digital optimism

After recently writing about/contemplating technology and its use in schools, I happened upon this article about elementary schools using iPod touches and educational applications to teach students by Julio Ojeda-Zapata. This article was of even more interest to me as it includes interviews with students & teachers from my alma mater school district, West Saint Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan. Hoody hoo!

The story does a great job of highlighting how these gadgets encourage learning and make it fun for students. Be sure to read it. At the very least, check out the great photo slideshow of students using their iPods in class.

Photo credit: Andreas Surya (Flickr)

Recently, I realized that I was totally sucking at keeping up a baby book for Tommy. Scrapbooking has never been my thing. And while I love printed pictures of the people, places and things that I love, I just don’t get around to actually printing pictures on a regular basis. Taking photos and uploading them, though- that’s another story. I do that like it’s my job. So instead of filling in the blanks of a preconceived baby record that was essentially started by someone else, I decided to create my own online using Posterous.

I’ve kept it updated since I started it (unlike this blog, sadly) and have loved every minute of it. I will admit that it was difficult at first to open up the way I have. That’s not something that comes easily for me. But all of these thoughts I have are so genuine that I felt Tommy should know about them one day. I think every parent, to some degree, wants their children to share in the experience the feelings that come with starting a family. So I’ve kept it open to the public in hopes that others will enjoy it and maybe even do it for their own kids.

I’ve received some amazing compliments and feedback which has really made me feel wonderful. I truly appreciate the comments people have sent to me (mostly in private) and hope that people really do enjoy it as much as they say. Being a mother is something I’m very passionate about and while I didn’t want to be a “mommy blogger,” I wanted to mix a few of my passions to create something meaningful. In this case I chose technology and parenting. So far I’m happy with it, having fun with it and thinking of new ways to make it even better.

So in the spirit of digital media and community, I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas regarding Letters to Tommy. And in the spirit of the holidays, thanks for reading this blog, or any of my other “online properties,” and just simply being a part of my life.

I often watch my son grab my iPhone from wherever it may be, unlock it, and start opening apps. My son is 18 months old.

The way he gravitates toward technology – whether it be my iPhone, computer, camera, anything – got me wondering what K-12 schools will look like in a few years. In fact, it has me wondering what K-12 schools look like now. I remember having computer class. When I see my son and even my four-year-old niece, I realize they aren’t going to need computer class in the traditional sense. They live on computers as it is.

It seems to me that technology is an incredible asset to learning. The children in my life have really benefit from playing learning games online. How will this change the way children learn? To consider some extremes: will kids even know long division in the future? Will writing class be what computer class once was? Will iPods or Kindles replace books?

It’s probably obvious that I don’t know any parents of K-12 aged kids attending school right now, but I’m interested in how technology has already changed the educational experience that I remember. Something tells me schools will not be quick to adopt more technology. Whether or not that is a good thing, I’m not sure. If anyone cares to share some insight, I’d be very interested to hear.

I will never forget the day I listened to my first Beatles album. My uncle bought me Revolver as a gift. I still have it in my CD collection, which has been neglected for years thanks to my iPod. That album changed my life. My adolescence was spent learning as much as I could about music. And it all started with Revolver.

This Christmas, my husband gave me a CD. I cannot remember the last time (before this) I’ve been given a CD as a gift. We had just seen Mamma Mia! and I had been saying how I wanted to have the songs on my iPod. It was a great gift and I was very happy to get it. The first thing I did, however, was load it on to my iPod.

My husband wanted to give me something he knew I would love. He didn’t want to give me an iTunes gift card because it lacked sentiment. Since I began downloading music online (whenever Napster started), I haven’t purchased a CD for myself or anyone else. In the past, I often purchased CDs for friends and family. I now give iTunes gift cards, knowing that most everyone close to me has embraced downloading music.

In my experience, the standard of downloading music has taken away from giving it as a gift. I love music, and I miss getting it as a gift. An iTunes gift card is not the same thing as an album you’ve been waiting for. Has anyone else felt this way? How can one restore giving the gift of music in this digital age?

Photo by Jeremy G (Flickr)

This post was inspired by a tweet or two from Cydney Wuerffel about using quotes from Twitter in research papers. Cydney asked a great question- whether or not these quotes from Twitter would be acceptable in academia. Initially I thought, “hm, not sure about that.” Then I reconsidered; why wouldn’t a tweet be fair game for a quote? This brought up a bigger question. What is it about digital media that creates a sense of informality?

For whatever reason, communications via Facebook, e-mail, Twitter, etc. are perceived as less “acceptable” than traditional forms of media. I’m making a rather large generalization by saying that, but personally I’ve gotten that sense from myself and others. This is especially visible inside of organizations, where leaders often believe the only people on Facebook are college students posting their drinking pictures. I see blogs being received as less authoritative in comparison to a newspaper, or even an online edition of a newspaper. I recognize that the writing is generally more conversational in blogs and on social networks, but why would that make the information less valid? If Albert Einstein were (alive, and…) posting theories on a blog? What is it about digital that makes conversations less real? Is it the lack of face-to-face interactions and, if so, will video change that?

Photo credit: umbex (Flickr)

First and foremost- this is a random personal account that has absolutely nothing to do with what I usually write about. The story is still ridiculous so read on if you so wish. (And I do hope we can still be friends afterwards. )

You are going to think I’m insane. Seriously. But I want to know if this has ever happened to anyone else. Also, I want to be damn sure to document this before I forget it completely.

