Facebook Yellow Pages

Advertising is an industry that changes on a constant basis, and with the influence of social media growing over the past decade businesses have more and more ways to reach consumers.  The banners on the sides of Facebook dominate every user’s page – and with the number of people on Facebook (more than 600 million) exposure is instantaneous.

By some stroke of genius Facebook designs advertisements so that they are tailored to users themselves.  For example, change your relationship status to engaged and you will now be inundated with banners for wedding dresses, venues, honeymoon spots, you name it.  That, my friends, is marketing genius.

Beyond the advertising banners that plaster Facebook profiles and news feeds are the all-powerful pages.  Corporations, student clubs, bands and non-profits alike create Facebook pages to promote their services.  Simply clicking “Like” subscribes users to everything there is to know about that particular company, adding that page to their all-powerful news feed.

Publishing coupons and specials on Facebook through company pages makes deals go viral instantly.  College students spend more time on Facebook than actually hanging out together, so promoting businesses via social media only makes sense.  Give college students a deal on something and they will instantly re-post it on their friends’ pages, creating instant and free advertising.

Facebook pages spotlight a company’s newest products with images, giving users a way to stay up to date with the most popular trends.  Fashion companies are by far the most popular corporate pages on Facebook, featuring new styles on a regular basis.  For a consumerist nation Facebook pages and advertisements are gold in America and no doubt around the world.  If you don’t already have a slew of pages that you “Like” on Facebook you’re missing out on all the fun.

Technology: The End of Spelling as We Know It

G-o-o-g-l-e spells…Google. Very good!

Probably one of the most widely and correctly spelled words (yes, I checked Merriam-Webster) in the world is the spelling of our friendly neighborhood search engine: Google. Flawlessly living up to the standard of a true friend, Google encourages us to spell our best by handing over multiple tips about what word he thinks we are trying to spell.

Google also grants us access to some of his respectable adversaries, who also altruistically revitalize our spelling faux pas (needed Google for that one). A friendly Firefox howls at us by underlining our mistake in red. A Norwegian Opera singer belts out a note of disapproval in a similar fashion. And while trapped in a jungle of information, a Safari guide exotically stresses our spelling blunder.

But are The Great Google and his benevolent browser buddies actually helping us learn to spell? Or are they contributing to the demise of modern day spelling?

Associated Content’s Todd McCall shares a similar concern about these technological time savers. He states, “It’s likely that future generations will place considerably less importance on memorizing spelling by rote.” McCall goes on to mention how abbreviations over text messages and social networking have become normal practice in today’s society. He finishes the article by praising 21st Century technology, saying it beautifully eliminates the once tedious task of word hunting through a dictionary, and it allows us to devote our time to the creative aspect of writing.

Although McCall does present a compelling argument in support of instantaneous access to digital dictionaries, I am still worried about how dependent we are becoming on these 21st Century tools. Allowing technology to essentially think for us and expecting consistent access to technology can ultimately contribute to our vulnerability of society.

But does spelling really matter? In the last decade, have you really found yourself in a situation you needed to spell your way out of – that Google couldn’t fix?

I mean, in order for Google and friends to accurately decipher the correct spelling of our brain buster of a word, we do have to come somewhat close.

Online Movie Rentals Kill Movie Store Romance

Remember the good ole’ days when your favorite Saturday night pastime was strolling through your favorite free-standing video store, hand-in-hand with the one you love, carefully examining every title in the New Release section and eventually choosing the best of three by flirtatiously playing a game of Eeny, Meeny, Miny Moe? Then after relying upon the childhood game of fate, wondering whether popcorn or candy was the appropriate compliment for Date Night. Well, it looks as if these innocent, relationship shaping days of movie selection are coming to an end – unless you hold hands while selecting a movie on Netflix.

In case you haven’t noticed, free-standing movie stores are slowly crumbling to their nemesis – The Digital Conquerer, or the Internet for the less dramatic. It seems as though online kiosks such as Netflix are becoming the preferred medium for movie mavens and are beginning to result in an epic defeat of their erected counterparts.

In the past year and a half, Netflix stock has dramatically increased from $22.98 per share in November 2008 to a March 31, 2011 closing of $237.78. This is largely in part to offering rental patrons a multitude of rental options, which cater to the American way of convenience and laziness. By constructing a business plan that offers immediate online movie viewing, DVD mailbox delivery, and video game lifestyle adherence with X-Box, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii movie streaming, Netflix feeds our hunger for instant gratification and minimal movement.

A slightly depressing glance at Blockbuster Video’s stock numbers since November 2008 suggest the one time movie rental monarch has been dethroned. The numbers show a steady decline from $1.19 per share to a current, debilitating presence of $0.122. Blockbuster also announced they would be closing between 500 and 545 stores by the end of 2010.

Another soon-to-be defeated pile of bricks, Movie Gallery, has reported a shocking number of store closings since 2005. At that time, Movie Gallery operated over 4,500 stores. Now, the decaying, Internet-conquered rental chain predicts they will run 1,610 stores, after 805 store closings in 2010. This could be in part due to the failed acquisition of Hollywood Video at the height of the company.

And what will happen when Neflix undeniably annihilates every single free-standing movie rental structure?

Older generations will tell stories of movie rental hardships, trudging through eight feet of snow, snowshoeing up two flurry filled mountains, just to rent their favorite romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock. Younger generations will say “OMG, LOL!” because their digital friendly parents will be sharing these rental sagas via instant message – likely browsing through the New Release section of Netflix, or something similar. And when this happens, the innocent, simple days of the Saturday night movie stroll will be only a memory.