Shopping: Impulse or Word of Mouth?

Anyone who knows me knows I am an avid shopper. I shop for various reasons, but my favorite excuse is what I like to call "retail therapy." My best friend even got my a little wall hanging that says "It's not shopping, it's retail therapy." Love it.

For me though, I do some serious research before I buy something. I look up information about new makeup I want to try (recently the Naked 2 pallet, not that I actually know how to use it), I look up reviews about a new coat I am thinking of buying, a new pair of shoes, I am shocked my mother survived prom dress shopping with me, new handbags (my biggest weakness), even covers for my laptop. And these are not even large commitment purchases. You should have seen me when I needed a new car: I had graphs, I had statistics, I had reviews and when I finally settled on my Toyota Corolla (great car by the way) I was convinced I had made the right choice. Looking up this information makes me feel better about my purchases. It gives me satisfaction that I have made the best choice possible for me.

At this point, I have become pretty good at finding the reviews I need. Most of the time, I can find reviews on he product right under the product I am looking for. Other times I look at their Facebook, or Amazon, or even do a simple Google search.  

But I am curious...How many other people do as much research before they commit to buying something? And where do you look?

You Can Major in Social Media.

So, this past summer I gained a new addiction. It wastes a lot of my time, some may say it rots my brain, it is a gateway addiction, and it costs me $7.99 a month.

Netflix is like that friend that is a bad influence, but for some reason you are attracted to it. Not only am I addicted to instant streaming movies, it has also branched other addictions such as The Office, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother, and my newest obsession... Mad Men.

For those of you that do not know, Mad Men is an hour long drama about an advertising firm on Madison Avenue. It is based in the 1960's. Mad Men centers around the dashing Donald Draper, the creative director at Sterling Cooper (later known as Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce) and his provocative lifestyle. So, because I am an advertising major, I was told that I need to watch this show, and obviously the first five seasons are on Netflix.

So I am midway through season five, Peggy has just asked the rest of the copywriters "am I the only one that can drink and work at the same time?" and I'm laughing because I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was hysterical. So as I am about to tweet this little quote, it dawns on me: social media was not an actual thing in the sixties.

I mean, I am not stupid, obviously social media was not around in the sixties, but in the past decade, give or take a couple of years, social media has blossomed into a normal, everyday function. Without even thinking really, I just reach for my phone and open Facebook for something to read.  I know if I need a quick recipe, I can find it on Pinterest, or fast news can be found on Twitter.

Social media, however, has branched into more than just a quick hobby and a way to creep on old classmates and exes. Social media is a career now. In order to be successful in public relations or advertising you need to know not only the basics, but how each social media outlet works and why. I mean, what do you think Don Draper would do if he had to walk into Jaguar with a social media pitch ready? Not that Mad Men is an accurate view of the advertising world, but his typewriter doesn't exactly connect to WiFi.

Over time every industry has undergone changes to enhance their business. Every industry has had to adapt to new technology and new ways to promote themselves. Social media has become a huge part of that. I know the first thing I do when looking for a new hair salon or when I want to try to a different restaurant is look for not only their website, but their Facebook page. Facebook, along with websites such as Twitter and Pinterest and many other sites, has allowed the expansion of customer word of mouth, and it also allows businesses to personally connect with their audience.  A lot of the jobs that I am looking at now demands knowledge of social media, lucky for me I grew up in the generation that introduced it, so even though I complain about Facebook's newest look, and I can still follow it (for now).

We have came a long way since the sixties, I wonder what they will think of next.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and everyone hates iOS 7.

On September 18, 2013, Apple launched the  iOS 7 operating system.

The long awaited iOS update was released on the East Coast at 1:00 pm. So as soon as that clock stuck 1:00, Apple nerds were frantically accessing their settings to check for their update. I'm not proud of it, but I was one of these people. And yes, I kept refreshing until I saw it, and yes every time that error message popped up from too many people downloading at once, I kept pressing cancel and restarting it.

I couldn't explain to you why I so excited for that update. I'm not usually the kind of girl who waits in line waiting for the newest Apple product. I'm defiantly not one who buys the new iPhone as soon as it comes out because, if I don't have an upgrade, I am not shelling out the cash when my old phone works just fine. But there was something exciting about a new layout. Maybe because it was the first time Apple had changed their iPhone layout since the introduction of the first generation iPhone. Or maybe because I am taking a social media class, and the buzz lately was unstoppable. Who knows.

Anyway...

That night, on the T coming home from class, I decided to read my Twitter feed. I only check it every so often, so it usually will last me the whole trip if I leave my book at home. You'd imagine how surprised I was to see that people either loved their new iPhone update or wanted to chuck it out the window. And of course, I started to get nervous wondering why I actually liked it. I was curious if I missed something huge like it will spontaneously combust if I'm not polite to Siri.

Then one of my friends, who I actually told to download it, texted me freaking out about how awful it was and that she hated it. This lasted till roughly 1:30 in the morning (Sorry Katie). Then I went on Facebook, and the outrage continued. Including an article by BuzzFeed called "19 Ways iOS 7 Is Causing The Actual Apocalypse." So, from here the disappointment continued. People threatening their dogs, people threatening their families. It was bad. People REALLY hated this update.

So I'm reading all these posts and articles, and I am starting to find things that bug me about this update. Like actually bug me. How could reading social media actually make me hate an update? And then I saw a saving grace... "19 Tips You'll Need To Master iOS 7" by www.businessinsider.com. And all of a sudden. Everything was okay. I reduced motion, I found spotlight, and I found a pretty kick ass control panel (no more flashlight app!).

So everyone... take it from me... iOS 7 GETS EASIER! Everything will be okay. We will survive.

Now, take a deep breath and text someone you love on that fancy new keyboard.