Keeping up with the times: Pandora radio makes a move to smart watches.

My favorite app bar none is Pandora. They've taken it a step further this time. Recently, according to a mashable.com article, an app for Pandora was released to Pebble users. Pebble creates smartwatches and now they come with the Pandora app installed. Will this be the tipping point that will drive people to everyday wearable technology? 

For the first time, the new app will allow users to interact with Pandora from a wearable smart technology. It allows the user to do all the things they would do from an iPhone or iPad. With the smartwatch users have the ability to provide instant feedback, building their favorite play lists  and all from a hands free device! I haven't had any interaction with a smartwatch yet, but having an app as popular as Pandora could be reason enough to start shopping around.

Why You Should Still be Cautious on the Internet

I feel it's safe to say a majority of the human population spends a large amount of time on the Internet. I think it's even safer to say that more and more people are spending large amounts of money on the Internet due to the convenience of shopping online. As a result we have learned to feel pretty safe on the internet when perhaps we shouldn't have. 

Although the internet has many security measures set in place there has been a bug sitting in one of the most important measures for years. Essentially this bug gives attackers the "keys to the kingdom" and is called the "Heartbleed Bug." Secure transactions on the internet rely on a pair of technologies called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TSL). Basically they keep your private information between you and whatever site you are using. However there has been a breach in the software called OpenSSL which allows people to get TSL/SSL easily. The breach is a minor coding error that allows attackers to use OpenSSL to see private data that should be secured by TSL/SSL. 

Every now and then we see bugs and internet fraud, however, this error has been out there for a long time. So what does this mean for a majority of the population that uses the internet frequently? Assume your credentials are out there for the taking and make sure to change all your passwords. Also, if you aren't already make sure you're frequently check your credit card statements. This Heartbleed bug is the reason why we should continue to be cautious on the internet. Even if you're not using the internet for shopping other things such as personal profile information may have been exposed. I'll admit this Heartbleed bug has made me feel vulnerable on the internet and I'm left wondering if I should stop shopping online for a while. 

Photo Credit: nydailynews.com

Read more on Gizmodo.com 

Viral Videos are a Marketer's New Dream

Viral videos might be the next best marketing technique. On April 2, Sarah Ang posted on Mashable all the reasons why these viral videos are priceless to companies and organizations. First, viral videos don’t require a time limit, they can go on for as long as the company wants and they don’t have to pay for a time slot. The only expense is in the actual making of the video. Secondly, the videos can be more promiscuous or emotional in any sense of the word. This intensified emotional dynamic creates a better relationship with the audience which makes them more apt to pay attention. Thirdly, the videos go viral because of the viewers, not because the company is pushing them. The viewers can share and embed them in all different interfaces for viewing which helps the company to reach even more people than if they were to rely on TV ads.  Ang also touched on the fact that these videos can take attention away from recent bad publicity which always helps in a company’s image or even liven up instructional/safety instructions like this video from Virgin Air.

There is always the chance that the videos will flop rather than fly, but I think that the risk is worth it. Organic views beat out the best paid views and are more meaningful because the viewer actually wanted to see the video of their own free will. I think that more companies should take advantage of the viral video industry because they have so many more possibilities in regards to the film making. Plus, they also can spread their company image in a more effective way than simply planting their brand name on an image, much like Chipotle did in this heart-tugging short.

Vine's use expands with the addition of new messaging service.

Since Vine appeared on the social media market, its six-second videos have drawn millions of users from the Twittersphere and beyond. This tool was recently expanded upon by the addition of a new sharing feature in the Vine 2.0 app. Upon opening the app for the first time, a user is invited to try the app’s new direct messaging service. The new addition allows users within the vine community to share a vine through text message with one or more contacts. From there they can continue to have a private conversation with each recipient about the Vine in question. Along with this, it also is possible now to send private vines to other users similar to Instagram or Twitter’s direct messaging features.

This service adds a bit more to the “social” aspect of Vine due to the fact that, before now, the most social interaction between users was comments and tags on the videos. Messaging between users allows more personal interaction, and I for one am looking forward to seeing how it changes the use of Vine as a whole.

