Media news of the week

As most of you know, I have a Wordpress blog where I blog about social media phenomena and media issues. During these first few weeks of school, I have come across a lot of interesting articles, apps and studies that are worth sharing. Check out this news compilation!

31% of US adults prefer to be reached by text message- A study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project found that almost 1/3 of US adults prefer text message communication over voice calls. It is traumatizing that this many people would prefer typing on a screen over developing verbal skills.

Illinois among worst states to do business- Illinois was ranked one of the states with the worst business climates, along with Texas, North and South Carolina. Shocker there. Seems like the business world might have as much corruption as Illinois politics!

Forkly app matches your taste to nearby restaurants and bars- Why make your own decisions when technology does it for you? We’re robots anyway, right? Although I don’t condone applications that direct you to what you’re doing, it’s fascinating that they exist. Forkly for iPhone recommends restaurants and meal items based on your taste preferences.

UPS will now text you before your package is delivered- Such a simple service to resolve the issue of  home package delivery on the first attempt. UPS My Choice notifications will text message you free of charge before receiving your package! After taking my strategic communication classes, all I can think about is how UPS finally realized this consumer insight that people want to know when their package is coming, but find it tedious to wait for it at an assigned time. The service also allows you to pay extra to change the delivery time range.

Facebook friend lists- Facebook was disappointed that less than 5% of its users had taken advantage of its lists features, so it created “Smart Lists” based on networks, interests and other data. Pictures of the smart lists feature can be seen at this link, but as a user who DID have my own lists, I found it very aggravating. The targeting is sometimes off, the priorities of the smart groups it chose were not correct, and it made it more difficult to go to the lists that I already pre-made because they weren’t made in its “smart” manner.

Gift engine predicts what your friends want- The GiveEmThis app and website extracts information from your Facebook friends and Twitter followers’ profiles and helps you figure out what to buy them for their birthdays of for the holidays! It calculates likes, interests, status information and other things, let’s see if it works!

Yahoo CEO fired- A couple of weeks ago, former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was fired. What fascinates me about the internet and story leakage is that almost immediately, the news and email she sent to her company was sent to the media. It’s a pretty embarrassing public relations move on her part to even have sent an email to the company, especially using the word “fired.” People need to think before they publish emails, statuses and tweets more often.

Privacy Tips for the Connected Student- This Mashable article outlines ten privacy tips for students in terms of what and what not to publish on the internet upon returning to school!

Social Media Citations- A company called Knock Knock created this “Social Media Citation” stationery outlining common aggravations and annoyances people have with published content. If only sororities, campus organizations and parents could use these daily.

83% of young people sleep next to their cell phones- This statistic tells us that more than 4 in 5 young adults sleep near their cell phone. In a previous blog post, I discussed how this proximity contributes to radiation and cancer, so hopefully teens will realize this, put their phones away and minimize this statistic.

Working from home- Working from home is something I learned about in Argentina after my office chose to do this on Fridays to create a more comfortable environment. It seems that it is a phenomenon, with this infographic outlining interesting statistics.