Unlocking Our Voice

            The lines of freedom are blurred when it comes to technology, as we’ve seen repeatedly in the controversies surrounding content sharing and gaming. We all know about the music sharing fiasco with the “Napsters” of the industry and how Apple “solved” that problem with their iTunes app (those users are also locked into the Apple brand). As for a gaming example, we have X-box at our house, and had to pay an additional $60 yearly membership to Microsoft just to watch movies on Netflix (which we already pay to use!). Restrictions such as these are rampant in the cellular service industry as well, which is why the subject of unlocking cell phones has been an ongoing debate for some time.

            Briefly, to unlock a phone, users modify their phone’s settings so they can use it on a different carrier network, which gives them more control and freedom with the added abilities of paying less for services, getting better coverage, and having more choices. Another reason for unlocking a mobile phone, as David Baker, owner of UnlockMyPhoneNow.com explained, it’s often “to save the expense of buying new phones when they [users] switch carriers. They have perfectly good phones. Why should they buy more phones?" Good point, right?

            Well, it seems enough people have voiced their opinion about their freedom to choose to unlock their phones, it initiated a response from the White House. Yesterday, Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, and Privacy, R. David Edelman, responded to the 114,332 petitioners on the White House’s We The People blog site.  The shortened version of the official statement indicates that the White House agrees with consumers, and unlocking should not be illegal, as it was. He calls on Congress, the FTC, and service providers to come up with synergistic solutions that will fit the needs of all, especially consumers.  

 

             Perhaps this issue regained momentum from the increasing dissatisfaction of cell phone/ tablet users who are locked into brands, contracts, and restrictive relationships with corporate giants. It will be interesting to see how the subject plays out in Congress, between the politicians and the corporate lobbyists; even more exciting to see social empowerment at its finest.

Advertisers Hope to "CAPTCHA" Your Knowledge

   Just wanted to reiterate the fact that I love marketing and its many facets; however, call it an oxymoron, but I have a love-hate relationship with online advertising. The reasons are many, but mainly that advertising, and data collecting, are increasingly crossing personal boundaries. Personally, I do not appreciate pop-up advertisements, flash players begging to be played (several on one page), or music starting without my permission while I’m browsing. That’s just me. I know it increases product awareness and promotes buying, but damn! My senses cannot take the overstimulation! Combine these surfing nuances with the fact that every website, advertisement, and proverbial click you make is recorded and tracked in order to delve into your personal shopping, buying, and browsing patterns. Yikes- I feel violated! Times have changed- yes, they have. As Stephen King said, “The world has moved on…”
  
   Therefore, while we’ve come to accept the massive amounts of advertising and information collecting that comes with the web, some companies can’t get enough…. Enter CAPTCHA! Yes, even this mere security precaution, which prompts users to type in a quirky array of nonsensical text to prove they are not robots, is under siege of advertisers looking to capitalize in any way possible.
  
   Ticketmaster recently decided to get rid of CAPTCHA, which takes users an approximate average of 14 seconds to solve, for a similar service that asks for well-known phrases, or simple multiple-choice questions, which take about 7 seconds. Similar systems can range from drawing a circle around an object (like unlocking your Smartphone), to puzzles and simple mathematic equations. Unfortunately, some of these systems won’t make the cut. As Mike Wehner of Tech It Up! explains, “Both of these variants allow you to confirm your humanity without deciphering a garbled string of text, but they lack the revenue-generating capability of the ad-based method. And because of this added monetary bonus of the commercial model, both the puzzle and math verification tools have less of a chance of becoming commonplace.”   
  
 So, Ticketmaster is moving into a new realm of verification technology, which no doubt hastens the search process for purchasing tickets online. Rather than typing in CAPTCHA text, visitors would be requested to view an add image (like the picture on the right), or maybe even enumerate a company’s slogan. While I have been annoyed by some CAPTCHA text, I respect what it’s there for, so it’s really no big deal to me the way it is now. Would I appreciate something simpler? Hell yeah! However, I don’t need brands pushed at me constantly. There are so many digital advertising and marketing platforms and channels to reach (and track-never forget tracking- it’s what marketers do) consumers- is this platform necessary for companies to measure brand awareness? Seriously, is there no corner of web untouched?

Again, I’m all for simplifying a cumbersome task, but can we just stick to sentences and shapes- that’s simple!

