When you hear “Facebook,” you think back to your high school and college days when social media was just beginning to take over the Internet. You probably think of it as a means of connecting with old classmates, friends and family. You may not correlate Facebook with business, but today, this social media platform is opening doors for business possibilities through Facebook Pages. Continue reading
Tag Archives: social media
Fast Facts of LinkedIn
Brush up on why LinkedIn steadily passed some of the most popular forms of social media in popularity with these fast facts. Continue reading
The Sound of Music – Empowering Freedom of Expression through Social Media
Pandora and Spotify, two Internet Radio programs, have incorporated social media sharing capabilities to allow for their users to connect and engage on a global scale over the common interest of music.
Digital communication and social media platforms have transformed the way that individuals around the globe converse, share information, and learn more about themselves and one another. Whether it be through Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Periscope, Tumblr, or Snapchat, communication mediums such as these have allowed for people of all ages, shapes and sizes to express themselves while engaging and sharing with others. Unlike these forums, which allow for a plethora of diverse opinions, expressions, dialogues, and interests to float freely, music platforms, such as Pandora Internet Radio and Spotify, focus solely on one passion that unites millions – music.
As unique as it is for the social media platforms mentioned above to act as unrestricted forums for really anything to be displayed, discussed, or analyzed, music programs such as Pandora bring people together over one common platform that spawns a plethora of variety. It brings people together over a shared passion for music, specifically personal musical taste, while also allowing for that passion to be shared with other like-minded users, both known and unknown. This social media and sharing component of music programs, particularly featured with Spotify and Pandora, is what has given them the competitive advantage needed in order to collaborate with rather than be outshone by their social media competitors.
To give a bit of background, Pandora, started in 2000, is the world’s most powerful music discovery platform with over 80 million active users. Spotify, launched in 2008, also allows its 60 million active users to play music directly from the cloud, and features more than 30 million tracks. One of the key differences between the two is their source of revenue- while Spotify has about 20% of their 60 million users pay for the service, Pandora only has 3.5 million paying customers. This suggests that the benefits of Spotify’s Premium memberships outweigh the cost compared to Pandora’s offerings. The two programs have both joined forces with Facebook, allowing for users to share their playlists and music activity with their Facebook friends. Spotify also features a “Music Chat” component, which provides users with a free space to chat about anything music related. Much like how Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram allow for individuals to express themselves through design, images and graphics, Spotify and Pandora allow for the same creative expression but through the art of music. In the case of Spotify, it allows for users to use their own creative discretion in creating playlists comprised of whatever musical tracks, artists and genre that they want. When adding in the social media aspect, this provides an outlet for users’ creations to be shared to the world, giving them a way to represent themselves through a collaboration of sounds that they themselves have designed. In the case of Pandora, their use of the Music Genome Project, which is the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken, allows for users to be provided with the most personalized listening experience possible. By utilizing the wealth of musicological information stored in the Music Genome Project, Pandora recognizes and responds to each individual’s tastes. “The result is a much more personalized radio experience – stations that play music you’ll love – and nothing else.” This too allows for users to represent themselves via personalized music playlists.
In a world where reputation is something that takes a lifetime to create and yet can be lost in a matter of seconds, it is important for individuals to have creative outlets to represent themselves in a more personal and less serious manner. There is no right or wrong when it comes to personal taste in music, and with programs such as Spotify and Pandora, creative expression through music is celebrated rather than critiqued. It allows for personal representation that can be shared and result in strong connections made with like-minded users on a global scale. Most importantly, it allows for people to choose how they want to portray themselves through their personal taste in music, empowering individuals to practice freedom of expression in a safe and unrestricted forum.
10 Apps Needed for Traveling Abroad
Travel is expensive, and if you are spending the money to go abroad, you want to get the best experience you can get without breaking your budget. These 10 apps will provide you with the best guides, advice, and tools to get the best out of abroad.
Are you Instafamous?
Tell Brad Pitt to move over, there is a new superstar in town- and it’s not Justin Bieber… it’s you!
Instafamous. Also known as Instagram famous, is a term that acquires thousands- if not millions- of people following your Instagram 
account. You know who you are. You average 50k likes per photo… on a weekend… at midnight. You have such a large following that brands contact you to wear their clothes (and keep them) or promote their products on your captions (and get paid using them). You have made it when Victoria Secret contacts you to come to their annual fashion show for free… on the Angel’s private jet.
Does the Rapid Evolution Of Social Media Have Apple To Thank?
