Day 52 - FTC announces new rule

Oops! I promised to bring you up-to-date results from my comprehensive research project as they came in (this is the project concerning DVR usage) and I have not done so. My apologies. It is coming along. But seriously, I've had to study for five tests, complete two papers and prepare a presentation … blah, blah, blah. The sun was in my eyes and the dog ate my homework, too. Anyway, I will have some details to present here within a week - I hope!

What do you think about the way advertising blends with Social Media?
Please forgive me for making another shameless plug and asking you to peek at the banner ads at the end of each of my posts. As part of this ongoing media and marketing education, I recently became an affiliate marketing representative for a few companies. As a test, I've linked banner ads to each blog post - not to be confused with those familiar links Google is running everywhere these days.

So far, I can (sadly) report that my affiliate effort has generated zero results. Perhaps it's just too early to tell if this could ever be a viable source of income - for anyone. As I sign on with more quality companies and products, I am hopeful that diversity and some good deals will attract interest. Feel free to comment on this. You are part of the conversation!

The Big Picture: Is TV's future blurry?
According to a report by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the UK has now become the first major economy in which advertisers are spending more on Internet advertising than on television, reporting a record 1.75 billion (pounds) spent online in the first six months of this year. This marks a significant turning point for the overall TV industry - the leading ad medium in the US and UK for more than half a century. It took the Internet just over a decade to become the biggest advertising sector. The US is not far behind the UK which bodes poorly for the industry.

Why you should care about an FTC ruling
The Federal Trade Commission has revised its guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. This is a watershed event for bloggers and anyone using social media. These revisions focus on us. Everyone online will now be required to properly disclose if they have received payment in the form of either money or product from a company or organization they have recommended or produced content about online. Word is bloggers will be fined up to $11,000 per post for failure to disclose. This is interesting, folks. Let me be the first one on my block to say that I have not earned a penny of compensation in exchange for anything I've ever blogged about here. Whew! What a relief. But seriously, who says what constitutes compensation? In an example I read, a person who receives a sample of Tide in the mail can not tell her friend on Facebook that she preferred that detergent over another unless she first disclosed that she received a free sample. Ridiculous! How will this be policed or enforced? That is the question on the minds of online marketers and bloggers.

It's been real. I am heading back to my research effort. I hope you'll come back tomorrow for more juicy news (and views)!

Day 48 - Halfway home

Wow! Yesterday marked the halfway point in the fall semester. This means that I am a mere 47 days (and 47 blog posts) away from earning this Masters degree. It doesn't seem possible that I can write two major papers along with several shorter writing assignments, a number of exams, 2 major presentations and 6 quizzes in such a short time, and yet, I am confident that I will do that successfully - blogging all the while. The reading and assignments thus far have really kept me hopping, but now the end is in sight.

Along with the fall breeze which blew in today, I am feeling a little more stress in the wind. Of course, it's just me putting way too much pressure on myself. Is is just me or don't we all have this tendency? I'm worried about my two major research assignments, especially the Comprehensive Project. For over a week now, I've been sending out survey invitations to staff, faculty and students on campus - but have received nowhere near the level of response I hoped for - yet. I've encountered a major glitch in the survey distribution ...but I will not give up! I know I can find some way to collect enough relevant data and generate a publishable journal article (my first, and hopefully not my last).

The highlight of the week was my successful presentation to an undergraduate journalism class about the software and the processes I am using in my research. It went well...I think. Standing in front of that class was definitely a new (scary) experience. Another professor from the JMC department who attended said afterwards that I looked remarkably comfortable and sounded like I knew my stuff. That was a surprise. In reality, I could not have been more nervous. My faculty advisor supported the effort and I owe her some thanks for making it possible. After all, my goal is to ultimately teach, so this was a good time to start getting my feet wet. Now, however, I am back to concentrating on the projects themselves.

How much praise do you really need?
I've been thinking a lot this week about whether I seem to need too much outside approval. I realize this is one of my main flaws. The only legitimate approval comes from within - for every one of us. Someone else’s opinion of you says a LOT more about THEM than it does about you. It's true! A common concept in Buddhism is that of “emptiness” - knowing (understanding) that the world is empty of meaning except that which we give it. Think of it as a Rorschach ink test—you know, the one where you look at an ink blot and tell the therapist what you see. Well, what you see has NOTHING to do with the blob on the paper and EVERYTHING to do with you.

It's the same when we lend credence to what others think of us, our work, our performance or personality. It doesn't matter. How someone sees anyone has to do with THEM. Not us. (The same goes for how anyone sees ANYTHING. Rain can make one person dance naked with joy while anther will always curse the terrible weather. It is empty. You get to pick your meaning.)

So, the next time someone appears to be acting mean or hyper-critical of you, just remember, they’re telling you more about their issues than they are you or yours. A more self-actualized person is not shaken by EITHER praise OR blame.

A thought to ponder over the beautiful fall weekend: "It's easy to see the faults of others...it is harder to see our own."

Day 44 - SurveyMonkey: A great tool for student researchers

Today, we're talking about research and how to accomplish a project with relative ease using a free online resource - SurveyMonkey.com. I'm currently working with the program to collect data for a major project. It's been about nine months since I started writing about my survey topic, and in just one week, I've accomplished so much - thanks to SurveyMonkey.

First, using just your computer and a web browser, you can create any type of survey (up to 10 questions) for free with the "intuitive" survey editor. It's easy to understand and the website guides you through each step. Select from over a dozen different types of questions (multiple choice, rating scales, drop-down menus, etc). Several powerful options allow you to require answers to certain questions, control the flow with custom skip logic, and even randomize the answer choices in order to eliminate bias.

If I could figure out this software, then anyone can. I'm assuming the application was named SurveyMonkey because it's so easy even a monkey could use it. I, for one, am not the least bit offended by the inference! For all of us non-traditional students, there are times when it is intimidating thinking that our much younger counterparts have an edge in school. This is an edge that's user-friendly - for all of us.

This survey resource allows you to change colors, sizes, and styles of all the elements in your survey, making it look just the way you want it to look. Upload a logo or photo, and save any custom themes you create to use in future surveys. One excellent thing to note is that there are never any advertisements on these pages, so the surveys have a clean and professional appearance.

Sending out the survey can be accomplished in a number of ways. Simply input an email address list and have SurveyMonkey send the invites for you or put a link in your blog or on your Facebook page. Collecting responses is simple, too. The software even gives you an option to stop collecting automatically when you reach a date or count you specify. For example, I asked it to stop taking responses for my current survey when I hit 1,000 - because I can't afford to pay extra for tabulation over that number. Many students receive grants to fund their research projects, and they can still use this even when aiming for higher numbers. The costs are reasonable. For surveys longer than 10 questions, you just sign up and pay a monthly membership fee (around $20) and ask as many questions as you need. Whether you've got money to spend on your project or not, it's likely you can accomplish your goals with SurveyMonkey.

The real fun to this convenient tool is tracking the responses. SurveyMonkey will even send out reminders to anyone who doesn't respond to your request, if you like. The program manages opt-outs automatically, too. The most exciting part of survey research is viewing the results as they are collected in real-time. You can watch live graphs and charts, and then dig in to get individual responses. You can even securely share the survey results with your professors. Powerful filtering and cross tabulation tools allow you to display only the responses you're interested in. With one click, you can download a summary of the results in multiple formats. If you're a statistics nut, you can download all of the raw data you've collected as a spreadsheet. Best of all, the data collected remains absolutely private.

Yes, I'm a fan of the Monkey. The next time you're asked to come up with a research project, you'll be prepared knowing there's at least one nifty, free resource you can rely on. This is a great tool for any student!