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.

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.

Social Media Monitoring and Listening

This picture shows my command center--my work station. I enjoy having two monitors, and I can't imagine going back to just one. The two monitors allow me to work on one screen while the other displays information--such as recent tweets or Facebook posts to my work-related pages. In the world of social media and instant communications, it is very important to know what is being posted on our websites, and what others are saying about us. Our website is our online persona; if we don't protect that persona, we will lose our reputation and our customers or clients. In the spirit industry we have many small business owners whose gyms are their livelihood. Negative comments made on Facebook and Twitter can damage their business. How we handle those comments will have a major impact on our business in the future. "Corporate Facebook pages: when fans attack" discusses Nestlé's online reaction to fans who questioned their apparent lack of concern over their impact on the environment. After Greenpeace posted a video on Nestlé’s Facebook page which attacked their harming the rainforest while harvesting palm oil, Nestlé’s approach was to remove the video. Greenpeace launched a campaign to oppose Nestlé using a social media platform and email. Nestlé chose censorship to respond to much of the Facebook postings. When responding, their Facebook manager used sarcastic and inappropriate comments to respond to posters. Of course, this made matters worse. The dispute was picked up by news media—compounding Nestlé’s negative publicity.

Managing our online presence also means being prepared for the worst. We know that social media is an open platform—anyone can friend us or follow us and post freely. Small flames that are handled inappropriately can turn into wildfires. Professional and non-threatening responses are required. Having someone in place to monitor business Facebook pages and Twitter posts is a necessity. This may be the gym owner in a small business or a team of specialists in the corporate world. Tracking how your business is mentioned online is another method to spot potential problems. An easy way to do this is to use Google Alerts. I use Google Alerts to fetch articles about cheer safety, cheer coaches, and safety training. This is an easy way to find articles that mention your business without actually having to search for them yourself. This is also a great way to keep an eye on industry trends.

If a social media crisis appears to be in the making, act quickly and responsibly to handle the rude or abusive postings. It is a good idea to have a variety of responses planned beforehand for a variety of situations. Facebook is set up to encourage two-way conversations. Join the conversation to respond to the dissatisfied or abusive posters—again, use mature, appropriate language. Always keep in mind you represent the business. Apologies show the business is taking responsibility—even if the company is not directly culpable. Use Facebook to explain how the situation in question will be fixed and what steps are in place to prevent this happening again. A last step would be to move on. Send those who complain to another site and try to return to normal conversations on the Facebook page. None of us want to spend weeks rehashing mistakes. If Nestlé had followed these steps immediately upon noticing the negative posts, they would have greatly reduced their negative publicity.

Possibly, at the heart of Nestlé’s social media crisis was their inability or refusal to listen to their public. Whether we agree with our critics or not, listening to them is important. In fact, listening should be at the top of our communication check list. According to John A. Kline’s book, Listening Effectively, we spend 45% of our communication activity listening. Think about this—almost half of our communication time is spent listening. We take public speaking courses and composition courses but no formal time to learn how to be better listeners. Many people have the mistaken notion that hearing is the same as listening—wrong! Hearing is just receiving the sound; listening is an active and ongoing mental process. I must confess I have not always been a good listener and still have to pull my attention back to conversations, sermons or lectures. I know the importance of listening as a coach. If my cheerleaders did not listen to instruction properly, the stunt they build may fail and result in injuries. In some jobs good listening skills can be the difference in life or death—the military, air traffic controllers, law enforcement.

Twenty-seven months ago my husband passed away. Slogging my way through grief taught me several valuable life lessons. Early in grief I discovered I had no one to listen to me; I had lost my number 1 cheerleader. I had no one to tell my hurts, my small joys, my problems. After forming a grief group with other widows, we learned we all shared this same sense of loss—we had no one to really listen to us. As we journeyed through a grief study, we practiced “holy listening.” We worked in groups of two—one person speaking and the other listening. The listener could not interrupt or comment. The listener was to actively listen; this included suitable body language and eye contact. This taught me that too many times when I thought I was listening, I was not. In my mind I was composing responses or maybe even drifting away. My grief group now hosts lunches for widows in our church. I find myself using holy listening quite a bit as these women also have lost their partners, their No. 1 cheerleaders, and have no one to listen to them.

We all need someone to listen to us; we all need to develop better listening skills. While important in interpersonal communication, this is so important on the job. If we truly listen to our publics, we may be able to solve problems before they grow out of control; we may be able to regain trust that was lost. I often receive phone calls from frustrated coaches and parents. I now listen actively to their side of the story—without interrupting or interjecting comments. They often apologize for taking so much of my time, but they also tell me they just needed someone to listen—someone who understood.

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