To read more: http://mashable.com/2014/04/03/hands-on-with-vine-messages/

Will iPhone 6 rumors live up to the hype?

Picture from read.bi/1emPM1K 

We all do it. We go on the internet and look up the latest technology to come out of Apple. One of those technology updates that I know I look up is when the new iPhone 6 will come out and what it will look like. Well, according to Adario Strange, the rumors that have been circulating on this topic are starting to solidify. A popular feature of the current Android phones is the size of the screen. This is, hopefully, something that iPhone and Android users will have in common when the iPhone is released. We could soon be seeing an iPhone with an increase in screen size from 4.0 to 4.7 and possibly 5.5 inches. They are still working out the kinks, though. Currently, they are only working on the 4.7 model, due to problems with the “in-cell production technology”.

I don’t know about anyone else, but due to the lack of technological advancement in the past several iPhones, when it came time for me to upgrade my phone, I switched to the phone that touted that it had the best camera on the market, the Nokia Lumia 1020, and my sister switched to an Android. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my iPhone, but I wanted more out of it than it could supply. To make a long story short, we both ended up switching back to the iPhone because there was too much of a difference in the operating systems. 

My point with this slightly off topic aside is that, with all of these rumors on how different and better the new iPhone 6 is going to be, loyal Apple consumers, such as myself, are hoping that most of the rumors are true, and that it will be as different as they say. However, until the launch date, when true phone specs are released, we will just have to keep guessing. 

Article posted on mashable.com on April 2, 2014

One of Marketers Biggest Secrets? Branded Viral Videos

Everyone has seen viral videos - from the Chocolate Rain music video to the Harlem shake videos to the Call Me Maybe parodies, viral videos are known for exploding in popularity, but often don't stand the test of time. That's all changing with the advent of branded marketing videos, according to mashable.com.

Sarah Ang wrote that brands looking to stay current with social media trends should try their hand at making branded videos. These videos should be short, compelling, "shareable" and, perhaps most importantly, engaging. Surprisingly, the brand need not be front and center in every shot - the power of the video comes from its message, according to Ang, and that in turn will make the video jump from 'interesting' to 'viral'.

I agree with Ang - I think videos produced by brands in general are important nowadays, simply because users spend so much of their time watching videos online at websites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Hulu. It's rapidly becoming a necessity for brands to have videos online for their continued longevity. Some of the best branded videos I've seen have been short, online clips from big names that lead me to their website in an effort to learn more about their product.

I like that Ang pointed out in her article that product placement isn't essential. I myself tend to like videos more when I can watch an ad without seeing the product and it's "amazing new features" every three seconds. Brands that have a strong social media presence online already know this and are working it to their advantage - and those are the brands that are here to stay.

Pinterest is Relevant Folks!

In the past year, social media sites have been making additions to their programs, creating new apps and services while also fixing bugs and hiring “hackers” to help. In an article on Mashable.com we are informed of how much these fixes, innovations and additions are actually helping the sites to stay relevant and popular. More specifically; sites wanted to see how popular they were on the mobile front.

I personally don’t have a smart phone but, I have an iPod and iPad which are slaves to wifi. Therefore, my social media access is limited especially from a mobile standpoint. It was interesting to see that from a report from comScore, “Instagram users in the U.S. spend 98% of time with the network on mobile”. This apparently wasn’t surprising to Matt Petronzio, the author of the Mashable article because Instagram was actually a mobile-only site when it first came out and then later became desktop friendly.  

The second highest ranking mobile social media site is Pinterest which I thought was amazing. Users spend 92% of their time on mobile whereas Twitter users only chose the mobile experience 86% of the time.  This makes my inner Pinner sing with delight. I thought that Pinterest was mainly used by women who were crafting at home on their desktops. I feel so in-with-the-times now because whenever I latch onto wifi, I make additions to my boards. I also thought this was surprising because I always assumed that Twitter users essentially only used mobile because tweets are normally in “real-time” and not many people carry around their desktops.