[Day2] Media Use Diary

When I woke up yesterday, I was in Tampa at a friend's house still so I had to get on the road back to Gainesville. I prepared to shower and checked my e-mail and facebook on my phone while I waited for the water to warm up. After I got ready, it was about 8:30 AM and I already received my first text.

I got on the road, checking my e-mail periodically throughout the drive to see if a client had emailed me back yet. They finally did so I scanned the e-mail while I was on the highway.

When I got to school, I checked facebook, my mail and played the "Angry Birds" app on my phone. I also checked my banking statement, which is probably the only thing I use my browser on my phone for since Wachovia does not have an app.

When I got to work, I did my usual check of blogs that I mentioned before as well as facebook. I then proceeded to check my work e-mail. Throughout the day, I take a break from work by checking on my sneaker blogs for news and facebook for updates from my friends. I also listened to a live stream of a radio station back home and texted a request for a song in. My coworker did as well.

When I left work, I went home to watch my daily shows: "Around the Horn", "Pardon the Interruption", and "SportsCenter", all on ESPN, for my daily update on sports. When 6 PM rolls around, I check my one of my sneaker blogs for the "6 o'clock News" daily feature. For the rest of the night, I periodically checked facebook and my personal e-mail while doing my work until I fell asleep.

One thing I forgot to mention for the Day 1 post was my use of the ESPN "ScoreCenter" app. I follow my favorite teams and main events and gets up-to-the-minute scores. Since I missed the Miami Dolphins game Sunday while being on the road, when I finally got off the road I checked the final score of that game. They won to my delight, unlike UF the previous day =(.

[Day1] Media Use Diary

Today was an interesting day. I was preparing to leave home in Miami to come back towards school. The Internet was out so I was on my phone as soon as I woke up. I checked my email on my work and personal accounts, checked facebook and then watched ESPN. Since it's NFL football all day, I watched much of the programming for a better part of the morning. To be honest, I don't think I can remember any commercials I saw...

Later that day, I was busy so I didn't check my phone much but I was texting on occasion. I'd say I must average about 500 texts, outgoing and incoming per day.

While I was driving, I was texting and also checked facebook and even my e-mail a few times. Not that I finally have Internet again on my laptop, I do my routine Website checks. I follow 3 blogs in particular: 1 gossip and two sneaker-based. I'm pretty much done for the day so that's about it.

{Week 14] The New Normal

John Battelle, as I have just come to find out, is a major name in many things that will be relevant in the future. In this HP Input|Output interview, he briefly discusses what very well could be our world in the next few years. Based on search and mobile devices, he presents a world where social media, consumerism, marketing and technology come together and create a cyclical relationship based on each individual consumer. The Gap example, which could be applied to almost any store, is interesting. I began to think about the stores I frequent and actually would willingly participate in such an occurrence. With the way e-mail marketing is these days, I could easily see this being an extension of that.

I'm sure many consumers would embrace this new wired world but I do see some difficulty with widespread adoption. As I've come to realize, not all consumers want to live in this techy world that we are moving towards. With privacy issues and simple fear from consumers, I could see this New Normal giving some trouble for some to embrace. Although I would love it, some definitely would not. Not only the issues mentioned already but other boundaries: customer not having a smartphone or social media presence, issues with salespeople targeting them, or even not having a purchasing history or missing links that were discussed by Battelle. In the long run, I could see this working out and truly becoming the New Normal. With the young consumers growing up in this highly technological age, it is inevitable. Just consider this: my 18 month old niece is an iPhone user already. She knows how to wake it up, unlock it and even play games. Imagine when she's 20. I'll leave it at that.

[Week 13] Web Metrics

I never was really interested in Web metrics or anything related to it but this is a good article for the basics. The chart that breaks down what metrics relates to each objective is really helpful too. There is a lot more to this that I never considered before. The basis for this all goes into usability as I understand it. Web advertisers and webmasters must work together to create a products that people want to see and visit. The most important thing is having a useful product that us easily used and understood.

In the future, I feel like more and more of this information pertaining to metrics will become widely understood in the industry. Everyday, more and more content is getting pushed to the web. There are some consumers and even some people in the industry that may be against this for one reason or another but I do feel it is inevitable. Web advertising is the future. I honestly believe at some point, it will overtake the traditional forms as the primary media in the marketing mix. Consider the generation that will be the main consumers in the next few years. They are more advanced than us in terms of media and technology. Reaching them through traditional media will not be as effective or even adequate. In turn, us as advertisers need to understand this material--web metrics and related amterial. In the marketing department I work for, we recently relaunched our website (check it out here). In the office, I have heard these words thrown around between our coordinator, the marketing assistants and the webmasters. The designers don't work as much with this material so we are less involved but I definitely have a better understanding of what is being discussed. I will definitely share this article with others in the future.

(I was sick the entire weekend-Friday up until this morning. I ran a fever, had headaches, nasal congestion and fatigue. I'm sorry for the delay.)

[Week12] The Future of Advertising....?

Today, technology is growing exponentially EVERYDAY. Tomorrow is already here with many of the software and hardware that is out there. It's almost scary. As discussed in this Ad Age article (1), people in the advertising industry are worried. Why? Because of the uncertainty. I credit this to a few things: a unwillingness to "change" and an unwillingness to embrace the "new". I do believe it all comes to dollars and sense. I feel that many people in the industry, especially the high ups, are not of this generation. The people that this new stuff is being made for isn't their market. It's not even for MY generation. This stuff is going to be BIG with the 3rd graders with iPhones and laptops and the toddlers that play the Wii. They are ridiculously advanced in comparison to generations before them. So my advice, EMBRACE it. It is the future. You don't have to be an early adopter but slowly incorporate this stuff. Don't be afraid to invest. Don't be afraid to spend. Don't be afraid to try it out. The future is now and I'm sure these people do not want to be on the outside looking in on the cash cow.

I do think more research needs to be done. Look at the recent information provided about online advertising (2). The general consensus on it before was that consumers were against it. This was probably true in the beginning but consumers change. They are getting free content in a sense. Advertising to them will be accepted. Advertisers and content providers have let the consumers control that market way too much. Hopefully this new information will change this. There are plenty to be made from this. It should be treated like traditional TV spots at this point. As we can see with new technology, the line of online content and TV content is being blurred...heavily!