Farewell

Hello all! As you know this will be my last blog posting for my class. (Although I will continue to blog about different things) It has been a blast and I have learned a lot and I hope you all reading have learned a lot as well. With this last posting I will be briefly be talking about the future. We have come along way even just in the last decade. Look at all the technology that is currently around us. Smartphones, tablets, smart televisions, etc. is all a normal part of the day in 2014. As I said and talked about in an earlier posting, this new generation uses this technology with little to no instruction or effort. Almost like their born knowing how to use it while some of us from earlier generations have to relearn new technology as it comes along. I can only imagine what the next 5 to 10 years is going to bring for us and how we as strategic communicators can use this technology to make our lives and careers easier. Technology has already it possible with just a smartphone to take pictures/videos and post to any social media site, takes notes, video chat, play games, use GPS and just about anything that you can think of you can do and its in the palm of your hand. What's interesting is that the AT&T ads video that we watched showing what could be in the future has come to fruition in most cases. You can video chat, buy concert tickets online, watch movies on demand, smart watches that let you make phone calls you name it we have it today. Well class this is it. This will be my last posting for this class but as I said earlier I will continue to blog as this class has opened my eyes to how great it can be and how many people can actually read it and comment about it. Farewell class and good luck on this graduate school journey!

Technology and how our children are using it

Hello all and welcome to this weeks journal entry from yours truly. I can't believe we are in the final stretch of the term. It has been an incredible ride and I have learned alot this term. I plan to continue doing blog entries once this class is over. There is alot that can be done with blogs as far as talking about your interests, likes and dislikes. Anyway, lets get down to business. This week I will be talking about technology and how our children are using it as opposed to how we used it when we were growing. I was born in 1984 and so I've seen technology advice alot in my 30 years. Even just ten years ago I never would've thought we would have these high tech smartphones, Nintendo Wii, HD consoles such as xbox and playstation and other technological advances. I look forward to the advances of the future. To our children though, they were born during a time where all this technology is already present. I took me into my college years to become efficient with a computer and all of its applications. My little brother who is 8 and my little sister who is 10 seem like they were born already knowing how to use technology. My sister even showed me something that I didn't know how to do on a computer. I was amazed at how smart my siblings are in the use of technology. Take for instance when I was a freshman in high school, one of our classes was a typing class. There weren't any computers though. We actually had to learn how to type on typewriters! Our children today probably don't know what a typewriter is. When I got to college I had to relearn everything about typing because it I had to learn it on the computer with Microsoft Word. That pretty much sums up the world of technology today. As soon as you learn something new, technology evolves, upgrades or simply changes and you have to learn again, you have to adapt or get left behind. Our children already have the right idea so everybody needs to take charge.

One of our articles this week discusses the importance of cell phones in the family household. Now when I was growing up, cell phones were almost non existent. My mom did get one in the mid 90s. It's purpose was nothing like phones are now. It was a really big phone almost the size of a house phone that always stayed in the car. My mom would use it for emergencies only. Of course I didn't have one nor did I have a need for one, but times would change. When I graduated from high school in 2002, my mother bought me my first cell phone and as the years went by I became more dependent on my phone especially once I got my first smartphone. The evolution of my cell phone looks a lot like the picture above. I don't know what I would do without it now but that's how technology changes your life. My little sister has a tablet that she knows how to use very well. She also has a Nintendo DS. Not sure what she needs with a tablet but all young kids want one nowadays. I believe in some ways that all of this technology of today has made the children of today lazy. Even in my time before Google and internet exploration was so simple and fluid to use, if I had a book report, research paper, or any kind of assignment that required research being done, we had to go to the library and use research books, encyclopedias, etc. Some books you couldn't check out and so you had to conduct your research in the library or make copies of the pages you need. The work was tougher but more rewarding when you completed the assignment. Today, information is right there for you with the push or click of a button. Wikipedia, cliff notes, not sure what other websites are out there but you can search in Google for almost everything that you need to find. That has caused a lot  of plagiarism I believe because children copy word for word instead of in their own words. There are good ways that children use technology. Ways that weren't possible a decade ago. With their learning and education I'd say technology has helped a ton with children that may have learning disabilities. I would even go so far as to say video games today help with hand eye coordination, quick thinking, problem solving etc. I'll use the Legend of Zelda game series as an example of those things I just named.

