The rise of social media has resulted in millions of users communicating in ways that one never would have thought possible just 10-15 years ago. While users are sharing more than ever about their lives, there is an increased concern regarding privacy and security, particularly how it affects people in their professional lives. While many have tried to study the effects of social media, there have been few programs available for systematic study of the discipline. That is, until now. The University of Westminster has opened a Center for Social Media Research (CSMR), offering an MA in Social Media studies. The center will accept its first students in September 2013. The research program looks to explore what users think about social media and how it has changed society. Research will examine the cultural, economic, political and social aspects of social media. The center is one of the first in the [...]
When the white smoke rose from the chimney at the Vatican, cheers went up, church bells rang out, and tweets went flying. Facebook shares spread the news. Thousands of people exchanged text messages and emails. The election of Pope Francis occurred amidst a flurry of social media activity in mid-March. Catholics still have a way to go to catch up with their other Christian counterparts in the online world, especially in social media. But with Pope Francis, they may have renewed hope in more ways than one. Smartphones at the Vatican The election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was followed closely not only by major newspapers, magazines, and news networks, but also by people who use social media as their primary means of getting news. When the white smoke emerged, the world of social media went wild with speculation as to who the new pope would be. More than 150,000 [...]
Many business owners have used services like Facebook and Twitter to help establish a web presence, gain followers, get likes, and even get a new customer now and then. A lot of them are still hesitant, though, to pay for advertising on social networks. There are a lot of unknown factors at play, one being the algorithms used to determine how much impressions and clicks cost. Is it worth it? How do you know you’re getting a fair deal? The thing is, you don’t. That’s why Christopher Null of Null Media decided to put social media ads to the test. Here’s what he found. The Study’s Setup Null put up ads for four consecutive days on five different advertising platforms: Google Adwords, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. None of the ads ran when the others did (i.e., there was no overlap). The ads were linked to the home page of [...]
It’s no surprise that e-commerce is becoming increasingly popular, but the results from a study by Forrester may surprise you with just how quickly it’s growing. Traditional retailers have started to take notice of the e-commerce trend, upping the ante by investing more money into their online retail divisions. Online sales have reached an all-time high and are expected to grow even more over the next five years. Here are the statistics and projections from that study. Online Sales Will Make Up 10 Percent of All Sales by 2017 Growth of online retail sales is soaring past traditional retail store sales in both the United States and Europe. It is estimated that, in 2013, U.S. online retail sales will reach $262 billion; that’s a 13 percent increase from last year, making up 8 percent of all retail sales. These sales are expected to have a compound annual growth of 9 [...]
If you’re a designer, you know you can find color inspiration anywhere. It may strike when you’re at the library, out on the town with friends, or at the park with your kids. It’s hard to remember exactly what those colors look like unless you’re right there in the moment. These six smartphone apps will help you capture those colors by pulling them from the pictures you take in order to create eye-pleasing color palettes. Android Apps I Love Color I Love Color gives Android users access to thousands of colors, patterns and palettes, and is one of the most popular color apps on Google Play. The colors can be shared, used as wallpaper, or used as a background. It is a great app for graphic designers or those who just love color. Color data is pulled from Colourlovers.com. The app is popular even among non-designers for its ability to [...]
Getting that perfect shot isn’t always easy, especially if you’re on your mobile phone. You may blur an area of the photo, capture something that you didn’t know was in the background, or be the victim poor lighting conditions. That doesn’t mean that your photo can’t be beautiful, though. With the help of these apps, you can make an ordinary photo something extraordinary, all on your Android phone. PicSay Pro is an easy-to-use photo editing app with powerful features. It has all the traditional editing tools that you’d expect from a photo editor, with the addition of lots of fun effects to choose from. Many of its filters and features are similar to Instagram. Its most distinguishing feature is its library of stickers and text bubbles to liven up your photos. Once you’ve made your edits and added fun stickers and text, you can share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, [...]
The great thing about a rapidly changing world is that many of those changes result in better productivity. There are tools that help you stay on top of your life and work. Most of these apps run on the mobile or tablet device you already own. Some people wonder where they should start to be more productive. You will see an improvement with any one of these tools. Pick one and use it. Use as many of the features as you can. The resource management tools don’t make you productive; it’s how you use them. Evernote for Business Evernote started as a simple clipping service for people to save cool things they found on websites. It has grown into an application that helps you organize your teams, according to forbes.com, and your team’s work products. Each member gets an account and has access to their own space as well as the Business [...]
Who knew that good customer service means more sales? In a not-so-shocking customer service survey, research shows that car dealerships that respond to Internet leads effectively sell more cars than dealerships that don’t. Car dealerships have dramatically improved how they respond to online leads during the past couple of years. Despite this improvement, they’re still lacking in the quality of their responses with regard to human, rather than software, generated follow-up emails, telephone calls, and dealership appointment requests. Response to Leads is Up, but Quality is Still Down Pied Piper Management Company, a mystery shopping consultant firm, found that most dealerships use customer relationship management software to respond to Internet leads. While the software responds immediately to email inquiries, follow-up, or a lack thereof, is what can make or break the deal. Their 2013 Prospect Satisfaction Index ranked dealerships by brand and found that many salespeople are still inadequately addressing [...]
