Intarwebs changes our minds

I was reading the most recent edition of Wired Magazine that landed on my doorstep this week.  There’s an interesting piece written by Clive Thompson using research from the Stanford Study of Writing organized by Professor Andrea Lunsford.

The argument is that we write more than we ever have despite as critics bemoaning that the the internet ruins students’ writing skills.  We’re probably vastly different (and more participatory) writers than humans have ever been.

Old-school reference material

That got me thinking. What else does the intarwebs change about us? I’ve noticed that people in my program at school who are also working in jobs where they are online the most are also the people who are most likely to cite internet sources, or cite sources at all.  Does the internet make us better referencers? Are we all becoming librarians of a type?

And what about kids with mobile phones that access the internet? Are they more social than we’ve ever been? Teens have always been highly social animals, but the opportunity for constant connectivity wasn’t there before; at some point you had to go home and try to sneak privileges to the corded phone. No longer. In another Wired story (apparently my source of choice today!), it’s explained that texting in the company of others isn’t rude – “texting those who couldn’t be there lets everyone feel they’re part of a larger social network.” This was according to research by Mimi Ito, a well-recognized researcher in the electronic culture of Japanese teens.

Another point made by Ito, this one to the New York Times, is that this persistent use of social technologies is not (as many adults would see it) a waste of time, but rather training for the future digital literacy that we’ll all need to get through our lives.  Ito’s point reflects much of what Henry Jenkins argues in his book ‘Convergence Culture’.  All of these new toys and games are really a practice grounds for generative tools that will become part of our social and economic fabric – it’s just that in human culture, those things that become important innovations often start as ‘novelties,’ widely seen as objects of fun or play but not ’serious’ value.

So the next time I walk around quoting websites like a librarian quotes books – you’ll know why.  My brains are being changed by the intarwebs!

Connect the spots

Twitter - meet Chain Letter

While attending Twiistup the other week, I caught a panel discussion on social media and music.  The part that really got my attention was the point – made by Chamillionaire, a rapper and forward-thinking, social-media-using entrepreneur – that social media tools are useless unless you’re building your ‘lists.’  Whether that’s a list of Twitterati to reach out to, an e-mail list (still like gold ’round these parts) or a list of names and mobile phone numbers, you can’t let these communications go to waste.

As a communications person, I want to act on this, I want to keep track of my fans and customers so that I can do a good job of connecting them to the information they’ll find interesting and will help me make sales.

But what to do? Social communities are replacing e-mail (social communities were more popular than e-mail according to a 2008 Nielsen Online study).  So how long will e-mail lists still be the gold bullion by which all other digital currency is measured?

Will we ever find a way to actively gain and use mobile numbers? Consider research detailed by MediaPost which describes that mobile users find SMS marketing messages “invasive” but will welcome point-of-sale messaging which doesn’t lend itself to list building.

As a frequent subscriber to new services, new tools, new things online in general, I personally tend to find that e-mail marketing is done so poorly that it provides less value to me than the Twitter Chain Letter I pictured.  Receiving almost daily updates (or in some cases, strike the almost part!) from catalogs, stores and other outlets that I logically know cannot be adding new content or product at that rate is aggravating and, yet, almost impossible to unsubscribe from.  But I’m also one of those mobile users who find mobile marketing invasive – my phone is the last bastion of marketing, the one which I will fiercely defend from receiving advertising, as much as I like to use it in my own purchase pursuits.

For my own efforts, I’ll probably be sticking with old faithful in the e-mail list building, while keeping my eyes open and ears to the tracks for feedback on my methods from my fans, followers, subscribers and friends.

Widgets?

I’ve been wondering lately – with so many things moving from the web to mobile, are mobile applications completely replacing the widget? It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a well-executed, popular, buzzed about widget. It seems lately, all the ‘cool little things’ are mobile or platform-supported (Twitter, Facebook mostly).

Just a shorty, but it got me thinking.