Everyone take a look at this picture above for a second. This is the evolution of Nintendo's home consoles and handheld systems respectfully. Now I have lived through every incarnation of their systems from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to the current Wii U and from the Gameboy to the current 3DS. I spent years crafting my skills in gaming. My little sister and brother got into video games during the Wii era. They instantly became and attached and became great gamers. My sister and I play Super Smash Bros. (For those unfamiliar, it is a video game where you get to choose you favorite  Nintendo character and battle it out) Now I ask how were they able to pick up video games so fast, when I myself have been playing since I was 5 years old. This new generation is smart I tell you. Anyway, lets get back to some of the educational benefits of children and todays technology.

Today's technology has definitely changed the way that we learn today. Especially for the children growing up. Technology has made it possible for students to learn from anywhere and for their teachers to easily reach them. In the very near future if not right now, almost every job will require or already requires that you have some form of technological skills and as I said earlier those who don't adapt will get left behind. Individual learning and research come to mind. You can use online platforms like piazza.com to join virtual classrooms where you ask questions and get answers on any topic. I know for me growing up I was embarrassed to raise my hand when I didn't understand something and so that would have been a big help to me. I'm sure there are kids today that experience the same feeling. Technology in the classroom can also improve writing and reading skills. With word applications such as Microsoft Word it makes it very easy to write and structure a paper without fear of mistakes because you can Google or YouTube anything you have questions about. I remember for years I couldn't figure out how to get word to remove that new page it would create when you got close to the bottom of the page you were on until just recently when I looked it up on YouTube how to remove it! I do fear that kids can become addicted to tech and become isolated from the outside world but the good definitely outweighs the bad. Parents will have to teach the kids the dos and the don'ts about tech and to also teach them to take a break from tech and go outside a play. I hope you everyone enjoyed my blog this week and check me out next week on my last blog entry for my class. As I said before I will continue to write blogs long after this class is over. Until next time.

Effective Brand Strategy

Hello and welcome back to my blog. This week I will be talking about branding and online reputations. First I ask you this, what is branding? Well, branding is the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. Now there are probably millions of products out there in the world and with the internet today, effective branding is even more important. The question is though how can you show the world what makes your brand special with so many other products out there? According to the article Fundamentals of Personal Branding, your product must fulfill a specific unmet need in a well-defined target audience and be perceived as special and valuable. Basically what I just said before, your product has to stand out. What is it about your product that makes it special? Whatever your product may be, you need to find your target audience. Who are you selling your product to. If you're selling grills then you market to cooks that grill, if you're selling baby products, then you market to parents, particularly mothers.

Finding your target audience

First things first. You have to find your audience for your particular product. So, how do you do that? Well first you need to start with your demographic. That includes age, location, gender, income, education, occupation, ethnicity, marital status and number of children. Once you get the basic understanding of your target audience demographic, you can then begin to target that specific audience you are trying to cater to. Now you should try to set your target to 2 core markers out of that list. That will make it much easier on your part and by focusing on a small core you can find out what's important to them. Keep focus on your target audience. Once you have made an impression with your core market, you will have to trust that everyone else will follow suit. After finding who your are trying to sell to, the next step is finding out why they are buying your product. You need to monitor you target audiences interests to gain insight into things like their lifestyle, behavior, interests etc. You need to know as much as you can about your target audience so that you can better serve your customers.

Brand Personality

Another important factor is the personality of your brand.                                  

I found this wheel online and it basically shows you the brand archetype. Doing the research before you create the content will make your more informed and better equipped to serve your market the best way possible.

Branding on the internet

We have an article this we read this week entitled branding on the internet. In this day and age it has become increasingly difficult to do anything particularity branding without the use of the internet. There are so many different ways to get your product out on the internet. Through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or creating your own website, you can market your product to the masses. In the article Branding on the internet, we get several stages to embracing a relationship with a company and they are awareness, familiarity, trust, and commitment. You get through these stages with prospective customers and you can get them to embrace your product and become your customer. Alot of the things that I buy is because I have seen the advertisements for them online or on television. I have been a lifelong customer and fan of Nintendo's products one, because of my memories and favorite characters of the past and present, and two because the message Nintendo puts out in their advertisements. Their brand and very recognizable and you get quality games that you can't get on any other system such and Super Mario  and The Legend of Zelda video game series. Nintendo has also increasingly used the internet to for their brand. Last year and at this years E3 which stands for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo is not and did not do a traditional press conference at the Expo. Instead they opted for a Nintendo E3 direct which streams live. They will also have some of their games at E3 available to play at Best Buys across the country, such as Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. This new brand strategy in my opinion has been very interesting. I was at Best Buy during E3 week and I got to try out several games months before their release. I think other companies should follow suit and try a similar strategy. Information is able to pass the middle man and get straight to the consumers and that is the most important thing. Nintendo is one of the most profitable brands in the world. Companies and brands that are just starting out won't have the luxury or the history that Nintendo does. So, how does your brand get out? Well the internet for one as I've been saying earlier. Also word of mouth works. You satisfy a customer with your product and they tell their friends about it and their friends try out the product for themselves. I remember my roommate from a couple of years ago bought a PS3 and I was never a big Sony fan, but from his word and from my playing for myself, I ended up getting my own and have been a fan ever since and plan to get a PS4 by the end of the year. Once a company builds a relationship with their customers with great products, they will for the most part remain loyal to you as long as you're good to them and continue to have great products.

