Hilary Myers

Hey Arpana! This was such a comprehensive and interesting post. I completely agree that your organization doesn’t seem to need an app right now. I can’t think of a business or company I know well that doesn’t have an app off the top of my head. However, my current company does not have one and I think it’s the right choice. I work for a very small HR-based media company, so developing an app would require either new hires or outsourcing, just to start the process. We put out a lot of content, but it is all email or web-optimized, so there’s no real reason for us to have an app. Similar to your experience, my company’s demographic doesn’t quite fit: it’s mostly HR or company leaders that consume the content during work, not during their free time. Our website and magazine were recently mobile-optimized and email marketing can be consumed on their respective apps. An app for our business would further blur the line between work and personal life balance, I think. Great post!

Thanks for this post, Arpana — there is a temptation, I think, for every company to think they need an app — Even in the non-profit theater world, a few years ago, a conglomerate of Philadelphia theaters got together to create an app that they thought would drive revenue. After some significant expense, the result was low adoption. No one needed to app to purchase tickets or learn about shows, so the software was soon put to rest. As we’ve discussed in class, (and was captured in our reading) it’s essential to know the goal of tech adoption and that it will solve a problem and create enough impact for people to actually want to use it. Just you wait — soon every company will “NEED” augmented reality for something

Interesting topic Gabby!

I’m sure so many different points of views, as for me, I do not feel social media could be utilized in a classroom outside of a marketing degree program. We are all aware of how advanced social media platforms have become over the years, from which they were originally intended for-networking/connecting.

Except for Linked In, I don’t believe these channels could be utilized for a classroom environment, though the purpose is for networking and connecting, the content would be irrelevant on these channels. Personally speaking, I use these channels for fun and as an outlet, therefore I would not want to be reminded in this space of any content that is not relatable.

Hi Gabby,

Great post! I hugely support using social media creatively and for sure using them for academic purposes. TBH I am one of that person who still watches videos/reels about how to do fast calculations or excel shortcuts. I also know many teachers upload maths tutorials and history lessons in creative ways on Youtube, which gets a million views.
To answer one of your questions, I think social media can be very well used outside of a marketing degree as well, for courses where writing skills are essential, a degree where the requirements are slightly informal, and creativity has no boundaries.

What a thought-provoking post, Gabby! Social media can be an easy way to offer students additional expert perspectives–however it’s on the instructors to do appropriate vetting. Social media can also be a great way to infuse creativity. One of my favorite examples of this is a teacher who instructed students to present their history projects in the form of social media memes.

Hi Gabby,

As someone who grew up with technology evolving, I think technology and social media can be used just about anywhere. It is at the palm of our fingertips and so easy to use. Although we use social media a ton through our marketing degree, I think it is a good thing for it to be used outside of the classroom. For example, I have family that lives in California and they do not come home very often so we use social media to connect with them and share our photos and special moments in life. Social media doesn’t have to be a form of technology only used for education purposes. It is a way to connect with people all around the world and I think that is such a cool thing.

The notion of teaching kids about social media seemed trivial at first, but after reading upon this subject further, it does seem like a useful tool students can learn. I remember having to sift through online source after online source when I was younger, making sure it would be something that my teacher or professor would accept. There should be n difference in students having to learn how to sift through tweets and posts the same while trying to weed out biased and nonfactual information the see on social media. I could also see a class like this teaching behaviors and hardships one could develop if they were to get addicted to social media as well. Lastly, I believe it might be easier if students could use social media as references for information they might find and help stop the spread of misinformation. Or at least retweeting it!

Hi gabby!

This is an interesting post about social media and education. As someone who grew up in the social media era, I can see why some professionals are hesitate to use it in a classroom setting. Social media is informal and can sometimes be inappropriate. However, I think if it’s used in the right way, it can be a great way to get children to stay engaged in the classroom. With the evolution of TikTok throughout the pandemic, I have seen many teachers going viral on the app because of what they are doing with their students in the video.
I have a friend who is a teacher and I know she uses social media, specifically the trends and memes that go around social media, to engage her students. It’s a great way to connect with them and show them that you understand and can still have fun. It can also be used as a fun activity to learn and actually get them engaged in the material!

Gabby! Great post!

You can absolutely see the shift in the academic culture surrounding social media engagement. The amount of things I’ve learned on social media apps is hilarious. I learn something new every day in fact. I love to see educators utilizing every tool accessible to them. If Tik Tok happens to be one of them then so be it. It also says so much about the brand that education builds on these apps. That’s why you see colleges and universities with social media platforms. I would truly love to start seeing educators in academia inserting social posts and online content into their curriculums as we’ve done in this program.

