Future Techonology

Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/11/tech/cnn10-inventions/

Perhaps you have already heard of three-dimensional printing. Though this technology was originally introduced several years ago, continual progress is being made. This Star Trek-like technology may well become part of our everyday lives.  

The technology of three-dimensional printing may not be as well known to consumers as it has been to scientists and members of the techno-world. One obvious reason for this is because this technology requires a certain type of computer. And even if you had that equipment, you would only be able to print a model of the common objects that had been scanned. What if you wanted to make a print (also known as a model) of a rare or custom-made item?

This is where the Makerbot Digitizer comes into play. This "printer" is able to scan virtually any object under eight inches in diameter. Simply place the object to be copied on the circular pad (where the garden gnome is shown in the photo above). With two lasers and a webcam, a digital copy will be made. This process takes less than 15 minutes, typically. Once this digital file is made, simply plug into a three-dimensional printer and watch the magic take place. Within just a few minutes, you can have a custom-made copy of virtually any model. 

As CNN stated, "astronauts aboard the International Space Station could scan and print replacement parts for broken or lost equipment instead of having to wait weeks for them to be delivered". Such technology could create a large change in how companies deal with their customers via social media. 

To illustrate the impact that this technology may have, I turn to an illustration from my personal life. I have a Mountain Smith lumbar pack that I use to carry my school items. A few months ago, I accidentally slammed one of the straps in the door of  my car, causing a clip to break. Apparently this piece is not often in need of replacement, so I have not been able to find the part anywhere. Imagine how my dilemma could be solved using this new technology. Let's suppose that I send Mountain Smith a tweet asking about a replacement buckle. Rather than directing me to a website to order the piece, they could send me a digital copy and I could "print" a new buckle myself. 

I feel as though this technology could aid companies to help their customers within a more immediate time frame. This would encourage the individuals to contact organizations through social media platforms even more than is happening currently. For me, knowing that I would be able to get exactly what I need a such a minimal cost, I would be more willing to replace broken items (and shop in general). 

Visit http://store.makerbot.com/digitizer for more details on this technology. 

Social Media Case Reflection 3

On January 25, 2013, a pastor and members of her worship group gathered together to for a meal at Applebee's. As is the custom with most restaurants, parties consisting of more than eight people are automatically charged gratuity. The pastor's group was about twenty people, which lead to such a charge of 18%. When the pastor, Alois Bell, received her check, she was upset with the fee and wrote on the bill, "I give God 10%. Why do you get 18%".

Throughout the last year, this story has been shared by friends, and acquaintances, and a slew of news reporters. I was somewhat familiar with this event prior to this assignment, however as I continued to research the matter, I realized that this is a great illustration of the impact that social media can have in our lives.

I read about ten various reports on the topic, and the first thing that I noticed was how negative everyone was toward the pastor. True, her comment may have been a little snarky, but I was surprised how every report was against her. There are two sides to every story. While I do not support the actions of Pastor Alois Bell, I would not go as far to say that server, Chelsea Welch, was innocent of any blame.

According to to ABC News, Welch uploaded a photo to Reddit "as a lighthearted joke". She may have posted the image as a joke, but I do not feel that justifies her senseless act. In a world filled with social media, it is important to think before you post. Welch's inability to consider the weight and consequence of her actions ultimately led to her termination from Applebee's employment. Though the company received backlash for letting the server go, I feel it was the best thing to do. Welch argued that she had broken no specific company policy, however she showed an inability to act appropriately in a customer service situation.

A powerful lesson can gleaned from the actions of both Chelsea Welch and Alois Bell. Both produced a message that had not been well thought out, leading to negative results. Pastor Bell, terming her actions as a "lack of judgement", stated that her heart was broken and that she has "brought embarrassment to [her] church and ministry". Though former server, Chelsea Welch, has received internet support, she stated that she needed to find another job in order to pay for college. Through both of these examples, we can see that once an action takes place, the actors do not determine the repercussions.

As we have learned throughout the course of the class, it is not uncommon for potential employers to research candidates online. Imagine what businesses and organizations will see when they search for information about Chelsea Welch. When learning how she has acted in the past, they may be leery of making her an addition to their team. Through this example alone it is not difficult to see how she could have trouble securing a good job for several years.

In a like manner, if someone were to search for information about the Word Deliverance Ministries church, they would likely find information about Pastor Alois Bell and her Applebee's experience. Especially considering her position, her comment about restaurant tips may destroy her credibility. Support and congregation size may have diminished as a result of her action. Surely there are those that thought her words and sermons were not consistent with her private actions (illustrated by the Applebee's incident).

