I have a confession to make

I have a confession to make: I don't own a smartphone...yet. I have resisted the urge to be connected 24/7 for a while now. Some of my reasons are financial, others are preference for a larger screen with a real keyboard (ie. laptop), and just plain stubbornness. 


The latest Pew Research on the subject is quite interesting: 


More than eight in ten (83%) American adults own some kind of cell phone. These devices have an impact on many aspects of their owners' daily lives. In a telephone survey conducted from April 26 to May 22, 2011, among a nationally representative sample of Americans, the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project explored the uses (51% had turned to their cell phone at least once to get information they needed right away) and behaviors of cell phone owners (42% of cell owners used their phone for entertainment when they were bored).


Despite their advantages, the survey also found some downsides for owners, ranging from just needing to take a break from using it to the long time required by some downloads.


I'm just about ready to 'bite the bullet' and buy an iPhone. I just can't resist any more. If you see me in the elevator, please feel free to yank the thing out of my hand and offer up a 'good morning,' and force some good eye contact. I'm afraid we're all starting to lose that skill.

Where To Go From Here!

It seems like just last week I was writing my first blog post at Axiom, and now I am writing a wrap-up blog. Man, how time flies when you're having fun, right? The other night I was updating my resume to include Axiom and created a list of all the projects I have done here. After creating that list it hit me that Axiom kept me real busy! And you know what the best part is? That I had real projects that mattered, even as an intern.

I have been doing informational interviews for 4 years now, all of which were with people in the marketing industry. When I first gained my interest in marketing my goal was to work in the marketing industry -- very broad. The agency side of the field always intrigued me, and to be honest, that is partly due to watching the movie What Women Want many times. I made it my goal to learn what real agency life is through informational interviews and go from there. Once I had met with people from a couple agencies (Axiom being one of them), I set a new goal to work for one.

I am so lucky to have achieved this goal here at Axiom! Every intern worries that they will be given dinky projects along with orders to get coffee. And while I do make a mean cup of coffee, I did much more. The work I did here not only helped clients, but it also helped me figure out that I love agency life! From competitive analyses and reports to presentations and events, every day is full of different and new tasks.

As summer is coming to and end and the first day of classes grows closer, I can't wait to enter my senior year with all the great experiences I gained here. Reading textbooks and other publications in class teaches some, but actually doing the work is how I learn best. I have a sense that applying Axiom's projects to class material will take learning to a whole new level!

Video Post: Axiom @ BlogHer '11

Shelly and Andrea are back in the full swing of things here in the office after attending the BlogHer '11 conference. Andrea wrote a great post (click here to read!) giving all of us readers a snip-it of who goes to BlogHer. In their Axiom @ video they give us an up-close and personal look at what went on at the conference.

Wordless Wednesday: A Short History of Social Media

The Answers Social Media Infographics Provide (And The Questions They Raise)

Social media has obviously revolutionized the way brands connect with consumers. And with the hundreds of thousands of ways that marketers have planted themselves in our digital lives, sometimes it's nice to step back and admire the magnitude of social media marketing.

This infographic on Mashable examines some of the larger examples of effective campaigns based on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and location-based services like Foursquare. There are plenty of numbers on the infographic, but here's a quick sampling:

• 12 million YouTube views for the "Will It Blend?" iPad video over 4 months
• 86.5 million impressions for Coca-Cola's promoted trending topic in June 2010
• 11% consumers say they would buy something offered only to Facebook fans.
• 184,000 people participated in a 3-month Buffalo Wild Wings SCVNGR campaign

Of course, stats like this stir mixed emotions from people like me who work on the marketing/PR side of social media. On one hand, these numbers prove the impact social media marketing can have, as well as the sheer potential that exists online.

However, looking only at social media marketing's biggest successes (or failures for that matter) tend to skew the perception of brands looking to get into social media.

A company who only sees these grandiose examples of pages with thousands of fans or videos may come to expect that incredibly high level of success as normal. And when a campaign falls short of those lofty expectations, they may not see the value in social media even if the campaign was objectively successful.

The problem, however, can be solved by clearly defining the client's expectations before the campaign is agreed to. This should also include discussing the client's idea of success and, if need be, an honest assessment of what the client should expect from their social media efforts.