Hey Gabby, great read. Even though their are many distractions when it comes to using social media as an academia tool., I am pretty sure somebody can find value in applying to a classroom. Maybe showing real world examples is a good idea. In my digital marketing classes in undergrad, we would use social media as part of our class all the time.

Hi Gabby, great post! I think it’s super interesting that some educational institutions and educators in general are reluctant to use social media in the classroom, especially when so many of them already incorporate YouTube videos into their lectures/lessons, which is not all that different of a concept. I actually feel like social media could be a more effective tool than YouTube that actually keeps students engaged. As long as educators do the work to make sure that the content and the creators behind it are spreading accurate information then I think it could be a great way to connect with and inform students in a way that is palatable to them. Personally, while I think YouTube can be a great resource for education, sometimes I find anything longer than 5-7 minutes to be a tedious watch if I’m not interested in the subject matter. With social media, the lesson is cut to 30-60 seconds and usually the delivery of the information is much more authentic and interactive.

Hi Gabby, definitely an interesting concept. For me, pushing students to use social media for education purposes is not something I would like. I already don’t like posting on my accounts for personal reasons. Wouldn’t mind if there was an app developed specifically for this though.

Hi Olivia,
I am still aware of all the capabilities meta has to offer to both the consutmer base and businesses. The most I know about Meta is 3D aversion. That is virtual reality in 3D. Companies like ray-ban had been using virtual realities that allowed customers to try their products from their homes. However, including human interface with their VR experiences will mean adding more electronic gadgets to our bags. For humans to join and experience the metaverse may require VR headsets, AR glasses, and haptics. Apple is in talks to be a big player in VR gear with VR manufacturing. Apple product pricing is no news, so before brands involve in meta and their VR they need to asses if their audience is ready to invest in products to experience their brands.

Hi Olivia!
Great post. Got me thinking because I don’t know too much about the metaverse but one question that popped in my head was if all companies that create a metaverse would somehow be connected or are they all separate and a person can’t cross over? This question came up after I thought how many people are actually in the metaverse. There are approximately 83.7 million Americans using augmented reality every month according to increditools.com. That’s a lot of people and that’s just in the U.S. This technology is becoming super important. Eventually everyone at some point will try the metaverse. I can see why companies want to take part of this because it’s different and unique.

I for one cannot wrap my head around the metaverse. My roommate has the oculus and while it may be fun for an hour or too, I do not see the amazement behind it? Am I wrong? Am I just an old man yelling at the younger generations weird and wild ways? It’s quite possible. But for one, I feel as if there has to be more that I am not seeing because for now, it does not seem like the hype around it is real. For one, I could see the increase in games being more fun, like the idea that you are in the game a la Tron. Or maybe one can be put in military situations, or police officers diffusing a bomb, or maybe even a surgeon practicing surgeries. Maybe I can see the hype around this metaverse if these situations can be recreated in such a realm. But for now, I believe we are stuck in the preliminary stages of this technology, where it does not seem to be fun, nor educational!

Hi Olivia,

Great post about the Metaverse! I know what the metaverse is, and I am familiar with because of the brand name before it was Meta, Facebook. That is truly the only reason I know about Meta. However, I have no idea what it entails. If someone were to ask me what the ‘metaverse’ is, I would of described something similar to a MySIms situation. That’s what the metaverse is to me. I would have to be one of those customers that will need to be educated on it I think there will be limitations to this technology. Like any technology, this will have to be explained to consumers in order for them to see how it can benefit them. That is a challenge for marketers. A challenge to make the metaverse seem as though it’s something consumers need to take advantage of to make their lives easier. I feel bad for us marketers in the future.

I’m going to have to agree with Henry on this one. I’m likely in the minority here, but I genuinely do not understand it all. My kids have an Oculus and they thought it was cool for the first day and haven’t touched it since. I was actually watching a show the other day and when asked what they do for a living, the person replied “Real Estate in the Metaverse” and I was thought, ” you whaaaaa?” Again, I’m not educated on the topic so I can’t dive too deep but, from my perspective, I put it on the same shelf as NFTs and crypto,,, overhyped and a cool buzz word.

Hi Olivia,

It’s an interesting insight about most consumers not even knowing what the metaverse really entails, despite being very aware of it. It seems like is still a really abstract concept for most people.

I was definitely among them at one point and it wasn’t until I actually tried on an Oculus headset that I could really grasp all that it entails. Interestingly enough, my partner took a class at Fox that took place in the metaverse about disruptive technologies. I think a lot more educational institutions will start using this concept to make online learning more interactive, and the same goes for workplaces.

