THE CHALLENGE: Spend 1 Week Without the Radio

I have been challenged to spend a week without listening to the radio. Which means I will be driving in silence for the next 7 days. The reason for this is I am trying to figure out what radio means to me. I would not consider myself a serious radio listener. I do not know the schedules, the personalities life stories, and I do not listen through the commercials (I flip stations). I only listen in the car, and I think that makes me a fairly typical radio listener. I suppose I could listen at work, but I don't.

Although I am impartial to radio as a medium, when it is taken away from me I feel uneasy.

DAY 1
I got in the car and turned off the radio. While I was driving to work I kept wanting to hit my radio consul because my radio only works some of the time, and that is how I get it to work. Then I think to myself what is going on in the world, what am I missing? I listen to NPR on my way to work so I get a feel for those kinds of things, and in case I don't have time at work to check nytimes.com.

I start to notice the car in front of me looks like its tires might be a little low. Then I start to hum to myself. I guess I needed more than just the noises of cars around me. Admittedly this may be more enjoyable if I were on a scenic highway, but because I am not I begin to get bored. Now my time is spent getting frustrated at other drivers. Finally, I get to work and can interact with others!

My drive home was HOT, not only does the radio sometimes work, the A/C doesn't (I am driving my brothers car because mine had a fuel leak). I didn't miss the radio as much because I almost always talk on the phone while I drive home... I really need to invest in a head-set.

Well there you have it. Day 1 of no radio. What did I discover? Radio makes me a little more carefree, not letting other drives get under my skin. Radio acts as an information source to keep me connected to what is happening here, there and everywhere. Radio acts as my commuter companion.

The Good Old Cadbury Easter Bunny

I have never eaten a Cadbury Easter Egg, think of it as you will. But I always look forward to the classic Cadbury Egg commercials every Easter, and yes I know I am a little late. This morning I came across this new Cadbury commercial running in the UK and I found it amusing, but does it sell chocolate? I don't know, but it does make me want to strengthen my eyebrow muscles... give it a try!

Twitter... has it been lost in the Twittersphere?

Have you tweeted lately?

I have been a tweeting for a few month now and it seems that I lost my twitterbug. There are two main reasons for this. First, I got really busy and wasn't able to update my status. Second, I have an old school flip phone with no internet access. Now I use twitter more as a resource than anything else. I pull information off of my feed and rarely post.

I think that if I had a new aged cell phone things would be different and I would tweet more. What is important about this is that the majority of people don't have fancy phones. But also I suppose it is important to note that the people who twitter are technologically savvy and have phones with internet access. Don't get me wrong, I would love to be one of those people... but I am waiting until I have a job that will pay for me to have a fancy phone and expects me to be available 24/7. So, until then I will be answering calls and sending text messages via my old school flip phone that functions like a phone should.

Funny twitter video:



Oh, and if you want to follow me on twitter click here: http://twitter.com/j_freedman

How do you use media?

The face of media is ever changing, much like our world today.

How often do you pick up the phone to call someone vs. sending them a text? Newspapers are going digital, are magazines next? People read books on hand held devices and listen to music 24/7 thanks to internet radio and MP3 players.

When does it become to much? Is facebook getting over saturated? I have friends who are done and closing their facebook accounts. They don't want to patrol what people know about them and don't. I police my phone calls. (That is different than screening them, please don't be offended next time you call me and I don't pick up.) I don't like to ALWAYS be available. When I am busy my phone is on silent or vibrate. Who wants to be annoyed by random ring-tones anyway, not me!

What is going to happen in the future? Well there is the theory that people could interact through media, but never actually interact with each other face-to-face. I think that is a sad and extreme thought. There is still something about face-to-face interaction that I can't get from my computer/internet, cell phone, or iPod. While marketers are trying to figure out how to interact more with consumers using these modern media outlets, I wonder if eventually we will all take a step back and think, what were we doing? Do all those anti-cell phone people have it right? I am all for social media. It fascinates me because so much is still unknown. But I wonder if it is the new end all be all or just a fad passing through.

Remember Facebook?

I got to together with some friends last night for happy hour. Among our conversation topics were weekend plans, love lives(or lack-there-of) and twitter... Sorry, I'm only going to dish about our twitter convo.

We are all on twitter for different capacities: work, personal, networking and research. Not once did Facebook come up in our conversation. I began to think to myself, is Facebook dying? Facebook is one of the most visited websites in the world. Yet, they still can't turn a profit. The highest growing segment is women age 55+. Facebook will most likely be around for many years to come, but just like the jock who peaks in high school, Facebook's days of being popular are numbered. That is a big statement I know. Unless Facebook can bring some new life to its site and bring back the intrigue we all went there for in the first place, I think Facebook is a sinking ship.

Admitingly I am a Facebook user, but since I opened my twitter account, I am on twitter all day and check Facebook once or twice... Because Twitter is so new and fresh to so many they have the advantage. Twitter can learn from mistakes of other social media sites and soar. Twitter the ball is in your court. Facebook, you are in the last set, don't go down without a fight!

Sweet Events Happening in Portland to Help YOU!

Here is a list of upcoming events around Portland. These will be great networking events and help you build your brand. Don't forget to bring you business cards with you!

Thursday April 9, 2009 PAF Interesting PDX

Friday April 10, 2009 UO Events: Turning Attendees into Community Members

Wednesday April 15, 2009 YPOP Networking Event and Blazer Game

Thursday April 16, 2009 PDX Social Media Club Tweet Up

Thursday April 16, 2009 PAF Extreme Happy Hour

Tuesday April 21, 2009 PRSA Personal Branding 2.0

Tuesday April 22 and Wednesday April 23, 2009 E-Marketing Summit

Thursday April 23, 2009 SoMe Awards

Tuesday April 28, 2009 Dr. Schultz Lecture Media Generations

Mark your calendars now, so you don't forget...

What is 'the man' doing for you?

In this stress-filling economic time, we are all trying to get the best deals right? So, what is the man doing for you? I want more for less, NOW!

From crazy merchandising deals, to loyalty program benefits, to restaurant meal deals, everyone is catching the bargain wave. I understand this philosophy that people want more for less these days, but where does the line get drawn? I still want a quality product and good service no matter where I am and how much I am spending. The bottom line is I AM SPENDING. So if I am spending, wouldn't you think I should get excellent service, so I will continue spending? Not the case. I have had several experiences lately where I was spending money and received poor service or a poor product. I will not be going back.

Take advantage of this situation! Draw customers in with your wonderful deals. Then, make the experience a wonderful one, so they will come back. Eventually things will turn around, and don't you want those customers coming back when they do? I just don't understand getting bad service at a restaurant or while shopping. It is truly inexcusable anytime, and especially when every penny counts. True colors come out when people are pushed to their max. Maybe the company doesn't care. Well people do care, so step it up. It you don't your company/store/restaurant will be the next on the chopping block on the evening news.

I challenge you to be aware of the service you are receiving and decide if it is truly worthy of your hard earned money. If not, think twice.