Facing Off With Facebook

I don't know that anyone could have predicted how quickly and how pervasively social media has  become a part of our daily lives. Let's talk about Facebook. I remember when Facebook was new, and people of my generation were timid about joining. I was delighted to be reacquainted with former students and cheerleaders. I enjoy seeing pictures of grandchildren that live nearby and far away. I can easily contact friends in other countries. My business page allows me to update courses being offered, to share safety articles, and to talk with coaches.

Facebook has a downside that we have all experienced. We are inundated with silly messages and endless posts about everything people do. In fact, I'm learning that many of my "friends" post too much personal information--and information I don't want to know. I have seen too much self-centeredness and too much "me, me, me."  Facebook is also addictive. Yes, I was one of those gamers who asked everyone for a piece or a token or a life. It is too easy to get sucked into the games.


Paul Boboc believes that Facebook has changed the way we connect with people; instead of speaking to people face to face, we now post or message. Face to face communication allows us to see people's reactions to our conversation; it allows us to use nonverbal while we speak. Facebook takes that away, just like email does. Other studies show that we are disconnecting from people to connect electronically. We are spending too much time online, and too little time with others. A mental health website indicates that too much Facebook use by teens can lead to "more aggression, depression, anxiety, narcissism, low self-esteem and antisocial behavior." This is just one example of many articles that indicate too much Facebook can be harmful to our health.


So what do we do? Just as we discussed last week, moderation is the key--whether adults or children. We all need time with "real" friends to laugh, to talk, and to enjoy. Time yourself the next time you log in to Facebook. How much time daily do you spend on Facebook? How does that relate to time spent elsewhere?

What do you think? Is Facebook sucking up your time or are you able to pull away at will?

Digital Tech and Kids

Much discussion and study has taken place with the subject of the impact of technology on young children and teenagers. I remember a few years ago, professionals were worried about the impact of television on the same groups. Would too much exposure to violence impact their mental and emotional health? Would sitting too long in front of the television adversely affect their physical health? The same types of questions are now being asked about too much time spent with digital technology--smart phones, tablets, etc. As a pediatric occupational therapist, Cris Rowan is concerned about these issues. Her article, "The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child," addresses some of her concerns. She, like myself, remembers when children played outside all day, climbing trees, riding bikes, jumping rope, setting up impromptu baseball games and football games. Imaginary games were the norm with children playing from dawn 'til dusk. Rowan believes technology is negatively impacting the family and adversely affecting children. a 2010 study showed that elementary children were spending an average of 7.5 hours with entertainment technology. My first reaction to this is how can any child in school spend almost 8 hours a day with entertainment technology. I don't know if this is counting time at school or not, but this statistic is disturbing to me. Rowan believes that children who sit all day with digital technology are negatively affected in achieving developmental milestones. Health and education professionals are seeing increases in physical, psychological and behavioral disorders. We know childhood obesity and diabetes are at an all-time high for children in Canada and the United States. The numbers of children with learning disorders such as ADHD, autism, and coordination disorders are increasing. Children need "movement, touch, human connection, and exposure to nature" for healthy development. Spending 7.5 hours with digital technology does not give much time for nature or movement. Touching a screen or pressing buttons does not give the same sensory stimulation or brain development as playing with Lincoln logs or playing kickball.

Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a childhood development expert, shares these thoughts. She agrees that children need to play--playing stimulates learning and exposes children to a variety of sensory stimulations. Children need to manipulate things physically--not through touching a screen. Carlsson-Paige reports that experts are seeing a decrease in creativity in children, especially younger children. A contributing factor to this decrease is the decline in play time. Playtime allows children to learn, to question, to create, to lead and follow, and to solve--all activities children need for healthy development. Interacting with "the screen" doesn't fully involve the child's senses, brain, and body. According to Carlsson-Paige, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity have recommended that children under two should be as screen-free as possible. Screen exposure for older children should be limited.

This information was important to me as a grandmother. One of my granddaughters, Abby age 5, bought her own iPad with money she had earned (her parents chipped in $60). She was fascinated with my Galaxy tablet and wanted her own tablet. She knows how to find the games she wants and downloads them herself. Abby even beats me in "Cut the Rope"! Granddaughter Molly is a budding movie producer as she uses my tablet and phone to make videos of herself and friends. She makes up short stories and then acts them out with friends. The good news is that their parents limit their time on the devices as I do. All my granddaughters enjoy playing board games--the actual games, not the digital versions. They like moving the pieces around the board in Sorry and holding the cards in Uno. They enjoy their Pet Salon play pieces and their Barbie dolls and American Girl dolls. It seems, as with most things in life, that moderation is the key. A mixed experience with real-time play, reading books, and screen play will give children many opportunities to develop as they should. The digital device should not be the "go to" item to make a child happy, to stop tears, or to use as a babysitter. Let's not forget what the experts advised above--lots of hugs and face to face time with family and friends. Children need the interaction with others to develop normal family relationships and healthy social skills.

In a related item of interest, Enterprise City Schools has a new initiative called Connect 2 Learn which allows students to bring their own devices to school. The new policy is called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Students are allowed access to the schools' filtered wireless network, using their own devices. The project was launched at six schools for first semester of 2013 and will be expanded to the other schools in fall of 2014. The guidelines are fairly clear, and parental permission is required. The rationale behind this is to help prepare students for the future, whether jobs or college. The goal is to promote "achievement, engagement and developing 21st Century Learners." No one has to buy a device, nor is anyone required to have one. I am not sure how the devices are being utilized, but I do see several advantages in the classroom. I also see disadvantages as every child will not have a digital device. As a former high school English teacher, I see opportunities for writing and creating with tablets or laptops. A disadvantage to this system was highlighted in the news recently as students in Los Angeles had to return school-issued iPads because students had hacked into the devices in order to use social media sites.

Where do you stand on the issue of children and digital devices? How do you manage real time and digital time with your children or grandchildren? Do your schools have a BYOD policy?

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BRAND!

It is my favorite time of year--college and high school football season! Have you noticed how team uniforms have changed over the past few years? Teams have been re-branding themselves--in some ways with new uniforms. TCU (Texas Christian University) are the horned frogs; their colors are purple and black. This year they have new black uniforms with purple highlights. Their new uniforms use the frog's scaly body armor as inspiration for patterned numbers, sleeves, gloves and helmets. Nike says the uniform's detailing is a "visual reminder of the 'bloodlines' and brotherhood of the team [and] creates a head to toe aesthetic from cleat to helmet."

