As I began to read the articles and opinions arriving at lightening speed across my computer and iPhone, I started learning more about him. I then realized I didn’t know Steve Jobs at all. Did he have a family? I wasn’t sure. Did he like certain art or music, what was his favorite food? I didn’t have a clue. What college did he drop out of? When did he start the company? I didn’t know those things either, or perhaps I just didn’t remember them. I also wondered how many people did know all of these things?

As the CEO of R2integrated, a sense of embarrassment came next. I’m supposed to be an expert. I work in the industry. I advise people. How do I not know the answers to these questions? And considering I had never met Steve Jobs, why am I so upset right now?

Life Changer

We use the devices Steve Jobs invented every day. We build marketing programs on top of these platforms and have watched the face of these programs change with every release, every announcement. What will Microsoft do next? Or Google? We waited both anxiously and excitedly about what would come next. We, along with a large number of other digital pioneers across the world that focus on communications, have embraced these technologies and shown our clients how to embrace them too. We have all watched as much of the world embraced them.

At the core, I think the reason Steve Jobs affected me so much is because of the real role he played for me and, perhaps, many others. He changed the way I lived. There has been and will be many inventors in this world. And many of them have changed the way our parents and grandparents lived and many others before them. I probably take those inventors for granted, as I’m sure their creations touch my life daily. But for me and at this moment in time, Steve Jobs is the one who changed my life the most. These are the inventions that will have lasting impacts on the current generations and pave the way for the next wave of inventors.

Somehow the work Steve Jobs did has become embedded in my daily life. I use it everyday. It’s goes with me everywhere. I have a reliance on it. I also, and perhaps most importantly, have a love for it.

Steve Jobs helped put devices, technologies, feelings and, yes, connections into my hands and the hands of millions, if not billions, of others. Not bad for a man I never met and, as mentioned before, knew little about.

The Networked World

As digital communications specialists I can’t help but look at how Steve Jobs affected our industry. One could argue the Internet as a whole was the true communication invention and Steve Jobs played a role in powering it, or maybe helping us to recognize its potential. No one can every really quantify the true impact the past ten years at Apple had on our profession, but we do know it was big, very big.

We now have to reach audiences on a wide variety of different screens where our message and creative may need to be adjusted accordingly. Now that the consumer can bring the device with them, we need to be prepared not just for when we want to reach them, but for when they want to reach us. Our most engaged customers can now be with us whenever they want to be and we can give them additional value propositions we couldn’t before. The devices and the valuable utility they bring is embedded in our daily lives, and smart brands can get more embedded as well. The opportunities and challenges are still in their infancy. For those that do communications every day we aren’t going to be sleeping any easier anytime soon.

I do have one other thought worth exploring: I know I am speculating a bit here but I see human beings as becoming increasingly more networked with devices like the iPhone and iPad driving the enablement of this change. The screen has gone beyond an information delivery vehicle to a vehicle for connection, a conduit to relationships. Real human connection was an activity reserved for physical space, but these devices have shifted that space. I can be sitting with my best friend and talking to another via FaceTime while texting to another. I can then surf the web, gather some information, share and discuss it. As I do this I feel connected. When I am not doing I feel detached.

I can also use all of these instant connections to make decisions. At the core of this vast network we will soon be able to learn pretty much anything about anything, and to do it quickly from anywhere and with anyone. The ease in which these devices move information from person to person or persons to persons and the fact we can take them with us feels like the beginning of an uber-networked society. Not a network of computers. But a network of people with a device, yes MY device (The iPhone is this case), as the gateway. Billions of interactions will move through this network every second.

How much time will consumers spend in this network every day? How “glued” to us will the devices become? What will we use them for? In the context of marketing communications I think people will use this network to make more informed purchasing decisions. These networks will ensure the truth about a product is known to all that care to know, disrupting us one day and empowering us the next. These networks will help consumers make better decisions by obtaining information quickly that in the past was simply unavailable. Information the marketing department may not even have. These networks will change the way we buy, and as a marketing communications professional in the “get them to buy it business” that is something to pay close attention to.

Steve Jobs did not create this network alone but his inventions and vision over the past ten years have certainly played a large role. He has certainly changed how we communicate and, in effect, changed our profession. I can’t wait to see the next thing Steve Jobs and his team invented. It is likely sitting as a prototype right now under lock and key at Apple’s corporate offices.

What will it be?

The phrase that captures the new Facebook is “Self-Expression.” Below are details about the changes Facebook is making.

