Tag Archives: mobile

From dial up to dialed in

8th December 2011

When I was in middle school, I wanted nothing more than for my parents to get high speed internet. No more dial up. Why? AIM. Yup, Aol Instant Messenger. As a middle schooler, I thought the coolest thing possible was to be able to leave up one of those super cute **<<sleeping>>**  away messages. An away message I was never able to leave, as my internet kicked me off-line as soon as you picked up the phone line.

True. Story.

Today while reading to my mentee over lunch, we started talking about Christmas lists. She shared with me that she is really hoping for a laptop for Christmas this year. She’s in 5th grade. So what use does a laptop serve her? She shared that her favorite things to do on the computer are to play games, check email and chat.

Email and chat? Do 5th graders really do that today? Yes. We talked about email, she has two accounts, Yahoo and Gmail, thought she likes to use g-chat to talk to her friends and cousins. We even talked about video chatting and she expressed how much she loves getting to hang out with her friends online in that way.

I’m sure at this point, I shouldn’t be surprised what-so-ever by how children are using technology in their daily lives, yet it never ceases to intrigue me. It’s so fascinating to think how our behaviors stay the same, while only the mediums are changing. Sure, she’s not dreaming of AIM statuses, but she is thinking of the ease of her own device to communicate, an evolution we know won’t stop anytime soon.

At least I can breathe a sigh of relief that she isn’t asking for an iPhone just yet.

And just in case you needed any more proof of the next generation who will lead the way in technology and connections. Be sure to check out the video below.

Unplugged

26th October 2011

Working at a digital agency as a millennial who also has a slight obsession with technology, it would be an understatement to say I’m “always on.”

Naturally, it’s rare to find me without some sort of device in hand. So where did I decide to book my vacation this fall? The backwoods of the Rocky Mountains.

Yes, the scenery is breathtaking. Yes, I love to hike. But my number one deciding factor? There is zero cell service in the Rocky Mountains (In case you were curious, this also applies to zero plug-ins and zero hair dryers), in two words bliss and anxiety.

Days before my trip I found myself stressed at what I might miss…I won’t be able to check email, I won’t be able to check-in to my camp site, and I won’t be able to Tweet a picture of the bear that I’m certain to encounter.

Have I become so engrained in technology that simply the thought of not having it for three days might tempt to ruin my trip? It certainly had me thinking, how can we really unplug? Sure I leave the office at a decent hour, but I never truly let go.

We all know recovery is essential. It’s what keeps us going, what refreshes us and what ultimately makes us push harder and do our best work, so why is it so difficult to allow ourselves to partake in? I wouldn’t run 10 miles 7 days a week preparing for a half marathon, why do the same in my digital life?

Welp, long story short, I survived (though I did encounter a rather large moose during a hail storm). Making my way back to reality, I felt more refreshed than ever and tackling my massive inbox was almost enjoyable.

Will I be able to unplug every evening and every weekend? Absolutely not, that’s not the career path I’ve chosen for myself. Does it mean I need to answer every email, text and Tweet minutes after delivery? Absolutely not. Guess what, when I returned home, my computer didn’t explode, my coworkers didn’t go crazy and my clients did just fine.

I’ll always have to be “on” but taking a day, or even an evening off simply means it will be there in the morning  and that’s the really cool thing about digital, it doesn’t self destruct.

Oh, and the scenery wasn’t too shabby either.

QR Codes and Coupons

18th April 2011

If I had to name to things I am in love with these days it would have to be QR codes and coupons (among many other cheesy options). Bring the two together, and I’m a happy girl.

So imagine my excitement when the advertisement below appeared in this week’s Sunday paper:

To promote the new Pop Up Bowl popcorn bag, Orville Redenbacher’s had placed a QR code along with the coupon at the top of the page to see the new product in action. The code unlocks a short video explaining how it works.

Let’s take a closer look into what worked and what could have gone better.

  • Great: Reason to scan the code was easy, “Scan and see it pop”, surely something cool was about to happen, inciting the user to actually scan. Instead of using wording like “unlock”, “exclusive” etc, the user knows right away what he/she is to expect.
  • Good: After scanning the code, the site prompts the user to open the video rather than automatically play. This is great to avoid the emergency volume control that sometimes results from clicking a link you aren’t sure about. There are also some basic share buttons to send the video along after watching.
  • Room for improvement: Take advantage of the code a step further, what about the coupon? Here Orville had the opportunity to include a share feature for the coupon itself. Share with friends, save the coupon as a picture to use in-store, the opportunities based on availability of the coupon itself could have really stepped up the performance for those users that took the time to scan and explore.

Overall the execution of this one was pretty well done, and unlike most of the codes in advertisements today, the audience and new product launch feature was spot-on. And now I’m off to try the popcorn bag that won’t create a mess or require a bowl.