Where Will We Go From Here?

Where Will We Go From Here?

By: Tamara Braunstein

As the global technology community collectively mourns the loss of one of its greatest visionaries, Steve Jobs, many are already wondering what lies ahead for his brainchild company and mobile technology in general.

There's no denying the impact and reach of Jobs' innovation and drive. From the Apple fans who own every iProduct out there, to those still trying to figure out how to download an ap, it's safe to say that his role in the modern mobile technology era has effectively changed society as we knew it.

So now what? Sad as it may be to say goodbye, Jobs himself was aware of the opportunity that comes from death:

"Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life change agent." (2005 Stanford Commencement Speech)

Instead of focusing on what is lost, now more than ever may be the time to look at opportunities for improvement. Where Jobs reinvented and perfected the notion of product designed to fit function, maybe it's time to think about designing our products' functions to fit our lives.

Even as the skyrocketing use of mobile technology spans cultural and racial divides, there remain gaps in how different social groups interact with it. While African Americans and Latinos "are more likely than the general population to access the Web by cellular phones...Researchers have noticed signs of segregation online that perpetuate divisions in the physical world. And blacks and Latinos may be using their increased Web access more for entertainment than empowerment."

So the question remains: where will we go from here? Jobs may have left some big shoes to step into, but he also achieved major headway toward tremendous opportunities begging to be fulfilled.

PR Tips: Managing Expectations and the Consequences of Failing to Do So

PR Tips: Managing Expectations

and the Consequences of Failing to Do So

By: Ryan Duncan

If you missed last week’s Friday video post, “Teachable PR Tips from Howard University's CapComm Lecture Series” one of Gwen’s PR Tips was about “managing expectations,” an important lesson for all public relations work.

Today, we were presented with another perfect example of the consequences of failing to manage expectations. Apple Inc. – beloved tech company which created the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, had scheduled a highly anticipated press event in which expectations were high.

For the past year, there was endless chatter and rumors surrounding Apple’s next iPhone device, which everyone assumed would be called the iPhone 5. Plus, with the announcement of Steve Jobs retiring and this event being his replacement, Tim Cook’s big debut, the excitement and expectations were even more heightened. All day on Twitter and Facebook, my friend’s updates and posts reflected their extreme anticipation for the event and Apple’s announcement of their next device.

But boy were they disappointed. It turns out, there was no iPhone 5. Instead, Apple debuted the iPhone 4S. It may be faster, it may be on more carriers, and have a nicer camera, but it looks pretty much the same as the iPhone4. The press and the public were clearly let down and disappointed in the announcement.

Apple‘s stock fell as much as 5% after its iPhone 4S announcement Tuesday, illustrating that the news failed to wow investors. This is the first time I can ever remember Apple’s stock going down after one of their press events. What lessons can we learn from this? What we have here is another perfect example of failing to manage expectations. Usually Apple had always done an incredible job of keeping their products secret while also under-promising and over-delivering.

What do you think? Was this a failure by the new CEO Tim Cook’s failure to manage expectations? Are you disappointed by the iPhone 4S? How could Apple have done a better job of communicating in advance what to expect ahead of their product unveiling?