Love Game

After reading a few of Mercy's posts and the replies about anonymity on the Internet and gender roles as well as Eva's posts about how the Internet facilitates connection and builds bridges, I have decided to write my last post about online romance.

Have any of you found a love online? How about a strong friendship or keeping a long distance relationship alive? Well I have and as you can imagine it's not easy.



When most people think about online romance, online dating is usually the first thing that comes to mind. We can meet people on almost any social networking site or if we are bold enough, we can join an online dating website. Online dating site E-Harmony boasts that 2% of American marriages are as of a direct result of their match making website. I see that number increasing ten-fold within the next couple of years as the mobility of the Internet increase allowing people to spend longer hours online.




Many of the websites that have come into fruition because of Web 2.0 allows netizens to develop an online love life.
Facebook
Skype
Weblogs
Online Chat rooms

Eva's post "Social Media Customer No 1" notes that 29% of the 18-34 demographic think they may meet someone to date online via social media. A quick Google search of "online dating" results in 48,600,000 links, with www.match.com.au, www.eHarmony.com.au/Sydney and www.AdultMatchMaker.com.au in the top 3. I was hoping to find advice, articles and even feedback but this did not start appearing until page 5. Upon entering e-Harmony's site it is so easy to state incorrect information, how does this and how will this affect consumers?

With all the horror stories we hear about meeting people online, why is it that this industry is continuing to grow? Is it a direct result from Hollywood movies such as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's 1998 "You've Got Mail"? Are brands becoming more credible? Are people using this tool as just another form of entertainment? Is it really working? Is this the future of romance?





I guess I say this now but I have no need to use the Internet to look for love, for me websites such as Skype, MSN chat and Facebook are the best tools to help keep a bond with that special someone.

Kellisa

The Old and the New

What do you see when you look at this picture?. You may say a old computer but when a person in their late sixties-seventies they see confusion and stress. Its not the technologies that is the biggest problem its how it is portrayed and delivered to the elderly. Sometimes change just for the sake of change is not the best. Change at a controlled pace can be. How to we approach this is the real question. Do the young have the answer as they seem to be the ones controlling the pace.

Tom

Clear view despite Volcanic Ashes – no excuses thanks to Social Media

The ash cloud caused by the eruption of the volcano in Iceland has caused enormous chaos in numerous European countries and the whole world. Airports have been closed, flights are grounded, passengers are stranded — and many meetings are being missed.
But at least for the meetings there is a solution: ”If you’re grounded this week, give these apps a try — they’re all available for very low cost (and some of them are free).” Simon Mackie blogged on webworker daily on April 19, 2010.

Mackie (2010) calmed down stranded ones, who were about to miss important meetings by offering them tricks, hints, links, and descriptions on how to access the meetings even if they were miles away from home.
The list included:

• Skype – we all know what that is
• Dimdim — For larger meetings, when you’ll need a more robust web conferencing tool than Skype. Dimdim has got a great feature set for a good price. Other tools available include WebEx and GoToMeeting.
• SocialText — Corporate social networking tools are useful for communicating with colleagues and keeping them up-to-date with what you’re working on. SocialText is very full-featured (it’s kind of like Facebook for businesses), but there are other, simpler tools, such as Yammer and present.ly.
• 5pm — A good project management tool can go a long way toward keeping stakeholders informed about the progress of a project, reducing the need for update meetings. I like 5pm as it’s well-designed, but other good options include Basecamp and Wrike.
• OffiSync — The latest version of OffiSync (a nifty little program that allows you to sync Office documents using a Google Docs account) allows for document co-authoring — which means that two or more people can work simultaneously on the same document. While it’s never going to be as good as being in the same room with your co-workers, if you need to collaborate on a document remotely, it’s worth trying. Free.
• Tungle — Need to reschedule your meeting? Free app Tungle will help you find a time that’s convenient for everyone.

So, as you can see, there are no excuses to miss a meeting anymore - even if you are caught in volcanic ashes. Social Media connects, connects and connects. Thank you. But
isnt´t it sometimes really exhausting!?

Eva (evesaintlaurent)

Time to put on those thinking caps

As the blog progresses and we uncover how people around the world of different races and cultures use the Internet, I began to think about my class. This semester our cohort is a lot bigger and unlike last semester where the majority of students were International, this year more Australians have joined the course. This enthusiastic cross section of students have one thing in common - the desire to be professional communicators. Although we all come from different backgrounds our choice of advanced study is the common thread between all of us although our ages range from early twenties to mid forties.

This academic lifestyle that we have chosen to be apart presents us with new opportunities of knowledge. As we go to the web to collate research and information for our classes, we also look to the Internet for jobs, industry updates and general knowledge about the field regionally and internationally.

