…since I last traveled outside of Europe. Every time I think about it or look at pictures made on previous trips, it kind of feels unreal to be honest. Was I really there? Did I really see these sceneries with my own eyes? Wow…lucky me, I said to myself.
Until we can get back to our “normal life” that seems to be so precious right now and not that “normal”, we can do nothing but appreciate the memories we have made before the pandemic brought chaos into our “normal life”.
That was a good time…
10 days in New Zealand blew my mind away. Infinity love for this country and its mountains and lakes and milky ways and sheeps and alpacas and cows ❤️
Some gloomy yet beautiful days spent on Malta in Feb, 2019 with my adventure seekers.
I am a slacktivist. What does it mean you might ask? Have a listen to my most recent podcast!
To briefly outline the content of my podcast: it is about the phenomenon “Slacktivism” which is according to English Oxford Dictionary:” The practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment.”
After doing some research on the terms “Slacktivism” and “Slacktivist”, I categorize myself as a slacktivist, so I decided to talk about it in my podcast. I have joined Global Citizen a long time ago which is a website for online activism. I regularly take part in online-petition on the Global Citizen’s Website because it is an easy and convenient way to do something good without putting too much effort in it. According to Global Citizen a huge impact has been made through the movement and “The effects of small actions are not always obvious, but by working together specific and tangible outcomes are achieved. Global citizens’ voices influence world leaders and decision makers, and contribute to shaping our world.” (Global Citizen Impact)
I took many notes of things I wanted to say, put them in the right order and used them during the recording. Talking fluently for 5 minutes was not easy for me. But I think it would make an impression of spontaneous and casual talk. While editing the podcast, I faced some difficulties using Audacity. The audio format of my recording was not compatible with the program. After trying to convert the format into mp3 one by applying Format Factory I still had trouble editing my recordings on Audacity. At the end I basically gave up on Audacity and tried to edit with iMovie which is actually a program for video editing purposes. Since I am more familiar with it than with the recommended program Audacity. Even though I was more limited using iMovie because I was not able to place more than one audio at the same time as I first intended. So, a background sound was not able to be added to my talking part.
Before putting my hands on the task, I thought 4-6 minutes of talking is going to be a lot. But it turned out I had to shorten the content I wanted to talk about. Finding a track for my intro and outro also took a lot of time due to creative commons license. All in all, I would say that making podcast is not as easy as some people might think. Especially when the topic is broad and a limited duration is set you have to select and focus on the most relevant facts that emphasize the main idea.
References
Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2019). slacktivism | Definition of slacktivism in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/slacktivism [Accessed 24 May 2019].
Global Citizen. (2019). Global Citizen. [online] Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/impact/ [Accessed 24 May 2019].
What is gamification and why is it related to business matters?
Gamification is a process for integrating game mechanics into non-game environments to increase target behaviour and engagement. And it literally could be applied to everything, for example business which is really interesting for me since I am majoring in Business Communication. Companies do not just want to sell, they also want customer loyalty since loyal customers spend up to 67% more on average than new customers. Therefore to keep customers coming back, beside good customer service, many companies include gamification in their business to enhance customer engagement. This can either be a physical or digital rewards program depending on the size of the business.
Physical rewards program
Physical rewards programs are applied to businesses where people visit the physical location and shop regularly. For example coffee shops, restaurants, supermarkets, etc. In most cases, this type of loyalty program uses a paper card that is stamped or gets a sticker each and every time the customer makes a purchase. Once the card is full, it can be exchanged for a reward such as a free coffee or a small gift.
Pro: physical rewards programs are quick and cheap to set up and easy to use
Con: customers always have to bring the physical card which they sometimes happen to forget or lose (like me)
Digital rewards program
In this type of reward program, the customer will have a digital account which will be credited with points. Shoppers are rewarded with discounts and deals. Or those points can be exchanged for physical or digital rewards via a digital platform. Even though it looks like there is nothing to loose for the customers, yet we should approach this matter critically since by signing up for those programs we give our individually data away. Companies use loyalty card data to understand shoppers’ habits and then shape their customer behaviour by targeting advertising and offering personalised offers.
Pros:
Con: digital reward programs may take a little more effort to set up
Pros & cons for customers
Pros:
BIG CONS:
This video explains pretty well how rewards programs work and how companies store and what they finally do with the data you give away in order to get rewards. Also it is possible to request a report on which information about you is saved. According to that you can adjust your ‘profile’ to your liking.
