In this episode of PRobecast, Tony Sapienza, Renatta Siewert and Justin Martell join me in talking about how people don’t want the help of tech in grocery stores, Neiman Marcus’ Foursquare campaign and Facebook’s changes.

Big Y Ditching Tech for Human Interaction – A recent study shows that more and more people are opting not to check-out at the self check-out line at the grocery store and instead go to the cashier. A study from the Food Marketing Institute has found that only 16 percent of shoppers use these self check-out lanes and now Big Y has recently announced they are ‘bagging’ these lanes. With a society so addicted to technology, this surprises me. Will people start calling their friends and family rather than taking more time to text them? Will we see other trends where people prefer human interaction rather than tech?

Neiman Marcus’ Foursquare Campaign – Neiman Marcus is launching a campaign on Foursquare to promote its annual shoe and handbag event – hiding 15 Nancy Gonzalez clutches at 15 of its 41 stores. When a customer checks-in on Foursquare, they will be told whether they are in close range of the hidden clutch and where to find it. The first to find the clutch wins. In total, Neiman Marcus will be giving away 56 clutches because they will also be picking at random lucky winners who checked in. Do campaigns like this help promote the Neiman Marcus brand? Will we be seeing more companies do campaigns like this?

What’s up with Facebook? – Everyone has been up in arms with Facebook’s recent changes to people’s feeds and profile page. However, Facebook will be changing once again with the launch of Timelines and Open Graph. Timelines will pull everything you’ve ever posted (or what people have posted on your wall) all into in e-scrapbook that people can easily browse through once on your profile page. Open Graph has customizable actions and gestures that will allow applications to post things you are doing online – and offline, depending on the application. Is this going to far?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week, Neiman Marcus’ Foursquare campaign won. Noting that a younger demographic isn’t normally their target audience, the use of Foursquare to bring in new customers is a great campaign. While Tony and Justin aren’t normally into clutches, everyone appreciated the creative aspects of this campaign – and agreed it makes the Neiman Marcus brand look more favorable to consumers.

Who do you think should have won?

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Technorati Tags: Facebook and privacy, Facebook's Open Graph, Facebook's Timelines, Foursquare camaigns, Neiman Marcus, self checkouts

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The Adweek/Harris poll that is a regular feature in Adweek is always a favorite read for me. Now that summer vacations are behind us, I thought I’d dust off a snapshot from a month or so ago that looked at the devices we bring on summer vacation, breaking down the data by age group. They also looked at male/female trends and how use differed by salary level, but I thought the age comparisons were most telling. It showed that in the 18-34 and 35-44 age groups, most brought smartphones, while those over 45 went with laptops. The younger age groups placed higher than the old-timers in bringing any device (90% for 18-44 versus 63% for those 55 and higher). Surprisingly, the older age group was had the highest numbers for MP3 use. I’m pleased to report that while I’m not in the younger crowd, I fall into that category in terms of my vacation-device use. The smartphone has become my device of choice while traveling – for pleasure or business (and for entertainment – while I own an MP3, I used my smartphone to play music while on the beach; and I don’t use an e-reader -– my preference for a paperback, newspaper or magazine is where I’m still in the dark ages). I think the trends among younger users tells us a lot about where technology is heading – smartphone and tablets are the future (at least for now). Don’t get me wrong – my laptop continues to play an important part in my life, allowing me to stay on top of work wherever I am. But when it comes to remaining current on email or staying in touch with clients, Topaz team members and family and friends – through email, texting and even phone calls – the smartphone is my primary technology lifeline. Next up for me: a tablet. Maybe next summer.

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Change happens every day. Babies are born turning husbands and wives into mothers and fathers, leavess fall off the trees which suggest that seasons are circulating and new elections spring new leaders. These networks of change happen and we are forced to adapt accordingly, taking advantage of the modifications, large or small, and providing ourselves with new decisions and opportunities; we are an everlasting, acclimating society. So, why is Facebook’s modification so troubling for us?

The announcement of Facebook’s new layout has arrived and there seems to be split emotion for its religious users. The Facebook network is home to over 800 million people. To put that number into perspective, according to the Census Bureau the United States has an estimated population of about 311 million; not even half of the Facebook party. But, numbers aren’t what I am here to discuss, rather the negativity and uproar from Facebook users over the sudden change in layout of the network. Even more specifically, the relevance of information on the new “Timeline” application and the time it will take to sift through and edit ‘feeds.’

The way that the new “Timeline” works, is simple. A majority of information a user has posted, from the day they signed on until the present date, will be displayed. Each story that Facebook deems ‘relevant’ will be placed in chronological order based on a system that the Facebook team has come up with. Therefore, users, if they choose to, have to re-edit their pages, keeping or throwing away wanted or unwanted posts and pictures that have emerged in their timeline.

To be honest, in the time that people spend contemplating breaking their computers out of frustration of these recent network changes, they could easily become accustom to the new format. While privacy seems to be the popular topic of dissatisfaction for users with the new page, each individual can agree or not agree to the applications that correspond to the new Facebook. It is understandable that people are angered by the recent update, but Facebook is following their core values by creating a network that people can sign into and share exactly who they are with the world.

As an avid Facebook user, myself, I know that I may not need all of the new gadgets and buttons that are being added, so I will not agree to them. But, I haven’t forgotten the reason I made the leap into the social networking world in the first place and how new it was to me. I must have spent hours trying to learn how it works, but in the end I was able to connect with family and friends in a way that was completely foreign to me prior to Facebooks existence. Now it is second nature to me and I love it.

The change is happening whether we like it or not. If Facebook is important enough that you may be stressing over network alterations, just take a minute to try out the new page. Learn it, dissect it and give it a chance, then make your decision.

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Technorati Tags: changes in social media, Facebook Changes, Facebook Timelines

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