Will you be the next big thing?

Well that is hard to say. Most of the companies that are huge now had humble beginnings. Facebook started in a students dorm room, Nintendo  was a game card company before getting into video games, The original, Playstation was the result of deal that fell through between Sony and Nintendo for a CD extension to the N64 and now they are one of the most profitable companies in the world thanks to their video game division. It all begins with an idea about a product, creating the product, getting the product out and marketing the product. Thank you for reading my blog and be back next week for my next blog. Until next time.

Crowdsourcing, is it useful or what?

Hello all and welcome to my blog. Once again I will be talking about topics regarding Strategic Communication. This week I will talking about crowdsourcing and the usefulness of crowdsourcing. So, what is crowdsoucrcing? The definition of crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. How can we use crowdsourcing? Well crowdsourcing can be used to gather thousands of contributors to add a contribution for the greater good of success. In our everyday lives crowdsourcing is used especially online. People who have issues with appliances, cars, smartphones, etc. you can go online and you're guaranteed to find a forum where people are expereicning the same issue and have things you can try to fix it before spending money or shipping your product back to the company that made it to fix it. I myself have been on forums for my video game consoles, my televisions, my vehicle, and my smartphone for issues I was having and in most cases I was able to get my issued resolved without having to spend money. Other crowdsourcing on the internet is a venue individuals can use to share their projects while not being scrutinized. The projects can be worked on with as little or as many people as needed or whoever wants to be apart of it. An example would be Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited internet encyclopedia. Any one with access to the internet and access to the site can edit almost any of the articles. The danger in that is that all the information on Wikipedia is not always accurate and if 500 million visitors a month to the site errors and misinformation are to be expected.

Types of Crowdsourcing

There are several different types of crowdsourcing that can be used in the commercial world. These include crowdvoting, crowdfunding, creative crowdsourcing and inducement prize contests. I am going to talk about crowdfunding since I know more about this type of crowdsourcing. The reason I know a bit about crowdfunding is because I am videogamer and just like major record companies, movie studios, and video game companies, there are independent ones. Usually, an indie video game company launches a crowdfunding campaign to secure funds to fund their project and get it on the device of their choice whether that be a video game console, pc, mac, smartphone, etc. This type of crowdfunding is called a kickstarter. The Ouya microconsole is an example of the second most successful kickstarter campaign. Over $8.5 million was raised to fund the device. When people are passionate about something and they can find other people to fund their project it's almost always successful. There is a 43.99% success rate for projects thats get crowdfunded. Other notable thing about crowdfunding it's used to support citizen journalism which I talked about last week.

Another type of crowdsourcing is called crowdsourcing creative work or CCW. It is an open call to the crowd for novel and useful solutions. When experts are in scarce supply, multiple diverse ideas and contextual insights are needed. So, you get a bunch of like minded people together with great ideas and in most cases crowdsourcing works.

Innovation

In one of our articles this week it talks about crowdsourcing overlapping with collaborative innovation such as open innovation and user innovation. I can agree with that. Crowdsourcing is all about innovation and you get to innovate with lots of different people. There is a figure in the article that shows crowdsourcing with co-creation overlapping with crowdsourcing, user innovation and open innovation. 

