Like is the new love

One of the great benefits of our age is the ability to access data and swiftly turn it into an enlightening (or at least entertaining) infographic, and share it — quite literally — with the world. Who knew that college students had such a strong liking for Corona, Chipotle, and Macs? Facebook, of course.
This graphic makes it clear.

"Day Without Media" not worth living?

A former newsroom coworker just spotted this gem of a public notice in New Mexico — and naturally captured the image with her cell phone camera and posted it on her FaceBook page.

It brings to mind a fascinating study my husband, Dan Close, recently conducted with his classes at Wichita State University's Elliott School of Communication. Asking digital natives to give up their cell phones, videogames, laptops, iPods, TVs, etc., etc., for just 12 hours was asking more of them than most initially realized.

Students wrote about their experiences, and he presented the findings at a Popular Culture Association conference (in Albuquerque by coincidence). He called it “A Day Without Media: Freaking Out Students Who Take Technology for Granted.”

Most, as the title indicates, described themselves as disconnected, lost, afraid, alienated, on edge, lonely, stressed, frustrated, silenced, withdrawn, clueless, irritable, antsy. . . you get the idea. “It was a weird experience,” said AB, “and that’s saying the least.” A few made good use of their new-found free time and tackled chores, enjoyed time with family or friends, or just felt blessed by the relative silence.


For the course I teach for the Elliott School, Comm 502 Public Information Writing, I opened the first night of class with a request that students turn off their cells and put them away — but conceded that if it proved too uncomfortable, they should at least put these distracting little devices out of sight and out of immediate reach for the 90 minutes we meet. It's not surprising that young adults are programmed to reach constantly for their phones; a recent Pew study indicates they typically send and receive 50 text messages a day.     

Tweet tip of the day

from @bydanielvictor 

  

"If a press release about a survey fails to include methodology, I'll assume it's because you're hiding it. And I will not believe the #'s"

Adding social media to the medicine cabinet

People fighting chronic illnesses are less likely than others to have Internet access (62% vs. 81%), but once online they are more likely to blog or participate in online discussions about health problems, according to a report released March 24 by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.

"Once online, having a chronic disease increases the probability that someone will take advantage of social media to share what they know and learn from their peers," the study found.

Still, people living with chronic disease remain strongly connected to offline sources of medical assistance and advice:

• 93% of adults living with chronic disease ask a health professional for information or assistance in dealing with health or medical issues.
• 60% ask a friend or family member.
• 56% use books or other printed reference material.
• 44% use the internet.
• 38% contact their insurance provider.
• 6% use another source not mentioned in the list.

Looking at the population as a whole, 51% of American adults living with chronic disease have looked online for any of the health topics included in the survey, such as information about a specific disease, a certain medical procedure, prescription or over-the-counter drugs, or health insurance.

Quote of the day

"There's a saying that we've now changed to read: 'Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can kill.' "

— Warren Blumenfeld, Iowa State

lead author of new study into cyberbullying

Stop, focus and read

Long before it was called "multitasking," researchers have been looking at just how well people can do two things at once. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education gives a fascinating — and for many folks, counterintuitive — update. More than 100 years ago, the Industrial Age saw young factory workers rolling cigars while listening to books, newspapers and political or religious tracts being read aloud; the Tech Age finds today's college student sending text-messages in class while listening to the lecture, watching a PowerPoint with imbedded videos, taking notes and googling facts in anticipation of the professor's questions.

The multimedia experience, conventional wisdom tells us, enhances learning as it "lights up" more parts of the brain, but now it appears that people may be merely buzzed by over stimulation.

"Heavy multitaskers are often extremely confident in their abilities," Clifford I. Nass, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, told The Chronicle. "But there's evidence that those people are actually worse at multitasking than most people."

Nass and colleagues published a study in 2009 revealing that people who described themselves as multitaskers performed much worse on tests of cognition and memory that involved distraction than their counterparts who said they preferred to focus on single tasks. And a newer, as-yet-unpublished study by Nass, et al., shows that people who give a lot of time over to media screens fare worse on analytic questions, too.

"One of the deepest questions in this field," Nass says, "is whether media multitasking is driven by a desire for new information or by an avoidance of existing information. Are people in these settings multitasking because the other media are alluring — that is, they're really dying to play Freecell or read Facebook or shop on eBay — or is it just an aversion to the task at hand?"

So glad you dropped by to read this post — hope it didn't distract you for too long from your other tasks!

Quote of the day

"Businesses today fall into three camps – the social 'denyer,' the accidental socialite, and the socially aware.