Timeline

The timeline is a new feature of your Facebook profile, and will bring a new way to express yourself and your life. Personally, I think it’s awesome. It will take all of your information – your likes, statuses, pictures, videos, apps – and plot them on a literal timeline. You will even be able to go “back in time” and fill out old stuff, like baby pictures for when you were born. You will be able to make your new Facebook profile more-YOU.  Facebook is also bringing apps back on to profiles (but not like the old boxes model). Check out a live demo of the Facebook Timeline.

Ticker

Previously, when your friends liked something (either on or off Facebook using the social graph) it would show up in your news feed. Well, during the conference, Zuckerberg basically said that people were getting annoyed with all of their friend’s menial activity updates, and so now Facebook has moved all of the micro-stories to a box on the upper right-hand corner of your home page (newsfeed). The ticker is live already on most Facebook accounts.

New App Categories:

Previously, there were only two categories for apps: Games & Communication. Facebook is adding two new categories: Media & Lifestyle.

Media apps will include music, video and more. This is what the rumors about music/video integration have been about. In the new Facebook, you’ll be able to see your friend listening to a song on Spotify in your Ticker, and you’ll be able to click on it, and listen to that same song with them. It’s pretty sweet. It’s the same with Netflix and Hulu.

The second new category, Lifestyle, will include things like cooking, fitness, fashion and more. Anything and everything we are all interested in. And you’ll be able to connect with your friends on things you like – for example, if you like running, you can start logging your runs every day. You can move this app into your profile, and into your timeline automatically, and your friends will be able to see the runs you are going on (length, locations, etc.) and interact with you about that interest.

My favorite example of this is being able to get a “What I Ate Report” which shows on a timeline over a year everything you cooked/ate in a single place.

Apps are a very big and important part of the Facebook changes, and I’m not a developer, so I’m sure there is a lot that I’m leaving out. If you are interested in more details, read this Facebook developers blog.

Social Graph Updates:

The social graph is becoming more embedded and natural. Bear with me – I’m not too technical – but from what I understand, instead of just “liking” a song on an app like Spotify, you can now allow access to Facebook via Spotify, and Facebook will automatically add what you are listening to on your Facebook profile and feed. So that secret love for Miley Cyrus or Kenny G may be not-so-secret anymore – watch out!

What does this mean for YOU as a Facebook user?

In my opinion, this Facebook change is going to allow us to connect with our friends on a completely new level. We will all be so tuned in – automatically, naturally – to our friends overtime, that we’ll be able to start interacting with their information in new ways. It seems like the new Facebook is more like your life – filled with memories, music, videos, interests, interactions and more – all in one, consumable package organized by time. I’m very excited to see what opportunities and changes in social networking these changes will bring.

What could this mean for marketers and businesses using Facebook?

Business uses of Facebook were not mentioned in the announcement today, but with the ultra-integration of apps, and the new app categories, there are endless possibilities for businesses and marketers to take advantage of the new Facebook.

The new app structure (and social graph) seems to allow businesses (and apps) to interact and engage with consumers on a new level, and as a more natural part of everyday online interaction. If they begin integrating all the new information into targeted advertising, it will allow more targeted ads than ever before.  For example – what if Nike, Inc. could specifically target women in their 20s who are actively logging runs in a lifestyle app? The possibilities are endless.

For more opinions and articles that have been written about what these new Facebook changes could mean for business, I suggest reading “What F8 means for Advertisers” and “What the new Facebook changes mean for Businesses.”  

Are you ready to start playing with the new Facebook right now? Read these instructions on how to get the new Timeline feature before it’s released publicly.

Want more information? Or just want to connect with me? Follow me, Natasha Jarmick on Twitter and tweet any questions or comments you may have!

Google is using their patent invite system to slowly let people in.  This is in itself a social experiment.  They start with letting users with clout in.  Then from there, people are given invites to share.  Each day they allow so many of these invites to enter the golden gate.  Suddenly these invites go viral.  People start posting on Facebook (oh the irony) that they have invites.  People start asking others for invites.  It becomes a interesting study in who knows who.

While I don’t have the clout or the social network that Mark Zuckerberg has, I managed to get an invitation.  Time to start looking around and trying to guess what they are up to.  My first impression?  Disappointment.  The biggest issue I have is that the invite system does not work well for an application that requires a large community to thrive.  How many times will I check my plus account only to find out that I have no new news to read?  How many times will I make a most if nobody is +1-ing (hmm doesnt sound as nice as liking) them?  Facebook didn’t have this problem because it targeted social groups.  Let’s assume that Google can overcome the adoption rate issue, because well they are Google.  Then what?  What will this tool do for me that Facebook doesn’t?