I fell asleep about 20 minutes ago and started dreaming. I can’t remember what I was dreaming about. But all the sudden I began hearing noises as though they were outside my window. I was frightened so I stood up. I was awake and going to shut the window. Except I wasn’t awake. I wasn’t moving at all. I felt myself stand up, but I was laying there unconscious, but completely conscious, yet incapable of any movement. What. The. Hell.

I tried to yell for my husband in the other room. I felt and heard myself speaking, buy again I was still lying down and not making any noise. I felt my arms moving, but they weren’t moving. I started yelling at myself to wake up. I was trying to force my eyes open, but could not open them. I continued yelling at myself to wake up until it finally happened.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. I vaguely remember this happening about two years ago. That time it only lasted about 30 seconds. This time it was at least 5 minutes. I think I’ve completely lost my mind. Perhaps I should think twice before posting this, since my sanity may be in question here. But I really want to know if this has happened to anyone else.

Was I dreaming? I dont know if I can accept that answer though, because I was so conscious of what was happening. Sleepwalking? Impossible, because I wasn’t moving. Am I on drugs? Nope. You probably don’t believe it, but I’m not, I promise!

Do I belong in the looney bin? Probably. Anyone got any answers?

Maybe I’m just so tired that I’m hallucinating or something. On that note, back to sleep I go.

So, I have some exciting news to share:

1. New job: On May 4th, I will be joining Haberman as an Interactive Storyteller, and I am thrilled. Though it’s hard for me to say goodbye to the great people at Questar, I’m looking forward to starting a new path with an incredible PR firm. It’s a fantastic opportunity and I can’t wait to start.

2. New blogging gig: I am now writing for examiner.com as the Minneapolis Working Moms Examiner. I will continue writing for the Minneapolis Metblog as well. Out of control blogger right here.

3. New house: My husband and I are buying our first home. We close the deal next Thursday. No more noisy old lady upstairs! No more smelly apartment hallway! No more evil landlords!  Booyah.

I am very, very happy about all of these new happenings. To everyone who has supported me along the way, thank you so much. There are plenty of individuals who deserve a beer on my dime, and I will make it happen in the near future.

That might be a dumb question. With corporations paying million-dollar bonuses to executives with tax payer money, I see why they’d want to keep that under wraps. But in some businesses, it feels like every decision must remain a secret. How can we explain this perpetual confidentiality?

I attribute it to one thing: fear. Company executives are afraid of how other people will react to their decisions. This fear is valid…sort of. We’ve seen how one bad decision can lead to an uprising of unhappy people (ie: Motrin baby-wearing ad campaign). So while it may seem like a valid fear, it’s really not.

I hate to be cliché, but you truly can’t win ‘em all. Fear should evolve into acceptance and confidence. Companies just need to embrace the power of reputation management. Decisions should be made with the expectation that it will be public knowledge. That way, a plan for response measures can be established. People just want some answers, and I mean employees and customers alike. I know that clear, honest communication can repair broken relationships.

Thanks to technology, company secrets can now be revealed to the masses. We shouldn’t fear this. Disgruntled customers now give us the opportunity to appease them with a response. Unhappy employees now have the opportunity to speak up, and businesses have the equal opportunity to reply. The act of responding is key.

Photo credit: vk-red (Flickr)

Most marketing professionals suffer from constant information overload. At least ten must-read articles cross my path every day, while hundreds of “get-to-them-later” posts wait in my reader. Today, a few of those must-reads were “how-to” posts from industry pros that I completely disagreed with.

I do not want to undermine the value of how-to posts. These articles are valuable and without them, I’d be lost. But it’s important to remember that most of this information is not the end all, be all of corporate communication. Not only because technology is ever-changing, but because what doesn’t work for one business might actually work for another.

It’s certainly easy to follow instructions from seasoned professionals, but don’t just take the information and run with it. We cannot expect another company’s tactics to pan out perfectly for our unique business needs. I believe this lack of reflection is to blame for many initiatives failing miserably.

Thought leaders on corporate blogging tell us that quality content is king. While I do agree, some blogs simply do not write quality content. Instead, these bloggers mobilize readers to write quality content in the comments section. The Merrill Dubrow Blog is an example. This is a widely-read blog in the market research industry. Merrill is a great blogger and some of his posts are in fact helpful. However, most of them are simply fun and have little to do with market research. This strategy works for his business.

So read the how-to posts and use them as a starting point if you need one. But remember that it might not work for you or your company, and here’s where the importance of testing comes in. If you aren’t quantifying your initiatives, you are wasting time. Follow the leader to begin, but remember that your own creativity and ideas will most likely be your jackpot. As you take advice from industry veterans, question them and question whether or not their strategy fits your business goals. If you don’t do this, you will fail sooner or later.

Photo credit: vivified (Flickr)

And why wouldn’t they? It’s the equivalent of a socialite in the real world. Lately a lot of “social media strategists” have started following me on Twitter. I want to know what makes a person a “social media strategist.” What makes them different from all the others? I want to know what about you is different from Chris Brogan and Jason Falls. Every time I see it my reaction is the same- “yeah, yeah, yeah…” My advice (whether or not you care to hear it): Go with another title, if possible.

Photo credit: ogilvyprworldwide (Flickr)