Georgia Athletics, in collaboration with Nike, has a new department-wide brand identity system. The university and Nike looked at Georgia's primary identity (the "G" logo), their secondary identity (the bulldog logo), typography, and color palette. The university wanted a brand identity that was consistent in all areas of their athletic programs. Georgia's traditional Power "G" logo is the primary brand identifier and was fine tuned. Even their bulldog graphic has been updated to "reflect the strong, iconic characteristics of the animal itself as well as the spirit of The University of Georgia Athletics."

My favorite college football team, the Auburn Tigers, does not change its uniforms often. Auburn's colors are orange and blue with white used as an accent color.  Navy jerseys and white helmets have been the tradition since the 1960s. Their traditional "AU" logo has been used on the helmets since 1966.  Orange jerseys have only been worn three times since 1946. The university's new marketing campaign is "This is Auburn." According to the website, this marketing campaign "provides a flexible way to describe the many positive qualities contributing to the university as a whole."

How do we make sure our product or program is distinguished from the rest? I stumbled upon the importance of marketing during my years as a cheerleader coach. When I began coaching in the 1980s, cheerleading was a social activity; team members were even chosen by popular vote of the student body. As I grew as a coach and as the activity gained more attention, I saw this "social activity" evolve into a skilled athletic activity. I have a competitive personality, and this certainly worked well with encouraging my teams to continue to perfect their skills and enter cheerleading competitions. It was in the 90s that a choreographer opened my eyes to better marketing and branding of my teams.

When we think about high school mascots, we may think of tigers, bears, wildcats, panthers. In our area we have several schools with the same mascot; how does one "Wildcat" stand out from the other? Our cheerleading uniforms had always been enhanced with either EHS, CATS, or WILDCATS. EHS is a bit more distinctive, but which EHS--Elba High School, Etowah High School, or Enterprise High School--you see the problem. WILDCATS is even more generic--this gave us no distinctive branding. As our talent level increased, we were gaining more attention, but audiences only knew us as EHS or WILDCATS. This is where the choreographer helped us "brand" our team. He explained that by using ENTERPRISE on jackets, uniforms, etc., we would be more distinct and recognizable.

 

This made sense, so we entered into a process of informally branding our teams. This was not an easy process because it meant purchasing new cheer vests, warm-ups, and other clothing with the lettering ENTERPRISE. Trying to fit 10 letters across the front of a size 2 vest was a challenge. I remember a phone call from the manufacturer who said I would have lettering from arm pit to arm pit--didn't I want to shorten the name? Nope! The point was to have the entire name on our uniforms. As we bought into the branding process, we worked diligently to perfect "the look." This entailed uniform hair styles, hair bows, shoes--every uniform aspect was the same (actually that's the definition of uniform!). I knew we had accomplished our goal when I overheard a coach comment, "That must be Enterprise walking in the gym"--she had only seen my team from the side, but she knew by "the look" it must be Enterprise. We had been successful in our branding choices.

This branding process had unexpected benefits. I think we performed better with ENTERPRISE on the cheer uniforms. I know we behaved better when in public with ENTERPRISE CHEERLEADER on t-shirts and jackets. We weren't just representing a high school, we were representing our city. This bit of pride nudged us to work harder and perform better. We won several state and national championships while wearing ENTERPRISE, and I have to give some of the credit to the branding process.


In researching branding, I have found we can even brand ourselves. This may sound a bit strange, but this is becoming popular with professionals wishing to further their careers. This may also be important to keep your identity distinctive. There is a story about one young man who had excellent credentials, but his resumes were continually rejected. He learned that upon Googling his name, one of the top results was an article about a man with the same name who was a convicted sex offender. Peter Kistler is this man, and he co-founded BrandYourself to help people control what shows when their name is Googled. According to their website, 75% of HR departments are required to Google prospective employees. Their promise "is to make it as easy as possible to help anyone improve their own search results and online reputation."  I'm not advocating you use this service, but I do suggest you look into what appears when you Google your name. Have a friend Google your name. If you don't like the results, it is time to brand yourself. Suggestions from Nate C. Hindman include purchasing a domain that contains your name such as DebbieBracewell.com, building a personal website, using LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or Twitter to build a professional profile, and signing up for Google Alerts to let you know when your name is used in news articles or blog posts.

Branding is not new; however, with today's technology and the invasive nature of social media, it is something we should seriously consider in the world of business and in our professional lives. If we have too many slogans or logos, it may appear we don’t actually know our identity. If we haven’t changed our slogan or logo for a long while, it may appear we are too set in our ways to change. Whether you are branding yourself or your business, take out those logos or slogans, spiff them up so they send the message you want sent.

PIN IT TO WIN IT

The more I delve into digital technology, I more I realize how much there is to learn. This week I have been introduced to a new term in the social media and technology arena--crowdsourcing.  Crowdsourcing is not a new idea as it has been around for a few years. I have actually participated in crowdsourcing; I didn't know the terminology. Have you used beta software and reported problems back to the company? Have you contributed to a Wikipedia article? If the answer is yes, you have participated in crowdsourcing!

 Jeff Howe and Mark Robinson coined the term crowdsourcing in 2006 in an issue of Wired magazine. As they described, crowdsourcing represents the act of a company or institution taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined (and generally large) network of people in the form of an open call.  We all know what outsourcing is, but crowdsourcing takes the idea further.  Instead of hiring workers in India or China, a company puts out a call for assistance, enlists their help with a problem, and pays a fee for the selected solution. Threadless is one such company. They put out a call for t-shirt designs, and their community of followers vote on selected designs. The winning designers receive $1500 (2006 figure) and $500 worth of gift certificates and t-shirts. Great idea! Threadless does not need a design department nor the equipment that goes with such a department. They operate with a smaller number of employees and get fresh design ideas daily. Their website boasts as of September 20, 2013: You've helped us pay $8,774,411 to over 1,200 artists worldwide. WOW! Imagine being able to boast that your design was selected for production and may be worn worldwide. This is a great way for beginning artists and designers to have their work noticed.

iStockphoto is another industry that has benefited from crowdsourcing. According to their website they began in 2000 to provide royalty-free photos. As we know, photography from professional photographers can cost $$$, but iStockphoto's do not. They began offering free pictures but later devised a payment plan that offers credits to use in purchasing photos at a nominal fee. According to their About Us page, anyone, anywhere can join us for free, find the digital media they need and sell original content of their own. This is crowdsourcing--an open call for contributions using a network of interested people. Anyone can apply to contribute material; check out their FAQ page for details on the application process and their payment schedule. Again, this is a great way for amateur photographers to sell photography and to have their pictures used around the world.

Have you seen the Dorito's Crash the Super Bowl Contest? This is an all call for creative consumers to make a Doritos commercial to be played during Super Bowl XLVIII. The company is asking for a 30-second commercial to feature the red or blue bag Doritos chips. Lots of prizes are offered to include money,  a trip to the super bowl, and the winning commercial will be aired. The rules to the contest are in a 16-page informational piece. This is a great opportunity for all creative consumers. For the winner and finalists, this could be a starting point for a lifelong career.

