May 12

Make Your Advertisement Work

A few tips on how to make the advertisement work for small and medium business.

Stop trying to copy brands like Coca-Cola or BMW, you are not them. No need in trying to make a brand advertisement; nobody cares about your logo and slogans. The name of your company takes half of the TV screen? It will not increase the sales. Small and medium companies do not have millions in their budget to spend on advertisement.

Instead, the secret of success is in controlling and measuring. You need to know the return on investments from every message you send out there. If you put in a dollar and get 10 out of it, this advertisement works. If you put in 10 and earn 2, then you better shut this advertisement down. One of the biggest mistakes that companies make is that they do not even know which one of the advertisements work and which one does not.

Secondly, if your market is everyone, your market is no one. Do not try to sell your product to absolutely everyone. Define your specific auditory instead, and direct all your resources towards it. The reaction that your advertisement should get is: “Oh wow, this is about me!”

Finally, the main problem of the advertisement is that it is often not the right time for it. For example, you saw an advertisement of a dry-cleaner in the newspaper, but your suit is clean. Would you memorize the name of the dry-cleaner? And what are the chances that when your suit will be dirty, you will go to that specific dry-cleaner and not the other ones in your town? The problem is that regular advertisement in 90% of the cases does not match the time and the needs of clients. Thus, only those few people whose suit happened to be dirty will be the lucky ones to relate to it.

Instead of promoting the dry-cleaning service, make an advertisement about “five steps how to look after your suit” and share this information in exchange for the contact information of the potential client. Then you will be one and only company if the client’s suit will get dirty.

May 12

Oh Internet, what did you do?

The list of things that we lost after the Internet took over the world.

1. Polite debate
Anonymity of web users happened to be a terrible thing. A lot of people go beyond the norms of being a human when it comes to arguing about who is right.

2. Listening to the music album on a CD from the beginning until the end.
Nowadays, why would we listen to the first 11 boring songs just to hear the 12th one that we really like? There is no need to do that, just download the song.

3. Phone books
Google or Wikipedia will provide you with all the information needed, along with phone numbers and addresses.

4. Letters (Postal Services)
Soon email will replace the postal service completely.

5. Good Memory
No need to memorize dates, meetings, and the sequence of the US presidents. A couple of minutes on the Internet, and you are the expert; for some amount of time.

6. Free time.
What else can we do besides spending time online? Looking at the window? Hell no.

7. Respect for doctors.
Now before seeing one, people spend time searching the Internet first. Afterwards, they usually come to a doctor prepared, having their own version of the disease, and a good portion of skepticism.

8. The mystery of the personal life
Nowadays, internet users provide more information about themselves online that FBI could possibly collect.

9. Traditional media
Every prestigious newspaper for sure has an online version. Now readers can find much more interesting things on a newspaper’s website that might not be able to make it into a print addition.

10. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It is easier to grab something fast and eat it in front of a computer, isn’t it?

May 5

Boston Marathon Coverage

The social media and the Internet have changed the way in which we report the news. However, when the tragedy strikes that is when these changes can be seen more clearly.
One of the specifics of the Boston marathon coverage was Google’s new Person Finder, a project that allowed people to search for or provide information on those involved in a tragedy. In addition, Boston tragedy provoked greater skepticism towards the media. Throughout the day, death counts and suspects’ descriptions from places like New York Post and CNN turned out to be false or embellished. However, the biggest fiction, “12 dead,” published by the New York Post was largely ignored by other major news organizations and that is a progress.
Moreover, a positive change took place within the relationships between the authorities and the media. The Boston Police department sent a request on Tweeter asking for a video of the finish line taken before and after the explosion in order to determine who is responsible. Better communication between witnesses on social media and police departments is an encouraging sign.
There has been a lot of discussion about where traditional media and new media failed in their coverage of the Boston bombing. I think that we should call out the bad ones so that the standards will be higher, and keep in mind the good ones to know where to tune in next time.
Breaking news can be very confusing, and there is no way to get it right all the time. After the Boston marathon coverage, I think we begin to see the difference between news sources that seek out the truth and the ones that play up unconfirmed reports for the sake of page views and exclusiveness.
Events in Boston highlighted some of the flaws in relaying crowd-sourced and social media material and revealed many of the ethical journalistic challenges the media has yet to face. 

May 5

Changing Landscape

Creative destruction – destroy in order to rebuild. Creative destruction revolutionizes economic structure from within, destroying the old one and creating a new one. Nowadays, we witness the 24/7 news cycle, where media is no longer the sole gatekeeper of the news. For institutions that house journalistic work it is a moment of catastrophe, rebirth, and most importantly adaptation.
The same way that cassette tape was replaced by the compact disc, MP3 player was eventually replaced by newer technologies like iPods. Companies, which made money out of technology that becomes obsolete, do not necessarily adapt well to the business environment created by the new technologies.
Companies like Xerox or Polaroid who have seen the profit going down and the dominance vanishing as their rivals are changing designs and keeping up with the progress are some of the examples of creative destruction. In addition, creative destruction can cause temporary economic distress, especially for those who struggle to acquire new skills and work experience.
In addition to disadvantages, creative destruction also brought positive changes to the market. For example, the Internet now allows businesses to compete on a wider geographical market, reach out to more consumers, and cut some costs in manual processes.
Another positive example is represented by The Huffington Post free newspaper site, which is now successfully leading to the creative destruction of the traditional newspaper.
I strongly believe that change is for good. New is not always bad, as long as the model of creative destruction is being correctly and wisely incorporated into the economy and media world.

