Prediction…
24 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: ebooks, Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Pottermore
I’m going to go WAY out on a limb here and predict that Pottermore, the latest brainchild of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is going to be a HUGE success and forever change the way we think about ebooks and marketing.
Bumping: Now I have heard it all!
01 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: apps, bumping, contact information, iphones, Media Psychology, new technology
It just came to my attention yesterday that there is an app that allows you to bump cell phones in order to exchange various information. There are a few caveats of course, but still. Am I TOTALLY out of touch here? Have you heard of this?
When this first came to my attention I was absolutely dumbfounded by it. It just seemed so improbable – so illogical – so IMPOSSIBLE! But my curiousity got the better of me and I began to research. Here’s what I discovered:
This technology was originally designed to allow you to exchange contact information with another user of the app. Okay, I get that. I mean, honestly. How many times have you wanted to enter someone’s contact information into your phone and fumbled for it in the bottom of your purse, only to continue fumbling in finding where to enter new contact information, only to have to ask the person to repeat their number multiple times because your non-nimble fingers hit incorrect keys. Am I the only one who has lost touch with an acquaintance or not been able to follow up with someone simply because the task of entering contact information into their phone was just too damn difficult?
The app has continued to develop to a level where you can now exchange apps, music, etc. as well as contact information. The user you want to bump must also have the app on their phone. Additionally, you have to choose the information you want to share or confirm that you want to receive information from someone who has bumped you. You still with me here?
This subject came up in mixed company and you can imagine the jokes tossed around over this one. My comment of course was, “Can you at least take me out to dinner before we bump?” And while, yes, I can see some benfits to this, the concept still blows my mind. How can information that I have to go searching for jump from my phone to yours with truly just a light fist bump? You don’t actually even have to bump phones. You just have to be nearby.
But this process seems rife with potential troubles to me. How do you not spread viruses (both computer versions as well as the real thing – eek!). How can you be sure that you are only sending the information that you want? And isn’t there still a risk that artists, musicians, writers and program developers are getting ripped off in this deal somehow?
I don’t know. It just seems that the technological world gets curiouser and curiouser.
Sign of the Times – Gaga Style
17 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: 1 billion You Tube views, 1 million followers, 10 million fans, Facebook, Lady Gaga, music, new media, Twitter, You Tube
A new milestone has been reached in social media land – Lady Gaga is the first person to reach the 10 million followers mark on Twitter. She was also the first celeb to log 10 million fans on Facebook and….get this…1 BILLION views on YouTube!
As someone who is making my living trying to understand this communication landscape known as social media, I must give Gaga props. She is obviously doing something right. She understands the power of this medium and she knows how to capitalize on it. And I even like most of her music.
And yet….in another place and time, this type of schtick – the outrageous costumes and makeup, bizarre antics like showing up to the Grammy’s in an egg – would most likely have been relegated to the pile of gimmicky wannabes and maybe an episode of The Gong Show. Today, however, this self invented sideshow has become a queen of all new media. And I simply cannot help but wonder what issues could have been solved, disease cures could have been found, how much closer to an end to world hunger we could be if we had the time and energy back and bottled that it took to view Lady Gaga a billion times on YouTube. Hmmmm……
Does our Reliance on Computers Impact our Self Esteem?
09 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
At first it was just a barely noticeable flicker. Then you became aware that something was definitely wrong. And then, with a “ker-thunk”, all the lights went out, the computer screen went dark and there was only silence.
This unexplained power outage occured at my office this morning. The power was off for
about 15 minutes. As all of our cell phones were still alive, we were able to contact the outside world and determine that there was an outage across much of the area. And since my office is one of the few with windows, everyone gathered around my conference table just looking at one another, wondering what to do next.
One person insisted it was probably a terrorist attack. Another that the light bill must not have been paid on time. I asked if we could invoke the fifteen minute rule and leave for the day if the lights didn’t come back on. But joking or not, we were all rendered useless when the electricity went off and our computers went down.
Have we become too reliant on computers? Since the answer to that question is a resounding yes and yet we have the lost the battle to do anything about it, we might as well move on to another question for discussion.
Is being so reliant on a machine damaging our self esteem? We are no longer the can-do, get the job done people of old. We are tied with a power cord to these plastic boxes (as Charlie Sheen called them in a recent rant). Are we capable of doing work without a computer, email, and the attached bells and whistles? If for some reason all the computers in the world were to vanish tomorrow, would we be able to adapt?
I admit, I breathed a sigh of relief when the lights came back on and my computer began its familiar rebooting hum. But then I was forced to think twice when I realized how sad it was that I wasted 15 minutes just because of a box.
Where has this guy been all my life?
22 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: marketing, media, Media Psychology, Seth Godin
I have just discovered Seth Godin. Some say he is the world’s greatest marketer. Some say he is just a really good pitch man. And I say “How have I managed to not know about this guy? Was I living under a rock?”
Sure his name rang a bell. I’d heard it somewhere. But in preparing for a webinar I am cyber attending this afternoon, an article by Godin was forwarded to me and I was intrigued – no, riveted is more the word. So many of our marketing tools and ideas are so rooted in the past that it is difficult to catch up. A breath of marketing fresh air is long overdue. I’m looking forward to exploring his ideas and seeing if they resonate.
How does this relate to media and the psychology of it? This guy is championing the distribution and consumption of media in ways that are most likely going to change the way we ALL think about it – and I predict it will be sooner rather than later.
Will Michelle Obama let her kids use Everloop?
15 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
Michelle Obama recently noted in an interview that although her girls are not allowed to use Facebook for security purposes, even if they could she wouldn’t allow it. Good for her! Politics aside, this is the right move. Children are NOT mature enough to deal with the issues and images that can pop up at any time on Facebook. However, Mashable has an article today on the purportedly kid friendly alternative to Facebook – Everloop. It has been determined to be COPPA compliant (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) and will be closely monitored. Due to the COPPA seal of approval, its use will be allowed in schools (although why an elementary school needs a social networking site to utilize is beyond me – isn’t elementary school by its very nature an experiment in social networking -in person!) and they have attracted investors and sponsors from a wide variety of sources.
For me, the verdict is still out on this one. Sadly, where there is a will there is a way to abuse the system, no matter how many safety mechanisms are in place. Like Michelle, I don’t let my children use Facebook either. But I’m not really sure I want them using Everloop. Can’t they just invite a friend over to play instead? Acthttp://mashable.com/2011/02/15/everloop/
