Social Networks Boost Customer Service

Many businesses are using social media to boost their customer service these days.

Often times consumers give feedback about a company or its product on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network.

For example, if I bought the new iPad I would most likely tell all my friends on Facebook about it and hashtag it on Twitter. Whether the experience was a good one or bad one. Apple Inc. could then directly respond to me about my comment.

If Apple Inc. decided to engage in a conversation with me I would become more loyal to the brand and most likely speak highly of the company.

The same can also go with celebrities and their fans, but that's a different story.

Also, if the social network pages for Apple Inc. would change statuses and tweets to get consumer feedback the customer would feel that he/she had a say in the next product being designed.

For example, the first iPad didn't have a front or rear facing camera. This was a big complaint about the product. When the iPad 2 came out the designer made sure to include both cameras.

Many people think social networks are harmful to businesses because there isn't face to face interaction. In reality it can help a business drastically with customer service because the company can reach many more individuals and receive a greater amount of feedback.

Photo Credit: George Nantwi via Creative Commons

Read more...

More Sites Move to Mobile

Our generation is constantly changing the way we get our information. From newspapers, computers, smartphones, iPods and iPads now we are constantly getting news and information on the go. The demand for information and news on the go is making many sites have to move to more mobile-optimized sites to keep up with the competition.

"The businesses know they need it and see the opportunity," says Jason Spero, director of mobile for Google.

The explosive growth of mobile (1.6 billion mobile phones sold in 2010) shows how important mobile optimization is for Web businesses. But most companies have yet to take the plunge. Google says 79 percent of its largest ad customers don't have a mobile-optimized site.

The New York Times has jumped aboard recently when they announced that they are making digital subscriptions to their website and also a mobile app.

The crush of mobile consumers requires either creating a whole new site entirely or adjusting the content so it can be viewed by smartphones and tablets. This may also require them to ditch Adobe Flash software because Apple products unlike Androids can not view them.

I think it will be interesting to see how many more websites or online newspapers add mobile-optimized sites in the upcoming future. I also think it would be a good idea for media journalists and other jobs including visual creativity to learn how to make mobile-friendly sites especially if they work with graphics and photos because photos tend to get distorted and look funny when viewed on a full-site rather than a smaller version.

PhotoCredit: CreativeCommons.

Read more...

New York Times Says "Not So Fast"

So, you thought you could get away with it didn't you? You figured out a way to get around that 20 article limit The New York Times will introduce in the U.S. next Monday. Well, it seems The New York Times has now said "Not so fast".

This new pay-wall system has a rule, if you get to a Times article by following a link it won't count against the 20 articles you get to read for free before paying a monthly subscription fee.

Of course, someone quickly introduced a twitter feed called @FreeNYTimes and it would be very resourceful for people looking for a way around it. The way it works is that person would have a subscription themselves and would have a link to every single New York Times article giving people the ability to use Twitter to get free articles.

"It is a violation of our trademark" said a representative for the Times and with that thought the Times has quickly countered this idea by asking Twitter to disable @FreeNYTimes.

Now is it really a trademark violation? Taking a look at the Twitter profile picture it has the distinctive Gothic "T" of the New York Times and the term "NYTimes" is identical to the newspaper's URL.

The Times may have a point now, but the name can easily be changed making it hard to press any trademark violation charges.

The Times' price is $35 per month to access the site on a computer, smartphone, and IPad while the computer only is $15. If the full package was $15 I believe a lot (and I mean a lot) more people would be willing to pay for the subscription.

So, What do you think? Is there a real trademark violation and do the prices for the subscription need to be adjusted?

I think the Times could simply avoid problems like this with a new plan. Make the pricing a good bit cheaper and people might be willing to pay for the subscription.

Photo Credit: businessinsider.com via Creative Commons

Read more...

Addicted Gamers

With the iPad 2 being revealed earlier this month gamers are wanting to know what apps they should be downloading.

Angry Birds is still at the top of the must have games for the iPad.