Individuality

Despite this age of collaboration, we are still living in an age of increased individuality. One of our articles this week talks about the Age of Reason, the rise of digital communication. This new age will empower individuals at the expense of the elite. So, what does that mean exactly? Well, to me that means that communications will be catered to the individual. For example several different people can go onto Google to search for something. They will log into their Google accounts and based on their search history, viewing history, they will get different results by searching for the same thing. I have several Google accounts. One that I had to create when Google bought YouTube and one that I had to create when I got my first android smartphone. It keeps a record of my contacts and search history in Google. When using the different accounts I get different results from each search because on the older account I was searching for different things then what I search for now. The same can be same about all the people that use Google. Despite this individuality, peopled viewpoints may not be getting across. According to the article written by Yasmin Anwar, less than 10 percent of the U.S. population is participating in most online production activities. Alot of that from what the article says comes from the digital divide between the poor and working classes lacking the resources to participate online. This article was written in 2011 and so I am sure that 10 percent has to have gone up as almost every device has internet from your phone and tablet, to your library, school, McDonalds. 

The Rise of Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is definitely in full effect. Internet usage is higher than ever even though as recent as 2012, North America only made up 11.4% of the internet users in the world. Asia actually has 44.8% users online. This goes back into what I was saying about the digital divide. If North America wants to be on top with innovation, this has to change and hopefully it already has. We have to make a way to have affordable internet, which people of all classes can get online and benefit from what it has to offer. Crowdsourcing has definitely shown that people do want to collaborate and expand on their ideas. Thank you for reading my blog this week and tune in next week for my next posting.

Citizen Journalism- In us we trust

Hello all and welcome to this week’s blog posting. Today I will be discussing topics such as citizen journalism, blogging, and how to sort through it all. First off, what is citizen journalism? Well according to Dr. Anthony Curtis from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, citizen journalism is the gathering, writing, editing, production and distribution of news and information by people not trained as professional journalists. These citizen journalists collect and analyze news on blogs, wikis and sharing websites suing tablets, laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and other mobile and wireless technologies. So, all of us that write blogs, add information to websites such as Wikipedia, we are citizen journalists. On our readings this week, they talk about citizen journalists, bloggers and how people are more trustworthy of blogs than professionals. How did this come to be? Well, I believe it is surprisingly simple. People tend to trust people they know, people they see every day or people they could actually meet. Think about this, if you meet this big time financial analyst that is all about business and making money for themselves who would you trust? Now, is citizen journalism a good thing or bad thing? I believe it has it pros and cons and I'm going to explain why.

Pros of Citizen Journalism

There was one point in time before the explosion of the internet that people had to mail in letters to get their voices or points out to the general public. Now with the internet we have today, it is possible to reach everyone on earth who has Internet and mainstream media has taken notice. Despite budget cuts to U.S. newspapers, mainstream media outlets have moved to incorporate elements of citizen journalism into their news programs and publications. Cable news network’s solicit viewer photos and videos of breaking news stories while newspaper reporters write blogs and update twitter accounts inviting reader interaction and participation. Say for instance you have a local news paper that doesn't have the staff to cover something going on at city hall. You can have bloggers step in to publicize issues that matter to local readers. Where I live we get the major newspaper everyday but we also have a local newspaper that publishes once a week. The building that publishes the local paper is small and I'm sure the staff is even smaller so having bloggers and other citizen journalists contribute to the paper can only be good for the city. Citizen journalism gives the ability to reach areas or situations where regular journalists are prohibited or unavailable. It can supplement mainstream media by providing instant/real-time coverage. With the rise of smartphones it has become so easy to take pictures and videos and instantly upload them online where news stations can use them. Citizen Journalism has definitely become a big thing today. We read an article a few weeks ago we read about the Cleveland Indians breaking away from traditional media and inviting anyone with a social media account to apply for single-day credentials to gain access into the suite on the media level and game day information. If that doesn't tell you that citizen journalism is here to stay I don't know what else will. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Vine, and all other social media have made it possible to express our views more than ever. It has made the world so much smaller and it is very exciting. It has also made it all the more dangerous because of all of the information on the World Wide Web and I will get into that next.