— Michael Fauscette, IDC

Supervising social media

Guidelines issued Monday by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are intended to “ensure that firms and brokers use social networking sites in an appropriate manner," says Chairman Rick Ketchum. FINRA is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States, overseeing nearly 4,750 brokerage firms, about 167,000 branch offices and some 633,000 registered securities representatives.
Regulatory Notice 10-06 says member companies need to supervise the use of Web sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn by their employees — and "associated persons," such as their brokers and representatives — for public communications, to ensure that customers are not misled.
Firms also need to ensure that they can retain records of those communications.
Twitter, a 140-character online text-messaging phenomenon, started as a way for people to update friends and family on what they were up to at any given moment, but has become a powerful business tool. According to a recent report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project,
46 percent of American adults who use the Internet logged onto a social networking site in 2009, which is up from 8 percent in 2005. The "of the moment" nature of Twitter postings and FaceBook chats have an almost ephemeral feel, compared to blogs — something FINRA seemed to take into consideration. (Get its updates on Twitter by following @FINRA_News.)
It considers static postings to blogs to constitute “advertisements,” and any firm or registered representative that sponsors such a blog must obtain prior principal approval of any such posting. The exception: real-time interactive communications — such as tweets that are fed onto a site. FINRA considers that portion of the blog to be an interactive electronic forum that does not require prior principal approval — but that must be supervised.
The guidelines address the use of social media sites by firms and personnel for business purposes, not use by individuals for purely personal reasons. Translation: It's still not a great career move to post photos from your BFF's birthday bash at the beach bar — but FINRA won't care if you do.

Tweet outburst of the day

from @toddramsey

Dear event planners: please put the dates of your event on your homepage. In big, garish, bold, and maybe even neon, type.

A whirlwind of a week!

Broadcasting legend Cokie Roberts visited Wichita State University as part of her national author's tour, and generously gave her time to several campus events, including a speech Wednesday night, a "Conversation With the Provost" Thursday morning and about an hour on the air during KMUW-FM's spring pledge drive. Cokie, promoting her updated best-seller "We Are Our Mothers' Daughters," has plenty to say about the changing roles of women, the expectations of men, the current state of politics and business, and much more. It will be a challenge to package the video footage we collected into just an hourlong show, but it's a good challenge to have. Several people have stopped me to ask when they could see "Wichita State & The World's" Cokie episode — look for it in May. (And check back for updates!)


Thursday night, local TV icon Anita Cochran hosted an in-studio Tweetup for her Twitter pals during the 10 o'clock news. Tonight is her final broadcast for KSN, Ch. 3, and though Wichita viewers will miss her terribly, I couldn't be happier for her. She decided a few months ago to invest more time in her family life, specifically her tween-age daughters. I may be biased; I made a similar move in 2007. Anita won't languish at home with daytime TV and bonbons (for those of you who cling to stereotypes!); she has some exciting projects in the works.

More than words can say

Music speaks to us like no other media, communicating volumes in just a few notes. Last week in a class I'm taking on law enforcement issues, we all giggled when the instructor's cell phone began ringing "The Imperial March" (Darth Vader's Theme) from "Star Wars." And a friend on Twitter today summed up her thanks for a job well done with this BlipFM Props to the cops for making a speedy arrest in the carjacking of an 84-year-old man. Says it all.

YouTube as battle strategy

The Israeli army is taking its public relations war directly to a global audience: It has created a YouTube channel to disseminate video that documents recent precision-bombing operations in the Gaza Strip as well as humanitarian aid distribution efforts.

"The blogosphere and new media are another war zone. We have to be relevant there," says IDF Foreign Press Branch head Maj. Avital Leibovich.

Although graphic content — including a clip showing an air strike on men who were apparently loading rockets into a truck — has since been removed by YouTube, "The intelligent audience watching the footage will know that people killed did not have peaceful intentions toward Israel," Leibovich had told the Jerusalem Post. "I don't believe they'll be disturbed. The important thing is to get the truth out there."

And on YouTube, there's this posting from Leibovich's office (note the last sentence!): "We are saddened that YouTube has taken down some of our exclusive footage showing the IDF's operational success in operation Cast Lead against Hamas extremists in the Gaza Strip. As the State of Israel again faces those who would see it destroyed, it is imperative that we in the IDF show the world the inhumanity directed against us and our efforts to stop it. It is also worth noting that one of the videos removed had the highest number of hits (over 10,000) at the time of its removal."

The IDF Foreign Press Branch has also delivered briefings to bloggers around the world, and staff members are preparing to start their own vodcasts — video diaries — to discuss their feelings about the conflict in English and Arabic. They rightly calculate that this personal approach will affect audiences very differently than traditional news coverage and pundit commentary.

