How Apple dictates the world...and why it stinks to be an early adopter

This break, the battery on my Macbook Pro of 3 1/2 years died. Not only would it not hold a charge, but it would not even turn on when plugged into a power source - so it was time for a new computer. When I went to the Apple store, I was presented with two options - a MacBook Pro computer like I have now, or a MacBook Pro with a high definition retina screen that is lightweight and "cool." After a lot of discussion with the Apple salesman, it was clear at the time that the Retina screen would be the better option. Not only was high definition and lighter to carry around, but it launched applications faster and had a quicker operating system than the other MacBook Pro.

This purchase cycle, I was very cynical and not in the mood to pay $2,000 for a computer - so plenty of questions came up. I often sighed at the answers because now that I have gone through this so much, every choice was explained by Apple trying to make more profits or control technology in the US. Here were three differences that automatically made me upset, but that I didn't have a ton of other choices on:

• The retina screen computers (and MacBook airs) have no disc drive. They say it's because "society is moving away from CDs." While this is true, Apple is forcing CDs out by not letting you use them. If you don't even have the option to put a CD or DVD in your computer, they think you're going to buy it from iTunes. 
• There is less gigabyte space on the newer computers because they're trying to make them more portable, so the salesman encourages you to "store big files on an external hard drive" and "keep your computer running fast." The point of computers and their size used to be to hold everything you need, but now - they're just encouraging us to buy more devices and have more things for the same operation. So none of my photos from the past 7 years are on my computer and I'll have to watch file space very carefully. 
• None of the cords- the computer charger, dongle to hook up to projectors, etc are compatible with the MacBook Pro with retina, so you have to buy all new supplies. So not only are my 2 chargers defunct with the new computer, but I have to buy an HDMI cord to hook up my screen to a projector. Another way Apple is trying to make HDMI necessary and get some money on all new devices. 

After jumping through hurdles, the cost and functionality still led to buying the Retina. They make the wait on a regular computer so frustrating with the spinning disc system that they don't leave you a choice. But shortly after getting it and setting everything up, I learned another lesson:

Being an early adopter stinks.

No external applications (Microsoft Word, Twitter, Firefox, Adobe, Photoshop, InDesign, etc) can be seen clearly on the high definition screen because they haven't made themselves compatible for it yet. FOR REAL. So when I opened up Microsoft Word, the screen was grainy and blurry. And when I asked the Apple technician, she said "Well they don't have an update yet so there's nothing you can do about it."

So not only is Apple trying to get you to use their proprietary applications, but they made it virtually impossible for you to use the other ones "until those companies come out with updates." Overall, I probably should have waited for these bugs to be fixed before getting the computer, but no one at Apple even mentions these issues when you buy the product. I had to search intensely to find a way to make Microsoft Office clear, or even see these listed as an issue by product reviewers. 

And the Apple customer service was absolutely horrible this entire time. They don't acknowledge these as flaws, they just talk about how Safari is a great solution. It's not a solution, it's the only choice.

The conclusion here- Apple is trying to run the world more than we already know, so unless you are SUPER loyal to them, hold off. Or you'll be as frustrated as I am and searching for updates, writing this blog post at the Apple Store at Northbrook Court and anti-high definition screen computers. 

The social TV phenomenon

One innovation tactic I have found interesting to follow is the idea of "social TV" - the notion to encourage interaction on social media to discuss thoughts and ideas about TV shows while they are live. It's fascinating because when we were growing up, we would watch a TV show live (and maybe record it if we had to miss its appearance), and now we have moved so much farther than that. Television shows have a hashtag in the bottom corner, you can DVR or TiVo them to fast forward parts that you don't want to see and watch your Twitterfeed or Facebook newsfeed to see your network's every thought on each character, scene, episode and more. There are measurement companies that analyze the conversation before and after these shows, submitting reports to advertisers and TV ratings companies so they can see what is being discussed and adjust content accordingly.

One of my favorite TV shows this year, Revenge, has integrated into this pretty intensely. Besides a hashtag, they have a variety of Twitter accounts that retweet the shows' followers and discuss what is happening as it appears. @Gabriel_Mann, the character who plays Nolan Ross and tweets about the show live, has nearly 80,000 followers. The main character - Emily Thorne - has a website called http://emilythorne.org/ - "The Infinity Box: Hampton's Exposed! Ultimate site for ABC's Revenge." This site links to each character on the show to the personal actors and actresses websites, or their character's blogs. Because the show proved so successful in the social sphere, Target & Neiman Marcus even did a huge advertising partnership with it that was heavily discussed online on both Twitter and media publications.

What keeps me following these tactics are that they are luring consumers like me in. I made my Twitter public so @Revenge could retweet me. I read the character blogs and looked at all of these Twitter accounts just to see what the characters are saying. And there are even this many: @Revenge, @TreadwellReport, @TheNolanRoss, @TheAmandaClarke, @EmilyThorneOrg, @VictoriaGraysn, @KaraWallaceC, @HamptonsThorne, @CharGrayson and @RevengeWriters. As a media student, I'm constantly curious about who is running these accounts, what their guidelines are and how much they are getting paid. Another show, Girls on HBO, is one series I see becoming an early adopter to this phenomenon (@GirlsHBO). With its audience of 20something talkers, they already have an active presence on YouTube and Twitter. And it's changing the way we watch TV to be able to read blogs, see what fictional characters might say and be looking at two > one screen while watching TV.

