Road Rage

I was driving around today, and a car swerves over to my lane and almost hit my car. I realize later that the driver was trying to switch lanes. Being gracious and polite, I slow my car down to let him come in. He abruptly pulls into my lane in an aggressive manner. Soon, I see the guy from the reflection of his mirror making hand gestures, swearing and yelling at me. haha I found this hilarious, especially when I realize later that his tail lights are broken. CALM DOWN and fix your lights.



This reminds me of another incident that occurred during a trip to San Francisco last year. I'm pulling out of a shopping center, with the sun in my eye. For this reason, I inch out slowly.. only to see a car speed pass and honk at me, screaming and yelling. When I finally pull out of the shopping center, I was stopped at a red light waiting in traffic next to that same exact car. Out of curiosity, I turn over to see two teenagers (driver and passenger) giving me the middle finger. They continue to yell and scream with their windows up and my windows up. Um, I can't hear you?

I ignored them, but my boyfriend as the passenger became very irritated and started motioning and giving them other not so pleasant gestures. Finally, the light turns green and the car in front starts to move so I start driving. Crazy teenagers are still yelling at me w/ their windows up. They see my car move, and begin accelerating to catch up with me. Next thing you know, BAM! The car in front of them was still at a stop.

Word of advice: Please don't endanger other people's safety by going on road rage. And please use some discretion before you go off at other people. I wish people wouldn't be so angry when they drive, because honestly, nobody is a perfect driver under certain traffic conditions or in my case, the sun being in my eye. And sometimes, MAYBE sometimes, it is your own fault for going too fast or having broken tail lights.

Reference: NY Daily News

Mood swings

Now that school is my full-time priority, I work part-time at a retail store doing sales, customer service. It's fun working and seeing all sorts of people. I love people watching. The store sells children's furnitures, textiles, and wall decorative. You can only imagine how many kids there are running around at all times playing with the toys set up in display rooms. Sometimes, kids throw up or spill drinks on the floor.

I really don't mind any of that. What really bothers me, is when parents call or come into the store with a temper or attitude. I mean seriously, what would compel a person to be so rude to a complete stranger? I'm just doing my job, so please don't yell at me over someone else's mistake or put your hormonal anger on me.



I wish people would..
Remember to refrain from lashing out at complete strangers (out of emotional frustrations and stress). DO compose yourself in front of your children for you are their role models.

Relaunch - I Wish People Would....

Dear readers,

As you all know, I am currently pursuing my Masters in Communication at USC. The program or emphasis is in Online Communities/Technologies. The introductory class that all of us (my fellow peers and I) required us to initiate this "blog." However, as you may have noticed, I stopped posting the day that class ended.

Why? See my below reasons.

A) I'm not an expert in online/mobile technology, needless to say, social media. I'm sure people who really have interests in these subjects would read up on TechCrunch, Mashable, Digg, or on other industry experts' blogs.

My career path in Marketing has taught me that social media is all about conversation, customer retention, satisfaction, loyalty, .... and the list goes on. But really, (excuse me) but BS? I do support and give props to companies that effectively communicate and inform customers through Facebook FanPages, GroupPages. However, the rest on Twitter.. half of what is said, is just scheduled conversations to get any word out -- anything said is press...............................

Anyway, my point is that if you'd like to read up on technology news, great resources:
TechCrunch, Mashable, Digg.

B) My busy schedule  --- school and work. Really now? I would be lying to myself and (to you, my viewers) in promising you that I will read up on news/content and reiterate it to you.

Lastly, I wanted to let you all know that I will be changing the whole dynamic of my site, due in part to what was mentioned earlier. I'm doing this as a good citizen, as a public favor to everyone, who has encountered mishaps or blundering moments of embarrassment. Not to be your mother, but everyone (yes everyone) needs to be reminded of common manners and proper behaviors once in awhile. So, from here forth, I will be providing you with weekly tips and advices.

Introducing........


****drum rolls*****

I WISH PEOPLE WOULD....

Provide your support by sharing your thoughts - thanks.

