THE WHITLATCH WEEKLY

DO YOU EVER FEEL AS IF YOU'RE BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE OFTEN THESE DAYS? YOU MUST JOIN THIS GROUP. YOU MUST POST THAT PICTURE. YOU MUST DO THIS. YOU MUST DO THAT. AND THAT'S JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. FACEBOOK , TWITTER , YOUTUBE, ANDROID OR I-PHONE, GOOGLE OR YAHOO. IT'S LIKE WE ARE BEING ASKED TO ENLIST IN A SOCIAL MEDIA BRANCH OF THE MILITARY. AM I RIGHT? WHAT STARTED AS A FRIENDLY BLUE BIRD AND A CATCHY THUMBS UP TO EXPRESS OUR FEELINGS OR EMOTIONS, SEEMS TO BE GETTING A LITTLE BIT PUSHY. MARKETING IS ALL AROUND US AT ALL TIMES. PICTURES, SLOGANS, ADVERTISEMENTS, ALL MADE TO PERSUADE OR ATTRACT A CERTAIN AUDIENCE TO A CERTAIN BRAND OR PRODUCT. THIS MARKETING IS COMING AT YOU FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT ANGLES - TELEVISION, RADIO, PRINT, AND ONE OF OUR NEWEST MEMBERS - SOCIAL MEDIA. IF YOU HANDLE YOUR COMPANY'S SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS, EACH DAY FEELS LIKE YOU MIGHT O-D ON TWEETS AND LIKES. IT'S OVERWHELMING. BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHICH PLATFORM...

          In 1995, Newsweek  released an article titled, " Why The Web Won't Be Nirvana ."  This article was basically written to make the argument that the Internet was only going to be a fad. Paragraph after paragraph, it literally mocks the thought of being able to take a computer to the beach, purchasing items via the internet, or even having newspapers or books replaced with digital versions.  Author of the article, Clifford Stoll, made it very clear this would soon fade out, and the Internet would only be a fad.  Two decades later, here we are again.  The term, "fad," is being thrown around once more, and guess what...they were wrong again.                 It's funny how wrong Clifford, and many others, were about the Internet and its possibilities.   Nearly each resource or tool he said could never come from the internet, has flourished on the internet.  As the...