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.