Angry Birds is a puzzle video game in which players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs placed on or inside of diverse structures. The objective is to destroy all the pigs on the playfield.

Doesn't sound too glamorous, but gamers find it very addictive.

Another addicting game for the iPad is Fieldrunners.

Fieldrunners is a tower defense video game. There are eight different types of weapons that are used to destroy the different characters that are attempting to make it across the field.

The player's objective is to create some type of maze to keep the characters from reaching the opposite side of the field.

Fieldrunners doesn't sound too entertaining, but from my experience it is. I have spent hours creating different types of mazes to make it to the next level.

As with all video games there are secret cheat codes and hints that can be discovered on the Internet. However, I warn those of you who are tempted to search for these cheats. It takes a great deal of fun out of the game, and I have found that after finding the solution I become bored with the game.

Photo Credit: Bonnie Phelps via Creative Commons

Read more...

Is It A Newspaper Or A Magazine

On February 2, 2011 The Daily for the Apple iPad was launched.

The Daily has promoted itself as a newspaper exclusively for the iPad. Each day new articles are published and put out just like a print newspaper.

An iPad user downloads the app and pays 99 cents per week or a year subscription for $39.99. Then the user is set to read to his or her heart's content.

It has been speculated however that The Daily is not a newspaper but a magazine. These claims have been based on visuals more present than text.

In my opinion The Daily is neither one. Both newspapers and magazines have a large amount of context bewteen the pages.

An issue of The Daily only has a handful of stories. And once those stories are gone they are gone unlike newspapers and magazines which can have stories from months or years gone by.

To me The Daily is ridiculous, why pay for news when it can be read online for free with an unlimited amount of stories?

I feel this application is really just a bulletin highlighting a few stories.

What's your take?

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Read more...

Smart Phone or Tablet?

The days of journalists using paper and pencil to communicate news are long gone. Now journalists can use smart phones and tablet computers to get news out when it happens.

My question is which tool is more effective for journalists to use?

In my opinion a smart phone is the best choice for the job.

Smart phones can go anywhere because they fit so nicely in a person's pocket.

When news breaks the phone can be whipped out. Using the Internet a story can be upload to Twitter, another social networking site and a website. This works well with a touch smart phone.

I understand that tablets like the Galaxy Tab and the iPad are becoming a tool more and more journalists are using but I wonder what is the benefit over smart phones?

On one hand more notes can be taken than with a phone and tablets are lighter than a laptop. But on the other hand it would seem inconvenient to take a tablet everywhere.

To me I can't justify a tablet when all I see it as is another computer.

My vote is for a smart phone that can go any and everywhere.

What about you?



Photo Credit:www.cellhut.com via Creative Commons

Read more...

Benefits of E-books

Electronics run the world today, and with the latest creation, tablets, the world will change even more. Tablets such as the iPad, Nook Color, Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle are changing our world drastically by one simple feature, e-books.

E-books are books that can be read electronically on digital devices like computers or tablets in this case. These can be very helpful in the fact that a person doesn't have to carry around all of his or her books.

By downloading the books legally online a person can have hundreds or even thousands of books with them at once. This not only saves space, but it also allows a person to search for topics within the books.

For example, if a person needs to find a specific section in his or her textbook, he or she can search key words to help narrow the search down. This saves a great amount of time.

Another great thing about e-books is the bookmarking feature. A person can bookmark certain parts of an e-book to come back to. Whether it's where he or she left off in the book, or he or she wants to share it with another person.

For my second semester here at Simpson College I had to purchase 15 books. I spent nearly $300 on these books. Which brings me to another great benefit of e-books, cost. E-books are much cheaper than buying actual books and textbooks. There are even times when you can download the books for free.

My final point about e-books is the immediacy. When purchasing a book you have to go to the store or even buy it online, but with e-books it's only a click away. You can purchase all you're textbooks necessary for classes and any other reading materials that may interest you at your home.

I believe e-books are the next big thing in today's world. I think in the next five years if you look into a classroom you won't see textbooks sitting on students' desks, you will see e-books.