All of these are great opportunities for amateurs and for the companies. The companies save money and the amateurs have an opportunity to get noticed in a field in which they are interested. I can see the positives of using such a system, but negatives can also be seen. If I am a professional photographer, I would not be happy with iStockphoto's concept. Photography equipment is expensive as well as the training. Digital cameras have taken me out of the picture (no pun intended), and iStockphoto hinders my attempts to make a living. Another negative could be the time and employees needed to wade through all the submissions--whether t-shirt designs or photos. Someone has to sift through to find what is appropriate or desired. How is plagiarism prevented or found?  In the end, who owns the product and can the designer still include the design in a portfolio as a work sample? These are questions I have, and I haven't found the answers yet. But I do see many positives for both companies and creators.

Where does "PIN IT TO WIN IT" come in? Pinterest, of course! My favorite digital playground is Pinterest! Pinterest can be used as a crowdsourcing tool, especially for market research. In Pinterest Knows Your Customers Better Than You the author gives several examples of how to use Pinterest for research. One example describes a boutique clothing store owner using her personal account to pin clothing she was thinking about putting in her store. The number of re-pins gave her an idea of what might sell and what might not. Genius! Holding a contest on Pinterest is a great opportunity to see which products or ideas are popular. Nancy Messieh has several other ideas for promotion and research:

• Host a contest. Ask followers to pin photos of themselves using your product. The best picture wins a prize.
• If you are considering adding a new product, pin pictures of the new products and ask followers to re-pin their favorites. The number of re-pins gives you an idea of which product might be successful.
• Pin photos of your products and ask users to re-pin their favorites. Then randomly pick a user whose re-pining gained attention. This gives you, the shop owner or business owner, an opportunity to see what gains the most attention.
• If you are in a service industry, ask followers to pin pictures of themselves serving others through ways your group suggests or endorse.  

Like me, you are probably thinking of several more ways Pinterest can be used for crowdsourcing for your company. That's what makes Pinterest so much fun--we have a platform that can be used in so many different ways to support and promote our interests.

What I am learning through blogging about digital technology is that nothing is static--if something stays the same, it will fade away. Digital technology that evolves with its users will be with us for a while.

Beware of the Blob--I mean Blog!

This week I want to blog about blogging. I am new to blogging, and trying to get all my thoughts and details organized is like wrestling a blob. Just when I think I know where my writing is going, it changes into The Blob! Blogging is not new; it has been around since the 1990's--according to New York Magazine the first blog was created in 1994 by Justin Hall, a Swarthmore student. I had thought blogging was a more recent invention! By 1997, Jorn Barger used the work Weblog for logging the Web, but Blog became the word of choice in 1999. In late 1999 Blogger becomes the first popular free blog site. Soon, blogs become one of the most popular forms of self expression on the internet. New York Magazine also included one of the first people, but certainly not the last, fired for something she discussed in her blog--Heather Armstrong has this distinction. Her website is called Dooce and is still up and running. Digressing here (but I think it is important!), last week I wrote about Shae Allen's termination because of what she wrote in her blog. It's interesting to note that Armstrong, on her About page, addresses her experience:  "My advice to you is BE YE NOT SO STUPID." Armstrong goes on to advise that writing about work in a blog should never be attempted unless supervisors and bosses know and give their blessings. No one is as wise as those who have learned from experience!            

Blogging continues to be a popular pastime and career. Yes, there are those out there who blog for a living. Armstrong's inclusion of ads on her blog was so successful her husband was able to quit his job and manage the blog business.  Google's AdSense began in 2003 and still runs strong. Blogging continued to grow in popularity, and in 2004 Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year" was blog. The Huffington Post launched in 2005 as a community of blogs; thousands of unpaid bloggers contributed material. Blogging.org reports that in 2012 the U.S. has at least 42 million blogs, and more than 300 million people read or watch a blog monthly. Eighty-one percent of bloggers will never make $100 from their blogs, but 8% will earn enough to support their family, and 2% will make $150,000 while blogging one to two hours daily. Wouldn't we all like to be in that 2%?

Why do people blog? I'm sure the reasons can be as different as the people who blog, but common sense tells us that people blog because they want to express their opinions or share their knowledge or experiences on a particular topic. Many want a public platform to display their political views or their stance on important topics. Ali Luke tells his readers that bloggers typically fall into seven types:  niche expert, business owner, professional blogger, journal writer, platform-builder, product promoter, and freelancer. I follow several blogs. One Good Thing by Jillee is a good example of a blog that crosses the gamut of Luke's seven types. Jill is a business owner, she is a professional blogger, and she fits into the niche type as her blogs are generally how-to advice. Following her blogs has taught me lots about household tips, but she also talks about going to blogging conventions. She spotlights other bloggers in her blog. One Good Thing by Jillee led me to BlogHer, a platform for many bloggers to share their ideas. BlogHer is an amazing site with blogs for women by women (yes, a few men too!) and they pay for content. For the business owner, blogging is perfect for getting your message to customers and potential customer and for promoting your product. With the ability for readers to share blogs they like, blogging is an easy method to spread the word about you and your business. The journal writers are those bloggers who write in a narrative, often about personal experiences and daily life.Leanne Shirtliffe ~ Ironic Mom's blog fits this category. Her motto is If you can't laugh at yourself, laugh at your kids; all of us who are parents can certainly appreciate finding humor in the daily grind of life. Read her blog Children, Swearing, and the Middle Finger for a good laugh.

Mena Trott and her husband founded Six Apart, a company whose products have enabled people to become online publishers--in other words, bloggers. In her Ted Talk shared here, she discusses writing a personal blog, detailing the ups and downs of every day life. She makes an important point that personal blogs are a record of who we are. As I listened to her, I thought about future archeologists digging and researching into the 21st century. They may find computer fragments and remnants of our trash, but they may also find these written records that show how we lived, how we loved, and how we met our experiences with life and death. Just as we read letters from Civil War soldiers or maybe letters from our grandmother to our grandfather, someday others will read our blogs and know that the human experience is shared--even through the centuries.

I have included statistics and hot links in this blog--not just to show I know how to research but to show you where the research came from. As bloggers we have a responsibility to give quality content. We want to trust the blogs we read; we want to trust that these writers know what they are talking about. If I'm writing about a personal event, I might exaggerate some things (which is OK as it is my story), but if I am giving advice about the stock market, you want to know that I am knowledgeable about financial matters. This leads me to another important point about writing for an audience--we must spell correctly and write grammatically correct sentences. If we are writing in dialect or for effect, that's great, but if our readers see mistake after mistake, our credibility slides and so does our number of readers. I know I sound like an old lady English teacher (that is my background), but we are often judged by how we express ourselves--whether spoken or written.