Cons of Citizen Journalism

There are just as many cons to citizen journalism as there is the pros. For starters, most citizen journalists are not trained in journalism. They don't adhere to certain standards like fact checking, naming sources, searching out opinions on both sides of an issue and avoiding libelous statements. Another issue we are facing is the rise of the Internet as a communications tool has led to massive budget cuts to U.S. newspapers. If you can access most of the news you want to know online, why would you go out and buy a paper? I myself rarely buy a paper or watch the news because I can access all of that information online. When I log into my email it automatically gives me links to check the local and national news. People that I'm friends with on Facebook will post something that's going on in the area and I can click on the link to or Google search for whatever they are talking about. With all of this instant access to information, why wait on the news, magazines, or newspapers to publish it? Lets get back to professional journalists. Professionals often view citizen journalists with skepticism because they don't uphold the traditional journalistic value of objectivity. They say reports from citizen journalists are subjective, amateurish and inaccurate. They see citizen journalism's quality as not professional and its coverage spotty. They believe that only professionally trained journalists can understand the ethics required which that can be argued on both sides. It could also be argued that citizen journalists could compromise security, lead to riots, have greater error margin and report biased news.

Source Diversity

According to the article by Serena Carpenter (Source Diversity in U.S. Online Citizen Journalism and Online Newspaper Articles) traditional news organizations have begun to adopt online citizen journalism such as USA Today bringing in online citizen generated content or CNN with their 3,000 citizen journalism submissions per month. My local news station is always getting posts, pictures, and videos from people in the community. Despite the controversy and the effect this is having on news today, having a diversity of sources can only help. You get information that is outside the box and not standardized, typical content. Herbert J Gans argues that the diversity of sources present in the news media is the answer to reducing biases of reporters. With more information out there it makes for more diversity in the sources which will lead to less error. In the end I believe that the pros outweigh the cons of citizen journalism and traditional media outlets will continue to incorporate citizen journalists into their world. This can only benefit us the public in the end as long as the sources are deciphered for credibility. Thank you for reading my blog this week and I will be back next week. 

Social Media, A wonderful thing if used correctly

Hello fellow classmates and anyone else interested in Strategic Communications, I am back with my post for this week and it's a doozy. Today I will be talking about social media. So, what do you think when you hear the word social media? Does Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, MySpace (although I don't know who still uses MySpace lol) and other social media sites come to mind? Well, you are correct. These are all social media websites and they are websites that I myself use very frequently, except for MySpace of course. I haven't used that in years. The definition of social media is the interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Social media has taken over how we communicate with people. I started using Facebook back in its early days when it was regulated to colleges only. I could see the potential back then and now I can stay in contact with friends I had back when I was 6 years old to high school, college, family members etc. I also have an artist page where I promote my music. Social media has so much potential and businesses have caught on and have created their own pages to advertise their products.

Leadership

One of the articles we read this week talks about social media and how it has changed being a leader. It talks about how today's leader tend to shy away from social media and that companies today need new types of leaders that aren't afraid of social media and that can not only use social media, but make others better at using them. With leaders going on to social media it gives them direct access to the people. With that type of access you can find out directly from the people their concerns, issues, and what they think about how you are conducting business. Today's leaders should not be afraid of this but take this as a challenge to better themselves and better whichever company they represent. If we had more strong social media literate leaders, maybe businesses would go bankrupt, or the leaders would better understand the people and what they want. This was a good article, a short article but a good article. 

Posting confessions to personal blog?

Okay everyone this I don't understand. One of the articles we read this week talks about a reporter and how she was fired after posting a list of confessions to her personal blog. Now, everyone in the world can go your blog and read it, so why do something like this? This is where social media can get dangerous. When you are in a position like this such as a news reporter, you are always being looked at. I know that alot of people in communications keep a personal blog but that blog should be talking about stuff related to communications, and things going on in the world. She basically told all about stealing mail, taking naps on the job, stopping the recordings on people she is interviewing if she thinks you unnecessary for a story. Just very unprofessional if you ask me. She has committed career suicide. Who would want to hire her after this? Would you?

Brand Ambassadors

This is really interesting to me and it's something I wish other companies would incorporate. Now, I had no idea about this before reading the article but it is a great idea. This "social suite" that the Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball incorporated in the spring of 2011. With this idea, the Cleveland Indians broke away from traditional media access and invited the public into their media sphere by having anyone with a social media account apply for single-day credentials to gain access into the suite on the media level and game-day information that was traditionally reserved for news outlets. Wow! I absolutely hate baseball but I would  apply to get a chance to be in that suite and see what its like. Just imagine if more teams, more companies, everybody started doing this? Do you all realize how far social media has come? I hope that we see many more companies incorporating this. Think about what this would mean for a college student majoring in communications, to get an up close and personal look at the world they want to get into. I struggled to find internships to complete my undergraduate degree because of my lack of networking at the time. (Also I love my school but they were not very helpful in me finding internships.) I struggled for two years to find a decent job after graduation. Internships would be much easier to get with the help of social and being able to talk directly to the people you want to intern with.

