High Tech Holidays: Goodbye Cards

My mother told me I would not be getting a Christmas card in the mail this year.  Despite the fact that they are financially sound she said they were cutting back because of the economy. As if to justify her position, she assured me that many people were cutting back on holiday cards. Which got me thinking, is it the economy or is it the fact that people are becoming so used to sending quick messages to a wide audience via social and mobile, that the thought of hand addressing a card becomes much too tedious?

My husband, for example, wanted to send an evite out for our wedding invitation. I squashed the idea despite the fact it was very tempting. As much as I love the holidays I also semi-dread handwriting the cards.  My penmanship isn't the greatest and I'm constantly searching  for stamps and people's postal addresses.

Traditional companies like Hallmark, which have recognized online competition for years now, are forced to reinvent themselves. I just saw a commercial where Hallmark has incorporated augmented reality into their cards so you can actually play scenes from the Charlie Brown Christmas Movie by holding the card up to your web cam. Smart, but doesn't solve the problem of making a trip to the mailbox or getting a hand cramp from writing. And of course, paper card companies also have e-cards, which are old hat now. There's something acceptable about sending an e-card for a birthday but not as acceptable for the Holidays or for a thank you note. That is a completely imaginary rule I made up, but one which I have lived by in the past nonetheless.

I have no doubt that in time, sending "real" holiday cards will be replaced completely by virtual cards. Yes, it will be slightly sad, but in the end it will allow us more time to shop, bake and spend face-to-face time with our loved ones. So to my Family and Friends, I'll be updating my Facebook status with a big old Merry Christmas on Dec. 25 and if you're ready to make that leap,  I invite you to join.

Facebook Messaging - Faster, Faster

Is it weird to think that email may be out of date? Typewriters sure, fountain pens you betcha, but email is e-tastic. The truth is I've found myself emailing with colleagues wishing they would head over to the Chat/IM function. Look if we are making lunch plans, I don't need to wait for you to craft an email and think of a clever subject line. An IM will do just fine. So it's not totally surprising that Facebook heard other people saying email is too slow and jumped on it by rolling out Facebook Messaging - a new form of communication that is more integrated with IM, text and social.Most are saying Facebook Messages is not an email killer, and that may be , but one day something is bound to replace email. And when it does something newer, faster, more efficient will come to life no doubt. Happens all the time with everything. So perhaps Facebook messaging is not cutting us off from email but rather easing us into this idea of change.

It’s Not About Location, It’s About Deals

The Pew Research Center came out with a study saying only 4% of people are using location based services. Mashable points out a few flaws in the study - one being they interviewed people via the phone, potentially landline phone. I'm kind of shocked they even found 4% of people this way.The truth is location is growing and with Facebook Places just announcing Facebook Deals, location is sure to grow even more. For some checking in will always be about the "look at me" factor. I'm somewhere cool and I want you to know. But for most I predict checking in will be about what's in it for me, and nothing peaks people's interests more than free stuff or deals. For example, The Gap is making a splash today by giving away 10,000 pairs of jeans. At a retail value of $60, that's worth checking in and actually driving me back to the Gap, a store that's long fallen off my radar screen.

At the end of the day location is simply a more efficient way of clipping coupons and providing value at the point of purchase. There will always be people who feel it is too big brother, but for the majority, I believe the benefits/deals will wash out any fear of being followed.

If Facebook Deals does explode in a way that Groupon and other online coupon offerings have, I hope that one day we can stop printing up all those circulars I throw away every week. In the future just sending out coupons on a hope and a whim to everyone will seem slightly ridiculous, when we can simply check-in to what we really want.