If you decide to write a blog, don't let the white page scare you. You have to start somewhere, and the best bloggers are those who are passionate about their topics. Share with friends and family or let them "discover" you on their own. Realize that everyone who reads your blog will not agree with you. A local newspaper reporter told me that people won't agree with everything we write, but the fact that they replied or commented means they read our work and cared enough to respond. Disagreement may lead to conversation. So tackle your blob, I mean blog, and see what happens!

 

 

 



Social Media's Impact

You may have noticed a news article in late July about a reporter, Shea Allen, who was fired from WAAY for comments she made in her personal blog. Much has been said about her situation--some believe she  should have been fired and some support her right to express herself on her personal blog. I would like to add my comments to the mix. If you have read my blogs, you know I am a digital immigrant. I love digital technology and fully embrace many aspects of social media. But I also know that I am responsible for all my actions--online and off. You can view Ms. Allen's blog here--Shae Allen Says. In her "about" section, the first item she gives is her job as a reporter for the local television station. Obviously she is proud of her job, but she has forgotten that as the investigative reporter, she is one of the public faces of WAAY. As is the case with many journalists, when people see or hear about a particular journalist, they immediately think of their workplace--the paper, the radio, the television station. In a sense, Allen is part of the brand. As such, the lines between her personal and professional life are blurred. Anything she says or blogs is going to reflect on her personally and professionally. Anything she says or blogs online can affect her relationship with her company.

"Having the right to do something doesn't make it right to do it" is a quote I posted in my classroom. I believe this quote fits the situation with Shea Allen. Yes, she does have the right to say what she wants how she wants, but she is also responsible for what she says or writes. If you look at her blog, she admits to taking "naps in the news car." Do you really want your boss to know you are sleeping while on the clock? The item that probably bothers me the most is her statement about being "frightened" of old people and refusing to work on stories involving them. First this is just rude and disrespectful. According to Alex Trebek, I am an old person, and I don't like her statement. Second, and maybe more important, who does she think is in her viewing audience? In 2010 the average age of the nightly news viewer was 53. Maybe the viewing demographics are different for WAAY, but it seems as if she has just told a good portion of her audience she is frightened of them.

I'm guessing Ms. Allen is a member of the Millennial generation. According to Live Science their best attributes include being open-minded and supportive of equal rights.  As a group, their worst attributes include being more focused on self and material items, and less focused on the community at large. This focus on self may have led to the "I have the right to post anything I like" attitude. This is a true statement. We can say anything we like, but we must also understand that consequences may occur for what we say.

Before social media's popularity it was easier to keep our personal lives separate from our professional lives. Before the popularity of social media, our conversations were not open to the general public. Our interactions were not videoed and viewed by thousands of people. Social media has been blamed for blurring the lines between personal and professional, and that blurred vision can get us in hot water. According to All Twitter "91% Of Employers use Twitter, Facebook And LinkedIn To Screen Job Applicants." Their graph shows that 47% scan social media immediately after receiving an application. Of those surveyed, 69% said they rejected applicants because of what they saw about them on social media sites. All Twitter's information was from a 2011 survey. Just recently I spoke with someone whose sole job was to review  applicants' social media presence. She reported that her company rejected approximately 80% of applicants due to their social media presence. There is a flip side to this; the All Twitter survey also said 68% of the companies surveyed hired applicants because of their social media presence.

So it does matter what we post. Do we showcase our skills, our service to the community, and our professional qualities or do we showcase inappropriate pictures, inappropriate comments, or our lack of communication skills? Deiser and Newton's article in McKinsey Quarterly suggests that leaders need to have a variety of social media skills. Social media is not going away; it will probably change as technology changes, but it is here to stay in some form or another.  Leaders already on the job who are not savvy in social media can be educated in the ways social media can enhance their companies, their brands, and their presence in the world market. Colleges can include social media as part of the educational process--teaching how to effectively use social media for different study areas and how not to use social media. Teaching ethics in conjunction with social media would be useful as well as studying the impact social media has on all of us--personally and professionally.

What Ms. Allen did was not wrong morally, but it was a mistake in judgment. We have all made mistakes in judgment; unfortunately for Ms. Allen, hers was very public and it cost her a job. Whether fair or not, we can be judged by how we treat ourselves and others on social media. I think sometimes we forget how far our reach is.

ARE YOU MOBILE?

You don't know how much you depend on your mobile phone until you don't have it. This spring my Galaxy S3 smart phone was damaged by an over abundance of soy sauce! While waiting for my replacement phone, I had to use an old Kyocera flip phone. There was nothing smart about this phone. To text I had to use the numeric key pad; it was a frustrating week, but I did have use of a phone. My household is much like millions of others; my cell phone is my only house phone. Having to use the Kyocera truly emphasized to me how dependent I am on the services provided by my Galaxy S3. That week also taught be that having a phone that is mobile is a must.

Before I get into the mobile age in which we live, let's reminisce on how far the telephone has evolved. We all know Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the late 1870s; actually he was the first to the patent office!  Massachusetts was the first state with regular telephone lines and in 1878 the first telephone company was formed--Bell Telephone (now AT&T). The first pay phone came about in 1889. You've seen the old movies where the caller had to put the listening device to his or her ear and speak into a separate speaking device--it was clunky but it worked. Telephones evolved to rotary dialing, and in 1941 the first touch-tone system was installed. By the 1970s the cordless phone had made its appearance, and the early 1990s gave rise to the first digital cordless phones. Research into cellular phones began in the late 1940s, with the first portable cell phone used in 1973. Remember those huge bag phones? We all tried to find a way to afford those so we could be "in" but also so we could be mobile. From tin cans connected by a string to walkie-talkies to the smart phone--we digital immigrants have seen quite a revolution and evolution in communication devices.

Today's smart phones are truly smart; they are masters of multi-tasking. My phone can make and receive calls, texts and voicemails, serve as a camera, capture my email, take me to the internet for information or online shopping, and provide me with music, movies, books, social media, newspapers, magazines, pictures, etc. One handy product I can put in my pocket and take anywhere--what could be easier? My smart phone can even take the place of my desktop computer. In fact, Business Insider tells us that in 2011 smart phone sales exceeded personal computer sales for the first time ever. It appears that the digital age is moving quickly to the mobile age--the device must be portable, easy to connect, and give us access to everything.  Globally, mobile phone users (using something like my old Kyocera) still outnumber the smart phone users, but this number changes daily.

