What is Cyber Monday?

I’m sure that by now we’ve all heard the term “Cyber Monday” which hasn’t yet earned the infamy of “Black Friday” but has gained some significant media coverage nonetheless. But where and when did this silly term originate? I was once told by a very reliable source that it originated in the early 2000s when office workers, still nursing tryptophan hangovers from the Thanksgiving weekend, would do or finish their holiday shopping online at their desks because many, if not most people still didn’t have high-speed internet connections at home. Or, perhaps it was just a clever excuse for procrastination! Whatever the case may be, a decade later Ethernet, wireless 3G and 4G are pretty much standard at home and on smart phones, so the connection theory doesn’t exactly hold up anymore, but are there really better deals for online shoppers the Monday after Thanksgiving?

According to a recent article from CNN, Cyber Monday is nothing more than a marketing gimmick and “has never been the biggest day of the year for online retail sales,” which usually (and ironically, I suppose) falls on a Monday in mid-December. One report suggests that featured deals on Cyber Monday are actually for stuff that didn’t sell on Black Friday (leftovers anyone?).

Did you do any shopping on Black Friday and/or planning to shop online today?

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Online Shopping

Share/Save

Recently, I read a funny article from a reporter at the WSJ who was sick of getting text messages from friends communicating why they were going to be late. It reminded me of a conversation I just had with my sister about forms of communication, in this case Facebook.

We were lamenting about how we secretly wished we weren’t “friends” with some of our family members and even some of our friends. First, there are the friends and family who need to post, actually it feels more like bragging, what they are doing every minute of the day. Especially those who don’t work so are constantly working out, vacationing or playing golf.

Then there are my newlywed friends who need to post on a daily basis how much they are in love or how often they miss their travelling spouse or just recently posted the countdown until she arrived home. Dude, get a life, if she doesn’t go away, she can’t miss you!

And I can’t count the number of times I’ve cringed at the photos or profanity posted by my nieces and nephews, despite the plethora of news warning them that it’s career suicide to post half naked photos with a Bong in one hand and a bottle of JD in the other. Hello? What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, not relived on Facebook! Seriously, I really don’t want to know all this personal stuff about my family and friends.

Even more dangerous was when a co-worker posted a comment on Facebook that was completely misinterpreted and created quite an unnecessary stir.

Alas, I know these are the new forms of communication, but whatever happened to a few family reunions and the Yankee Swap at Christmas time? Oh right, those photos too will be posted on Facebook. Aunt Carolyn, with a bow tied around her head, swapping out the emergency road kit for the leopard Snuggie.

But as a PR professional I also use Facebook for business reasons, to read the latest article by a reporter or keep in touch with clients and colleagues. Unfortunately that means friends and business contacts are inexplicably tied on my Facebook. Sometimes I have to hold myself back from pushing out my own personal brand on Facebook, but I try to keep it neutral in fear that someone might misinterpret my posts and God forbid, defriend me!

Having said all this, I have to admit that nothing beats the look of excitement on my 97 year old grandmother’s face when I pull up Facebook and show her all the recent photos and videos of her great great grandchildren. That my friend makes Facebook priceless!

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Texting

Share/Save

Dear HootSuite,

You are very good to me in many ways. You allow me to track multiple twitter accounts at the same time. I can monitor key words in different streams so I am up-to-date on the multitude of conversations that are going on in the twitosphere. You even let me monitor and update facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, MySpace, Foursquare and PingFM if my heart chooses to do so.

But you know the old saying, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is. HootSuite despite everything I love about you, it’s come to my attention that you’ve been deceiving me. WHY do you incorrectly update Topaz’s facebook fan page? Leaving me to believe that no one has commented when, in fact, they did.

While going directly to the fan page isn’t that big of a deal, it is still an inconvenience especially since you are supposed to be doing this for me. I don’t want to have to check all the time to make sure you are giving me the correct information.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could please straighten up your act and start doing things correctly.

Love,
Alison

Anyone else having trouble like this? What do you use to monitor your social networks?

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: facebook fan page, HootSuite, monitoring

Share/Save