Mobile Technology Eats Away ISP's and Other Industries

Obsolescence is the price of technological advance.  I don't know if someone else said that or if it is something I can now lay claim to as a "new thought."  But I know this -- as we go forward with exciting new creations like the rapidly advancing mobile technology, we find some other aspects of technology are cast aside.

Below is an article that matter-of-factly reports on the unfolding developments of mobile phone growth. It is amazing to think how something that was first created (and amazingly at that) to just complete a "call without a cord" has multiplied into something that has swept across the vast business landscape putting whole sectors either at-risk or totally out of business. I have never considered the impact that smartphones would have on Internet Service Providers, but it sure makes sense and this article does a good job of explaining it.

Read the Article from The Citizen, which is published in Tanzania.

Here's a Look at Broadband Access in the U.S.

Several years ago, communications professionals identified broadband as the one technology hurdle we needed to clear to move from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. They were certainly right. Probably nobody under the age of 25 can even relate to slow dial-up and the inability to play audio and video files or even read online newspapers and magazines.  Clearly, broadband has become the norm. Undoubtedly, the mass adoption of high-speed Internet is what has really given the Web its second life and probably its eternal life. I would make the argument that if broadband had not taken a foothold in our communities, the Web would never have become the ubiquitous communications tool that it is today. I could even envision a world where the popularity of the Internet would have waned and it would have become just another fad.

For all the benefits of broadband, it still has not reached up to every doorstep and there are still questions about whether it will truly penetrate all of our communities. Here is an interesting take on broadband and a map about broadband service in the U.S.: Broadband Map.

Information Overload? There is No Such Thing

Occasionally the debate about social media and the Internet will turn to the topic of "Information Overload." Are we simply getting hit with too much information? Frankly, I do not think there is any such thing as too much information. I just don't believe you can know too much about any particular topic or issue. More information is always better and the question is what level of interest do you have in the subject and to what degree does it affect your life.

If anything, we are more likely to have more control over the information that we receive today than we did before. With the Internet and social media tools, we have the ability to make choices about how, where and what type of information we want. In fact, such tools allow us to turn one information spigot on full blast and to shut another one down completely. Contrast that to what it used to be like "B.I." (Before the Internet). Our information sources were limited and we had to intake whatever amount of information we were given on any topic to get any information at all about that same subject. The same information could be "too much" and "too little" to different groups of people and neither group had much control over how much information they got and how.

Today, you control the switch. Social media is just one component of a new communications contiuum that is anchored in the Internet and empowering when it comes to deciding what you want to know, where you want to get it from and when and how you want to learn that information. Information overload is simply our choosing to open every single information door and window available to us rather than utilizing the power we have to determine which doors and windows we want (or need) to open when it comes to information.

Read this article on Social Media Overload from USA Today.

How the "Adults" Changed Social Media, Social Networking

Social media tools are too often associated with youth. In fact, you could make the case that they are "over-associated" with youth. But it was seniors (the adults) who have helped shape the use of Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media tools from novelty to practical.  The growth of seniors online has helped mature the use of the Internet overall.  In recent years, the numbers of seniors ramping onto the Internet has exploded.  Nowadays, it is not uncommon for retired and over-65 persons to take computer classes mainly to learn how to communicate with their grandhcildren two generations removed.

Many seniors have symbolically traded in shuffleboard for digital photography, web design, video creation and e-mail (replacing the phone) along with Facebook and Twitter.  What has this translated into for the online world? I make the case that the graying of the Internet has changed the attitude of adults who go online and made it more of a learning experience and less of a fad. As a result, there has been a more thoughtful approach to the Internet and especially in the adoption of social media tools. In many ways, I contend that seniors have made it "cool" to be "serious"and practical about social media and Internet use.

This article says that this "graying" will continue and represent a boom for e-marketers in the coming years. I say it will accelerate discovery of improved approaches to social networking and hasten the development of new social media tools that may be every bit as popular as Twitter,YouTube, Facebook and blogs are today.