Here are some of my first impressions:

1) Integrated Search.  This is a no-brainer for Google.  I can only postulate that Google is going to add to its formula, allowing Social Reviews and +’s to tailor my results.

2) Ease of sharing.  Those with an Android phone can share photos more easily.  I am assuming this is Googles way to combat Windows Phone 7 social features?

3) Circles.  These will either become overkill or set Google apart. Can users figure out a way to structure their social networks so that Circles add value?  Google is betting they can.  I am betting that a small minority can, but it will become overkill for most users.

4) Is it too Techy?  This might be the biggest obstacle Google has to overcome.  Facebook is simple.  Twitter is simple.  Google+ isn’t as simple.  Remember when Facebook became un-cool..the day your parents joined?  Will your parents join Goolge+ and be able to use it?

5) Do I really want another social network?  In order for Google to get enough market-share to support their shiny new platform they need a value-add proposition.  What is it?  I can speculate on what it might be, but is that enough?  Google needs to tell us.  Why should I spend time creating a new profile, inviting people, figuring out my circles.  Why?  What’s in it for me?  Don’t make me spend time getting everything setup just right to figure it out.  Tell us and we will come.

These are just my “24 hours using Google+” thoughts.  Lot’s to explore and learn, and despite my strong desire not to, I have a new social network to build.

There are several flavors of cloud computing readily available now.  Microsoft has its own cloud (Azure).  Amazon has introduced us to its ec2 cloud.  Google runs its entire business in a cloud.  And Apple is joining the fun with a new way to access media, in the cloud!

If you truly wish to understand cloud computing one way might be to deepen your understanding of network theory, server virtualization, software as a service, and other technical sounding buzzwords.  Let’s skip that for now, though, and concentrate on a laymen understanding for this post.  At its essence, the term “cloud” simply refers to a collection of computers that are networked together, or the Internet, as we like to call it.  Cloud computing is merely an evolution of the mid-90’s world wide web vision that most people are taught about in school.

Why did the term cloud get applied here? For many network engineers who diagrammed how their company’s computers connected to outside networks in the late 90’s, the cloud became the illustration of the unknown path data took when it traversed the web to other external computers. The cloud came to represent everything outside a known domain in a network diagram.

Now, think about it in terms of your home computer.  It is available for you to use when you need it; however, most of the day it sits idle waiting for you to get home from work, or back from the store, or wake up in the middle of the night with a Facebook craving.  What if you could anonymously “rent” your computer to others who didn’t have one, but only during these times when you are not using it?  Guess what, you can.  That is the fundamental concept of cloud computing.  Rather than purchase an entire computer for their networking needs; companies now have the ability to “rent” the use of community computers based on their needs. And the concept birthed the term “cloud computing.”

Of course there is much more to the actual workings of cloud computing, but no need to bore everybody with technical details.  For now, enjoy the 10,000 feet view, from the clouds.

Together with Founders Co-op, we are creating a place where people can gather, connect and engage in strategic conversations about the issues and innovations driving the digital marketplace. We’ll be inviting thought leaders and industry experts who will inspire you to look to the future; and, of course, we’re also going to be pouring local wine and microbrew to help you wind down at the end of a hard day.

The Dbar already has heard from some terrific folks who plan to join us and spark the discussion, but you’ll have to wait another few days to get all the details.  Suffice it to say, with The Dbar, we are raising the bar for digital communication. Stay tuned.

Now a unique business proposition has arisen. Various web technologies have provided brands with the ability to become publishers and many have done so successfully. Among the most successful members of Twitter are Ashton Kutcher and Lady Gaga; certainly best classified as “brands” rather than “publishers.” Now that celebrities have achieved huge numbers of engaged followers, other brands are taking notice and seeking to pay to advertise within their newly created communities. In other words, celebrities are brands, and these brands have become publishers, and also in some cases have now become paid advertisers. Tweets from celebrities can be considered personal endorsements and therefore represent a potentially lucrative advertisement platform.