Does the rapid increase and popularity of new social media platforms depend on Apple (AAPL) to continue their growth and usage?
Whether you’re a Microsoft groupie, a Samsung Galaxy guru, or an Android addict, there is no question that Apple is the most valuable company in the world. According to Forbes, this year Apple not only had the last largest market cap, but also the largest sales, profits, and assets among the world’s largest technology company.
January 2007 was the announcement that changed the tech industry forever. The arrival of the iPhone revolutionized the smartphone and paved the way for apps, digital media, and social media to become the future.
Merry Jane: Snoop Dogg’s New Social Network
Snoop D. O. double G, famous rapper, football dad, and unofficial advocate of cannabis, has launched a new social network: Merry Jane. Continue reading
Twitter Campaigning: Social Media in the 2016 Presidential Election
Presidential campaigns spend millions of dollars each year on radio and television ads, but for the 2016 election this money is a waste. Presidential Candidates must look to social media for rankings, free advertisement, analytic
s, fundraising, public feedback and opinion, engage with young voters, and immediate response to controversy.
More voters are receiving their news from social media and the 2016 presidential candidates are taking advantage of this medium. Social media is a tool for campaigns to reach out to Millennials and gain momentum in the polls and recognition in the news. Twitter has become imperative for candidates to use to gain the public eye and attention of potential voters.
Everything Digital = Everything to Lose? How the Tech Generation May be Getting Set Up to Fail
When discussing with a peer his ambition to run for a position on his local School Board, the issue on the forefront of his campaign was to cut the funding for and requirement of purchasing iPads for all middle and high tech generation students. Plot twist- this perspective comes not from a technologically challenged, micro-managing parent, but rather from a tech-savvy, avid device user, sophomore at Southern Methodist University.
Unfortunately, a Pew Research Center study has confirmed our grandparent’s rants about the negative implications of staring at a screen all day. A whopping 87% of teachers in the study, joined by the College Board and the National Writing Project, reported that technology is creating an “easily distracted generation with short attention spans.” 64% of both middle and high school professors stated that today’s digital technologies “do more to distract students than to help them academically.”
Students getting distracted by their iPads in a Los Angeles classroom.
Director of the Pew Internet Project Lee Rainie hit the nail on the head when remarking that the tremendously overpowering influence of modern day technology may be attributed to the inability of students to understand how to master time management at such young ages. “Multi-tasking” has become a casual phrase referring to how our brains should function in this day and age, with the expectation that humans are able to comprehend and retain information while receiving and sending text messages with various people, listening to lyric-stuffed music, with various online shopping windows up, and while regularly glancing at overflowing Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat feeds, etc. Why, and how, is it that the biggest culprit of distraction has become the turned to tool for educating the youth?
Loosely titled the “iPad Initiative,” the break up between school districts and textbooks has become an epidemic as tablet computers are being utilized as a tool to help implement the new Common Core state standards for math and reading. The separation has had its positives, though, such as financial savings, lighter backpacks, and providing students with technology and internet awareness. The iPad Initiative provides instant information at students’ fingertips, which is both a blessing and a curse. There is a difference between information and knowledge:
Information – facts provided or learned about something or someone.
Knowledge – facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
Although these nouns are used universally and interchangeably, it is pivotal that the tech generation is enlightened on the true difference between the two. The iPad initiative teaches only how to access information, without pushing students to both absorb and comprehend that information and make it knowledge.
Social Media: Taking our jobs or adding value to them?
Over the past decade, social media has become the most popular platform for promoting brands, clients, and products. Constant change in social media has resulted in the urgency for new Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relation strategies and tactics. The baby Boomer generation was known to pick up a newspaper or magazine to receive information on the latest news and trends. Today, Millennials gain most of their information from their fingertips.
Social media is a wide range of online applications and media platforms that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content (Kaplan, 2010). The advancement of cell phones to smartphones, desktops to laptops, laptops to tablets, and websites to mobile apps, has depreciated the value of hard news and replaced it with the want for immediate gratification (Mangold, 2009). The public expects to access information in seconds rather than daily. The rising demand for information in seconds has created a multitude of social media platforms, including: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Flickr, blogs and many more increasing in popularity and competition constantly.