This Social Media Tool Gets A Bad Rap - But It Still Rules

Facebook evokes a lot of emotion in the digital world. You either hate it or love it. It is undoubtedly a powerful force and perhaps the leading edge of social media. Despite rampant privacy concerns, it certainly is one of the social media tools that has easily and effectively found its "niche" for mainstream use in organizations, businesses and government. Quite simply, Facebook still has far more supporters than detractors. It is a must-have in any legitimate organization's communications tool kit. So why do these kinds of articles keep popping up? Is Facebook's real future as a social media tool geared mainly to organizational communications functions? Could it even survive with that business model?

New Report on Corporate Use of Social Media

I presented today at a conference on Social Media and Government and it is becoming more and more clear as this and other such conferences continue to grow in popularity and frequency that the most popular social media tools are here to stay (see previous post).  There is no turning back, especially given the transparency and interactivity that Twitter, You Tube, blogs and Facebook are providing to the public in relating to their government. When you consider this along with a new Burson-Marsteller study released today about growing corporate use of social media, you can understand why social media is solid for the future and why in some respects we are only scratching the surface and opening the door to more new two-way communications tools.

How much of a foothold is social media gaining in corporate America? Read the report to find out. Also, here is a terrific 2-minute video that tosses out some amazing numbers on the penetration of social media throughout society:

The "Business" of Social Media Won't Sweep Away Any Vital Communication Tools

The business side of anything is often “the ugly side” that is unseen. This is especially true when viewing a particular product or development from an idealistic standpoint.  While something may have a lot of proven populist and practical value and may indeed be popular (even wildly regarded), the realistic assessment that sometimes goes counter to the idealistic view is whether the “it” can work financially. Is it a good business model?  How will it react to sudden change in strategy such as a buyout or a merger? These are the questions some observers are beginning to ask about Facebook, You Tube and Twitter, and not necessarily as “social media tools” but rather as business entities, which they really are.

Here is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle’s web site suggesting that the whole issue (recently debated) of investing in social media sites  brings to mind the Internet technology bubble of the 2000s. The writer wonders if this, too, could be a bubble about to “pop?” It certainly is a legitimate question to be put on the table, but I do not believe for one minute any of these key social media tools will go away or stray far from their original iterations, no matter what happens from a business and economic vantage point.  These social media tools have become too critical to changing the way communications functions across the globe. 

Social media tools – at least these three leading the way - are legitimate “game changers” that have brought about watershed, historical changes in communications.  There is no turning back. While there are numerous lesser known social media sites that have a smaller and more niche-like reach than these three, and those sites may indeed lose their footing down the road, rest assured that Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and the concept of blogging are here to stay for the rest of time. Hands down. Quite simply they are a whole new way of communicating that rivals the invention of the telephone and the television.  They have transformed communications in general and they have revolutionized the Internet and made it something that a lot of us never envisioned – or even could – back in the 1990s when  “the Internet” was introduced to the masses.

What This Blog is All About

Welcome to Digital Dialogue.  I am writing this blog to keep current with digital communications and how it is changing the face and nature of public affairs and communications today. I want to get beneath the surface of why the Internet and Social Media are so popular and why these tools are important to the future of communications. I especially want to look for trends and be on the constant lookout for "the next big thing" in digital communications.

One of the first thing out of the blocks that has my attention is the sale of The Huffington Post. I have said on numerous occasions recently that The Huff Post was the best and most-recognized publication to come out of Web 2.0. It is what tomorrow's (today's!) newspaper will have to look like to survive. I am not assuming the worst just because it is being sold to AOL, but as with any business entity that "changes hands," you have to wonder if they will continue to do what they do best -- which is cover a lot of hot topics and provoke "new thought" on topics you had not thought about in a unique way that combines traditional newspapering with Social Media. The Huff Post clear was and is a direct result of the impact of Social Media on the news and communications industry. The Huff Post got it just right in terms of marrying video with traditional reporting and writing. The video wasn't overdone.

Sure, lots of other online Web 2.0 publications have sprung up, but not with the same heft and reputation as The Post. We shall see what will happen. Here is an interesting take ("How The Huffington Post Works") from a contributor to the "paper."