 We are changing from sitting at the desktop to reclining in a chair to use our computers.  A 2012 report from the USC Annenberg School predicts the personal desktop computer is on the way out; laptop use will also dwindle. The replacement--tablets. The tablet is a "'lean-back'" device as users sit back to use it. The "'lean forward'" nature of the personal computer makes users go to the desktop and lean over a keyboard. Tablet users take the device wherever they go. The same Business Insider referenced earlier gives statistics to indicate tablet use is steadily rising and even extending through the traditional evening prime time period. Ever use your mobile devices while watching TV?

When I first read this, I was surprised. A tablet replace my desktop and two monitors? Never! However, as I think about this, I see this is probably a realistic prediction. For hard core desktop publishing, bookkeeping, etc. I see the big desktop computer still being used--at least in my case. It's hard to beat the two monitors when designing newsletters, flyers, and other publications. I do like to sit back and use my touch screen laptop for lots of other activities, and it can be connected to another monitor or the smart TV.

When I travel, I really like to take my Galaxy tablet. The tablet has all the bells and whistles of the desktop without the size and weight. If we think about tablets, they are designed for most of our senses: we can hear audio content, see colorful, engaging content, and touch the screen. The tablet contains all the types apps I use on other devices and has a Bluetooth keyboard, so I can work on spreadsheets or blogs. While sitting in a doctor's office I can catch up on the AP news, scan magazine articles, connect with SEC football news, read and reply to email, and play games. This last activity is probably one that many of us think of when we think of the smart phone or the tablet--playing games. That same Business Insider reports shows that game apps have blasted by Nintendo DS sales by hundreds of thousands of downloads or sales since about March of 2011.

I began this blog with the history of the telephone, and I think the tablet has developed in a similar way. Just as we began with the basic big telephone we did also with the early computer. As the telephone evolved, it became smaller, portable, and multi-tasking. The early computer has gone through a loosely similar evolution from the large desktop machine to the laptop to the tablet. Smaller is not always better, but it seems that mobile is. So what's next? Greg Satell cites Kaku's Caveman Law: Whenever there is a conflict between modern technology and the desires or [sic] our primitive ancestors, these primitive desires win each time. Satell believes the next products will be "not only vastly more powerful, but also more natural and eventually disappear altogether." Intriguing thought--devices that will be so ubiquitous we won't even notice them. That reminds me--have you heard about Samsung's new smart watch!!

INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Are you aware of the cluttered state of the internet and the World Wide Web? I am going to add to the clutter with this blog--but I think the statistics and related studies emphasize the effects of the clutter. Aaron Elliott cites a study by LifeHack that shows a typical social media user is exposed to 54,000 words daily; that's only 63% of the information social media users get. Media content comprises the other 37% of information loaded on us daily. Words, pictures, videos, music--think of all the information we are exposed to from social media alone!

A 2011 study, Extracting Value from Chaos, tells us "the world's information is more than doubling every two years."  The study computes how much digital information is generated and copied yearly. Something like 1.8 zettabytes occurred in 2011. This is astonishing information, and I don't even know what a zettabyte is! As it turns out, a zettabyte is one sextillion (that's 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) bytes. Measurements of digital information also include a petabyte (one quadrillion bytes or 1,024 terabytes), a exabyte (1000 petabytes), and a yottabyte (1000 zettabytes). What all this means is we are adding information to the internet in astounding proportions. Think about all the ways we personally and professionally add to the clutter--blogging, social media, news, movies, magazines, company web sites, personal web sites, etc. The Library of Congress apparently sees some of this clutter worth saving; the Library has plans to archive the 400 million tweets that Americans produce each day. As a digital immigrant who loves technology, I find these numbers mind-boggling--400 million tweets daily! And when we think of all the inane tweets we receive--why would anyone want to collect these!

I don't know how to solve the problem of internet clutter, but I do know that too much information can be debilitating on us. Information overload is not a new problem; the term was coined in 1970 by Alvin Toffler. But the amount of information we are subjected to today has grown tremendously. Think about the amount of email we receive daily, the YouTube videos we watch, the social media we use--this may be just the personal data to which we are exposed. Now think about the work-related data we use--reports, web pages, social media, research, etc. It's no wonder information overload can add to our stress. A Reuters study found that 2/3 of managers surveyed found information overload contributed to dissatisfaction with their jobs or negatively affected their personal relationships; one-third of those surveyed thought data overload affected their health.

 

Email overload is easy to experience, as I well know. I receive 150+ emails daily, and I generally work to move them out of my inbox. Merlin Mann (Inbox Zero) gives an interesting Google Tech Talk about how to better manage the email inbox. Mann points out that we need to take care of email immediately--delete, delegate, respond, defer, do. Before I ever watched this video, I began to take actions similar to what Mann suggests. I use Outlook so I can set the program to check for email every hour; some days I extend that to two hours. This alleviates stress for me as I am not anxious about checking every email as it arrives individually. I do not clean out my email as thoroughly as Mann suggests as I do need to see past emails in a conversation, or I need to show that I did send the right information to someone. I sort emails into folders and subfolders and delete several times a day. I suspect many of us are email hoarders, but filing and deleting when possible helps reduce my stress.

Another segment of digital technology that adds to information overload is social media. Facebook, in particular, allows me to stay in touch with former students, friends who live in other areas, and family. I also have a business Facebook page that posts safety articles for cheer coaches and class postings. I am not a Facebook addict and do not personally post often. I only use Twitter for business. I am not a Twitter fan, nor do I feel the need to let everyone know my every move.  I know concerns exist about the negative effects of too much social media. Kross, et al. studied the influence Facebook has on subjective well-being in young adults. Their research shows that the more young adults used Facebook, the more their "life satisfaction levels" dropped. As we connect online, are we disconnecting with people in real life. Before texting, we actually called people to see how they are or just to chat. Convenience has taken the place of real conversations.

Information overload can make us feel stressed; stress can reduce our effectiveness in our personal relationships and our work relationships. Taking a social media break for a few days is a good idea--maybe start with one day if you are anxious about the length of the break! Can we give it up for a day or two? Ignore email on the weekend; turn off the computer or ignore the phone's icon for email. How liberating to know we don't have to check updates, postings, and emails! During the work day, take a few breaks away from the books, reports, or monitors. Look out the window, talk with a co-worker about the weather, breathe deeply and close your eyes. We need these breaks to give our minds a rest.

We talk about overuse injuries in sports, and I think a correlation can be made with the information overload syndrome. Just as we treat overuse injuries with rest and breaks from training or playing, let's take breaks from information exposure. The information will be there when we return.