Photo Credit: Livia Iacolare, via Creative Commons

Read more...

A Groundbreaking Device

When Apple released the iPad it was described as a groundbreaking device. It has thousands of applications varying from games, weather, to the latest magazines and newspapers. Although, this has many benefits it has its downfalls too.

According to at&t a 16 GB iPad is $629, this is the cheapest option with the least amount of storage space. A 64 GB iPad is priced at $829. These devices are fairly expensive and not that many people have access to these devices. This of course can change in the near future, just like anything else, but at the moment the iPad can be considered a luxury. I beileve this to be one of the biggest downfalls of the iPad.

A benefit to the iPad is how much you can access at just a mere touch. It can serve as an entertainment or informational tool. You can play games, update your Facebook, or send out a tweet. You can also check the weather, the news, and be informed of any breaking news. Not only can you just check the weather or news, you can read full articles or editions of a newspaper or magazine on the iPad. Will this affect the journalism world as we know it?

I believe it will. By having the option of accessing newspapers and magazines on devices such as the iPad paper waste can be eliminated and so can clutter. This will benefit the environment but will it be better the company's that write the articles? In a few ways yes, by not having to physically print the information on paper money is saved, and this will allow for more information to be published. Also it is still possible to get advertising dollars from companies because online ads are often seen more than in print ads. I think the iPad and other devices that are similar will benefit the world and although it will bring change, I believe it will be for the best.

Photo Credit: Ariel Schwartz, Via CreativeCommons

Read more...

iPads: The Sole Device of Future Journalism?

Over the past months since Apple released the iPad in April of 2010 the new device has been growing in popularity. Not only is it the hot new gadget on the market, but it is also taking on a large role in the world of journalism by the ways it is changing how the media is presented to the audience.

As stated in an article on Nieman Journalism Lab, publishers that have realized the importance of this device will no doubt be ahead of the game compared to those who choose to ignore it. Publications like Sports Illustrated have shown their intentions to have a fully interactive magazine that even customizes the magazine to the readers’ interests. Not only does the proposed magazine have interactive features, but video clips as well. Not only are the publications altered to fit each reader, but they would be able to be continuously updated and would no longer have a routine issue every week or every month. The publications that have these ideas will be the ones to keep the reader engaged and will set them ahead of other publications and eventually make them more successful. People want their entertainment and info fast and free. The iPad can provide that for many people, but that is where many arguments about money come into play. The idea of having publications on iPad worries many companies when discussing subscription fees that they still need to stay afloat. The question has come up of how the subscription costs would be shared between Apple and the publication. With growing technology like the iPad publishing companies also worry about information being shared with others who have not paid for the product. Another downside of publications on the iPad and other technology is that a large percentage of the population is not familiar with this technology or does not have access to it yet. The coming years will be a time of difficult transitions for journalists and publications as decisions will have to be made as to how the publication will be distributed to its readers, but changes are necessary with the developing technology that will eventually serve as a large asset to the media industry.

The iPad and other new technological devices will truly revolutionize the way journalism works and how people get their news and entertainment. However, journalists and publishing companies need to realize this and utilize the new technology that is now available to them.

Photo Credit: FHKE, Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons

Read more...

Tablets: A Successful Journalism Tool?

All the rage these days are new tablet devices such as the Apple iPad. However, are these devices helping increase communication? In some ways, no. So far at least.

An article found on TechDirt talks about some of the problems that still persisit with the iPad and other tablet devices. One of these issues is that they are geared mostly towards one-way communication. This, obviously, can be problematic for budding journalists. If a journalist is unable to make his or her work available to consumers, their input will never be heard.

Lack of a keyboard is also a problem with tablet devices. Anyone with experience with a touch screen knows that it is not easy to type using a touch screen keypad. They are prone to errors and accidental misspelling.

Another problem with the iPad specifically? The lack of Flash capabilities. Many websites have pictures or videos that are only accessible if you have Flash. With the iPad, a user is unable to view these. However, this is a problem specific to the iPad.

Do any of you have an iPad or other tablet device? Have any of you ever used one? Do any of you want one?