Dumpster Diving for A Cause

 “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."   ~ Margareth Mead

   I am always inspired by the revolutionary gains brought on by the determination and dedication of individuals who collectively come together, united by a common purpose to enact awareness and change. In a previous post, I commented on the food industry, predominately on mass production and organic food, but this post has to do with food waste, and alternative lifestyle choices.

   In a Yahoo article this week, titled Family Lives Without Money—By Choice—and Thrives, I saw, yet another family or individual take a stand against our broken systems. The young family featured in the article have renounced money, and are subsequently getting by with trading work for food, or goods for services, etc. They also get some of their food from “diving” into dumpsters, and thereby advocate against the massive amounts of food wasted by corporate food retailers. That waste would be enough to feed the entire world’s starving population… It sounds gross, but this food is not half-eaten or unpackaged- it’s perfectly fine food. Let’s look into that a bit more, shall we?

   They have a neat website, which highlights “EarthlingsLiving Without Money”- people who have also renounced money, and adopted alternative lifestyles focused around a philosophy where       “…Reality means change...it means breaking the old rules, putting down the bases of a society that is going straight to self-destruction. Today is the time to put an end to the absurdity of our ways of living, consuming and thinking.” 

   The article about the young family also brought to mind a movie I watched, called DIVE! , in which a young man, Jeremy Seifert, tells his tales of how he and his family survive off the food they get from “diving” in food retailers’ dumpsters.

   His film also highlights the amount of food wasted by the commercial food industry. He names Trader Joe’s as being a culprit of throwing away massive amounts of food that, basically, has nothing wrong with it. The film is highly enlightening, and I encourage you to watch it to get a better understanding of the subject- and the opportunities. Knowledge is empowerment, is it not?

   Definitely check this stuff out- at the least it’s enlightening, and at its best, it may inspire you to make small changes in your own lifestyle, or make a difference by getting involved. Imagine…

 

Social Media Mutations: The Snapchat Scrape

   The world of social media is constantly expanding and mutating, and applications come and go, so for parents of teens, it can be an overwhelming and daunting task to keep track of what your teen is doing online. Questions like whom they’re sharing with, where it’s being shared, and who can see this sharing are major concerns. There’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine…CamWow, and Google+, and let’s not forget online gaming…there’s MySpace, and Snapchat and ….whew!

    “Why don’t you pick three you like, and we’ll go from there” is what I say. Then I say to myself, “Why the hell do kids need to take that much time out of your life to “socialmeidialize,” or “twitterpate”? Besides, I’m a mom- I have enough jobs already, so three apps are enough to monitor! “ . The three chosen ones were, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Hmmmm, Snapchat…

    As a mom, I sigh and get to deciding what’s best - as a marketer, I notice the trend in short photo/video messaging apps among teens, and get to wondering how long this will last before I get the pleasure of researching and joining yet another social media site*.

   For those that don’t know, Snapchat is an instant message-type sharing application that allows users to share photos and short video with a short message, or caption. The hottest feature of Snapchat is the fact that the message content disappears several seconds after it’s opened. This feature is what seems to be causing a shift in social media platforms, especially for young users, such as teens, and other companies are taking notice.

   The NY Times article,  A Growing App Lets You See It, Then You Don’t, explains the attraction of the disappearing app content, and the trials and tribulations of this startup company, including its skeptical notoriety, how it can maintain its estimated worth (how is it even worth that at this point?), and the typical Snapchat user. The article brings up many good points about the apps features, and contains some helpful background information on newer social media platforms as a starting point for parents.

 What’s your opinion on teens in the social media landscape? What do you think about Snapchat? If you’re a parent, I’d love to hear any ideas, or guidelines you put in place regarding your teen’s internet usage.

 

 

*Joining to monitor is smart, in my opinion, but sharing with them is uncool, for the most part. We have rules- #1 always ask before posting someone else’s pic, #2 refrain from (too) mushy posts, #3 don’t get too personal.

Marketing Across Generational Differences- Social Media Strategies

I fell into marketing by way of my love for sociology- societal behaviors, structures, trends, and motivators, to say the least- as both subjects are directly related. The most impressionable area of study to me, which also marries sociology and marketing, is generational differences within society. Whether it’s in the workplace (my area of study), consumer trends and advertising, or technology and the realm of social media, these generational differences play a large part in determining motivational factors.

