The Digital Detox Every Computer Needs

Spring is just around the corner, which means one thing: let the spring cleaning begin! Sure, the house and yard could use some TLC, but what about your computers? This may sound odd, but hear me out.

A few weeks ago, my laptop, which contains everything from work documents to old school papers, hundreds of songs and thousands of priceless pictures, suddenly quit working. After a trip to the Apple Genius Bar, I heard the words no one wants to hear: “Your hard drive crashed.” As I sat at the bar, (no pun intended) I couldn’t believe that I may have lost years of work and memories. But after two days of painful waiting, I’m happy to say that all of my data was recovered.

Now that I’m up and running, (you never know how much you rely on your laptop until you don’t have it) I have decided to spread the word about backing up your computers and laptops. Trust me, it’s worth it.

There are several options when it comes to digital storage:

  1. External Hard Drive- The external hard drive is what saved my laptop. There are tons of different drives you can pick. Visit consumer reports to find the best one for you.
  2. Cloud Storage- Storing your files “in the clouds” may seem a bit scary; but, if you do your research, you’ll find that this virtual storage option isn’t so bad after all. My top pick is the Carbonite backup, which you can try free for 14 days.  The cost is very reasonable, and backs up automatically each time you make a change to your computer.
  3. ioSafe- This option is another type of external hard drive, yet it’s practically indestructible. The ioSafe website describes this external as an aircraft black box, safe against flood, fire and theft.

While you begin your spring cleaning, take a few moments to back up your computers and laptops.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

Celebs receive “greatest love of all” on social media after their final curtain call

Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs and Whitney Houston were all taken from this world too soon, and the reaction to their deaths on the Internet was overwhelming.

On Saturday, the most recent celebrity death of Whitney Houston flooded Twitter accounts worldwide. According to an article, more than 2 million tweets about Houston’s death occurred within the first hour after the news broke. The tweets peaked at more than 1,000 per second. According to the infographic below, this is more than Michael Jaskson’s death, which hit 456 tweets per second. However, neither can compete with the announcement of Beyonce and Jay Z’s baby, which hit a whopping 8,886 tweets per second or Super Bowl XLVI which now holds the record at 12, 233 tweet per second. (Yes, you did read that right!)

Although there are conflicting accounts, a Mashable article states that a Twitter user tweeted about the death of Houston to his 14 followers, 27 minutes before a credible news source.

So what does this mean for news sources? Are more people turning to Twitter and other social media outlets to obtain news? Check out the infographic below from PCMag.com, created by Leslie Horn, and let us know what you think.

 

 

Leslie Horn's Twitter Inforgraphic

Twitter Infographic Courtesy of Leslie Horn from pcmag.com.

Lessons Learned from Two Girls in Pink Tutus


Back in September, a YouTube video featuring one eight-year-old diva and her shy, five-year-old lip-syncing cousin, uploaded a video of the two performing Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass.” Within the month, this homemade video went viral and attracted more than 11 million views. This prompted Ellen Degeneres to invite the little girls onto her show to preform the song live. Little did they know that this was the start of something amazing.

Sophie Grace with Ellen Degeneres and Nikki Minaj

Sophia Grace and her cousin Rosie, both from Great Britain, sat down with Degeneres and made the audience go wild with their accents, maturity and pink tutus. After the interview, Degeneres handed the girls microphones and they performed the perfect a capella version of “Super Bass.” After the standing ovation they received from the crowd, Degeneres surprised the girls with a visit from Nicki Minaj. (If you have a few minutes, watch this video. You’ll be glad you did!)

On Tuesday, Degeneres invited the girls back on her show. During the interview Degeneres told Sophia that after she posted their video onto the Ellen Show’s YouTube channel, 23 million people viewed it over this past month. Degeneres then asked Sophia if she understood the number of views the video received, to which Sophia replied, “ it’s more than a thousand!” The girls went on to explain how they are now considered celebrities back home in England.

Why You Should Care About Videos

Even though the little girls can’t comprehend the impact their video has made, PR professionals certainly can. Now more than ever, companies are trying to create unique videos that will cut through all the clutter and stand out. According to a video from the Simply Zesty Simply Viral blog, a website that is correctly optimized with video increases the probability that it will appear on the first page of Google by 53 times. This video also claims that the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign will increase by more than 90 percent if it uses video.

The Cisco Visual Networking Index forecasts that in 2013, 90 percent of Internet traffic will be online video. PR companies should now, more than ever, be thinking of new ways to incorporate video into their strategies to enhance a clients’ reputation and brand image. To be most effective, the videos should give your audience the chance to interact and begin a relationship with the company. Then, direct your viewers to a social media platform, a blog or another website to further that relationship.

As for Sophia Grace and Rosie, their next adventure will be going to the American Music Awards and interviewing celebrities on the red carpet, all thanks to a little help from Ellen Degeneres and one very cute viral video that you won’t regret watching.