There is a practical take-home message in this story. Put simply: Think before you act. Whether that be in personal setting or through social media, once something is said it cannot be taken back.

Apps

In March 2014, The Guardian created a list of the 20 best Android apps for 2014. Upon reviewing their list, I would like to focus on a few that seem particularly interesting. To view the complete list, please refer to the link HERE.

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BASECAMP -- Free

As Basecamp was already highlighted on this blog, you may already be familiar with that tool. (For a refresher or to learn more, please see the previous post HERE.)
Though this tool is not necessary new, the official Android app is. It is now easier than ever to keep tabs on complex projects than ever before.

The Google Store lists this app with a rating of 4.4 (taken from a sample size of 969 users).

One user stated, "Just what I was looking for- Since I used Basecamp on the web I wanted as much flexibility to use it everywhere. And the app is what I was waiting for..."

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FAIRSHARE -- Free

If you live in a shared housing situation, you have probably difficulty that it is to share responsibilities. Fairshare is an app that allows tasks to be divided to each tenant. For example, it aids in splitting the chores, the bills, and even joint activities. Also helps to track who is around and what still needs to be paid. 

This app was created in Australia in an attempt to create a more peaceful and organized living environment. 

According to one beta tester and active user, "Fairshare removes the need for a bad guy. Everyone can see how much people are contributing. If the app works in my share house of 10 people, it will work anywhere."

The current rating on this app is 4.4 stars (taken from a sample of 103 users).

As someone that lives in a shared housing situation, I can't wait to try this app out for myself!

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SNAP FASHION -- Free

Like Basecamp, this is an app that you may already be familiar with. Though it is not something that has been highlighted on this blog, it has received attention from Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, The Sunday Times, and more.

Snap Fashion, simply stated, is an app that allows you take a picture of an article of clothing that you like and it will search for similar products. Photos can be taken of people, magazines, clothes off the rack, or any other place that you see clothing. Whether you don't know where to buy something, or can't afford a product that you like, this app should help you find exactly what you're looking for.

This app has a currently Google Store rating for 4.5 (from a sample size of 11).
Though this app is accessible in the United States, it may be helpful to know that the app skims through companies in the UK, since that is where the app originated. Depending on where you shop, that may be a help of hindrance.

Viral Video

Undoubtedly, nearly everyone is familiar with the term "viral video". However, few know what it actually means. How many views does it take for something to be considered "viral"?

According to Kevin Nalty, "A few years ago, a video could be considered "viral" if it hit a million views.... A video, I submit, is viral if it gets more than 5 million views in a 3-7 day period."

Due to the ambiguous nature of the term "viral video", it may do well to compare our knowledge against another definition. The following definition comes from Techopedia:

A viral video is any clip of animation or film that is spread rapidly through online sharing. Viral videos can receive millions of views as they are shared on social media sites, re-posted to blogs, sent in emails and so on. Most viral videos contain humor and fall into three broad categories:

-Unintentional Viral Videos: Videos that the creators never intended to go viral. These videos may have been posted by the creator or shared with friends, who then spread the content.
-Humorous Viral Videos: Videos that have been created specifically to entertain people. If a video is funny enough, it will spread.
-Promotional Viral Videos: Videos that are designed to go viral with a marketing message to raise brand awareness. Promotional viral videos fall under viral marketing practices.

In order to illustrate the phenomenon of video sharing, let us turn our focus to a series of videos that recently gained a great deal of attention. 

Tony Serafini, a 38-year-old father, from Massachusetts, spends Saturday mornings with one of his daughters while his wife and eldest daughter are away at dance practice. He decided that he would make a video of his daughter rocking out in the background during their alone time. Noticing how popular his Vine videos were becoming, we decided to make the Saturday recordings a regular occurrence. 

His Vine Feed has more than 300,000 followers and his popularity is only growing. Serafini was just featured by the Today Show, which is how this author learned of the trending videos. The video featured about have gained a great deal of attention. It is a compilation of time spent with this youngest daughter, stretching throughout the course of three months. It was posted only four days ago and already has had over 1.5 million views. 

Depending on that you have chosen to define "viral videos", the 'One Man's Saturday' video may or may not fit the bit. It will be interesting to see how many more views that video gets over the next three days. Perhaps, with the additional publicity that it is receiving, it will successfully reach the 5 million viewers mark. 

Search Engine Optimization

Surely, many of you know from experience that acronyms are a popular part of the world in which we reside. OMG, LOL, TTYL, IDK, TY, ROFL.... However, you may not be familiar with the acronym"SEO". This simple acronym is an important one to know in this age of computers and technology.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a critical part of our virtual world and impacts the influences your internet experiences more than you realize. 

So what is SEO?

