English: Graph of social media activities (Photo credit: Wikipedia)English: A protester holding a placard in Tahrir Square referring to Facebook and Twitter, acknowledging the role played by social media during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For those raised in the information age, life without the internet is no life at all. It is often a primary focus of a teen’s day (75% of teens are online several times per day) and an important means by which they communicate with the world and take in new information. While information can be found in various sources across the internet, an overwhelming majority of teens and pre-teens tend to gather their information from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
A 2015 report by the Media Insights Project found that the majority of surveyed Millennials (aged 18-34) cited Facebook as their sole or primary source of key news and other information.
Unfortunately, Facebook is not known as a credible source for news. The recent outbreak of “fake news” has hit social media sites particularly hard, as these types of platforms are set up to propagate information at record speed regardless of source or content. In addition, teens are particularly bad at discriminating between real and fake news. According to a recent study out of Stanford, 82% of surveyed middle-schoolers couldn’t distinguish between ads and real news on a website, highlighting the need to teach students media literacy and proper research skills.
We live in an age of interruption. Ping – you have a text message. Ping – you have a new email. Ping – you have a Facebook friend request. Ping – you have a match on your online dating app. Ping-ping-ping, all day long.
A recent Gallup poll found that more than 50 per cent of Americans who own smartphones keep their phone near them “almost all the time during waking hours”. Over 50 per cent say check their smartphone at least several times an hour and 11 per cent say they check it every few minutes. And that’s just what they’re aware of and admit to – I would not be surprised if the real frequency and intensity is much higher.
Until relatively recently in our technological history we did not have a lot of content coming to our devices. Now, we have texts, all kind of notifications and what seems like an endless stream of both personal and work emails. And it’s not just our phones. How many times have you been at your computer working on something when you get an email notification? And of those instances, how often did you stop what you’re doing to look at your email, realised that it was not that important and returned to your work – after taking a few minutes to remind yourself where you were and what your train of thought was?
At this point, it should be painfully clear to everyone that we need to be worried about the interruptions economy. What value do interruptions provide, under what conditions, and what are their costs? A little ping may seem innocuous, but there is cumulating evidence that the cost of an interruption is higher than we realise, and of course given the sheer number of interruptions, their combined effect can very quickly become substantial.
How we write learning content is as important as what we write. For example: Complex writing makes the message hard to understand. Mixing unnecessary content with important content makes it difficult to find and remember the most critical messages. In this eBook by Patti Shank, PhD, we concentrate on five critical tactics to remove unnecessary words and content in order to make it content more learnable.
Generic stock image in case anyone was confused. English: Bar graph of U.S. viewers of Heroes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is a curated group of images via the StartUp Stock Photo site. They are licensed under the public domain license and free to share and use for commercial work.
English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If social media marketing is all about creating powerful, cost-effective method for connecting your brand or company with your customers, why are so many social media analytics platforms and tools so expensive? The price tags for some professional-level social media dashboard systems alone can add hundreds of dollars a month to even the most humble marketing campaigns. What gives?
The reality is that most individuals, small businesses and mid-size brands don’t need the high-powered, enterprise-level tools the big guys use. In fact, many of the best tools and platforms are available for free.
Take a look at the 15 best free social media dashboards and tools that can be used for free, and you just might become top banana in social media marketing.
Technology Map – Tutornet (Photo credit: steven w)
Technology is changing at a rapid pace, so much so that it’s challenging to grasp.
While there is little uniformity in technology, there are some trends worth noting that have spurred tangent innovation, including speed (a shift from dial-up top broad band), size (from huge computers to small handheld devices), and connectivity (through always-on apps and social media).
In fact, we have some to expect nearly instant obsolescence—smartphone contracts that last a mere 24 months seem like ages. Whether this is a matter of trend or function is a matter of perspective, but it’s true that technology is changing—and not just as a matter of power, but tone.
In 2013, technology has become not just a tool, but a standard and matter of credibility. While learning by no means requires technology, to design learning without technology is an exercise in spite—proving a point at the cost of potential. And it’s difficult to forget how new this is.
Fifteen years ago, a current high school sophomore was born.
Using social media in your job hunt doesn’t just mean having a LinkedIn profile and tweeting industry news anymore. Many employers are looking for candidates with an impressive online presence, also known as a social resume.
Check out this infographic for what you need to know about creating a social resume that’ll stand out to hiring managers, plus some insider tips for how to tell if it’s getting you the results you want.