Since the beginning of the Gaza air strikes this holiday season, Israeli politicians have held frequent press conferences to defend the attacks, but when their words are broadcast on the news over images of mayhem, destruction and crying children, it is hard to listen to speeches. The IDF is making a smart tactical move.

The results are in

The informal survey of Twitter users (see post below) yielded some interesting stats:
— 9 in 10 of those responding said they had volunteered this year.
— 1 in 4 volunteer on a set schedule
— 3 in 4 volunteer as events or their heart moves them

Tweeples were most likely to split their time between:
— Mentoring and
— Sitting on boards and advising organizations
Half of the respondents chose those activities.
Next most-popular was political action — which makes sense, given that this is a presidential election year.
That was followed, in descending order, by:
— Fundraising
— Tutoring
— Faith promotion
— Other, which included: feeding the homeless through a church program, working in the arts, being a Compeer match, collecting items for battered women at the holidays, and working with at-risk kids at school (I'd likely have put that under mentoring or tutoring, but for the respondent it didn't seem to fit those categories so OK)

How often do the responding Tweeples volunteer? We are split:
1 in 3 volunteer monthly
1 in 3 volunteer randomly
1 in 5 volunteer weekly
and a very small set volunteer yearly (at the holidays) or never.

Why do Tweeples volunteer? Lots of motivations. Here's a sampling:
— "I believe in the causes."
— "I believe in humanity."
— "I makes me feel good, and I have skills to share."
— "To give back."
— "I am blessed with a little money and a little time — happy to help others."
— "Sense of civic responsibility inherited from my grandfather."
— "I think there could be a revolution, parents' overall inability scares me these days, the future is delicate."
— "To make a difference in the community."
— "Why not?"

Thanks to all who participated!

I've spent many a workday working through lunch, but my preference by far is to spend the lunch hour with a friend or two, talking about events of the day, laughing away a little stress and making plans to get
together again soon. That's why I enjoy Wichita lunch TweetUps, like the one Thursday that drew about 15 people. Some recent gatherings have drawn twice that many.

TweetUps inevitably are a dynamic mix of old and new friends and complete strangers who quickly become friends thanks to their online interaction via Twitter.com. At our long table were police detectives, graduate students, community group facilitators, a medical transcriptionist, a reporter, a couple of Web page designers, a couple of PR folks... A virtual community has become a very real one.

With a large group anchored to the table by food, it's only natural that the free-for-all conversation that is Twitter breaks down into a lot of 1-on-1s. Sometime soon, we're going to try a "SpeedTweetUp" that gets us moving around the table to talk to someone new every few minutes. Should be a hoot.

Buzz kill: The waiting game

The wait is all but over - based on reading the tea leaves, Sen. Joe Biden appears to be Barack Obama's pick for vice president - but the wait itself became news Friday night as the hours dragged on and on and on.

Impatient supporters and journalists I follow on Twitter (and I'm writing about two distinct groups here) had become rather cranky by bedtime. Some, even earlier:
As @jeffbutts Tweeted about 6 p.m.: "Re: obama's running mate. there's suspense. And then there's just plain annoyance. Get it over with."
After a daylong vigil, CNN reported Friday night that senior campaign officials said Obama's choice would not be announced to supporters in a text message until Saturday morning.
By 11 p.m., ABC News was reporting that the Secret Service had been dispatched to Biden's home.
As @nickjungman wrote at about 11:15 p.m.: "I am beginning to feel that I will *not* be the first to know Obama's VP pick. FALSE ADVERTISING!"
By 11:45 p.m., CNN flat-out declared Biden to be the guy.
Minutes to midnight, social media maven @toddblog summed up the feelings of many: "You can't promise that people will receive a text message "first," send a release to the news and NOT send the text. LAME Obama. Lame."
So maybe the promise was too good to be true. An interesting lesson in the buzz biz, nonetheless: Follow through and pay off matter.
PS: And seriously, is my phone network down? Because I still don't have a txt msg, and it's Saturday on the East Coast....
Addendum: It's now 8:02 a.m. Saturday. Bleary-eyed, I reach for my phone and see The Text. Sent at 2:38 a.m. today. Hmm. Shortly after midnight on the West Coast. Ah, well. It's a big country. Maybe the challenge of sending millions of simultaneous txt msgs was bigger than anticipated. Or maybe the campaign didn't want to be blamed for crashing Twitter when the news hit like a tsunami. That would have been a fatal blow to yesterday's buzz.

