet-ups for memory services and just to feel safe. We would Skype with loved ones that were distant only by physical measurements.

But that day we didn’t have that. We only had phones and had to get to a computer for e-mail. If it happened today, we might know exactly what happened on United 93 or read tweets about someone telling their family they loved them from within the World Trade Center.

We might better understand what was going through the minds of our fellow patriots that were so inhumanely taken from us. Unlikely that we would have seen anything from the cowards that attacked us, but if we had social media in such a prominent position that it is today, we might be able to offer our condolences to the victims or communicate with loved ones.

On that day, my friend’s father was in New York. He had a meeting scheduled at the World Trade Center. She called his cell phone over and over before he finally answered and told her that he’d over slept and his phone was on silent.

The amount of these stories are plentiful, and the impact of a Facebook status update stating “He’s OK” would have likely resulted in 30 “likes” and a tweet of the same effect would be retweeted across the board.

These messages didn’t travel at that speed and loved ones were kept in limbo.

I think about that day often. I think about sitting in Mr. Iddings’ classroom with 20 or so other high school sophomores. I remember our Principal coming over the PA and announcing that something had happened, but he didn’t say what exactly, and our teacher told us to continue the test. I remember a student running in and whispering something to him, and our proctor asking, “Well what do I tell them?”

I think about that day when I walked into my Yearbook class and there was a TV on. I remember making a joke, not knowing the severity of it, and my friend that was a senior telling me just how severe it was. I remember feeling empty.

I remember going online at school and going to a message board to talk with others that were in shock too and wishing there was a better way to talk with the ones I really wanted to talk to, but also feeling a sense of country pride knowing that we weren’t giving up. Today, with all the tools possible, I could have talked to my friend in D.C. to see how he was coping with the news at the Pentagon.

Today I would have been able to read tweets about all my friends and their loved ones; hopefully finding out that everyone was ok. Today I would be able to see geotagged pictures and read about 50 bloggers paying homage to the NYC firefighters.

The one thing that wouldn’t change from then to now is the way we all feel about our country and the love that we have for it. We would still feel that same sorrow for those trapped in the buildings and the anger against whoever did this to us. And we would also still feel that sense of pride of the heroes that have stepped forward to save lives and defended our country for us. We would still remember, and never forget.

Netflix: A dying Art?

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:19:01 -0400

Sitting at my small college house on a Sunday afternoon, it is so tempting to sign up for Netflix to spend the whole day watching old movies, but what else does Netflix really have to offer?

In comparison to other companies that have similar offers like Blockbuster, OnDemand, Redbox, and any other local video rental store, Netflix’s offers don’t seem to add up for a person my age. To pay $15 a month to wait a week to receive a DVD that I want doesn’t seem like an ideal plan in comparison to other companies. The instant watching options are only for certain movies and shows, which usually are not the most popular ones. The amount of people I know that have deactivated their Netflix accounts after this price increase are countless. That number also includes my own Netflix account that had to be deleted after the price increase occurred. For a company that markets itself as being an instant way to watch great movies, it might need to rethink what kind of movies and offers it can make to be watched instantly.

One big advantage of having Netflix is the ability of putting it on a Roku device and watching it on a T.V. However, if there are not any movie or T.V. show series that are popular and want to be watched by a wide range of people, it is difficult to see even this advantage. For instance, my group of friends loves to watch old episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.” There are no websites online that we can watch the episodes on, Netflix does not offer it instantly, and even if I had a Roku, I would not be able to watch it on my T.V. with any options given on the Roku.

With all of my other options for movie and T.V. show watching, Netflix has become one of the last choices for me. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, we would much rather go to Wal-Mart and buy the discs of “How I Met Your Mother.” That is the only way that we can truly watch the episodes of anything we really like instantly.

Apple: Why did you break my iPhone?

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:08:15 -0400

I understand that the Apple iPhone is the single greatest invention of all time, and no, I’m not exaggerating.

Sure, there is the debate that medical equipment is more amazing since it saves lives and all, but think about this: the iPhone can send messages of text from one user to another AND let my fingers become tools of destruction while using birds that are furious at green pigs.

Why then am I writing that I’m mad about it? Because WHO PUTS A GLASS BACK ON A PHONE?!