Twice in the past week I heard of this phenomenon. The first instance was the infamous Andy Dick stating on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM Satellite radio that he has 55,000 followers on Twitter and was offered money for his tweets. I believe the sum he mentioned was $2,500 (although I may be remembering incorrectly). Next, again on Sirius XM, I heard that Limp Bizkit front-man Fred Durst tweeted that he too was offered money for his tweets. Apparently dismayed at the prospect of becoming a walking advertisement, Durst stated that he is leaving Twitter for good.

At this news, my colleague stated that he would imagine a smart advertiser would approach a celebrity covertly and offer a fee in exchange for subtle, occasional endorsements of their product along with silence about the existence of this arrangement. I certainly agree. Such a deal would have a much higher probability of success. Considering the logic of such an advertising scenario, it is entirely likely that it is already occurring. The only reason we are aware of such specific examples is because Fred Durst declined the offer and subsequently informed his followers, and Andy Dick, well, I can’t attempt to explain his behavior.

So, this leaves us all in doubt. If a celebrity happens to profess fondness for a particular product, we have no way of knowing if his opinion was influenced by several hundred thousand dollars. I can tell you, if I was responsible for marketing a B2C product targeted toward women, getting onto the “Oprah’s Favorite Things” episode would be a goal of mine.

Google Chrome O/S has a simple UI and a low footprint that fires up quickly – plus, it manages multiple sessions in a secure manner. It will be distributed as an open-source O/S, focused entirely on serving Web-based applications in a browser. This is a different architecture than Windows and Linux where the browser runs “on top” of the O/S and is at the mercy of how the O/S manages such things as the resource pool, memory, and other process-based calls. Why is this groundbreaking?

Because it’s breaking the barriers of Operating System, Browsers, mobile and your desktop.

Dynamic Web applications and user interaction require the browser and O/S to be as efficient as possible for speedy page-load times. This is a huge issue, especially if you consider a browser on a mobile device with less bandwidth. Google Chrome O/S is built to support and optimize a browser environment with a goal to load Web apps and pages fast. Processing power is relying on distributed server-based cloud computing.


In the past two years, phones have started to become mini-computers with applications ranging from games and personal finance management to corporate file access, word processing, email, and more. The introduction of the iPhone along with Apple’s notion that there is an application for everything has created a new consumer mindset. From a trend and forecasting perspective, the Chrome O/S will extend its provide power and simplicity from the phone to the workstation.

Does Google want to compete with Microsoft head to head? Probably not. However, considering that Google makes money from search and selling advertising, it’s in their interest to have more people spending time on the Web, preferably using their own platform. The Chrome O/S rollout is more than a year away, so there’s a lot of time for Microsoft to react. Given Microsoft’s 90-percent market share in the desktop market, Google has its work cut out. It looks like Google wants to initially attack the low-hanging fruit market of notebooks and PDA-type devices at the consumer level. I doubt corporations will adopt quickly, especially when you consider that the official release is more than a year away. They’ve succeeded in getting attention in Seattle, as Microsoft executives ponder the meaning and potential effect. Google Chrome may not deliver to all the hype, but the innovation, the momentum of cloud computing, distributed Web application access, and serving of digital information are certainly here to stay.

Related Video:

• Cloud Computing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplXnFUlPmg

Wikipedia -

• Chrome Browser: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome
• Chrome Operating System: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS
• Chrome Blogspot – http://chrome.blogspot.com/

HTML 5 continues to break technical barriers by bringing desktop/client-side-based power and functionality to the browser. To showcase HTML 5, Google went beyond the “Hello World” sample with what they consider a true platform.  In the simplest terms, Google Wave is a next-generation email application. It’s the traditional email client functionality with an insanely intuitive and collaborative social media twist, plus an extendable API, and a bunch more.

Google has a knack for identifying and supporting the people who are ahead of their time with a cool and strategic technology.  Two rock stars in the Google world are the Rasmussen brothers, Lars and Jens. You may remember them from such applications as Google Maps. The story goes that a couple years back they were brainstorming about the next big thing, and as Lars eloquently put it, “We set out to answer the question: What would email look like if we set out to invent it today?”

For more than two years in a secret lab located in Sydney, Lars and Jens approached email behavior like an innocent child absorbing the outside world for the first time. With their imagination, curiosity, and a clean-slate perspective, they made incredible observations and conclusions, some of which embarrass you with their common sense. Ultimately, the Google Wave team reinvented email, messaging, and media in a collaborative message vehicle they call a “Wave.”