According to Wikipedia, it is the "process of affecting the visibility of a website or web page in a search engine's "natural" or unpaid (organic) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, and academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical searches engines."

How does SEO really affect me?

To illustrate the importance that this plays for each of us, let's walk through a familiar process. 

Let's suppose that we search for information from a search engine, such as Google. 

After hitting the search key, a list of results will populate on your computer screen. 

Though there may be many pages of information that populates, chances are they you won't take the time to look through all of them to find the information that you are looking for. In fact, if you are anything like me, you won't look much further than the first page. 

Not only is SEO important as a consumer in finding accurate and relevant information, but it is vitally important for businesses and organizations. It is easy to understand how an organization without popular search results will not receive very much traffic to their page. According to Buffer, "if people find you via a web search and find what they're looking for, you can receive lots of new web visitors that can help you make more money. If people can't find you in a web search, you miss an opportunity- and they might find your competitor instead."

To understand even more about what Search Engine Optimization is and how it works, the following brief video will help share the basic, but important information of this process. 

Management

When using social media as a company or organization, there is more to consider than how frequently you send messages. With the wide array of social media platforms, it can be no surprise that the things to consider may be as numerous and varied as the means of sharing a message.

The purpose of this post is to answer of the most basic question facing many organizations and companies. By addressing this question, one possible tool is recommended to assist in managing your social media accounts.

How far is our reach?

If your organization uses Twitter, TweetReach may be the best tool for you. Not only does it measure how far your tweets travel, but also measured what kind of implications or impacts may result. 

It helps you to locate your most influential followers, which is key in knowing your target audience and developing a marketing plan. 

To learn more about this tool, above is a short overview that was created by the company. 

Though some tools do exist that are free of cost, TweetReach does have a monthly fee. The price is dependent upon the number of accounts that you manage. However, do not let price scare you off. According to socdir.com, this management tool has a 4 out of 5 star rating. 

Users have stated:

"Extremely helpful tool to estimate reach of a Twitter campaign. A must have in any community manager's tool box!"

"Very, very easy to use and understand. Lets you know how far your word is getting around."

Organizational Uses

According to Harvard Business Review, among 2,100 companies that were surveyed, 79% indicated that they were using or planned on using social media channels. However, of that 79%, only 12% felt that they were using them in an effective way. With social media growing in popularity, one may wonder why this is. Though the study offered several explanations, Harvard emphasized that many organizations either did not understand how to use social media or did not understand the importance in doing so.

The following are a few examples of organizations that have used social media to their benefit. One of the first steps to transforming your business or firm is to see the practical application and benefits. Perhaps the example of these companies will provide insight and ideas for an organization that you are a part of.

Rather than relying solely on realtors for business, Martell Homes Builders have been able create a direct connection with their customers. Not only do they use their website and Facebook page to showcase their homes, but they also share tips and advice for home-buyers through their blog. Easily viewed on their website homepage are links to their accounts on the following platforms: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. So, what is so great about this organization?

To first thing is that they post things regularly. Some of the things that they publish are a more light-hearted, and while this is not essential, it shows the culture and attitude of the company as being one that is friendly and relaxed. The following are posts from their Facebook page.

20 PHOTOS OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS THAT CAN'T BE REAL (BUT ARE)

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE:

HOME BUILDING MYTHS DEBUNKED

What really makes Martell Home Builders stand out in the social media realm is their use of social proof. Throughout the different platforms that they employ, they focus on having positive customer feedback in clear sight and easily accessible. Additionally, clients are able to share information by sharing what this organization has shared through Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Not only are they creating an opportunity for customer feedback, but they also keep their clientele well informed, treating them as friends.

Another company that successfully uses social media is Zappos. This online shoe company places a special emphasis on the relationship that they have with their customers. This can be illustrated by one of their well-known sayings: "Let's be in a Like-Like relationship".

Not only does this organization give emphasis to treating their clients as equals, but they also use social media tools to roll out the red carpet and make customers feel valued. One example of this can be seen through their Facebook page. Once individuals have "Liked" Zappos, they are then able to view more content, such as exclusive content, videos and special promotions.

Keeping inline with their efforts to create positive relationships with their customers, Zappos uses Facebook to have a "Fan of the Week". They encourage individuals to take photos with their Zappos boxes and send them to the company for a chance to be featured on their page. Pictures are selected by customer voting, which encourages individuals to visit their page frequently.

Remember to make your customers and followers the stars. As we can see from Zappos example, it does not take a billion-dollar corporation to build positive customer relations through social media.

Though only two examples, this may be a great starting point as you seek to improve your organization or sphere of influence. Social media is a vital part of the business world today and ignoring it can only hurt your organization.