Are you Facebook, Twitter or both?

Now, I don't know about you guys about like I said earlier I was an early adopter of Facebook having created my first account in 2005. Over the years I've gotten very comfortable with how to use Facebook though they do updates every now and then that annoys me. I was late to the Twitter party simply because I just didn't understand it and why I should have a Twitter account. I eventually created an account in July of 2011 and it took me awhile to figure what to do with it. Finally I got the idea that I could use it to promote my music which I still do now. Though I still don't have as many followers as I would like, I have gotten some pretty good connections to other musically inclined people. Now when of the articles we read this week calls twitter a combination of blogging, text messaging and broadcasting. They call it micro-blogging. That makes sense. Your Twitter account is essentially a short 140 word blog about what you think about certain things, certain people, current events, etc. In the world of communications, and the millions of people on twitter today, it is simple to post something like current news, with a link that directs you to their website for the full story. You are getting more traffic directed to your website and it doesn't cost you a thing.

In conclusion, what has been learned this week is that social media can be so beneficial to people, companies, etc. if used correctly. Look at the reporter that lost her job because she posted confessions on her blog as an example of what not to do with social media. Be smart everybody and tune in next week for my next blog. Until next time. 

 

The explosion of the mobile device

Hello all! Welcome back to my blog. I hope you all have been enjoying my blogs for the last couple of weeks as I have truly enjoyed writing them. I never knew that this could be so interesting. Well, this week we are talking about mobile devices. This definitely fits as an emerging media. The mobile phone has shown an increasingly number of people using it to access the internet over the last few years. Whether it be updating your Facebook status, comparing prices on amazon to things in the store (which is something I do all the time gotta save money lol) streaming music through iheart radio or Pandora the mobile phone experience has definitely evolved over the years. What this discussion is this week is how can a strategic communication professional use mobile devices in an efficient and ethical manner. Well, a strategic communication professional can use mobile devices to get instant news out. With your mobile device you can take notes, take pictures, use the mobile versions of word, powerpoint etc. and submit your work as the news happens either to your blog, your boss, etc. By the minute news with the help of a single mobile device seems like the future to me. No longer having to carry a notepad, tape recorder or even a face to face interview now that we have facetime, Skype and other video chat options. So, if it's easier, what's the problem? Well some people do have a problem with it. Easier is not so much always better. Mobile devices have the potential to devastate someone's privacy with gps integration to locate people. Hack into their device and get passwords, bank information etc. The increase in mobile users is really making it critical to have better security measures in place.

The Underprivileged

One of the articles we read this week talks about using mobile applications for the underprivileged to provide services in developing countries. I think that is a great idea. There are so many mobile phones and devices on the market now that it would be relatively easy to get a phone and provide those services that people need. They just need to make sure that there is no backlash with the usage of the mobile devices such is in the story Dr. Padgett told us about Dr. Mayo and those villagers using the mobile phone to find jobs and leave the village.

Mobile phones disrupting?

Now this is an issue that I want to discuss. The mobile phone is a great device with great features to make life a lot easier. I am noticing though with being a teacher now that they can be very disruptive to the learning that goes on in the classroom. I graduated in 2002 when mobile devices particularly smartphones weren't around yet and weren't a big issue. Today however, a lot of my students are always messing with their smartphones and I'm having to take them away. It is already difficult to retain their attention but the boom of smartphones has really taken their attention. A lot of phone companies do have an option that you can setup that limits the other smartphones on the account such as when the internet can be used and when phone calls can be made. They can be set so their phones would be useless during school hours and thus have no choice but to pay attention in class. Now their our advantages to smartphones for educational purposes such as using as a second screen, access to diagrams, articles, essays and other academic information.

Mobile Too

One of the other topics that has been discussed this week is mobile first and if companies should start implementing mobile first. My opinion about it is the same as one of the articles that we read. Although the smartphone market has exploded over the last few years, there are still millions of people who have not yet adopted smartphones as their primary phone and so I think that they television companies etc. should adopt a mobile too approach. Whether it be television, radio, newspapers etc. with multiple options you can satisfy all of your consumers. We were also talking about WTSU which is Troy University's radio station. They are in a small market and doesn't get a lot of advertising. The discussion we were having was should they adopt a mobile first strategy and if so is that wise for a community radio station in a small market community. What I thought about it is a mobile first approach is not a good approach for this radio station. They first need to grow their audience with the students. Make the students more aware that the radio station exists. Since there are students at multiple campuses and count for a total of 29,689 there should no problem getting the word out because the students can make the station aware to people outside of the university. Then they can use social media to promote, use mobile devices to send notifications about upcoming events, shows etc. Before all of that though, their greatest marketing tool is their students. So use it!