The Only Constant Is Change

Blogging is an excellent way to offer opinions, give advice, and learn from those who comment. I have an interest in crisis communications and strategic communications, probably resulting from my work in the cheerleading industry. I develop training manuals and facilitate instruction for cheer coaches in safety and risk management. I also live in a town that was devastated by a tornado a few years ago. I understand the importance of being prepared for a crisis and the importance of preparing for handling the aftermath of a crisis—whether related to weather or injuries or organizational mishaps.

This blog will peruse areas in strategic communications, emerging media, and related topics of communication. I plan to post weekly and will meander through different topics as they deal with communication. I encourage readers to post your thoughts in a polite manner—whether you agree or object!

This week I have read a variety of articles dealing with social media and the print media. Much has been written lately about the demise of print newspapers. Newspapers have a long and meaningful history. My generation can remember headlines whose words changed our lives--KENNEDY IS KILLED BY SNIPER AS HE RIDES IN CAR IN DALLAS, Saigon Surrenders To Reds, MARTIN LUTHER KING IS SLAIN IN MEMPHIS and Terror Hits Pentagon, World Trade Center. Newspapers give us a one-stop-shop for coupons, ads from our favorite grocery stores and clothing stores, editorials, and articles covering local, national, and international news. There was a time we believed what we read in the newspaper.

I remember my dad reading the morning and evening papers. I was a fan of print newspapers until a few years ago. I think the newsprint on my hands and stacks of papers had something to do with my dropping the paper subscriptions, but accessing newspapers online has much more to do with my leaving the printed newspaper. I am now a headline scanner--I look through the headlines for the news. If a headline grabs my attention, I'll read the article. I don't need the entire paper. No more stacks, no more ink on my fingers. Apparently I am not the only person to gravitate to digital papers.

 Will Bunch, a blogger for philly.com, discusses the  "de-newspaperization of America." The number of newspaper readers is decreasing daily. This is occurring across the country--not just in the big cities. Many blame the digital age and the free access of online news.A Pew study reported that in their survey, half of Americans get their news digitally. The number of people who had read a newspaper the day before had dropped by half since 2000. With the options available to us today, it is not surprising to see these numbers. What was surprising to me was that, according to this same study, more people are relying on social media as their supplier of news. What? Who finds news in social media? Maybe my definition of news is difference from others, but as I reviewed my Facebook page this morning, I saw little that qualified as news. I found entertainment, updates from friends, and those useless requests for games, but no news! It is not surprising that young people are not consumer of traditional news; they like the latest updates about famous people and sports but not politics and other traditional news items.

Some cite the popularity of tablets and smart phones as contributing to the demise of newspapers, and this makes sense when looking at the increased sales of tablets and phones. I own two android tablets (one is strictly for grandchildren use!) and an android smart phone. I find the ease of use and convenience contributing to my turning to digital means of finding the latest news. As I said, I have become a headline scanner and several apps make it easy for me to find only the articles that interest me. Flipboard allows me to personalize which newspapers and magazines I want to include in my "library" of choices. Pulse is another app that lets me choose which blogs, newspapers, magazines, and social networks I want in one place. Both of these apps are free. I can see how difficult it is to compete against digital programs that are free and provide the same service (or better) than a print newspaper or print magazine.

Print newspapers and print magazines are not the only industries to see a downward slide--the book publishing industry is impacted by digital innovations. Joseph Esposito's blog, An Industry Pining for Bookstores, talks about the disappearance of the local bookstore and that impact on publishers. I, too, love bookstores. Nothing is better that walking through Barnes & Noble touching the books and picking one up to scan through. Their graphic displays and huge assortments of all types of books are appealing, but I will admit I have moved to eBooks--almost totally for my reading. Again, the convenience of having all my books on a digital device is appealing--no more stacks of books gathering dust. Using my tablet I can read anywhere--waiting in a doctor's office, standing in line at the back, or flying to a conference.  Unfortunately for publishers and bookstores, the Kindle and the Nook have risen in popularity. Esposito believes that Amazon's growing dominance in eBooks and e Readers is a worry for every publisher. I don't need a physical book store now; I simply go online, choose a book, pay, and download. What could be easier? It appears that Esposito foresees the demise of bookstores and what that may mean for book sellers.

What the newspaper industry, the magazine industry, and the book publishing industry are experiencing is a changing world and changing patterns of reading. Yes, the digital age is a major factor in this change; however, many believe it is a reluctance to change that has been the driver. Publishing has finally accepted they are in a changing world. Those who adapt to change now and plan for change as technology advances will see a brighter future. Change is constant; those who prepare for it and plan for it will be the winners.   

Women and Leadership

I belong to several groups in Linkedin; the Professional Women’sNetwork is one I enjoy visiting often. A recent discussion revolved around this statement:  "My biggest struggle as a Professional woman is ___." Members of the group are asked to fill in the blank. The replies and comments were some that I expected and have experienced myself. I was disappointed that since my professional career began almost 40 years ago, not much has changed. A common thread was choices and priorities—having to choose between family and job. Sheryl Sandberg, in a TED Talk, mentions this same concern; women “face harder choices.” Making these choices is very difficult, but many of the Linkedin commenters said finding a balance is the key.

A second concern mentioned several times was the inequity of the corporate world as it applies to promotions, salaries, and opportunities.  Sandberg says the percentage of women in the corporate world who hold C-level jobs or board seats is about 15% to 16%. I encountered this in the beginning of my professional career and see that it is still a concern for women of the 21^st century.

John Maeda and Becky Bermont have a leadership design that compares traditional leadership with creative leadership. Creative leadership is characterized by being interactive, improvising when appropriate, learning from mistakes and taking risks. Their traditional leadership is characterized by one way action with others, following the manual, avoiding mistakes, and sustaining order. The creative leadership descriptors are more open, more about thinking out of the box, but both genders can fit into either set of descriptions.

Let’s break out of the kind of thinking that limits our choices for leaders and holds us back as we apply for those positions ourselves. I have six granddaughters ranging in age from 13 down to two. All six are energetic, active children who enjoy all kinds of activities. Their parents and grandparents encourage them to be the best at whatever they try to do. We also tell them they can be or do whatever they wish when they grow up. My dream is that they find many doors open to them—doors open based on their abilities—not their gender.

When in doubt, sit it out--Concussion Awareness Campaigns

Cheerleading injuries have often made the headlines; however, few epidemiological studies that correctly use participation and exposure data have been conducted to give a detailed analysis that accurately reports injuries and provides data to minimize risk. That has now changed as Nationwide Children's Hospital conducts such studies for most high school sports, including cheerleading. These studies, along with others, highlight areas of concern--those types of injuries that statistically indicate more needs to be done to promote awareness and prevention. Concussion, a type of traumatic brain injury, is a health concern that has dominated the news for the past few years. One study reports that concussions account for 15% of injuries in high school sports. The effects of concussion injuries can be long lasting and life changing. Groups from all sports, including cheerleading, have called for better attention to concussion awareness. This has led to concussion awareness campaigns that cross all sports' boundaries. With the participation of parent groups, state athletic boards, safety groups, and medical professionals, the awareness campaigns have enabled coaches, parents, and athletes to be prepared to know signs and symptoms of concussion, danger signs of concussion, how to get help, and what to expect in return to play policies.