Photocredit: Glenn Fleishman, Wikimedia, Creativecommons.com

Read more...

The Issues Behind Printed Issues

As newspapers become less popular, news readers are going to other sources to find out information.

Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Times of London, was one of the first people to enforce paywalls for his newspaper. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. Originally The Times had 150,000 registrations online. After applying the paywall over 120,000 people were unwilling to pay the paywall fee.

People aren't willing to pay for news that they can find elsewhere for free. With social media taking over people go to Twitter and Facebook to get their news fix. Tablets are also becoming more popular and with these tablets are applications that provide free news.

Also, because newspapers are printed at the same time on a regular basis, other news sources are able to get the news out quicker. Twitter is able to post breaking news immediately along with Facebook and iPad apps.

Let's face it, newspapers are going to become extinct in the next ten years. IPad apps, Facebook, and Twitter are taking over the news industry with their free information.

Photo Credit: Dorothy Parker, Loon Pond

Read more...

News Corp. Brings A 'Daily' To The iPad

Looking beyond today's journalism and preparing for the future, Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. CEO, will launch a new digital newspaper exclusively for the iPad and other tablets next year.

As reported by the New York Times, Rupert Murdoch is teaming up with Apple to bring "The Daily", a one-of-a-kind digital newspaper designed exclusively for the iPad and similar tablet devices, to the App store in early 2011 for $0.99 per week or about $4.25 per month.

Focusing on national coverage and culture, the Daily is expected to provide original content and deliver an outstanding multimedia experience as the iPad is known for.

"With an investment of $30 million and a staff of around 100 journalists, the Daily will be a 'newspaper' with rich video and photography built especially for the iPad," said David Carr, media columnist for the New York Times.

Although the content will include political topics of importance, editors want the Daily to be a fun read including pop-culture, sports, and editorials. the Daily's staff is composed of distinguished contributors of the mainstream media like Richard Johnson, "the New York Post's king of gossip", and Sasha Frere-Jones, pop-music critic of The New Yorker, among others.

the Daily will not have a website or a print edition, thus, it will be only available for download through the iPad and other still unannounced tablets.

The creation of the Daily is based from Murdoch's belief that "within a few years, tablet devices will be like cell phones or laptops - every member of the family will have one."

Murdoch is taking a chance with the iPad as a way to increase revenue towards the publication of news in difficult times for newspapers during a growing momentum of online news. As Carr puts it, "the Daily will be a newspaper, an ancient motif on a modern device."

As the Daily comes to a beta-mode test sometime in December, I can already foresee important changes for journalism in the year 2011. Perhaps, if the Daily turns out to be profitable, we might see the rise of a new trend and a benchmark for news publications to come in the future.

Read more...

Smule and iPad allows users to play fiddle

We've all played a piano on our iPod or iPad but that was just the beginning.

Smule has recently unveiled it's newest creation, the Magic Fiddle for iPad, which turns your iPad into your very own stringed instrument.

People who have never played the instrument can easily pick it up and begin playing. It's held on your shoulder, like a violin. One hand acts as the bow and the other presses down the strings.

Unlike Rock Band and Guitar Hero Magic Fiddle isn't just pre-recorded songs being played. The app goes further in making unique but not always exact representations of the actual sound of a fiddle.

Smule has also created other musical apps such as the magic piano, leaf trombone and Sonic Vox. Two years ago the Ocariana flute app was created. It allowed people to blow into the microphone to create music.

The Magic Fiddle app is only $2.99 and has a large songbook filled with favorites such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Silent Night".

Read more...

Newspapers are Saved

According to a recent article on Mashable, the iPad is going to save newspapers. The iPad offers many features that make reading news on the go easy thanks to a large screen, interactive features, and quick downloads. In order to utilize all of this, however, you actually need to own an iPad.