 Do you utilize social TV? What do you think?

Multimedia journalism: not as easy as you think

I have never considered myself a shy person. Being involved in high school journalism gave me the confidence to call or approach sources, interview them and write the information into a story. So when I came to Mizzou, I had no problem interviewing and writing stories in my pre-sequence journalism courses. Although I chose to study strategic communication for my undergraduate emphasis, I took an introductory class that teaches the basics of video editing, audio reporting and photojournalism. And it was probably the most difficult class I took in college.

The class required pitching story ideas, reporting on one story all semester through each medium (photo, audio, video) and a final project that combined all of this. At the beginning of the semester, I followed a children's theater group and my final project, with two other students, explores private deer hunting reserves.

While learning about both of these unknown territories, I got some great material. There were excellent sources, awesome stories and excellent background they had to share. But this became a problem...because I couldn't just write about it. In multimedia reporting, they can have the greatest story in the world and be the perfect source, but if you don't have good b-roll, interview framing, sound levels or detail photographs, it means absolutely nothing. I had a hard time looking at the children's theater group and admitting - although you're letting me observe and test this equipment here, mind if I stand three feet behind your actors and students while they practice so I can get photos? Mind if I rerecord this so I can have this sound?

It's an uncomfortable thing to do, and really required a lot for me to step out of the safe zone. Different settings, angles, interviews, etc were not easy to obtain. By the end of the semester, I can happily say I know what is needed for multimedia stories and to always have a reason WHY a story is being reported visually and with audio - which will help the journalist be more comfortable getting up close. The group project with me and two other graduate students, from St. Petersburg, Russia & Hong Kong, spent all of deer hunting season tracking down private reserve and produced the following website:

Private Deer Hunting Reserves in Missouri

We went out at least four times to report, edited all the audio, video and photos and one of our group members built the website from scratch. Check it out! All in all, this convergence course added a lot to my graduate studies that I hadn't received prior in the Missouri School of Journalism and I am more than excited to apply what I know to manual cameras, DSLRs, recorders and video cameras! 

Downtown activities

To continue on with some fun lists, here's one I came up with based on what I did today! It's nice to be back working downtown and without all of my friends interning right next door, there's plenty to explore!

Things to do when you're bored in the city during the holidays

• Walk into all the hotels and big companies and look at their Christmas decorations. They're ridiculous! This is my building's! 

• Go to a major street on a lunch break or just for a breather and look at everything you could buy
• Find random festivals on the street - there are plenty! 
• Count how many places you pass where there is a Santa. I walked by 3 today!
• Eat dessert. It's fairly inexpensive and always a luxury :) Plus there are plenty of coffee shops, cupcake stores, bakeries or just Potbelly's with good cookies. 
• Walk around with a bag of change or box of food and feed all the homeless people on a stretch of streets 

 More to come after another week of working downtown! 

Convergence challenges

Reporting on a multimedia story is a difficult task, and doing it with a team of three students this semester has taught me a lot. What I call "convergence stress" is a type of stress I've never felt before--an anxious feeling where you never know what's next or what you have until you arrive back. Here are some lessons I've learned from the experience:

The idea must be everyone's
For everyone to be fully committed to the story idea, it has to be something everyone is invested in. The way my group achieved this was by discovering the idea together. When we brought in individual ideas or curiosities, there was a disconnect in the communication of the idea to the other group members. Therefore, brainstorming together has been a strength of working in a team.

Step over barriers

I have taken a much stronger project management role than I would have anticipated this semester, as two of my partners come from other countries and English is not their first language. They are incredibly talented and intelligent girls, but we have gone through some hurdles together that I never would have experienced otherwise. Many times, we will all be on the same page but can't communicate it in language that resonates with all three of us--with one being from Russia, another from Hong Kong and me from the United States. Overcoming these barriers has been a challenge but one I can say we happily step over and make progress on every day. 

Team members help you where you fall weak
My team members might not communicate as quickly, but believe in the definition of team more than any American students I've worked at in college. Rather than silo-ing off into work, they take on the work right then and there so the team does not fail. This not only comes in the form of compiling pieces, but also when we want to ask sources all of the questions. Having a partner assures that someone will see what you are missing, which was one thing missing in the indiviual convergence assignments at the beginning of the semester!

Benefits of teamwork
Overall, we benefit by each getting to play up one of our strengths in an area where it was most needed. One of my partners, Margaret, has excellent web design skills and started the design for our website as early as she could. Another, Barbara, has rigor and curiosity keeps us motivated to always keep moving forward even when it's difficult. I look forward to cranking out our project in the next 10 days and having a nice, final product!