Another way that mobile devices can help with is in hospitals. I actually took the time and read and article from the JAMIA, which is the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. In the article, it discusses the impact of mobile devices by providing instant access to information, resources, and people at the right time and place. Think about how the mobile devices can help with rapid response, error prevention and data management. Think about how more lives can be saved and making sure there are no errors in medicine and treatment being given. But back to Strategic Communication. In closing, mobile devices is definitely the future of how we access content but, to go with a mobile first or mobile only strategy isn't a good idea. At least not yet. I hope you all have enjoyed my blog for this week and keep an eye out for next weeks blog. Until next time.

Internet usage up, Web and TV down

What is the web coming to?

Hello class and welcome to my second blog for ETROY Strategic Communications & Emerging Media. This week we will be talking about media convergence and how the interconnection of information and communications technologies is becoming the new standard in todays media world. We now have apps, tablets, smartphones and all of the other technologies that makes it faster to get the information that you are looking for. That brings me to one of the things I want to talk about today. The title of my blog is Internet usage up, web usage down. Now, you ask how can that be is the internet and the world wide web one and the same? Well they are not. Just two decades ago, the world wide web was born but it is now in decline because of apps and other services that allow you to bypass your web browser. Before I read this weeks articles I admit I never really thought much about this, but it has become apparent as I look at my day to day life and realize that I am very much a part of this media convergence. Ever since I got my first smartphone I have slowly been adding more and more apps to do what I used to get on the web browser to do. One of my fellow student articles that I read talked about how when he was an undergraduate he got on the web browser to do everything related to school and now we go to blackboard to do assignments, we have an app for that. That is so true! My life has become mostly apps from Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, IGN, email, Troy blackboard, YouTube, you name it there is an app for it. The traditional use of going onto your computer and pulling up internet explorer, Google chrome or Firefox has gone down substantially. So, what caused this shift form the we browser? Well, with the advancement of technology and the speed of new technology people expect to get the information that they want at lightening speed. The best way to do that is create an app so instead of going to your browser and logging in to Facebook, you are logged in and can access Facebook anytime and anywhere.

The rise of streaming

So far I have been discussing the decline of the world wide web. Another form of media in decline is Television. Now I for one still watch TV pretty regularly but unlike a decade ago, I won't have a fit if my TV goes out. When I'm not watching TV, I am either on Netflix, Hulu or the new WWE Network. If these three services, I can watch hours upon hours of TV and movies. I've watched entire seasons of TV shows on Netflix or Hulu, or watched movies and TV shows that I may not have been interested but took change and watched it and ended up liking it and I spent no money other than the monthly subscription I pay a month. Most television networks like ABC, FOX, USA, etc. let you stream episodes right off of their website now. TV networks know that content is being consumed online more than ever and have had to make changes to make sure that their shows still get watched because no viewership means cancelled show. This brings me to one of the articles we read. It talks about Nielsen changing the way it measures television consumption. We are now in the digital age and content is being consumed in so many different ways than just watching TV and Nielsen under the pressure from television networks is finally going to start doing that. Since this article was written in February of last year I assume that they have already started measuring viewing from other means such as Netflix, Hulu and on the networks websites. It really just makes sense in this ever changing world of media and how it is converging into one convenient source to get all of your information and entertainment needs. Just thinking about how media is going to keep evolving is mind boggling. What are they going to come up with next?

Drawbacks to rise of internet usage

For all of the benefits to have entertainment and information in the palm of your hands there are some drawbacks. For instance, before I got my first smartphone which was the Motorola Droid smartphone in early 2010, I had an old flip phone. My plan was simple and my bill was cheap. When I got the Droid phone the first increase was having to get data which was unlimited at the time. That increased my bill but having unlimited data on my phone was definitely cool. As data consumption became larger and larger phone companies started phasing out of unlimited data plans and charging more for data packages. As long as you didn't change your plan you could keep unlimited data but they would begin to throttle the data the more you used it which would slow your internet down. Eventually I gave in got an LG G2 phone and changed my plan which my bill has gone up from $60-70 a month to $178 a month for a share everything  unlimited talk and text plan with 6GB of data to share. Wow! That's over a $100 difference but the convenience of use makes you want to pay and that's how they get you.