General Breakdown of Generations: 

Traditionalists/ Veterans (1922- 1946)

Baby Boomers (1946-1964)

Generation X (1965-1981)

Generation Y/ Millenials (1982-2000)

There’s even a generation Z, if you ask certain researchers! No worries if you fall on the cusp of two generations. I do. Cut-off points for the generational divides vary, but not by much. I also believe that these can be broken down into sub-generations, in ten-year spans- but that’s for another blog!

A Vine in the Social Video Space

 
  Twitter announced their latest acquisition- a new mobile feature called Vine, which allows users to create and post short, looping video to the social media giant’s site. Much like its tweeting counterpart, which also limits users to short posts, fewer than 140 characters, Vine only allows for six seconds of video. This makes Vine a very interesting promotional tool on social media platforms, in that it provides an easy-to-use platform for individual advertising, without having to create long videos- like those featured on YouTube. While the App itself has some drawbacks, the idea behind creation and sharing is exceptional.

 

   I first discovered Vine while doing a Social Media project, and as a newbie to the rapid-sharing social media scene, like tweeting, I thought this was an exciting tool. Although it’s not a new concept, as users of Viddy and other video-based apps know, its recent attention in the professional world has caused quite a stir. As Molly McHugh of Digital Trends had shown shown, along with many others in the fashion industry, this is “already becoming a New York Fashion Week staple.” While I’m not big into the fashion scene, I saw this as an incredible opportunity for our business, and industry as well- kayakers delight in the ability to capture raw video, especially on the fly, no uploading required!

"Vining" from the iPhone. Click here to download Vine with your iPhone!

 

   Vine gives the user total control of shooting, editing and creating short videos from a mobile device, and it is so easy to share across all social media platforms making it an ideal tool in my line of work. Not only does Vine allow video recording, the mobile software also captures audio during the six second run time, allowing users to create their own, customized commercial, or plug, in instantaneous Twitter fashion. Blogger Samantha Murphy explains to Yahoo News readers that,  “Users can start and stop their video recording as many times as they’d like during that six seconds, which gives them the opportunity to  include several different scenes, thus [giving users] the ability to create stop-motion video, moving the subjects slightly between each clip” (2013).

 

  This is a useful tool in my line of work, because I am always taking videos of paddlers, especially kayakers running high water. Several frames within a shot are often unnecessary to the viewer, and the longer a video is, the longer it takes to upload. It is also difficult to patch together shots to create a single video patch. This App makes it easy to craft together short snippets and transform them into a running video- right from my Smartphone, which is on me at all times, as compared to my digital camera. From there I would only need to click upload, as the new application software allows for instant upload to Twitter, Facebook, and the Vine platform, with options to add captions, tags, or locations, which is status quo for most mobile application similar to Vine and Twitter. The user only limits Creation, in that they choose how to use the six seconds of internet fame- all at once, or in snippets. I can’t wait to try this on the river, in real-time! Though this is an easy, exciting, and creative way to share, the App itself has some drawbacks, as well as concerns over its capabilities.

  

 Unfortunately, this application is only compatible with the iOS, which includes the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhones, limiting the availability of the platform to the cult-like Apple consumer, and excluding those who opt for Android or Windows-based operating systems. As with any new software application, there are glitches. Common to the mobile app industry, especially iOS platforms, simple commands to share and upload have been reported as being defunct and full of glitches, often failing to complete the users’ commands. According to Twitter, they are working out any glitches, and hoping to bring Vine to other platforms very soon. Here’s hoping, because I’m not an Apple lover (but that’s a story for another blog)!

   In the last two weeks, user participation has increased exponentially, and the number of Vine videos is creeping up. What do you think of Vine? Do you think it will last in the vast, ever-changing realm of the World Wide Web, or will it fizzle out like its counterparts? Create your own Vine by downloading the app and get to sharing! (I’d love to check it out too, so keep me posted!) 

  

 

Read/Learn more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/vine-and-ny-fashion-week/#ixzz2KgaGT7JE
http://blog.twitter.com/2013/01/vine-new-way-to-share-video.html

"Speedy Beef"- It’s What’s For Dinner

   "As a mom, I am very health conscience about what foods I give our family. The thought of consuming insecticides, antibiotics, over-processed, and filled foods makes me want to vomit, so I do what I can to ensure we are getting the best of what we eat. Of course, the world created Doritos, pizza, and Kit-Kats, so not everything is out- I’m just saying that there are better choices out there, and we do what we can to make better choices. I’m down with having as much local, organic, unprocessed food as possible, and that includes a lot of venison in our family. " ~R.R.