Hi Olivia!

It feels like we’re all waiting to see if the Metaverse will actually take off… I can sort of wrap my head around it as a concept, but honestly, I can’t imagine it being useful in my life. At least, not yet. For me, the Metaverse is still more of a video game concept. I can’t really see how it’s going to be applicable to my daily routines. However, I admit it sounds like a cool idea. For an assignment during our first semester, I wrote about how it would be incredible to have access to The Louvre in the Metaverse — it would give access to millions of people who would otherwise never have the chance to go. It would also create engaging opportunities for classes and live lectures!

I think it’s going to take some consumer education but if the infrastructure is there, people will start using it!

Hey Olivia,

I can’t say I know much about the Metaverse myself, I assume it’s a VR experience like Spielberg’s “‘Ready Player One.” But it sounds like more which is confusing to me. I agree that if the Metaverse is to be the next big thing like marketers expect, consumers will need to be educated. I think there’s a lot of mystery surrounding, just like Bitcoin, NFTs, and Cryptocurrency. I think Facebook would do well to have a nice introductory video or maybe even interactive demo for consumers who are still in the dark about what the Metaverse is and can actually offer them – like me.

As far as how useful this technology will be when it comes to connecting with customers, that’s hard to say. Especially if said customers don’t know what it is. I think educating customers needs to be priority. And since Facebook isn’t exactly known for being transparent with consumers, I’m not sure if that’ll happen anytime soon.

Hey Olivia Great Read. I find the meta verse very interesting especially them trying to incorporate crypto currencies into the meta verse. I think people buying off Alexa was a huge success so I don’t think they any problems connecting with their customers. Marketing strategies would have to change of course in the meta but it is definitely an opportunity to reach out to more consumers. I don’t think they are any limitations with marketing in the meta or connecting with your customer. The opportunities are endless!

Hi Olivia,

Great read. The Metaverse is such an interesting but confusing concept to me. I love your point about educating consumers. I feel like it offers so much that I don’t know about!

Hi Gabby,
Thanks for an interesting post.
I have had a lost/missed package twice in the last month all through FedEx. I was tossed around on customer service calls and asked to repeat my case even when I had the case open. The packages were international shipments that were insured through FedEx and no third party was involved. FedEx is one of the top shipment companies across the globe so you’d think they’ll have a better system in place to serve their customers.
FedEx’s main product is its shipping services so I think it would be beneficial for the company to invest in improving its customer service both virtually and in-store. Lately, I have seen a lot of brands add a mandatory .95 cents to shipping charges that unables customers to track through Route. I think this is a great tool because not only have I never lost a package through that it gives me the exact delivery time…compared to FedEx where the delivery date/time changes every day.

Shipping and handling must be some of the most annoying areas on a customer journey to deal with. I hate how much I spend on certain items, and then to see the additional costs of shipping and handling are always going to add insult to injury. Not to mention, depending on where someone might live, it is always scary getting a package delivered. When I went to Temple for my undergraduate degree, I often times would get a package shipped to my parent’s house instead of my home at Temple just to avoid the package getting stolen. Similarly, I would also only use companies I know that have a great shipping, handling, and return policies. Amazon for one, is incredibly smooth to deal with because their policies are in favor of the consumer when it comes to returns. This ultimately makes consumers shop with Amazon because if their policies for different areas are hassle free, it makes my customer journey map a lot easier without having to worry about stressful events such as this.

Hi Gabby,
I am glad to hear that you were able to get your keyboard replaced and it was such a seamless process. I had a similar with another company. This company was Adidas, They ship with FedEx and they lost my package TWICE. Yes TWICE. I am sure you can hear the frustration in my voice as I say twice. However, both times the customer service reps did everything in their power to help me with a smooth refund process and I am grateful for that. Both times, it seems as though FedEx lost my package mid transit. Adidas was able to see that and filed a with a report with FedEx and issues me my refund. However, because of the fact that this happened twice with the same company, I haven’t bought anything from Adidas.com since then. That has made me skeptical of buying anything from them again because of the shipping service they use. However, because of the great customer service and products, I look for other websites to buy this product now.

Parsec sounds amazing! Remote video postproduction definitely has its drawbacks, but a higher demand for remote work has forced editing applications to improve or completely add collaborative features. Just in the past few years Adobe Premiere Pro added Team projects to make collaborative video editing possible. More recently, Davinci Resolve added team sharing capabilities that seem to be some of the best out there. These do all require each worker to have an editing workstation, all the footage, and other required assets. Parsec seems to bypass all of that and make things much simpler. I’ll have to check it out and see if there is any way to make my workflow any easier.