Is the web dead?

Even though apps have made life a lot easier for all of us, the truth is web browsers are not going anywhere anytime soon. As of this writing I typing it on my pc through internet explorer or Google chrome. As much as I love my ipad and smartphone I can only type with accuracy on my PC or my iMac. As much as I use my phone or ipad I still use my desktops and laptops everyday to access the internet. One article that we read is called Long live the web and it talks about how the web has evolved into a powerful, ubiquitous tool and that the web is essential to the digital revolution as well as our continued prosperity. In closing, media convergence has made it where internet, TV, radio, and newspapers have all had to make "friends" and converge into one medium in order to get content out to the people as fast possible because the people of today are very impatient and expect quick  results. I hope that you all enjoy my blog for this week. Feel free to subscribe and comment.

The Rise of New Media

Welcome to my blog. My name is Dwight and I will be taking you through my journey of COM 6630 Strategic Communication and Emerging Media that I am currently taking at Troy University's graduate program. I will be discussing weekly topics related to the current events of media and how it is ever changing from the days of just radio, television, newspapers and magazines. Today we have PCs, Macs, smartphones, ipads, tablets, you name it today it is so incredible how fast it is to get the lasts news and information all at the tip of your fingers. So allow me to again welcome you to my blog and these next nine weeks we will be going through different topics of communication and the ever changing world of media.

Is Traditional Media Dying?

That is the question that we keep hearing. A lot of things that have been happening the last couple of years do indicate that traditional media is definitely on the decline. Take for instance, Time Warner selling off most of their magazines to Meredith, which is a smaller publisher in Des Moines. Their looking to focus more on their properties that is the most profitable.

Traditional media such as newspapers and magazines are being forced to get with the times and evolve by incorporating online options and printing less. Instead of 5 days a week they print 3 days a week. Even with traditional media having to go this route, most people still consider traditional media to be the most reliable source of information as information online tends to be a lot less reliable.



With the rise of new media and the old media ways becoming absolute isn't all good news though. The shrinking number of print readers is also shrinking the number of jobs available. With the economy still on shaky ground this doesn't bold well. There are new jobs being created that cater to new media such as jobs for staff made just for online. As I was saying earlier about traditional media having to use new media to stay relevant. I have a subscription to Game Informer and have been subscribing for years. I had always gotten the physical copies sent to my house every month but last year I switched to the digital magazine. Not only do I get the new issues faster than the print version, it also has links, photos, and videos exclusive to the digital version. So, they can cater to both print and digital for customers. Most of the print industry is following suit and adding digital versions of the print additions and also when news breaks they can update their websites accordingly.

   Some of the negatives of all this new technology and the quickness of getting content at the snap of a finger is it has isolated people from each other. Gone are the days when you got a paper and a cup of coffee and sat with your pals and talked about current events. Most people now go to Facebook, Twitter, etc. to talk. I myself have experienced being in the same room with my family or coworkers and no one is talking. Everyone has a smartphone, tablet or other digital device in their hands. The new generation of kids growing up are accustomed to this and see nothing wrong. They don't know how to communicate with their peers because everything is done online.

In the music industry this has also been an issue. Gone are the days of people going out and buying physical CDs, everything is done through iTunes, amazon etc. Record labels are having to give a percentage to the online music stores to get the albums on there. Major record labels are having a hard time with change more so than other forms of media. If they don't adapt to this digital age it will be the end as we know for major record labels.

One of the articles we read talks about Jeff Bezos and his purchase of the Washington Post. He thinks newspapers should be more like Amazon. That is an interesting thing to say. The three big ideas that Bezos had at Amazon were, long-term thinking, customer obsession, and willingness to invent. With the purchase of the Washington Post, Bezos can take the print industry in a whole new direction as he did with Amazon. Only time will tell if his purchase will make a difference in today's print industry.

According to this percentage change in audience that came from one of the articles we read between 2010-2011 online dominated the other mediums by a large margin. What does this mean? It means that this is only going to continue as the years go by. How traditional media deals with it is the question. We have seen some of the changes that have been made with integrating online options for customers as well as some companies going all digital. Digital is the future and it's not going anywhere, as for traditional media being dead, it's far from that but the decline is real. I hope you all have enjoyed my first blog post. Please stay tuned for my next post coming soon.