If I use myself as an example, below are a few websites that I visit or I am member of that allows me to gain access to industry information.
I have recently joined business social networking site LinkedIn
I visit Australian Marketing site Mumbrella daily
I also receive daily updates from WARC - World Advertising Research Centre

This morning's visit to Mumbrella coincides with my post.




It is a new initiative from supermarket chain Aldi as they aim to hire 200 graduates over the next four years. The campaign entitled "Think Smart" is designed to drive graduates to the website in order to gain new or more information about Aldi's Graduate program. The campaign in being supported by print media, search advertising, careers fairs and targeted emailing.

http://mumbrella.com.au/aldi-launches-think-smarter-graduate-recruitment-drive-23259

I like the idea and initiative of this program from a brand building (loyalty/strengthening/identification) as well as consumer (purchaser/student) point of view. What I thought most interesting about it is how Aldi has incorporated education (CSR) into their communications plan as most students or professionals would be looking at a different outlet for such opportunities.

References:

Aldi launches ‘think smarter’ graduate recruitment drive. Retrieved April 21, 2010 from, http://mumbrella.com.au/aldi-launches-think-smarter-graduate-recruitment-drive-23259


Kellisa

“On the internet, nobody knows you are a dog”- Peter Steiner

This statement struck me especially because of the anonymity that is assumed by use of computer mediated communication. CMC has provided opportunity for many people that face-to-face interactions would otherwise not. For example conferencing without physical contact would give people a sense of equal opportunity without the prejudicial judgment of color or race or age or gender. It is natural for people to prejudge on a face to face conversation.

People communicating via the internet can easily assume anonymous status giving them a sense of security and confidence. This is particularly witnessed in dating websites where many users assume personas that they are not, thus the heading. Women can be men, men can be women and children can be adults.

So why do people hide under a mask when communicating online? I think maybe the most obvious answer would be social reasons. Because we are brought up a certain way, and both societal and environmental predispositions condition us to think how we think. This gives us our gender roles and when we are not conforming, we get uncomfortable and we lie. Men lie that they are well toned, rich and successful so that they can attract someone and women lie that they are skinny and sexy so that they can attract someone.


Mercy

Internet Builds Bridges

The current Iceland volcano issue, as Kellisa stated in her blog post "When disaster strikes" is an interesting example about how the Internet informs but also connects people who are locally separated by natural catastrophes.

Think about all the people sleeping at airports far away from home and don´t even know when they will see their relatives again. The Internet builds bridges in times people are separated locally.
And even after a catastrophe: How do you get together with your family again? How do you know who is alive? Today: via Internet, via Social Media.
Social Media and the WWW do not only build bridges between countries and seperated people, they build bridges of emergency and help.

A case, showing this power of the Internet together with Social Media as the new emergency media, were the Australian bushfires in 2009.

Some web 2.0 tools were used to assist communication, but a model for strengthening their use as part of operational planning is currently being devised by the emergency services. The key principles that inform the communications approach still make for compelling reading, however.
They include:

• An approach that is based not on spin, but providing information communities need to put in place safe behaviours
• Messaging that builds on the 9/11 model used by Rudy Giuliani:

What we know
What we don’t know
What we are doing
What we want you to do


• Ensuring messages use a ‘call to action’
• Being realistic, real‐time, disciplined and two‐way in communication
• Taking the view that resilient communities are informed communities.


Amber Brodecky, Director Communities and Media Relations, for the Victorian Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner (2009) said that Social media were an important link in emergency management chain and they were viewed as partners, rather than a group that need to be managed. Similarly, local communities were also viewed as partners, playing a key role in their own safety planning.

The emergency services were also transparent in updating the public on fatalities and losses, with the view that an open, honest approach is best.


Eva (evesaintlaurent)



Reference:
Pearce, C., & Frost, G. (2009). Frocom’s 2nd Annual Crisis Communication & Social Media Summit 2009: Conference report. Retrieved, April, 10, 2010, from https://www.frocomm.com.au/cc2009/pdf/Frocom_CRISIS_09_D8.pdf

The Aged and Cost of the WEB

I have been looking at the WWW.WEB . and I am amazed at the level of information that is available. I for one have not use the WEB to its ability. The fact that you can just type a small part of a sentence and there you have multiple selections to choose from is amazing. I feel that the only hold back is the training in how to use the applications, in less then ten years all people will have grown up with the computer age/ WWW . With the constant change of techno gadgets that are placed in front of us so we can say yes I need that. People over sixty five will still not be using the net on a daily basis but as time and selection is phased out such as a local bank or post office closing so they will have to do business on line. In light of this I why is there a monopoly on the cost of the machines and access to this. Do you not think that the Government should be giving some sort of incentives such as a aged discount to alleviate the burden of cost.

Cheers
Tom