End.

Kick Ass!

I saw Kick Ass the other night, and I loved it. It's been awhile since I've enjoyed and been entertained by an action film. The plot is quite simple: a comic-book fanboy (Aaron Johnson) who gets inspired to become a real-life superhero. He runs around and calls himself Kick Ass in a tight green, wet suit look alike outfit. Spider man romance story is woven into the plot as hot high school classmate falls in love with the nerdy-geek boy. Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) come together motivated by vengeance to kill mafia-drug lord. Based on one of the best selling comics by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr...



blah blah blah..

What's most intriguing to me while watching Kick Ass is the reminder of our new age. The first movie I remember seeing that reflected our society and internet advancement was in American Pie. Remember that scene when Jim is hoping to get lucky in his room with Nadia the (international student) and everyone awaits in secret on live webcam? Well Kick Ass has now taken a step ahead ..

Kick Ass became famous when stand byers recorded his fight with street criminals as evidence, which was quickly posted on YouTube and distributed all over the internet. Next thing you know, Kick Ass is a hero and  world-known celebrity, who is all over the news. The movie demonstrates and proves to us once again, the power of online technology, especially when empowered and driven by the force of people. Kick Ass was not short-lived news. He and (Red Mist) created a community around themselves on MySpace to communicate with their fans to help save people.

Check out the movie and let me know what you think!
See video Kick Ass trailer. From the ending of the movie, I'm assuming a sequel will be released in the future..

Facebook tips for business owners

It's been awhile since I last posted. Been considering different ideas for my business pitch -- and it's funny how the more we're learning in the APOC program, the less ideas I seem to be able to come up with. My previous brainstorming ideas are slowly being crossed off, as my knowledge expands for what works/doesn't work..

Luckily for us, Zach's Wednesday class is giving us an opportunity for due diligence. I haven't finalized my idea for the business pitch, but I am taking a step back to look at different platforms. I will be comparing and analyzing tools and resources available to business owners and what they'll need to know in order to arrive at making a business decision. Specifically, I'm going to be focusing on the Facebook platform. 

Facebook is a popular tool for social media, that we already know. It's free and easy for companies to use as voice, brand recognition and for marketing efforts. (More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day, and pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans overall) However, I've seen companies use Facebook wasting time, effort and money spent on building pages and applications.

Mistakes business owners make utilizing Facebook:

Failure to build bridge with users: People use Facebook because helps manage and makes social life easier for them online. Consider how your Fan Page or Group would benefit your fans/members on a social level. Find ways to cater to the needs of your audience or interest group. Otherwise, they will lose interest and jump to the next page.

Over complicating -- cluttering their page: Keep your fan page/group content simple and insightful. Some companies become self-absorbed talking about their product/service that you offer, filling your fan page / group with promotions and spam. They spend time and money developing fun applications that look visually appealing but irrelevant to their audience. This is prime example of failure to listen and learn from customers. Take advantage from what your fans are saying about your company and use it as feedback. Perhaps you may ask for input on the launch of a new product, or provide discussions/FAQs for people with questions about your product..

Impatience to learn the Facebook culture: Companies think joining Facebook is a quick solution for business success. This could be true, but it takes time to engage, interact, and learn from your loyalists. Don't expect a quick turn around or everyone to become a Fan or part of your Group -- unless you are Apple or Coca Cola. (Even if your company is like Apple and Coca Cola, you need to spend time building conversations around your customers and their interests to learn more about your company). 

Inconsistent voice: A company needs brand identity. Likewise, when utilizing Facebook keep that brand image consistent. Don't try to be professional one day and use slang and act hip and cool the next day. Your voice should be dependent on who your audience is. Conversations should be what interests your customers not you, what's newsworthy, buzz worthy to them. 

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins

Finished reading Henry Jenkin's book Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide few weeks ago. Jenkins is not only the founder of Education Arcade interested in videogames and learning, but also a multifaceted media scholar.