Buzz update

Just back from WichiTweets lunch, where cell phones vied for space on the tables with the chips and salsa. Several of us kept one eye out for The Txt Msg from the Obama campaign, announcing his vice presidential pick. Some checked their phones a little more than was necessary (obsessively?) considering that when the time comes, a cocophany is sure to ensue.

But the txt did not come over the lunch hour. So anticipation spawned speculation over the timing of the announcement: Before the evening news? During the evening news? During tonight's Olympics coverage? (My money's on breaking in during prime time tonight, though Old School thinking would aim for the start of the network news shows, 5:30 p.m. Central.)

Stay tuned.

PS: Is my phone working? I haven't gotten any txts all day! Better test it....

Building buzz by building a social network

Cable TV pundits are abuzz this morning, speculating on who Barack Obama has chosen as his running mate. Will it be Biden? Sebelius? Bayh? Clinton? Heightening their anticipation is that the news will break via text message.

I imagine that there were plenty of folks debating whether to shower this morning, for fear they might not hear their phones and thus miss The Moment.
Now, in the scheme of American Politics, this 3-second interaction between voter and cell phone is no Gettysburg Address. But there is an intimacy, a sense of inclusion in something important - which the Obama campaign has used cold, hard technology to create.

First came the e-mails: Be the first to know who has been chosen! (Who doesn't want to have and share "inside" knowledge?) Just text VP to a 5-digit number from your cell phone. (What could be easier for the under-50 crowd?)

How did the campaign get their e-mail addresses? Months ago, anyone curious to see the senator speak at an event was asked to RSVP via e-mail. In return, they'd get an "electronic ticket." The tickets didn't ensure entry, but they did allow organizers to anticipate crowd size and collect millions of e-mail addresses from across the nation. Simple and sweet.

Obviously, not everyone who signed up is a supporter - I'm maintaining political independence as I write this - but there's no doubt that Obama's contact lists of potential volunteers and voters is every candidate's dream.

BTW, I just checked my cell phone - again. No txt msg yet. Feeling kinda antsy. Can't recall **ever** feeling this way about a VP announcement. Can you?

Wil U b my VP?

Barack Obama's campaign sent Social Media e-mails Sunday evening inviting folks to "Sign up today to be the first to know" who his running mate will be.

Those who register online at http://my.barackobama.com/vp "will receive an email the moment Barack makes his decision, or you can text VP to 62262 to receive a text message on your mobile phone."

As campaign manager David Plouffe points out: No campaign has done this before.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate John McCain "apparently has figured out the younger generation just fine," according to The Washington Times. The newspaper reported Aug. 8 that in the past two weeks, his "celebrity attacks" have stomped Obama in YouTube hits. You'll find him @ www.johnmccain.com.

This truly is the first 21st-century presidential race.

A long and sociable day

Up early today to make the morning Wichita Tweetup @ 7:15 a.m. in the back room of the Hillside & Central Panera. This was the second get-together for the early birds, an interesting blend of folks primarily with Ad/PR interests, though all Tweeters in the area are welcome. The group is growing, and it was great to see some new faces, including two with Wichita State connections. (The night owls will Tweetup next Thursday @ 6 p.m. in the back room of The Anchor on East Douglas; many of us put both on our calendars.)
Next it was off to meet with the in-laws at the Wichita Clinic and have lunch afterward, because sometimes the most important thing you'll do all day is sit in the radiologist's waiting room and let someone cry, then let them buy you a hot fudge sundae. With pecans.
Afternoon was mostly split between making small talk with new acquaintances, talking about projects with collaborators, touching base with several people via phone, e-mail, txt and Twitter - and focusing on actual work.
Stayed late at the computer to make up for "lost" work time - but looking back on the day, I wouldn't give up any of the "live" interaction. If anything, tonight I crave a bit more. Time to go hug The Girl and The Husband. Maybe I'll just check Twitter first, tho....

Flocking to the Tweetup

Judging from the noise level, Thursday night's Wichita Tweetup was a rousing success. It drew roughly triple the people of the first, thanks in part to the pebble effect: Many of the seven people who attended the first spread the word about the second, then those ripples extended further out....

The result was a lively mix of folks at a long collection of tables, some meeting up with old friends, all making new ones, introducing themselves to strangers and making connections - "tweeting" in the Real World.
That microcosm included people from advertising and PR, the news media, higher education, non-profits, small business, Web design, IT, and beyond.
Conversations ranged from the highly technical to the highly personal to the downright hilarious. You had to be there.
Next is a morning Tweetup, date TBA. We'll keep you posted.