Strategically Communicating

On Saturday night I watched a documentary on NBC about Facebook and how Facebook where it’s going. The documentary discussed how Facebook has changed the way people communicate and function as a society. The likes, dislikes, and all opinions about Facebook were shared. This program had interviews with the founders of Facebook, addressed the issues brought up in the movie “The Social Network” as well as privacy issues that have recently become prevalent. I found it very interesting to look at how big a part of society Facebook has become and that one in about 12 people and are on Facebook. Facebook has become part of many companies and fortune 500 companies. Companies are realizing that in order to connect with many publics they are needing to be connected on Facebook and through Facebook they are also able to connect with many specified groups through advertising and the various demographic specifications help the targeted advertising.

The documentary also brought up where Facebook is heading and how society is seriously changing due to social media. They said that Facebook is changing the way the web works and that Facebook is becoming the new infrastructure of the web.

If anyone gets the chance to watch this documentary they should check it out. It was very interesting to see how in such a short time Facebook has changed the way we as a society interact, the way the web is designed and the way people are targeted for advertising and the way people find advertising. It will be interesting to see the way that our world changes because of Facebook.

Do you ever go through your “friends” on Facebook and ask yourself, “How do I know this person?” A lot of people have over 500 friends, and some people even reach up to 2,000! This makes us question our true intentions on the social networking site. Why do we need to have this many connections, and are these people truly our friends? The world of Facebook can be a scary place, and it is even more frightening to think that people MEET each other via Facebook.

In the chilling documentary, Catfish, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost begin filming Ariel’s brother, Nev, as he begins a friendship with a woman that he met on Facebook. He begins to manage connections with her entire family and friend network, but as the truth begins to unravel, things get a little scary.

After watching the movie, I couldn’t stop thinking about the ugly truth behind people’s intentions when they are online. As we move into an era that revolves so heavily around the Internet and social networking sites, we as Americans must constantly have our guard up and not allow ourselves to succumb to the trickery.

If all of this is happening right now, what will the future of social media be? How can we ensure that we are safe when we log into a computer and communicate with a “profile” of someone else? This is a scary world that we live in, and as the Internet becomes even more prevalent in society, our problems are only going to get worse.

Hey guys, American Express is holding a social media competition on our campus this week. Students will compete in developing a social media campaign for American Express’s new product by presenting a campaign pitch to a panel of judges. The competition could lead to networking opportunities and a cash prize. The winning team will receive $1,500, and if American Express decides to use the ideas from the winning team, the team will be sent to AMA headquarters in New York to attend a strategy meeting with the company. American Express is holding an information meeting this Monday TBA on campus where groups of 1-4 people can sign up.

As college students, we are all familiar with the “drunk text” on any given weekend night. They could be obnoxious rants to your friends, an embarrassing message to your boss, or even the classic booty call. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an app to prevent this drunken mayhem? Well Samantha Deeter certainly thought so. By contacting an app development company she was able to create an IPhone app that uses games to prevent people from sending drunk texts. The IPhone user creates a list of “forbidden” people that would most likely receive a text when the user is drunk. When the user attempts to drunk text these people, the IPhone will automatically force the user to play a series of four games in order to send the message. If the games don’t work as expected, 12 hours later, the IPhone will ask if the user still wants to send the message to that person. You also have the ability to set reminders explaining why you don’t want to drunk text this person. This app will be 99 cents, and will become available on the Android, if it is successful on the IPhone.

I am constantly trying to figure out how my peers are always so up to date with what is going on in the PR and Advertising world, but I have finally found my way in. I found my piece of online treasure that can keep me connected with everything new and interesting in the advertising world. As I read the new, and forward thinking ways in the advertising world, I feel so, well, hip. My question is how can more people get connected with these informational and extremely interesting blogs. For those that do not spend numerous hours surfing the web, or don’t have numerous hours to surf the web to discover the perfect blog to follow, how do we as an online society begin to endorse and spread the word about ground breaking and exciting forums. Are blogs here to stay, or like many online platforms, will the blog as we know it dwindle down to something that has a flash in a VH1 specials about the 2000’s? I certainly hope that the online society we have created over the last decades continues to grow, and that blogs can continue to be a key and crucial part of the online community.

It is truly amazing how the way we communicate with one another has drastically changed over the years. This was brought to my attention a few weeks ago after being prompted to read a New York Times article called “Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You,” which points out that in this day and age, phone calls are considered rude, intrusive, and awkward. With the exception of people in your life like parents, spouses, or children, phone calls seem either urgent or impolite.

In the last five years, even adults have given up using the telephone, including land line, mobile, and voice mail, and according to Nielsen Media, even on cell phones, voice spending has been trending downward, with text spending expected to surpass it within three years.

When I think about who I usually call, I’d have to say it’s a pretty limited group – and the only one I call consistently is my mom – because she’s the only one who will stop and chat for more than two minutes. Then again, I’ve learned things like not to press the ‘ignore’ button on my cell phone because then people will know that I’m there.

Part of me appreciates this new phenomenon. Now, when I’m somewhere in public – like getting my haircut or standing in line at the grocery store – I don’t have to listen to the person next to me’s conversation about what a jerk their boyfriend is or about how annoying their coworker was today.

In a business aspect, Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher at HarperCollins points out that the nature of a business call has also changed. “Phone calls used to be everything: serious, light, heavy, funny,” Mr. Burnham says. “But now they tend to be things that are very focused. And almost everyone e-mails first and asks, “Is it O.K. if I call?”

So what has taken the place of phone calls? Commenting on a friend’s Facebook status, text, e-mail, and twitter updates substitute for actual conversation. With friends or family who warrant face time, previous arrangements are usually required.

My initial response to the article was “How sad!” I’m honestly a little embarrassed that our society has come to this point where technology rules out personal interactions.

In the nine years I have owned a cell phone (I also had my own “line” in my house years before that), I recognize the transformation of its use. I remember trying to keep my call minutes down to under 500/month and waiting until 7 p.m. on weeknights to make calls because my girlfriends where we would just talk (about nothing) for hours… where now they are very focused.

It’s truly pretty sad how little person-to-person contact occurs. I think it’s actually doing damage to my generation and generations to come. Interpersonal skills don’t develop, or are inhibited because they are not practiced.

My opinion is this: I think being able to maintain a personal connection with people close to you, including business relationships, is extremely important. But I cannot argue that the convenience of social media, texting, and all other forms of technology that has replaced the purpose of a telephone is revolutionary.

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com

What did Aden Hepburn, founder of Digital Buzz Blog, do that is different than what we are doing in this class? Absolutely nothing. Starting with one blog post, Hepburn rose to blogging fame nearly two years ago and has contributed over 800 blog posts to his site.

What I found the most interesting, however, is that his blog posts aren’t necessarily creative or innovative. He simply re-blogs certain digital trends, viral videos, and hot new websites. This gives hope to us “newbies” who may or may not know the logistics of this generation of blogging.

What must we do to have a blog as successful as this one? Be creative. Search. Discover. Find things that you find interesting and think of ways to make others interested as well.