The Wave is a conversation that has attributes of messaging, social functionality, media, categorizing, interactivity, and sharing. So how does it work? First you create your own Wave (as in email or messaging) and send it to one or more of your contacts. That’s when the fun starts. The message becomes part wiki and part Facebook wall, where you can collaborate on all or part of the Wave. In a hypertext manner, the Wave departs from the traditional linear messaging thread to an evolving conversation element in a social cloud.

You have to play with it to really understand. Google Wave is one of those technologies that gives you an “ah ha” moment, when your current email experience becomes instantly and hopelessly obsolete. You’re going to want to jump on this ASAP and bring your world of contacts with you.

Google Wave Dashboard

As Tim O’Reilly states, “A key point here is that Google’s relentless focus on reducing the latency of online actions is bringing the online experience closer and closer to our real world experience of face-to-face communication.”

What is a Wave according to Google?:

• A Wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
• A Wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the Wave to see who said what and when.
• A Wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a Wave can have faster conversations, see edits, and interact with extensions in real time.  

Google Wave Sample

Technically Google Wave is more than an end product. As Lars states, “The Google Wave product (available as a developer preview) is the Web application people will use to access and edit Waves. It’s an HTML 5 app, built on Google Web Toolkit. It includes a rich-text editor and other functions like desktop drag-and-drop (which, for example, lets you drag a set of photos right into a Wave).”

A Wave has very non-tradition ways to actually perform work and communicate. For instance, say recipients are now participating in the Wave. If people are active at the same time, a Wave behaves like an instant message, except that you see each character as it is typed. You have the ability to enter a Wave at any point in the document/conversation. There is even a playback feature that allows you to go back in time and see the Wave from any point in its history.

Google Wave is really a platform with the ability to extend functionality via a set of open APIs that enable developers to embed waves in other Web services and build extensions. Of course, true to Google’s philosophy, they intend to open-source the Google Wave code. This is always a win/win for Google and community of developers adopting their platforms.

Some API Extensions: 

• Polly: an embedded poll/survey. In the wave shown below, participants are asked whether they can make it to a party. Responses appear immediately in the wave.
• Bloggy: A blog client, lets you make a blog post as a Wave. When people comment, they join the conversation.
• Spelly: A spell-checker that uses the entire Web as its dictionary.
• Linky: A link-recognition engine that is clever enough to recognize the link you just entered (e.g. a YouTube video or a link to a photo) and give you the option to embed the target of the link into the Wave.
• Buggy: A bug-reporting tool that can also be a participant in a Wave.
• Interactive Games: Here’s a real-time interactive chess game in Google Wave:

Google Wave Extended API - Polly

Useful References:

• wave.google.com: Current home for Google Wave.
• code.google.com/apis/wave: API extensions, documentation and sample code.
• waveprotocol.org: home for the protocol specs (draft), whitepapers and a discussion forum about the open Google wave protocol
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_5: HTML 5 wikipedia resource

When considering a campaign as a means to increase website traffic, a business should think through the following steps:

1. Know your audience well enough that your campaign will drive searches that can increase website traffic in a positive way.
2. Since publicity can lead to web searches, make sure your site is search engine friendly.
3. Make sure that your website is architected in a way that walks users to a conversion.

A recent example of a publicity campaign, whether intended to be a campaign or not, which resulted in increased website traffic was the highly publicized lawsuit between guitarist Joe Satriani and the band Coldplay. According to Billboard.com, Satriani’s copyright infringement suit, filed on Dec. 4, 2008 in Los Angeles federal court, claims the Coldplay song “Viva La Vida” (tied for 1st place as the most downloaded song of 2008, reaching over 3 mil downloads) incorporates “substantial original portions” of his 2004 instrumental “If I Could Fly”. Satriani, a 52-year-old guitar virtuoso, is seeking a jury trial, damages and “any and all profits” attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.

Perhaps this accusation is based on merit or perhaps this was merely a publicity campaign to reclaim a piece of the spotlight. Regardless of the verdict, we will probably never know Satriani’s true intention. However, for the purpose of this article, this act will be viewed from a “publicity campaign” point of view due to its very public nature.

What does this have to do with my business goals?

As you can see in the Google Trends (measures search query popularity) graph and associated online articles below, regular press for Joe Satriani (A) didn’t quite increase search queries the same way that suing one of the most popular current bands* did (B, C).
*Popularity determined by download data.

