jackhardy Communication, Marketing, Public relations, Research, Technology

One-third of World Uses Internet: U.S. Ranks 28th in Percentage of People With Access

The statistic of U.S. users is interesting, but perhaps more relevant is that although English is the most widely used language, Chinese will surpass it in just two years. Also, according to recent information from the International Telecommunications Union (part of the United Nations), 2.25 billion people are now online with 1 billion of them using mobile broadband connections. This fact has tremendous impact for PR professionals and for business and consumers everywhere. For the full text of the article, read it here. Perhaps as Internet connectivity increases, particularly wireless and broadband connections in all of the developing countries,  global trade opportunities will continue to increase. A Google executive predicted recently that all of the world’s information would be accessible online by 2020. Imagine the possibilities…

Africa

Advertisement
jackhardy Communication, Productivity, Public relations, Research

Selective Attention

A few years ago I was in the mode of shopping for a new car: a MINI Cooper. Suddenly, I noticed how many MINI Coopers were sharing the road with me. This concept, known to researchers as “selective attention,” refers to our brains hardwired tendency to focus on one thing at a time. A fascinating article in the Wall St. Journal discusses this idea further by relating it to listening in on select conversations during cocktail parties or even talking on the cell phone vs. talking to a passenger while driving an automobile. Relatively few members of the population are effective at multitasking (2.5 percent) and even students who are using Facebook in school classes are not learning effectively–which bring consequences when it comes time for exams. For marketers and PR people, it means we rarely have someone’s undivided attention. What does it mean for you?

jackhardy Communication, Public relations, Research

Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

Just finished a very interesting article from Atlantic Magazine, that not only has implications for marketers and public relations people, but perhaps is a more telling commentary on the state of human relationships. Naturally, the conclusion among researchers is that the technology does not make us more lonely, but it is how we use these tools. There is some fascinating research about social and human interaction that speaks directly to the issue of loneliness and the feeling of connectedness. I’m particularly interested in this subject since I have felt that Facebook legitimizes narcissism. What do you think?

jackhardy Advertising, Public relations, Research

Wikipedia vs. Encyclopedia Brittanica

Wikipedia turned 10 in January 2011. It has come a long way from its roots as a hackneyed collaboration of articles to up-to-date content moderated by editors around the globe. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center revealed just how popular the service has become. Read it here: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Wikipedia/Report.aspx

However, Wikipedia is still not accepted as a definitive source of news because the content and descriptions can be added by anyone and some people have figured out how to fake out the system. At the heart of the controversy is its banishment from academia. According to professional researchers, the information is not vetted using a more rigorous, scholarly method as used by its nearest competitor, Encylopedia Brittanica. Does it matter? Is the venerable Encyclopedia Brittanica nearing extinction? Will Wikipedia ultimately turn to advertising to fund its existence? Will this influence the content?

Here’s a test, search for the following words–Oliver North–using both services and then compare the results. (Naturally, membership is required to get detailed information from one of the services–which is a very important distinction.)

What are your thoughts?