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Culture Change & Data Security

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Big data has faced numerous scandals in recent news including Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica, Target’s security breach, and more; however, consumers still use Facebook and shop online. This begs the question: how has big data changed our culture over the years? Even when researching this topic and looking for sources, I am asked whether or not I accept cookies on blogs and websites across the internet. For anyone who may not already know, cookies are messages that bots place on your browser when you visit a website (Indiana University, n.d.). They track you across the internet and give advertisers data so that they can retarget you if you abandoned your cart with items in it or visited their site and searched a certain page. This is just one way data has changed our culture and countries in the EU are cracking down on cookies and other online privacy issues. https://www.european-business.com/infographics/data-privacy-infographics/ Data of course helps companies make decision...
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Virtual News: The End of the Newspaper?

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Gone are the days of sipping your morning coffee behind an oversized Sunday newspaper. Technology such as Facebook Live, Twitter, and blogs have forever changed the culture around the consumption of news. Major newspapers have experienced a downturn in subscriptions and revenue as most consumers choose to get their news on social media or read an online version of a story. I’ve even seen outlets like the New York Times produce stories that are videos posted natively on Facebook – with no sound of course, just text and moving images! https://www.didit.com/news-consumption-and-social-media/ Social media platforms have now grown to over 2.4 billion users with 64.5% of consumers getting their news from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and even Snapchat instead of traditional media (Martin, 2018). Before the advent of the internet, the public had to either tune into the nightly news or read the newspaper. With most consumers cancelling their cable services and opting for s...
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The Way Social Media Changed Our Culture

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Friend requests, status updates, and gender reveals? Social media platforms are making it easier than ever to keep your friends, family, and basically the entire internet updated about your life. It started with younger people on MySpace and Facebook, and now over 78% of Americans have a social network profile (Kerpen, 2016). It’s hard to ignore the changes social networking has caused in our culture and the way we present ourselves to others. Keeping up with the Jones’s is easier than ever thanks to sites like Facebook and Instagram, giving people a real-time play by play of their ‘friends’ vacations, careers, and entire lives. https://dazeinfo.com/2015/10/13/generation-z-80-use-social-media-daily-65-share-content-infographic/ Interestingly enough, social media has had quite an effect on not only our culture but our perception of ethics. Humans form social norms via direct or vicarious reinforcement and behaviors that gain collective approval ultimately become norms (Bagd...
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Online Personal Branding

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Personal branding has become a buzz word in the marketing industry, but all trends aside, it is important for communication professionals to have a signature style in order to further advance their career. Before Web 2.0, personal branding was limited to word of mouth and your resume, maybe a printed-out portfolio if you were into design or writing. For the past several years, personal branding has gone social and found success in platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Beyond the social networking sites, personal websites, vlogs, podcasts, and more have found their place in the online personal branding environment. Gary Vaynerchuk explains “pillar content” or long-form audio and video as a driver for what will become your brand and set the tone for other content.                 Not only is it important to produce your own content, but it’s also imperative to research your...
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MarTech: Shiny New Object or Worthwhile Tool?

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Marketing technology, or MarTech, has changed the overall landscape for communication professionals in not only how we do our jobs but what skills and training are necessary to be successful in our chosen profession. In just the past decade, digital marketing and mobile technology has grown exponentially from almost nothing. Software and platforms exist in concentrations such as marketing automation, email marketing, social media, and beyond. Basically, anything that a marketing professional utilizes as a tool to reach customers is considered MarTech (Slefo, 2017). Companies that offer tools like these exist in cloud-based platforms and offer software-as-a-service, also known as SaaS. Services that help marketers combine analytics with strategy can be costly as well as cause shiny object syndrome, meaning professionals will hear about the latest and greatest trend and jump on board without weighing the pros and cons of adding a new tool to the marketing stack. The above image sh...
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Social Media for Nonprofit Organizations

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Nonprofits have always fought the good fight of effectively communicating their mission to constituents in a world where organizations compete with for-profit advertising budgets; however, with the advent of social media and other technological advances, there are more opportunities to connect with donors and the public than ever. Why have nonprofits struggled to spread the word about their cause? According to Sendible, an overall lack of funding, resources, and time make it difficult for organizations to find success in the realm of marketing (Dopson, 2018). Despite the ever changing algorithms of social media platforms, networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter still offer a great deal of marketing and promotional options for nonprofits. Social media platforms have given nonprofits a space to not only share their mission and success stories, but also give organizations the ability to fundraise directly on the network. In order to do so, nonprofit staff must have a working kno...
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