I am so animated about this issue because whilst walking to the gas station one day, I dropped my iPhone 4 and THIS happened:

Now, I’m not an unreasonable man. I understand that I could have had on a case that might have prevented the cracked back and that I’m lucky that it broke the back and not the front, but I left the case off for a reason: There is nothing as sexy as the careless iPhone.

The helpless feeling I had as I watched my iPhone tumble to the ground was not unlike a museum curator watching a priceless Fabergé egg fall off of its supposedly secure pillar.

It was horrible.

Now I didn’t cry or throw my phone down in anger. I picked up the iPhone and put it into my pocket. I walked home and sat down sullenly, staring at the shattered back.

I looked into purchasing a new glass back, a hefty cost for a graduate student. I went to an online store that sells wooden backs, and unless I was making approximately one million dollars a year, that too was out of my price range. My last option was a metal or plastic back that they sell online through Amazon.com or their own shady looking store. After seeing plenty of negative reviews, I resigned myself to the least expensive option:a plastic case that covers the sexy right up.
My sexy phone was gone, and in it’s place, a cracked and shattered one. I went and got a case to cover the cracks, but there was nothing to cover my disappointment over losing such an elegantly designed phone.

Sure, I could take responsibility for my actions, but it’s 2011! I thought we stopped taking responsibility and started blaming everyone else for our mistakes when the “Supersize Me” guy was surprised he got fat eating only McDonald’s and not working out!

I will not be turning in my iPhone for another model and am likely a user for life, but the next time I purchase the iPhone (likely model 5 or 6) I will be putting a case on it right away, you know, because they still haven’t created an indestructible glass… Until then, plastic case it is.

Into the Digital World

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:45:58 -0400

Call me old fashioned, but I am completely happy without my pocket vibrating every time I receive an email. In the house I have been leasing for the past year, we have one channel on our TV (thanks to a random houseguest who wanted to spend a half hour to set it up). I never use a GPS in my car, I’m terrible about updating my status on Facebook and Twitter, and I’d rather carry around a paperback than read one on a screen. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against technology, I just haven’t caught up to the rapid digitalization¬ yet. My family and friends probably share the annoyance in always getting my voicemail and my delayed response to texts and phone calls, but at least I get back to them, right?

One thing I have noticed is my dependence on my laptop computer. I carry it around more often than I need to. I think this is partially the fault of the education system, thinking that students do or want to have access to computers all day. They turned to email and systems such as Blackboard under assumption that students will check every inch of these updates continuously for information they might need, and also under the assumption that professors will share that the information is actually on Blackboard. As simple as this seems, there always seems to be miscommunication. On the other hand, the positive implications of using the internet to mass distribute information to 20,000 plus college students—besides a saving a significant amount of paper—is just that, mass distribution.

On a non-academic point, since my housemates and I decided cable isn’t worth paying for this year, I turn to my laptop for entertainment. My dad kindly shared his Netflix password with me and now I can stream movies and TV shows when I have time to watch them. I use my laptop as a form of TV, a music player, a news source, a notebook, a storage device; the list could go on and on. And I start to wonder, how is my reliance on my computer different than someone’s on their Blackberry? It isn’t really. One can be stuffed into your pocket and the other cannot.

Technology should be designed to fit what people need and/or want. Maybe I prefer my laptop because I can actively design it (to an extent). I have some imagined control over what I want to focus on, whether I change settings, add and delete software, control email notifications, etc. Also, nothing is interrupting me—no unexpected ringing, no television on in the background every night, no automated voice informing me for five straight minutes that I need to turn somewhere up the road.

If interactive technology were designed so the consumer could control and customize it, and mass digitalization did not mean miscommunication, maybe the transition into the digital world would be easier for people like me. I might even start answering my phone.

The sky is cloudy, leaves are on the ground, and school is back in session

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:21:52 -0400

Yup, it's fall.

Although I can't wait to go jump on deliciously crunchy leaves, I want to talk about the past summer. While many of us were busy working, taking classes, or waking up at the crack of noon, the land of teh interwebz welcomed a new face to the social media scene.