Current figures show that Apple has sold approximately 3.27 million iPads, and the number is expected to increase. And while many people have indicated that they wish to purchase an iPad at some point, not everyone is willing (or have the finances) to fork over $500.

iPads do seem like a good way to enhance more readership in newspapers, simply because this is a device that can easily be carried. While people might be able to look at newspapers on their phones, it is hard to read the tiny text, and scroll back and forth, up and down to get the full story. Some people have laptops, but those can be bulky, and not convenient to carry with at all times. So why would people choose to carry an electronic device instead of just hit up a newspaper stand?

First off, there is the large variety of newspapers that are already online, several of which are free. When you go to a newspaper stand, there are many selections as well, but it isn't practical to buy five different papers when you could simply have five different windows open on an iPad. With the iPad, you can download the newspaper apps, and open them that way.

Secondly, while there are some free newspaper apps, not all of them are free. For the ones that do cost, the price is generally around three bucks, and that is a one-time deal. How nice would it be not to dig the change out from under the couch each morning to buy your daily newspaper? Already the Wall Street Journal has had more than 650,000 downloads, many of those with paid subscribers.

Even though there seem to be many benefits of using the iPad for newspapers, there are also downsides. There is of course the possibility that you set it down somewhere and someone else walks off with it. Just like a computer or phone, you could accidentally dump water on it, leave it in the hot sun, etc. and fry it. And what about when the iPad updates (like so many devices do), are people going to pay each time to get a new one?

I think that utilizing the iPad to read newspapers is a good idea, though it may not be as practical in a few years. Newspapers are not going to make money at it unless they charge consumers to download their apps. I am anxious to see how this pans out in the coming years.

Read more...

iPad Has Been A Big Hit For Apple

At first when the iPad premiered it seemed as just another novelty to have and people were unsure how many people would actually purchase the expensive electronic device. The iPad could hit in the top consumer electronic products within the next year.

According to the article below people are consuming the iPad more than the iPhone or near-ubiquitous DVD players. The iPad is continuing to grow it was not a huge hit right away like some other products made by Apple, but it is working its way up on the charts.

The iPad rates are about 4.5 million units per quarter. This is ahead of the 1 million units per quarter the original iPhone made when it was released and the 350,00 per quarter when the DVD players launched.

If this continues to be a popular consuming item the number could go up to 9 million per year business. Putting the iPad in the top five of largest consumer products placing it behind televisions and lap tops. And placing it in front of game systems. Along with these rising numbers it explains why companies like Samsung are wanting to incorporate touch screen into their products. It always is about being competitive. So I'm curious to see what Apple will make next!

http://bit.ly/aTKEpU

Read more...

The Times and Social News

It appears that The New York Times is getting more involved with the growing phenomenon of social news. According to the article entitled "Betaworks and The Times Plan a Social News Service" by Jenna Wortham, The Times is partnering with Betaworks to create a new social news site called News.me.

In the ever expanding world of online social media and news it would seem fitting that a journalism institution such as The Times would be getting involved with social news. My feeling is that as much as The Times may or may not want to, they have to get on board with online social news. Sites like Twitter have forever changed the landscape of journalism by creating this instant source for breaking news that, in some ways, has helped kill off print newspapers: see Seattle Post-Intellingencer and Rocky Mountain News.

This collaboration between Betaworks, who are the creators of TweetDeck and Bit.ly, and The New York Times has been in the works for the past six months according to the article by Wortham. Not many details have been released about the site to this point which keeps the mystery intact.

When you direct yourself to the News.me site there is nothing more than a placeholder as a web page. However judging by the name of the site, one can only imagine the possibilities it may provide to the media consumer.

Initially it is said that News.me will debut as an IPad application and a web version may be introduced at a later date.

You may ask what does this do for newspapers and social media moving forward? It seems to this blogger that News.me is only another exciting tool that is coming available to journalists and the public in general. It remains to be seen what effect this venture and others of its kind will ultimately have on the newspaper industry. However with newspapers getting into the fold, it would seem that they are doing their best to change and evolve with today's ever changing society.

Read more...

The Ethics of the "Leak"

A tech blog aired a video last week listing the features of the unreleased iPhone 4G after the top-secret phone was forgotten in a bar.