In the beginning of the book, he starts off by explaining the black box fallacy, meaning that sooner or later all media content will flow through one single black box. This lies true as we begin to see the size of our gadgets shrink while allowing use for multi-purposes. See for example our iPhone versus a mobile phone in the 90s. Besides the major call functions, we can now read/send email, watch videos via YouTube, An interesting read which touches points on popular culture and media convergence.


Jenkins uses different case studies to demonstrate how corporations, brands, politicians, educators are changing the way they things in response to cultural shifts to new media. The success of entertainment industry making use of online communities to build relationships with consumers and brand loyalists. In the show Survivors, a group of hardcore fans come together through collective intelligence discuss and learn from each other to unveil secrets about the show before it gets aired. He further analyzes the importance of audience participation in popular culture in American Idol and Harry Potter. Both brands became great success due to its involvement with the audience. While American Idol fans participated in each contestants journey on the show and in voting, Harry Potter enthusiasts started Hogwart societies and practiced creative writing to tell their own Hogwart tales through their own life experiences. Jenkins also covers Sci-fi films such as the Matrix and Star Wars franchises, and how creators were able to prolong the story telling experience through different media channels -- (animations, series, video games) and turn it to revenue opportunities.


As media converge, we are learning that there is no magic formula to succeed in engaging consumers and monetizing. However, Jenkins does make fine points and bring up hot topics in the society we live in today. He leaves the reader something to think about throughout the book. "Don't expect the uncertainties surrounding convergence to be resolved anytime soon. We are entering an era of prolonged transition and transformation in the way media operates. Convergence describes the process by which we will sort through those options. There will be no magical black box that puts everything in order again. Media producers will find their way through their current problems only by renegotiating their relationship with their consumers. Audiences, empowered by these new technologies, occupying a space at the intersection between old and new media, are demanding the right to participate within the culture. Producers who fail to make their peace with this new participatory culture will face declining goodwill and diminished revenues. The resulting struggles and compromises will define the public culture of the future."

Should everything be a game?

I'd like to disagree on this comment. Just because Foursquare and Facebook are integrating and building game mechanics does not mean every online community and brand/company site need to jump on the band wagon.

Here's my analogy: Social media, oh it's so great. It worked for Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, blogger sites, etc. Many companies, such as Google, saw this as a major opportunity to better engage and interact with their audience. Look what happened there with Google Buzz. Google I love you, but sorry that was an epic fail.

Gabe Zichermann, who is the CEO of startup beamME, argues that "fun is good and that game mechanics will find their way into all sorts of products and businesses." He suggests the following:

Facebook should incorporate a popularity game so users can more easily gauge their social graph. The game is to encourage to add more friends - ("add two more friends to beat Sam's score"). Users would be awarded when they connect and add more friends.. Are you serious?! This is exactly why MySpace has become loser-land, because people add non-friends, strangers..all of which are potentially creeps. Facebook is about connecting with people you actually know, not random people so that you seem more popular.

Amazon - Zichermann's concept to integrate a virtual library within Amazon, so that you can share books that you have read w/ your friends. This is interesting. Often times, I will either ask my friends to send me a book list, which they never get to OR I mentally take note of a book name and later forget. A virtual library seems perfectly appropriate in this instance, as many people do visit Amazon to seek out reviews for best sellers for purchase.

Fedex - the idea "to connect your social graph to your shipments, letting you see your en route packages on a game board relate to your friends. You could "talk smack" to friends whose packages were sent via ground (or USPS)" This is a stretch for me. I have enough games on my iPhone as is, in addition to all the endless game requests on Facebook. Moreover, I don't need to find Fedex entertaining. I visit Fedex simply to track my delivery estimate, status, get my information and go. I don't need to waste more time there.. need I say more?

Following the trend seems like a smart move and definitely tempting , however you really need to analyze, take a step back and look at your business critically. Before you jump to conclusion and make a rash decision -- What is your main purpose, goal, and who are you servicing? Think twice. Not all consumers would appreciate you force feeding, moreover adding distraction to the service they expect to receive.

Cheers!

Reference: How to make Facebook, Fedex, and Amazon More Fun