While I cannot give the financial costs of the various awareness campaigns or the different campaign plans launched, I can detail some of the methods used to promote awareness. After middle schooler Zackery Lystedt was severely injured in a football game, his parents, state representative Jay Rodne, and other interested groups campaigned for stricter guidelines concerning sports-related concussions. In 2009, three years after Lystedt's injury, the state of Washington (the first state to enact such a law) enacted the Zackery Lystedt Law which mandated specific concussion policies for youth and school sports. The law includes the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association in the development of educational information and policies. Since then, forty-two other states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar laws. In my home state of Alabama, the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) has a concussion policy that requires any athlete removed from play due to suspected concussion injury cannot return to play until released by a medical doctor. The AHSAA website also has other information pertinent to concussions free to anyone.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has collaborated with over 26 groups to develop their "Heads Up:  Concussion" educational training. What makes the CDC's efforts heartening is that they have information geared toward athletes, parents, teachers, and physicians. They provide free educational material, promotional material, videos, podcasts, and radio public service announcements. They provide a free online training course for those involved in youth sports in which anyone can participate. You even get a certificate for passing the course.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) teamed up with the CDC to provide quality information and education for coaches, parents, students, and officials on the topic of concussion safety. Their course is free and provides information on the effects of concussion injury, recognizing the signs and symptoms of concussions, protocols to follow and return to play procedures.

 The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches & Administrators (AACCA) is another one of those groups collaborating with the CDC for concussion safety awareness. AACCA offers safety training for cheer coaches online and in classroom settings. AACCA is also in the forefront in making safety guidelines and supporting research in injury prevention. AACCA joined the "Heads Up" campaign to promote concussion awareness. AACCA produced cards with adhesive backs so coaches could put these on clipboards, notebooks, etc. The card, shown at the left, gives the signs of a concussion which can be observed by a coach and the symptoms that may be reported by the athlete. The card also gives an action plan for the coach and a place to list important phone numbers that may be needed if an injury occurs. The card says, "It's better to miss one game than the whole season." These cards are distributed to coaches at summer camps, workshops, when participating in AACCA or NCSSE courses and at competitions. AACCA's website offers concussion management information and return to play protocol with downloads and additional resources hot linked to their respective pages.

The concussion awareness campaigns all have similar features that help make the campaigns relevant and useful. They appeal to several important groups--not just coaches or parents.  Much work has been done to make the individual athlete knowledgeable and responsible for his or her own safety. Athletes are given information that emphasizes the concerns related to concussions--this is a brain injury. The athlete is encouraged to report signs or symptoms of injury to responsible adults. The athlete is given information that emphasizes how harmful concussions can be--not just for now but for a lifetime--so they understand the importance of reporting how they feel. This information also encourages friends of injured athletes to talk with an adult if they suspect a concussion. Parents have an opportunity to access information that is easy to understand and not loaded with medical terms. Parents are encouraged to know the warning signs of a concussion injury and are given the steps for what to do next. Much of the information available encourages parents to find medical practitioners who are specially trained in neurology. Parents are informed of the importance of following return to play policies and the risks of additional head injuries. Coaches are given all of the information listed above and guidelines from their state associations. In states with specific concussion guidelines, coaches are required to take a concussion safety course. School teachers have been included in concussion awareness campaigns as students suffering from moderate to severe concussion may have problems with memory, reasoning, communicating, and other functions associated with school work.

All of us concerned with an athlete's safety should understand that the brain needs time to heal after a concussion. Ignoring the signs or doing too much too soon can cause more problems. The awareness campaigns have contributed much to the understanding of concussions and the importance of reporting any signs to a responsible adult. The days of joking about "he got his bell rung" are long gone. We all have a responsibility to work to keep our athletes safe. It is gratifying to see so many groups join in concussion awareness campaigns. Safer sports mean safer athletes.

Crisis Communication Planning

My interest in crisis communication stems from my work with cheerleading safety. When I think of crisis as related to cheerleading, my early thoughts were of catastrophic injury, but my definition through the years has expanded to such crises as inappropriate behavior of coaches, cheerleaders, and parents as well as other major problems that affect cheer programs. My interest in crisis communication has grown to include disasters that severely impact communities such as weather disasters, chemical disasters, etc. All of these situations need a crisis communications plan--a plan that details who, what, when, and where as it pertains to the individual disaster or crisis.  In my experience with cheer gyms and programs, very few are prepared to handle the communications needed during a crisis. I am probably safe in saying few small businesses are prepared to do the same.

My interest in crisis communications and helping communities has led to my participating in CERT--Community Emergency Response Team. CERT training helps citizens become better prepared to respond to disasters through education, training and volunteer service. I also sit on the board of the Recovery Organization of Coffee County (ROCC). ROCC is a type of VOAD (Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster), a group whose job is to assist in coordinating voluntary relief efforts in times of disaster. Without VOAD groups, assistance to survivors of disasters might be haphazard and of little help. You can imagine the chaos that would ensue if these groups had no crisis communication plans.

Recently I completed FEMA course G288--Local Volunteer and Donations Management. Almost every unit of the manual devoted some space to communications. Social media was discussed in great detail as being an aid to crisis communications and as being a hindrance. In FEMA's publication, Social Media Strategy: Virtual Social Media Working Group, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate emphasizes the importance of social media:  ". . .it helps to facilitate the vital two-way communication between emergency management agencies and the public, and it allows us to quickly and specifically share information with state and local governments as well as the public." After Hurricane Sandy, FEMA published Lessons Learned--Social Media and Hurricane Sandy: Virtual Social Media Working Group. This publication details multiple uses of social media by government agencies and private groups. Collaboration with a variety of agencies allowed for centralization of information and sharing of information, social media allowed the media to provide information to the public and to gather information from the public, social media enabled rumors to run rampant but also helped to give space to controlling rumors.

If it is possible before a disaster is declared, vital communications should take place--what are the evacuation routes, where are the locations of shelters, what family needs should be taken care of (cash, medicine, diapers, formula, water, pet food, etc.), and other relevant messages. These messages should be delivered through traditional means (radio, television, newspaper) if time allows and also through social media. Local EMA Facebook and website pages should contain this information; city governments' websites and Facebook pages should also have this information. Friends and family may use Twitter, Facebook, and texting to relay information to their loved ones. Pre-disaster information is valuable in keeping people safe and in enabling citizens to prepare. It is important that those groups who issue the pre-disaster communications have a plan in place and practice for the next disaster. Reviewing and revising those plans should be a regular exercise. Continual monitoring of social media is important as information changes.