Meet the Facebook filleter, the Twitter terminator: Google+.
This new tool combines features of both social media giants to create a Facebook-style environment where a user can follow or be followed; you don't need to share a mutual friendship to be connected. In addition, friends can be categorized into different circles. From there, users can choose which circles can see their posts.

Never again will you have to censor yourself to a tone that you speak to your grandparents in!

You're probably thinking, "If Google+ is so great, why are Facebook and Twitter still around?" Excellent question. The above news occurred over the summer—let me tell you the rest of the story.

Google+ carried the prospect of becoming the ultimate social media website back in July. Since then, its number of weekly visitors have dropped and the average amount of time spent on the site has stagnated. Many of its users are asking, "Why do I need this website? I've already got Facebook."

Admittedly, I have asked myself the same thing.

As I had previously discussed, I'm not a fan of Facebook. However, I already established it as my online medium of social networking. I have friends, family, photos, etc. that I can't just pack up and haul over to another site, no matter how nice and shiny it is.

I would reallylove to though.

It's also important to note that Google+ is still in beta and operates on an "invite only" system. It's like being invited to a exclusive club that happens to be too exclusive. I've got 300+ friends on Facebook compared to 20 on Google+. Which audience do you think I would rather write for?

Unless something drastic happens to Facebook or Google+ offers something truly groundbreaking, change doesn't look imminent for the social media world. It could happen as soon as November 5th as members of Anonymous has threatened to take down Facebook, or it could be drawn out like the migration from Myspace to Facebook.

As with the changing of the seasons, we'll just have to wait for what will happen.

I'm rooting for Google+.

The History of Social Networking Sites: According to Me

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:39:26 -0400

The Beginning

AIM (Age: 13): My first AIM screen name was general49 which belonged to my father. He had to make sure I was using the Internet properly before he allowed me to roam the Internet on my own. I remember some of my ridiculous screen names: stickyham1234 and hyperloser18. My screen names were changing constantly because different screen names were used for different things. Like my screen name that all of my friends knew and then my chat room screen names. One time my friend and I found each other in a chat room, so I guess the instant messaging was a small world, at some point. Then it just ended.

Myspace (Age: 15): The coolest thing about Myspace was the background options. Teens thought they were a direct reflection of our style at the time. And the music player just completed the statement we were trying to make. When I reached my punk phase this helped my “angsty” persona reach an entirely different level. How many messages and wall comments you got was like a contest. Even then, the more friends you had the cooler you were.

Facebook (Age: 15): Myspace ended because Facebook began. As an eighth grader I knew was Facebook was; but I couldn’t get one because it was only accessible to high school and college students. That was the appeal with Facebook; no more creepy users. But then Facebook ruined the appreciated sense of privacy, time and time again.

The Middle

Twitter (Age: 19): I never post status updates on Facebook, it is too easily accessible for the way I communicate. So, I got a Twitter. At the time I had no idea why, maybe I was just jumping on a bandwagon. But over time I became fond of my Twitter. I used it as a witty writing tool; whenever I thought of some dry, sarcastic comment I could use in a post later on. But one thing I noticed is I am using Twitter differently than other users. Fifty retweets an hour is a bit ridiculous.

Tumblr (Age: 20): Quite possibly the stupidest social networking site I have ever signed up for. My intentions were to using it for a blogging site. The people on my Dashboard used it as a site to post pictures of themselves, or cute puppy pictures, or pictures of what food they wanted to self indulge in. I blogged two times before I removed Tumblr from My Favorites. I have been focusing on finding a more intelligent blogging site; something more my taste.

Linkedin (Age: 21): I had to be deemed an official young adult before I could get a Linkedin account. I had to start making a name for myself before I got a site to brag about myself on. Because let’s face it, Linkedin is just an electronic resume. I had to network, I had to meet people, I had to say I have completed things and accomplished things and went places in the working world. I take more pride in my Linkedin than I do my Facebook. That is the way it should be.

The End...

A world without Skype

Sun, 01 May 2011 21:16:28 -0400

Two of my really good friends live in Indianapolis. I, on the other hand, am confined to the land of Ball State University. Another one of my friends lives in Evansville where she now works as a nurse (I guess that's what I get for befriending people older than myself.) At this point I'd give [...]