On his 27th birthday, Gray Powell, an Apple engineer, was at a bar celebrating with friends. When the group left the bar, Powell forgot his iPhone sitting on a bar stool, but this was no ordinary iPhone. It was an iPhone 4G, not due for release until this summer, disguised as an iPhone 3GS.

Gizmodo, a blog specializing in the analysis of new technology, bought the iPhone 4G for $5,000. Staff members then dissected the phone and verified its authenticity as the highly anticipated new iPhone.

Immediately, speculations began that the iPhone leak was simply a ploy by Apple to steal buzz from the release of Google's Android. However, Gizmodo refutes that idea in a recent article.

This is not the first time that there has been a leak on a highly-anticipated Apple product. The morning the iPad was released, an Apple engineer showed it to Steve Wozniak, one of Apple's co-founders, for two minutes. As a result of this internal leak, that engineer, identified only as A.J., was fired.

Wozniak told Gizmodo this story following the recent iPhone leak. If Gizmodo knew that Apple fired the person who leaked the iPad, would they have an ethical responsibility to reconsider publishing the leak of the iPhone 4G? Or, in contrast, does a blog like Gizmodo have a responsibility to publish that information when it is encountered?

In the iPad leak, the engineer was kept anonymous, and he lost his job. Because Gizmodo identified Powell so quickly, they may have helped him keep his job. Instead of remaining faceless, he became the symbol of a guy who screwed up. If you fire the guy now, you make him a martyr for Apple. From a public relations standpoint, it's a whole lot easier to give Powell a second chance when everyone knows his name.

Read more...

iPad Developing Ideas

The iPad is earning the label of "idea creator."

Much fuss has been created since the release of Apple's newest creation but most of that has been technical news. Chuck Frey is arguing in his blog that the iPad is going to be the best way to create and develop ideas, as well as share those ideas.

Frey points the portability and battery life of the iPad as a major pro for the spread and share of ideas. The iPad can be taken anywhere and especially if you purchase the 3G version it can be used to find information for that story you have been trying to write.

The bigger screen and new technology in the iPad allows you to browse mediums of news not only quicker but more efficiently to find the information that is important. It is a tool meant to tap all forms of media and because of this owners of the iPad have a world of information at their fingertips.

The iPad is also helping the ideas it creates be implemented. The iPad allows you to download full books and allows authors to publish books and blogs that may not have been published otherwise. Frey feels the iPad will never take the place of a computer or a laptop, but its versatility and ability to tap information that those two also can makes it a prime source for developing and implementing your ideas.

Read more...

Banned iPad

The Apple iPad has been banned from two major American Universities because of wireless connection issues.

Princeton University has officially blocked 20 percent of the iPad from being used on the Princeton wireless network. Princeton claims that the iPad cause DHCP client malfunctions which means the iPad is making it hard for other devices to connect to the school's wireless network.

George Washington University is having technical difficulities of their own with the iPad, though their issues don't involve DHCP malfunctions. Their wireless networks do not support the iPad just like they did not support the iPhone when it was released. This problem makes it impossible for iPad owners to connect to GWU's wireless network.

Not all places are having trouble with the iPad. Cornell University specifically tested for DHCP malfunctions before the iPad was released and because of this Cornell has had no problems with the iPad on their wireless networks. Seton Hall is another institution that was prepared and has had little trouble with the iPad.

Apple plans to release iPads that will connect to 3G networks in April which could help solve the WiFi connections problems the current iPads are having.

Read more...

Apple Still Old Fashion

Apple has recently denied an application called "Newstoons." This application was apparently in violation and so it was not published. The application was created by Mark Fiore, a Pultizer-prize winning cartoonist. His application was to let people view the cartoons.

While Apple seems to believe that the gated community they have now created works well, it shows interesting views of whether you'll only be able to have stories that are overall popular with audiences. If Apple is pick and chosing what they want to publish, what exactly are they looking for? Just the topics that might get them more money. It seems that this might be Apple's main concern.

Currently this application has now been published.

Read more...