YOU ARE THE TARGET
It is certainly not easy to refuse any discounts or great offers. But it is also important to know about the information and the main intention behind rewards programs. While most of the time it seems like we are saving money, yet the truth is that we often fall for targeted advertisement and end up buying things we do not necessarily need. Thinking twice before purchasing something after receiving a ‘great’ deal is always a good idea.
References
Clark, M. (2019). Returning Customers Spend 67% More Than New Customers – Keep Your Customers Coming Back with a Recurring Revenue Sales Model. [online] business.com. Available at: https://www.business.com/articles/returning-customers-spend-67-more-than-new-customers-keep-your-customers-coming-back-with-a-recurring-revenue-sales-model/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
#wanderlust
#foodie
#selflove
#touchingstories
#nofilter
These are words that pop into my mind when thinking of social media. Surely there are other thoughts that are rather negative regarding this topic. But nowadays we are constantly surrounded by social media so avoiding it is not really a solution. Instead we should take the advantages it has to offer and let ourselves be inspired by the diversity of passions, interests and stories or share our own with others.
As Twitter is still new to me, I have introduced myself to the community using about.me.
#wanderlust
My passion for travelling has grown over the past years and that is thanks to social media. But I am clearly not the only person here. A survey from 2016 has found that 87% of Millennials on Facebook said they use the social media site for travel inspiration, while 20% use Twitter and Pinterest. We no longer rely on guidebooks with out-of-date information or even paper maps to navigate to our destination. Instead, travellers now have the privilege of instantaneous access to information across the web in the form of Buzzfeed guides, TripAdvisor reviews, and travellers’ Instagram photos depicting their latest vacation. Seeing this potential social media has become more and more marketer’s target. Even though my Instagram profile is private and has a small audience, which is my friends, I still like to share my experiences and great memories on this platform with them.
Nonetheless I appreciate the real-time access to relevant tips, especially on food recommendations from other travellers. Speaking of food, let us skip to the next paragraph.
#foodie
As a food-lover I always try to find the best restaurants wherever I am. Even though it is partly because of the fear of missing out (#FOMO) to be honest. The searching process has undoubtedly become easier since many people share their #foodiemoment on social media. Additionally, many restaurants themselves are also present online. Whenever I do not exactly know what to eat, I just go online to look for an inspiration or a recommendation. If I feel like cooking, there are plenty of social media accounts sharing easy recipes. If I meet up with friends, we simply search online for a restaurant which is actually not easy at all, given the fact that there are way too many options to choose from.
#selflove
Nowadays everyone is trying to be as authentic as possible online because that is what people really want to see. In my opinion this can have a positive impact on people, either online or offline. Girls are starting to show the world their bare face. #nomakeup. #iwokeuplikethis. The LGBT community has become stronger than before. Many of them are getting lots of attention and become famous building a career as a make-up artist or an influencer. My favourite influencer is Bretman Rock. His confidence is inspiring and his entertaining talent is out of this world.
Freckles and beauty marks are now trendy and “accepted”. I have never liked my moles and always wanted to remove them. But now, even though I still do not like them, I have decided to accept them because they are a part me after all. The idea of accepting and appreciating oneself is for me one of the most beautiful things that social media has taught me.
#touchingstories
There is no better tool that I can think of for spreading inspirational quotes, ideas, stories, and articles than social media. You will definitely find some person who you can emulate, or who has things worse than you, or who awakens your empathy. And with that in your head and heart, you can once again find the energy to keep going. One of the great ways that social media helps us is by providing us with stories that get under our skin and make us appreciate our life, our ambition, and our friends. One thing I came to realise is that people on social media are just normal people like me. Everyone has their own story, and everyone expresses themselves in their own way.
#nofilter
Speaking of those infamous filters on social media which has become an indispensable feature for many people on Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook, we also need to consider filtering contents we find online. By that I mean the ability to differentiate inspiring contents from manipulating ones, positive posts from negative ones. Trying to see the positive site of everything is never a bad idea, either online or in the real world.
Reference
Price, W. (2016). Millennial Travel Trends: A Look at the Largest Generations’ Habits. [Blog] Internet Marketing Inc.. Available at: https://www.internetmarketinginc.com/blog/millennial-travel-trends/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2019].
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Unfold 