Apr 26

A Short Joke

A short joke; in the light of recent events, CNN coverage of Boston bombing, and all the insanity around this story…

A reporter asks the Director of a Mental Institution:
-What is the final exam that your patients have to pass in order to be signed out?
Director says:
-We fill in a bathroom with water; then put a spoon and a cup next to it, and ask them to empty the bath.
Reporter smiles and says:
-Well, a normal person would use a cup of course!
Director says:
-No, a normal person would pull the bathroom plug from the drain.

Apr 26

Think Like a Writer

Is it really important to think like a writer? Well, I strongly believe that every writer thinks differently.

       In terms of thinking, writers go outside of the box. However, good writers do not re-invent bicycles, but a good writer inspires his readers to create their own, and unique one.  

       Writing is not just a single skill; it is joined by imagination, wisdom, creativeness, and experience. It is actually more of a lifestyle, rather than ability. Therefore, each good writer develops a unique way of thinking.

       I do believe that it is important to think like a writer. Why? As someone who wants to work in the field of journalism, I am willing to develop good writing and communication skills, as well as the ability to present my ideas and thoughts in a coherent way.

       Nowadays, with such a high level of illiteracy, it is important to think as a writer. Thinking is what distinguishes us from animals. It can save our planet from a reversed evolution, and turning back into cavemen.

       In order to start thinking as a writer, we have to experience all the things mentioned at the beginning: creative thinking, reading a lot, seeking for knowledge, and broaden our vocabulary.  

       Thinking itself, as well as thinking like a writer means to live, not just to exist. Writing does not exist without thinking. It has been stated by Henry Ford that “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it,” and I agree with his opinion. 

Apr 21

New Technological Era

A new era of smart electronic devices, for sure, has already begun. Among all of them, Smartphone is the most desirable “tool” for people around the world.

According to various statistics, nearly 70-percent of people claim that they cannot live without their smart phones. Such a number is rather terrifying. People definitely overestimate the role that smartphones play in their lives.

Try telling a little boy in Zimbabwe, who lives with hope to find something to eat, that living without a smartphone is hard, and see how much sympathy you get from him.

It is true that technology saves us time. For example, compare to previous centuries when people got no cell phones, a modern person can call 911 immediately in a case of emergency. In addition to that, some of the functions in smartphones are useful tools, such as: GPS, Google, and video/photo camera. However, people became too reliable and dependent on their “pocket friends.” As a result, they have lack of privacy. We live our lives on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for public judgement.

In addition to taking away privacy, and live communication, smartphones also rub our valets, as they require paying for messages, calls, and internet services, resulting in quite an impressive number per month, especially for teenagers.

I think smartphones are somewhat helpful, in fact, I own one. Yet they don’t feed us, yield medicine or give birth, so we can certainly survive without them.

Apr 21

Economic Crisis is Influencing Public Education

The current economic crisis is having a real impact on public education. The recession has especially negatively affected college students.
For example, a lot of parents have lost their jobs, or have gotten laid off; therefore, they cannot pay for their child’s tuition for college. As a result, students have to take out loans, and end up in debt after graduation.
In addition to that, students have trouble finding jobs. Due to limited jobs available in the current economic situation, they have to accept jobs with low pay. One can argue that it is better than no job at all, but we have to keep in mind that students also have every day expenses, such as gas, food, and books.
Moreover, the number of students that attend college may decrease. Although a college degree is more likely to guarantee a better-paying job, tuition rates may eventually prevent students from furthering their education.
While college is expected to be a time of exploration and personal growth, it can also be a stressful period in one’s life. The economic recession only adds to this already existing pressure that college students face.

Apr 14

Stony Brook Secrets

Admitting and sharing information about having sex with the teaching staff, making attempts to commit a suicide, and expressing personal hatred became very common and easy accessible for students at Stony Brook University.

A Facebook page called Stony Brook secrets is filled with anonymous confessions about life and experience of Stony Brook students for better or for worse.

While the initial purpose to help people who need to voice has been partially fulfilled by providing an opportunity for them to share, at the same time the page is now filled with posts like “#2399: “One day I went to brush my teeth but I seen that my toothbrush was already used. Out of anger, I took everyone’s toothbrush in my suite and wiped my ass with them.”

In addition to that, even most of the innocent posts gained a lot of comments with judgmental and even rude responses.

So does really social media unites people through the emotions that they share, or does it bring them down when others have the freedom to say more negative and judgmental comments than they would maybe say to the face?

There is no single answer here…But the power and influence of social media is growing every day.