Will Rocket Shoes Be The Next Facebook?

Technology is an interesting topic. New and innovative technologies are even more interesting to talk about. When I think of new technologies that will be coming in the future I think of things like hovercrafts, rocket-shoes, and fancy gadgets. 

These things may seem immature and childish, but let a girl dream okay? The point is the future is an unpredictable and exciting thing.

For example, according to Thomas Friedman, less than 10 years ago “Facebook didn't exist, Twitter was still a sound, the cloud was still in the sky, 4G was a parking place, LinkedIn was a prison, applications were what you sent to college, and Skype was a typo.” This statement is absolutely crazy to think about because of the general acceptance of what these terms mean now.

The norms of today didn't even exist ten years ago. Facebook was created in 2004 (source), Twitter was created in 2006 (source), and Instagram was created in 2010 (source). These social networking sites don’t feel like they are new and exciting technologies, however, they didn't even exist when I was in elementary. Although Facebook feels kind of old school and little ghetto sometimes, it really is a new technology in the overall picture. Due to the rapid acceptance of these social networking sites they don’t feel new or exciting – they have become the social norm. It’s rare to find someone without any social networking platforms than someone who does.

So the real question is what will the norm be in the next ten years? Maybe this girl’s dream of rocket shoes will be a norm by the time I turn thirty. Who knows? But one thing is for sure; technology will continue to change and improve. There will always be new technology coming out and the acceptance rate will become faster and faster. We need to be ready for these changes and be able to adapt.

Apps, Raps, and Baseball Caps.

Let's be real, my title has nothing to do with this article other than it rhymes with apps. It seems that everyone has used or at least heard of apps. But, to those who maybe don’t understand all of the new technological jargon, what are apps? But really?

Apps is a cute little abbreviation for applications. Simple enough. But, in all actuality an app is a piece of software. There are apps for all different electronic devices such as the internet, your computer, or your cell phone. I’m mostly going to focus on applications for smartphones, because these seem the most popular and familiar to everyone. (Check out this article if you're not 100% sure)

I found an interesting article on applications and what they say about our personalities. A research was conducted where the analysis of data such as app genre, variety, and usage revealed types of personality categories which were then named “Appitypes.”

Whether this research study is valid or not is undecided, but it is interesting that we live in such a technologically advanced world that people believe they can determine our personalities just based upon the applications that we purchase and use. This article didn't list the actual “Appitypes” that it referred to, but it would be interesting to learn what they are.

This article did state, however, that according to the research, games (38%), social networking (35%), and music (29%) are the most downloaded applications; while social networking (31%), games (29%), and utilities (25%) are the most commonly used. I find it really interesting that games and social media are both the most downloaded and most used. Does this mean that people purchase smartphones merely for entertainment rather than the utility of the phone? I know that I am guilty for being addicted to a game on my phone (Candy Crush – don’t judge, it’s fantastic) and for managing my social media platforms on the go, but is that worth the amount I pay to have data on my phone plan?

I’m not saying that playing games or checking out Twitter is a bad thing to do on our phones. This girl is more than guilty of that. But, I do think it’s time we re-evaluate the use of our applications on our phones. Are we bettering ourselves due to all of this new technology or are we bettering our Candy Crush score?

Viral Vids

Viral videos are clips, animations, films, etc. that are spread quickly through online sharing. The majority of these videos are humorous, but really any type of video can go viral. As this article explains, there are three categories of viral videos:

1. Unintentional Viral Videos: Videos that were never intended to go viral, but due to the popular content in the video it is rapidly shared amongst individuals online.

For example: Numa Numa

2. Humorous Viral Videos: If you put a funny video online, it will spread.

For example: Charlie the Unicorn

3. Promotional Viral Videos: Videos designed to go viral with a marketing message to raise brand awareness.

For example: The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

I’m assuming that none of those example videos are new to you, that’s because they are all viral videos. It seems that if you brought up one of these videos in a conversation with someone they would have at least heard of them, if not seen them. So, what exactly is the right formula for creating a viral video? We know the three categories, but not every humorous video on the web goes viral... so what is it?

Well, according to this article there are three essential attributes to create a successful viral videos:

1. Psychological Share Motivation: You’re video needs to have some type of psychological motivation which has three categories within it:

   -Emotion:

   -Identity and Self Expression

   -Information

2. Easy Share-ability: If you have a great video but it’s complicated or confusing to share, nobody is going to share it. This isn't a huge problem due to easy sharing access on sites such as YouTube, but this is still something that needs to be considered.

3. A Data-Driven Strategy: If you’re trying to make your video go viral you need to figure out which sites generate the best sharing, which users are most likely to share, what time of day content is most often shared, etc. It is crucial to back up your video with good data information and a distribution strategy.

So, whether you are creating a video with the intent to go viral or just posting something for your friends there is always a chance that it will go viral. Moral of the story: be aware of what you’re posting on the web.