After the disaster, communication is necessary to assist people in responding and recovering. Most of our communities are ready to help our neighbors and even respond to help other communities close by or in another state. We volunteer our assistance for a variety of reasons:  genuinely want to help, have survived a similar incidence, or want to be part of a larger cause. We donate to causes for similar reasons, but we may have selfish reasons to donate--seeking a tax break or ridding our homes of excess goods. Communications directed to volunteer efforts and donation efforts can greatly assist local EMAs and VOAD groups. This is an opportunity to educate the public (that truly wants to help) what volunteer help is needed and where donations will be collected. In the FEMA course G288 I learned that financial donations to reputable volunteer organizations are the best method of giving to the recovery effort. Some people see disaster donations as a way to clean out their closets and get rid of their clutter. The last thing a disaster victim needs is someone's used clothing or broken/used furniture or appliances. During the class everyone had a story of really useless things donated to a recovery effort and the reactions of folks when their "treasures" were rejected. Reputable voluntary organizations have experience in disaster recovery, and they know what is needed. Financial contributions allow the voluntary organizations to purchase items needed locally, thereby assisting the local economy. This makes so much sense. Donated items must be packed, labeled, and transported to a distribution center--costing valuable time and money.

Communications in the responding and recovery phase related to volunteers and donations should clearly state where donations can be made, where volunteers should go to register for disaster work, and what type of assistance is needed. Social media is very useful to get these messages to the public. Websites, Twitter, and Facebook are useful as they give an opportunity for two-way communication; questions can be answered, rumors squashed, and updates posted. These communications should be coordinated with all groups involved--local government officials, the media, and EMA should all have much the same information. The mayor should be giving the same donation and volunteer information as the VOAD or the Red Cross. Monitoring the various social media sites will help ensure the messages are correct, consistent and updated.

Planning communications before a disaster occurs gives groups the time to compose messages that educate and detail what needs to be communicated. Having templates set up for a variety of disasters may make communications a bit easier or at least give you a head start. We can't prepare for everything, but we can prepare for incidents that are typical for our area.

SIGN SIGN EVERYWHERE A SIGN

Sign Sign everywhere a sign

Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind

Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign

This song by the 5 Man Electric Band relays what many of us think about the proliferation of advertising. Advertising is everywhere—signs on the fence at baseball fields, billboards dotting the highways, buses, race cars and pop-up advertising on websites. Advertising extends to branding college bowl games with the Capital One Bowl (formerly the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl), the Chick-fil-A Bowl (formerly the Peach Bowl), the Allstate Sugar Bowl (formerly Sugar Bowl which is played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome). You can see the clever advertising angles here. What else is fair game for an advertising medium? Will we one day brand hurricanes, stars in the sky, newly found planets, etc.? 

In the current digital age, advertising has taken on new forms and means of reaching an audience, even a specific segment of an audience. Search advertising and digital display advertising are the top two forms of digital advertising, according to The State of the News Media 2013. This report predicts that by 2016, digital display advertising will be the top form of digital advertising. No surprise as to which search company leads in digital advertising—Google. Tibken, a writer for CNET News, reports that in the first half of 2012, Google made more money than all U.S. print media combined—at least $20.8 billion. To be fair, Google is a world-wide entity, but these numbers surely stand out as a testament to the popularity of digital advertising. An eMarketer report said that digital global advertising spending as a whole topped $100 billion in 2012 and predicts the next few years will see much growth.

From my readings and research I have learned that about 40% to 50% of adults own a smart phone. Those of us who do are familiar with some form digital advertising through the phone.  My WSFA weather app has banner advertising at the top that changes every time I open the app. My AP mobile app has banner advertising at the bottom. As noisome as these may be, we learn to live with them; they are part of the digital landscape. Smart phones have given advertisers a new frontier—location-based advertising. Our phones are mobile; they go with us from location to location. Why not have advertising that also goes from location to location—ads change to fit our surroundings. Adfonic’s Geo-location White Paper uses the terms geo-targeting, meaning a “geographically recognised region, such as a State or city” and ringfencing which is the ability to direct ads bases on a specific location such as retail outlet or hotel chain.  Many of us have used our phone’s navigation apps. We know we must turn on the GPS signal of our phone in order for the navigation app to locate the phone and direct us to our destination. On a recent trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, I found location-based ads appeared on several of my phone’s apps along with coupons for tourist attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Groupon, LivingSocial, and many other apps direct specials and coupons to our phones directed by our location.

Lauren Hockenson article, “Bright Lights, Big City,” has an overview of the latest in digital display options.  One of the coolest digital displays available are the displays that resemble a hologram—a virtual assistant display. Several of these are already in use at airports in Washington, D. C., Dubai, and Edinburgh. Tensator’s Virtual Assistants can be located in airports to assist passengers, retail locations to build sales, or anywhere to assist with information, guidance or purchase ideas. They speak any language, and motion sensors can be integrated so that the assistants are not continually repeating a message. Tensator says their Virtual Assistant is “completely customizable.” This brings audience entertainment as well as information--increasing sales and foot traffic. Casio has a Virtual Presenter that is described as an interactive display that is also “completely customizable.” Casio’s Virtual Presenter will run for almost ten years without taking a break! Wow! The uses for these virtual assistants seem unlimited.  

 Another type of digital display is one found on street corners—an intelligent lamppost. The developer of the lamppost, Ron Harwood, worked at Disney before developing his intelligent lamppost. Intellistreets is a lamppost with built-in signage and has the capability to alert passersby to possible safety concerns or directions. The lamppost has a camera and a microphone to sense problems in the area. The lamppost can play music, announcements, count pedestrian traffic, and, yes, it offers street lighting. Cities can install these not only to assist citizens, but also to sell advertising. There is some controversy about these being a "Big Brother" tool, but Howard says, "If you look at all the city services that could be accomplished wirelessly and all the budgets that are being accomplished to do these things, including gunshot detection and traffic cameras, we are layering costs that Intellistreets solves with one unit." These innovations take digital displays to new hieghts, and they offer an amazing technology.

I don’t know that anyone can predict where this technology will go in the next few years, but it is clear that our world has embraced digital technology and digital advertising. Remember our first mobile phones—those huge bag phones we lugged around? We thought those were the best invention! Now we use our smart phones as our mobile laptop computer. Personally, I can’t wait to see what’s next in the digital world!