A. Musician’s Friend Announces Grand Prize Winner of Joe Satriani Sweepstakes and Launches New VIP Swee
Melodika.net – Aug 12 2008
B. Coldplay denies copying guitarist Joe Satriani
NEWS.com.au – Dec 10 2008
C. Joe Satriani to serve Coldplay at Grammys
International Business Times – Feb 6 2009

Whether intended by Satriani as a publicity campaign or not, the controversial lawsuit resulted in increased instances of searches. Thus, this stunt gained public attention and curiosity and drove web users to query for more information. If your business has planned a means to gain similar attention and curiosity, read on.

How did this increase in Searches affect Satriani’s website traffic?

Compete.com, which compiles estimated website traffic data, notes that as of February 2009, website traffic to www.satriani.com was up 52.7% from the first of the year. If his inevitable goal, other than the possibility of getting royalties from Coldplay, was to increase his web presence, he accomplished it temporarily. Users made their way to his website via direct search and links from articles about the lawsuit.

What did Mr. Satriani get out of this?

Other than the possibility of Satriani winning the lawsuit as his primary goal, a secondary goal could be to get more users and/or fans to buy his music. This goal could be accomplished through his website which gained a significant increase in searches and traffic by way of this public act of intellectual property rights declaration.

Was this possible secondary goal accomplished? Since download data is not easy to find (last.fm provides good data but a user can’t manipulate the date range), I wrote to Gary Trust at Billboard Magazine. This is his response: “Just as you note that your research showed increased interest online, consumers responded to the story’s buzz as well. Satriani’s 2004 track had never before sold in triple digits when news of the lawsuit broke in December. At that point, the song vaulted to consecutive weeks of selling 3,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Though sales totals then curtailed, the track still sold close to a thousand downloads as recently as February of ’09. It has sold 18,000 downloads to date. Approximately 75% of that sum has been logged since its December spike.

Will this be sustainable for Joe?

After a sharp increase in website traffic, there has been a subsequent sharp decrease in traffic as well. According to Compete.com, monthly data reveals traffic is down 40%, justifying a “temporary” sentiment to the perceived stunt. In addition, as Gary Trust revealed, sales slowed as well.

What is the takeaway?

For Mr. Satriani, I would say that if his plan was to generate more sales through publicity, he accomplished it temporarily. However, it could have resulted in something more sustainable had he considered a better strategy. Perhaps he should have timed the lawsuit with a new CD release or new website content (if, indeed, the lawsuit was a publicity campaign). A visit to www.satriani.com looks as though the most recent content was from April of ’08.

Regarding this application to your business goals, the lesson learned from this would be to have a plan. Whatever you do for publicity, if it gains attention or curiosity, you should be prepared for website traffic as either a primary intention or by-product. Joe’s saving grace was that users can listen to the songs on this CD on his website and purchase through a link to Sony. The by-product sales that Satriani experienced may not have happened if the downloads and link to purchase were not available on his website. However, if he timed this publicity with the release of a new CD, users or fans may not only have downloaded the 2004 song, they may also have listened and/or purchased new material. As a result, the fame could have been more than a very short lived blip on the web-dar. Your business needs to be prepared for any and all scenarios that could result in your blip and use them to your advantage.

Each and every day the world is changing and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.  So, we embrace change and go with the flow. Think back one hundred years to 1909, when many of the conveniences we enjoy today had not yet been invented.  Imagine life without traffic lights, zippers, toasters, band-aids, hair dryers, sunglasses, ball point pens, Velcro, duct tape and milk cartons, just to name a few. Think of how different our lives would be without these objects we take for granted. Over these past one hundred years the world has continued to change and evolve. The earth’s population has increased by almost five billion people…that’s an incredible number!  With this increase comes an increase in the use of social media tools.  Here are a few interesting statistics:

•    Two billion Google searches per day (average)
•    684 million visitors to Wikipedia last year
•    900,000 blogs uploaded per day (average)
•    175 million active Facebook users
•    Over 1,470,000,000 Tweets to date

The world online continues to evolve and a transition from websites to social networks is emerging.  People want to interact by sharing thoughts and posting ideas or articles to their own sites and others.  Bookmarking sites such as, Digg, Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, and Reddit are dedicated solely to this purpose. The internet is turning into a method of gathering information personalized to the individual; acting as our own daily scrapbook of our online lives.  Everyone uses the Web differently.  Think about all of the reasons you go online today, versus five or ten years ago.

As the world continues to evolve we will only become more ingrained in this fast pace of life, so take 4 minutes and 55 seconds out of your busy life to relax and watch this video of how the world is currently changing.

Hope you enjoy it!