Mediaboss Marketing

Social media can wreak havoc when students become distracted in the middle of class.

Remember the days when back to school meant a trip to the store for new pencils, paper and maybe a spiral notebook or two? Today's students, particularly those in the higher grades and college level, have little time or interest in those analog commodities -- they're carrying laptops, tablets, smartphones and other gadgets.

Putting technology in the hands and laps of students opens a vast pool of opportunity and knowledge, but it can also be distracting. Especially when students are using those devices to check Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or any one of the hundreds of social platforms that beg for their attention right in the middle of class.

Some administrators and educators have taken things to the extreme by outright banning the use of mobile devices in the classroom. Meanwhile, others believe that classrooms are the perfect environment to break bad habits and encourage students to embrace these tools for productive means.

"The biggest challenge I face as an educator is that students use social media as a toy instead of a tool," Kathleen Stansberry, assistant professor of public relations and social media at Cleveland State University, writes in response to questions from CIO.com. "It is often assumed that millennials are social media experts because they grew up with interactive media. They may know how to use the technology behind sites like Facebook and Twitter, but they don't understand the strategy that goes into using social media to accomplish professional, personal, or organizational goals."

Social Media is a 'Constant Temptation'

Stansberry says she allows students to use mobile devices during class time because the "constant temptation" they face from social media sites won't end after graduation. "I believe learning to control social media use in professional situations is part of the learning process," she adds.

"As with any disruptive technology, social media must be assimilated into our lives -- and during the process, there will be negative impacts. Technology in the classroom results in bullying, distraction, and cheating... and also engagement, deep and authentic learning, and global interactions," Jane Owen, professor emeritus of educational leadership at Midwestern State University in Texas, writes in an email response to CIO.com. "As an administrator, I would never let the negatives overrule the positives."

Teachers have to educate students to be disciplined and responsible in their use of technology, Owen adds. "Why should the next generation have to power down when they come to school and thus receive their educations in a 60s' style classroom because educators can't figure out a way to successfully harness technology?"

[Related: Social Media Getting More Spontaneous and Less Personal]

Follow this link:
Is Social Media Reviving or Killing Our Classrooms?

by Alicia Lutes 6 hours ago

Okay so this one has officially terrified us: the brave, intrepid, and intelligent folks over at asapSCIENCE have done it again. Its no secret that social media and technological advances have had a huge effect on our society and the world at large. But did you know that its also changing us on a biological level? And not necessarily in the best ways?

Its true and heres the video proof to terrify you into never wanting to tweet an embarrassing #TBT selfie ever again (or will it?).

1. Its As Addictive As Drugs To Our Brains

2. Your Brain Cannot Block Out Distractions and Interferences

3. Its Re-Wiring Our Nervous Systems

4. And Rewarding Us For Selfish Behavior

5.But Its Not All Bad At Least When It Comes To Love

You can watch the whole video here, if youre into the terrifying reality that is the biological repercussions of our onactions:

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Continue reading here:
Social Media Is Changing Your Brain In 5 Terrifying Ways

MONTGOMERY, AL - Raycom Media has reached an agreement in principle with DirecTV. DirecTV viewers have been without Raycom Media stations since September 1, 2014. DirecTV subscribers should begin receiving their favorite Raycom Media stations in approximately 2 hours.

Raycom Media promised to work around the clock and we have a deal in principle to get NFL football, local news and weather plus network and local programming back on DirecTV. Raycom Media will be working over the next few days to finalize the full agreement. We promise to keep you informed every step of the way.

Raycom Media President and CEO, Paul McTear stated, We appreciate our viewers' patience. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank them for their loyalty to their local stations throughout this process. We are very pleased to be, once again, serving them on the DirecTV system and will keep them informed as we work to finalize this agreement.

In order to be delivered into the homes of viewers, agreements are needed with the cable and satellite companies that serve our markets. For several months, Raycom Media, has been working with DirecTV to resolve this issue, unfortunately the deadline passed before an agreement could be reached.

Here is the original post:
Raycom Media reaches agreement in principle with DirecTV

Your customers are growing tired of all the marketing being thrown their way on social media, says analyst Kim Celestre

Less than half of the audience here at ThinkLA's Social Media breakfast raised their hands when they were asked if they find marketing useful in their personal lives.

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement from the hundreds of marketers, advertisers and other media professionals who filled this seaside banquet hall.

What many here know and fewer will readily admit is that most marketing is junk. That truth persists with little regard for differences in medium, format, audience or data.

As the old and oft-repeated saying goes: half of all the effort and money spent on advertising is wasted, they just don't know which half.

Social media doesn't change that scenario so much as it amplifies what out-of-control junk marketing looks like. Any marketing that fails to provide value to a consumer is junk and there's a lot of it making the rounds on social media.

"The reality is most of us don't listen because the message doesn't pertain to us," says Kim Celestre, senior analyst at Forrester. "The fact is, your audience is getting impatient with the marketing you're putting out there."

Affluent, always-connected consumers may be some of the most valuable targets for marketers, but they're also especially good at ignoring advertising, she adds.

Celestre encourages brands to embrace "utility marketing" marketing that their customers can use. "You need to demonstrate your brand promise and not just talk about it," she says.

[Related: 5 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Campaigns ]

Excerpt from:
How to Make Sure Your Social Marketing Isn't 'Junk'

Just because I cannot resist theelectromagnetic pulseof Apples media control machine, it does not mean I have to buy its products. And based on reports of a so-called iWatch, there arefour reasons I willnotbuy one.

To be sure, journalists are being briefed on the details of the iWatch on the condition that they do not name the briefers. A case in pointis the New York Times which wrote [the iWatch] is expected to come in two sizes and combine functions like health and fitness monitoring with mobile computing tasks like displaying maps. It will have a flexible screen and, like the new phones, will support technology that allows people to pay for things wirelessly.

The anonymous briefers told the Times that the iWatch will have a tougher-than-glass flexible display panel that is protected by synthetic sapphire; a postage stamp-sized circuit board; a wireless battery charger, HealthKit, for storing health data andHandoff for pushing contentamongconsumers Apple devices.

It is unclear to me why media outlets cannotname their sources for these reports are the briefers lives at risk if they are named?

Here are four reasons I will not buy an iWatch.

1. I do not understand the value of wearable health and fitness monitoring

I do not sharea passion for wrist bracelets that keep track ofhealth and fitness statistics. In my daily life, I do not see many individuals who wear such devices.

More broadly, I do not understand what personal pain these devices are designed to relieve. Perhaps people who were college athletes and got used to timing how fast they run and continue to crave the dopamine rush of those statistics are among the consumers who buy health and fitness monitoring devices.

I do not crave this information but I would certainly buy such a device if my doctor prescribed one. Since I do not anticipate that happening, I am confident that I will not buy any health and fitness monitoring device.

2. I do not see a compelling need for wireless payment

Here is the original post:
4 Reasons I Will Never Buy An IWatch