Emily Dahl - COM 565

Welcome! This is a technology, media, and culture analysis blog. Here you'll find tidbits on trends and technology. As you read the infidivual posts, you'll see one common theme: technology has dramatically changes the way we live, work, and interact. For communications professionals, the workplace has transformed. First of all, the workplace may not actually be a physical place, since technology enables us to work from anywhere. This changes the game for communications professionals mentally. We must prioritize to cut through the cacophony of information, as well as look at things with fresh eyes to reinvent as technology moves forward (read "Prioritize and Reinvent"). In order to accomplish that, we must be constantly learning, focusing on becoming more nimble communicators instead of digging into a niche (read "Be Nimble, Not Niche"). Culturally, we have come to expect not only convenient but meaningful interactions online, especially through

Social media is widely used by the masses--after all, the whole point of social media is to be accessible and user-friendly. But just because you are familiar with using it personally does not mean you can use it well professionally. Understanding best practices and how social media features can help achieve your objectives requires a deeper understanding of how to actually engage key audiences. As Wright (2017) points out, communicators must offer value on social media--not just noise. He also reminds us to "tweet thoughtfully and carefully" as the messages we put out into the world, however lightly, will still have a lasting impact. He warns professionals to not get caught up in decorating tweets with hashtags--they should be targeted and purposeful. And ultimately, social media is a tool for engaging, listening, and better understanding your audience. References Wright, I. (2017). Seven best practices for listening and engagement on Twitter . Retrieved from http:

What do top brand professionals say is the toughest part of their job? AdWeek asked, and a couple responses set a theme: prioritize and reinvent. One of the honorees points out how technological advances have given communicators more opportunities--and more things from which to prioritize. "Given what technology is letting us do, we can really enable much more experience through technology, and its pretty tough to pick which thing over another." Technology can help us get in front of people in a plethora of new ways, in a plethora of new formats. But just because the selection is ever-expanding doesn't mean the same for our human capacity. That is why prioritization is crucial for the modern communicator, who could easily spread herself across as many efforts as possible, but will find more success is meaningful prioritization. When asked what the toughest part of their job is, another one of the honorees responded, "Constantly reinventing yourself and not bei

Marketing and Communications professionals often talk about "brand voice" as a nebulous characteristic of brand identity, but it will soon mean something more tangible--or audible. As voice search becomes more advanced--Tynan (2017) says " t oday’s voice discovery tools are about as basic as a Yahoo search circa 1995" --so too will the opportunities for brands to break through the noise and make their voice heard.  With the technology of devices like Amazon's Alexa, new opportunities to communicate will carve out new spaces for advertisers. Could companies pay to become the first recommendation Alexa makes, much like a paid ad to come up as #1 in a Google search? But as the technology has opened up new access for consumers, so too has it opened up their cultural expectations. Tynan (2017) points out, " rather than optimizing for the top keywords, brands will need to focus on more complex natural language queries... [people] tend to ask more detailed

The idea of clearly-defined job roles within the communications world is fading fast. Regardless of their job title, communications professionals must be nimble, using an array of skills to fit the situation. While we as individuals may occupy a specific role, great marketing and communications strategies don't fall into tiny, neat boxes. Even if your focus is on social media, you must know how your actions tie into press and media relations, marketing campaigns, events, and so on.  In today's digital world, all the traditional aspects of communication converge. Picture this: an organizations sends a press release to a news channel, and the news channel covers the topic online. Someone reads the article online and adds their own comments to the conversation via Twitter, linking to the article and tagging the organization. The social media person at the organization responds to the tweet. In this way, both the media relations and social media staff spoke to the public a

For communicators who are used to a one-way broadcast, today's media landscape is not very receptive. People are used to participating in communication and having their own voices broadcast to followers, thanks to the popularity of social media. Löwgren and Reimer (2013) point out,  "w ith many new forms of digital media--including such popular social media as Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr--the people formerly known as the audience no longer only consume but also produce and even design media." The modern communicator must know how to have a conversation with people online, especially through social media and review sites. Through social media, people can engage with entities by tagging them, direct messaging them, and more. In review sites, companies often have the ability to respond to reviewers, joining a conversation that is being had about them.  In these circumstances, it's important for communications professionals to engage in a way that is authentic