Perfection from Every Angle

It seems as though everyone in the world uses some sort of camera these days. Thanks to cameras being merged into our smart phone it has become an easily accessible item. More and more social media sites encourage the use of a camera in order for people to interact with their followers.

 

Recently I read an article about researchers at Colombia University developing a sheet camera. The camera would be flexible enough to put against any surface or angle capturing a perfect image from wherever it lays. For example, the camera can be wrapped around a lamp post to capture a video at 360 degree angles.

 

The camera is in the beginning stages right now, but after it has finished imagine what this will mean for the mobile phone industry. Most people are using cameras from their phones, would this mean that more cell phones could have a similar flexible feature allow users to capture images from difficult angles? I guess we will see.

Virtual Reality – The New Reality

It seems as though more and more companies are using Virtual Reality as a way to separate themselves from their competition, and Facebook is no different. Virtual Reality is a computer generate simulation of an image or background that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way.

Virtual reality is usually associated with gaming. Picture below is what someone looks like while playing the game. The larger image is what the gamer sees. He is taken into a world and it looks as though he is really in the scene. 

Facebook is hoping to launch Social Virtual Reality features. Facebook’s product manager and business lead claims that this new feature is not about allowing people to have a second life, but more about people sharing an experience. He claims that it will help people who already know each other experience what their friend does on a daily basis.

While this product might be entertaining, it’s hard to say how successful this could be. There are already so many other similar avenues where people can keep up with their friends and family in real time (FaceTime/SnapChat). It will be interesting to see how Facebook markets this.

Voice Search and The Older Consumer

It’s no surprise that voice search has becoming increasingly popular over the last five years. This is especially true with young adults and teens. In 2014, a study found that 55% of teens used voice search on their phones everyday. The same study also found that 45% of adults feel self conscious or embarrassed while talking to their telephone. Voice search is begging to show itself as a useful tool for brands and marketing teams. More and more companies are giving their devices pocketed personal assistants ready to answer any question that they might have. These companies include Apple, Amazon, Windows – just to name a few.   Use this type of search engine can help bring a more personalized and exact search. In order to have the majority of the world on board with voice search techniques, marketers will need to create a way for consumers to feel comfortable and confident using this search.

What are some ways brands can convince their customers to start using voice search as their main search engine?

Live Tweeting

Social media has created an entirely new experience with the way we view television shows. A lot of shows that seem to have a following on social media will showcase different hashtags throughout the episode. This hashtag connects viewers on Instagram and Facebook from all over the world to speak and read the opinions about what is going on in the show and scene.

Twitter has also developed special emojis for specific shows. These emojis pop up when someone has used a hashtag related to the show.

Hashtags also encourage people to watch television in real time which then is reflected in a show’s ratings. DVR options make it possible for people to watch shows on their own time. Live tweeting is almost an incentive to get viewers to watch the show when it first premieres. While hashtags provide a filter for viewers and allow the show to receive instant feedback from an audience. It could be argued that people spend more time talking about a show than actually watching a show and paying attention to it in its entirety.

Biggest Brother – The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) has created an easy world for us. Our we can order our groceries from our home and have them delivered, we can track our heart rate through our watches, and we can even make sure that all of the lights our out with the use of our cell phone devices. But with us always plugged in and engaged to, well, everything and everything, are we loosing our privacy?

While convenience has taken over our lives, I don’t think  that most of us are even thinking about our privacy. For example in the early stages of the device, Microsoft’s Kinect  uses its video camera and microphones to capture the gamers experience and level of enjoyment. However, in the fine print under it’s terms and conditions it stated that users “should not expect an level of privacy concerning the use of live communication features”.

With more and more enhanced objects being created and the internet of things engaging in more of our day to day life tasks, do you think we are dismissing the need of privacy for convenience and entertainment? 

Emerging Media & The Busy Girl’s Guide to Fitness

After completing my undergrad studies almost a year ago, I noticed a drastic change  in my diet. I no longer had to eat ramen noodles everyday, I could start “splurging” on groceries, but I mostly ate out every night. My new eating habits changed my body in a way that my 5th grade gym teacher warned us all about. The only solution? To begin working out. I started taking classes at Lithe a few months ago. And although I feel like I can’t ever finish a class, it’s their easy scheduling that keeps me coming back week after week.

Most customers are introduced to Lithe through word of mouth and social media. The brand’s Instagram page is filled with different excerpts from classes, new activewear, healthy food recipes, and of course motivational quotes. The brand has an entire fight song dedicated to its core values. These values are represented on all sources of media.

Lithe’s app is easy to use and represents the brand the same way it does on it’s regular app. The app allows customers to schedule a class, look at attendance from previous classes,  manage an account, and sign up for exclusive offers.

One of those offers include the different membership packages for new students. When new to the studio the first class is free. After that students are encouraged to sign up for the 5 class for $50.00 deal. If all goes well they are eligible to sign up for the 1-a-day for 1 month for $125.00. These prices are pretty inexpensive compared to their regular price packages.

 

 

Emerging Media & Minorities

We all know that social media has become one of the fastest growing genres of emerging media. However, did you know that a users preference varies by race and ethnicity? About one in ten black, white, and latino adults use the following social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest .  According to a study done by the Pew Research Center 34% of online Hispanics use Instagram compared to 38% of Blacks and 21% of Whites. By contrast, 32% of Whites use Pinterest compared to 21% of Hispanics and only 12% of Blacks.

 

Surprisingly, there isn’t any concrete answer on why this happens. There isn’t evidence of a particular site targeting a certain group of people. One theory is that a user will select a site that their friend is on and this creates a snowball effect. Another theory is that certain social media sites provide options that others don’t. For example, Facebook doesn’t let users customize their own page, but MySpace does (did). I think it would be interesting to find out why specific racial groups prefer one social media site over another.

Emerging Media & FOMO

Despite studying communications during undergrad, I had never heard of the terms “emerging media” before looking into this course. After doing a bit of research, I think the easiest way to define emerging media would be to say that it is a platform that allows consumers and brands to share messages through the use of digital technologies. Since there are different digital platforms being created every minute that allow people to interact in different ways, I would say that the definition of emerging media is always changing.

I think that emerging media matters because it allows us to connect and interact in ways that traditional media does not. Mediums such as television and radio were once considered the most trusted and quickest way for someone to receive news. Today, there are different social media sites that allow everyday people to become the reports. We can interact and get our news and  updates in real time as its happening. Emerging media has even begun to influence traditional media. News organization’s will posts information about what is going on around the world on their social media sites before bringing it up on air. Emerging media has given us the ability to be plugged in at all times so that we do not have to suffer from FOMO or the Fear Of Missing Out.