@God – Wait, What?! How Social Media & Communications is Expanding the SMU Catholic Community
Being raised in a conservative Catholic family, one of the most important values instilled was tradition. This value quite frequently comes into conflict with the not-so traditional ideals of the millennial generation. The only form of church “social media” was the old-school stock-paper weekly newsletter that was distributed to churchgoers as they exited Mass. Unfortunately, the few newsletters that were accepted were in turn used as a plate to pile on as many of the warm, highly coveted end-of-mass donuts that were served by volunteers immediately after every Sunday morning service. Absolutely an incentive to get out of bed at 8:45 on a Sunday.
How to Adapt to Ever-Changing Social Media
As young professionals, whether in your career as a student or in the professional world, it is easy to assume that you are all-knowing in the field of social media. But the way it is now, the way it was once and will be, is ever-changing. It is so necessary to constantly learn what’s going on in the social media world. And that doesn’t mean just updating whatever app it is and clicking around. Continue reading
Social Media Campaign to Shame Airline Passengers
“Passenger Shaming” is a social media campaign founded by a former flight attendant, to humiliate (anonymously) disrespectful (and frankly, disgusting) airline passengers. This campaign captures everything from smelly feet across another passenger to peeing in the airplane bathroom sink. Yes, the sink. Also, hands in places they shouldn’t be.
Apple iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy s5
Apple’s launch of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, has forced Samsung to lash out at Apple for “copying” their smartphone, the Galaxy S5.
Apple and Samsung have battled over the similarities with the competition’s products for years. However, this week, both Apple and Samsung dispatched new advertisements outwardly mocking the opponent’s smartphone device.
Spirit Airlines Takes Advantage of Celebrity Photo Scandal
Apparently teasing the celebrity leaked photos scandal is not only funny, but also a great way to promote a company, or so Spirit Airlines thought. The Florida based airline decided to take advantage of the scandal to promote its “bare fare” low cost flights. They sent out an email last week that titled “Our Selfie Leaked Too…” together with a photo of a cartoon woman covering only her chest.
Social Media Strategies
As the world becomes increasingly evolved into an age of technological advancement, our daily lives become overwhelmed with more and more digital communication. It seems as if all aspects of our lives, from personal relationships to business strategies, are turning to social media. It has quickly become a relied upon tool to instantly communicate relevant information, keep the population well-informed on current events, as well as to gather support and awareness for a organization or cause. While social media can have a vast amount of success, it can in turn pose detrimental repercussion if it is not executed appropriately. Social strategies are required in order to achieve the organizational purpose and use of social media.
Social Media as a Marketing Tool
As social media becomes more popular and prominent in our world each day, advertisers are taking great advantage of the opportunity. Whether through hashtags or celebrity endorsements, advertising strategies are beginning to revolve around these networking cites, and seem to be working. Continue reading
Will The Comcast-Time Warner Deal Affect Communications Infrastructure?
Close to Sealing the Deal
Another major merge between the two largest cable companies is creating a setback, especially for our wallets. Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company wants to buy Time Warner for $45 billion dollars. If this communications merge were to happen, Comcast would shovel 70 million subscribers, which is about 30 percent of television viewers in the United States. So, why is this an issue?
The last time a deal like this was announced was in 2011 when AT&T tried to merge with T-Mobile, which affected the communications infrastructure. That deal fell through when the Department of Justice sued to block the deal. The Department of Justice “argued at the time that the AT&T deal would decrease competition, hurt consumers and squash innovation.”
The Comcast proposal creates another threat, placing a strange hold on several growing businesses such as internet services and broadcast television. Essentially this proposed merger “would create a behemoth of a monopoly, crushing networks, broadcasters and any content provider looking for a path.” Continue reading
Uber Is Doing Big Things – In The Big Apple
New Courier Service Aims to Hit NYC
Did you ever think anything you ever wanted could be delivered right to your door, on beck-and-call? Well you can with your smartphone Uber app, only in New York City. Continue reading
Employers use social media to answer the questions they can’t ask.
Don’t want to answer that? Looks like your Facebook page just answered it for you. Some job interviewers use social media to answer questions they shouldn’t ask.
Job interviewers use social media to answer questions they shouldn’t be asking.
During the interview process there are certain question that aren’t allowed to be asked, but job interviewers have discovered a digital loophole to avoid breaking the law. Digging up dirt on their job candidates, employers use social media to find answers to personal questions they aren’t supposed to inquire about.
Students fresh out of college are experiencing this phenomenon—after going on a job interview their interviewers will request to be their “friend” or become on of their followers. Putting students and job candidates in between a rock and a hard place, they fear not accepting the request or the follow might put them at a disadvantage for getting the job.