Technology Trends

Three Trends: Local, Social, and Mobile

I wrote a column about the way that three trends are coming together to impact both small businesses and consumers (December 2014, attached below).

Social. Almost three out of four of businesses use Facebook and over half use Twitter; however, under half of small businesses use Google +.

The primary reason businesses use social media is to connect with customers. Furthermore, almost 8 out of 10 businesses get new customers through their social media activity.

Mobile. There are now over 1 billion mobile devices on the planet, many of them smartphones.

Location. Four out of ten mobile searches are done to find local businesses: over 73% of smartphone users use Google Maps.

Businesses are using text messages and email to target customers with special promotions, and over 90% of texts are read within 3 minutes.

How can you apply this to your work as a writer?

The Job Hunt becoming more Mobile and Social

Another recent column addressed the way that technology has transformed the way we look for--and advertise--jobs (May 2015).

How is technology playing a role in the job search, both for those advertising for jobs and those seeking jobs? Companies used to find new hires from their network of contacts, whether physical or virtual. Now they rely more on job boards and social professional networks. Esther Cruz points out that LinkedIn grew from 100 to 300 million members over the past 4 years. She also states that recruiters find 60% of their hires from professional connections, 73% through social media and 93% review a candidate’s social media profile before deciding to interview or hire candidates. (Typically, recruiters are looking at Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin).

Ron Stewart writes, “The leader of the pack for sourcing hires is clearly LinkedIn, which boasts successful hires for 79 percent of recruiters. Right now, 94 percent of recruiters are using LinkedIn as part of their social hiring strategy, followed by 66 percent on Facebook.” This means that it is no longer possible to ignore social media, especially LinkedIn, when recruiting new hires or looking for a job.

How are people using mobile devices in their job search? Cruz reports that “9 in 10 say they are going to use mobile devices to search for jobs and recruiters say they will use them to post jobs, search for and contact candidates. Half of recruiters plan to do more with mobile recruiting.

Employers whose websites are mobile friendly have a real advantage to find good workers.” Only a few years ago, workers would be sitting at a PC searching for a job: now they are using tablets, laptops and smartphones!

As a Community College teacher, I work hard to help my students develop digital skills. I also talk to them about the usefulness of LinkedIn, and sometimes show them my account. While almost all college students have a Facebook account, few of them have an account on LinkedIn; therefore, we need to get the word out of its value in the job hunt. In addition, students must monitor what they post on Facebook and Twitter if they want interviews and job offers. Small businesses wanting to compete with their larger rivals need to establish a presence on LinkedIn, ensure that users can access their company website on mobile devices, and post all job openings online. There is an abundance of resources to help students and companies alike with finding and posting jobs, and a consensus that the way we post and find jobs has been transformed: think social and mobile!

How do you find out about Technology Trends (and fads?)

I subscribe to TechRepublic, a company that has resources for IT folks and those trying to learn more about technology alike. I like their Five Apps newsletter, as well as the 10 things newsletter.

Techrepublic Interview with Steve Wozniak1

Here is a recent article based on an interview with Steve Wozniak about self-driving cars, the Apple watch, and Virtual Reality, among other things!