   When I said, we love the outdoors that includes hunting, of course! Our kids have grown up walking through the woods, learning about animals, their habitats, footprints, and behaviors. They have also learned to use firearms, bows, and traps responsibly, and to a self-reliant advantage, which includes knowing and seeing how hunting can contribute to healthier, cheaper food options for us as a family.  Venison, rabbit, turkey- to name a few- are not know to have fillers, take antibiotics, or live in cages, by nature, so score one for the family there!

A Family Tradition

   Every year, after deer season closes, we gather with some family and friends, combine our venison, and get to making meals! I love this part, because, for an entire day, we hang out with great people, make delish food, and the kids get to see the fruits of their labors. It’s a good feeling for everyone!



Potato-Tomato sausages

   We usually order pork trimmings from a local farmer friend, and use a small portion of it to make sage infused breakfast sausage (way cheaper than paying almost $4 at the store!), and then the rest is combined with our venison, because it has very little fat, and ground into burger. We use another portion of the burger to make stockpots full of spaghetti sauce and chili for everyone, and then we get to seasoning and making sausages!  
  
   Every year we also decide on seasonings for the sausages- this year’s variable was Garlic flavor (last year was Cajun), and the yearly constants, which include Italian, and the ever-popular fav, Potato-Tomato stuffed. Each flavor is mixed in separate batches, and taste-tested (yummiest part!) before they are put into the sausage press and stuffed into casings (also bought from our farmer friend). When each batch is done, they’re packaged, wrapped in butcher paper, and labeled for storing.


One for the Cause

   The meat we make is divided among our family and friends, and will feed each family the entire year. It provides a mix of our favorite meals and meal companions, while cutting our grocery store meat purchases down significantly, thus our reliability on commercial meat productions.
I’m proud of our peeps for continuing the tradition, supporting our local growers, their dedication for living and eating better. Speedy-beef rocks!

Food for Thought:

   I encourage you to check out this enlightening movie, from one mom to another, sharing her concerns about the safety of our nation’s meat productions, including rising costs, additives, sanitation concerns, and corporate bullying:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Farmageddon/70235704?trkid=2361637

   Hunters for the Hungry is a great organization that accepts donated deer to provide meals to those in need. Find out more: http://www.h4hungry.org

A Little Red Never Hurt Nobody

red·tro·spec·tion [red-tro-spek-shuh n] n. 1. Red’s action, process, or faculty of looking back on things past. 2. Red’s examination of past events or experiences… 3. Looking back, according to Red

Otherwise known as Renee, the Red thing just followed me around everywhere (damn hair!), along with the Freckle thing- but hey, I’ve since embraced being Red, and have settled into the quirky nickname afforded me by my husband. As Red, I have many perks…

1)  I’m afforded my own disaster relief alerts: A family-wide “Red Alert” is issued by my husband, in the instance I should start getting mad (love that one by the way!), thereby warning all other family members to evacuate or prepare.

2) I have the privilege of being an entrepreneur, a stay-at-home mom, and having the winter season off!

Together with my husband, and children, we own and operate a canoe/kayak livery on the Clinton River, in S.E. Michigan. This allows us to be involved in the environment, advocate for our river, work outdoors, and meet awesome new people every day. Our line of work means helping people make memories, and I haven’t been able to find that anywhere else. Nor have I been able to take my husband and children to work with me every day anywhere else, for that matter!

This is my personal blog, so I’m not on here to plug away my business or anything, but it does, to a large extent, shape who we are and how we do (and vice versa). For instance, I get to be involved in the lives of my 13 and 10-year-old children every day, by scheduling work around family (most times!), so I am available to volunteer at their school, chaperone field trips, and know whom my kids are friends with. I am truly blessed to be able to give so much time to my kids, although my teenage daughter would beg to differ (she’ll realize eventually).

 In addition, nobody goes canoeing in the snow- except for us- so winter is our family time. We head south for backpacking and camping, or stay where there’s snow for snowboarding, ice fishing, or the occasional lodge stay. We love the outside- it’s our church, our serenity, and our good times.

So, welcome to the “Red Zone,” where you’ll see topics on everything from self-awareness, to political debates and controversial topics, and anything to do with being a mom and loving the outdoors. This is where I post the things that I deem necessary of retrospection.

I'm just getting started, but follow my tales and retrospections on Twitter @redtrospection and Google+.