The Facebook Poke - What Exactly Does It "Mean" To You?

DOES THE "POKE" MAKE SENSE TO YOU? AN IN-DEPTH LOOK!

Over the past year, I've noticed something very interesting surrounding the Facebook Poke - either people understand it fully, or it makes absolutely no sense and causes complete consfusion and is surrounded in mystery.

Last week, I made a post on my Facebook timeline. It said, "The are two types of people in this world: those that understand the concept of the Facebook Poke, and those that do not." This sparked quite an interesting discussion about the phenomenon known as "poking".

The discussion was so wild, it prompted me to write this post to try to give insight to the people that just don't get the whole "poking" thing. I live in a house divided. Of the Facebookers in my family, two completely "get it", and two can't make any sense out of it. So I will try to give some insight on what I believe poking is all about.

In my Facebook world, I have an inner circle of friends and family who are big believers of the Poke. It is very meaningful to us, and the use of poking is just simply understood automatically. While I've brought several people into my Secret Order of the Poke, there are several others who don't understand it at all.

Some of my new "Pokees", upon receiving their first poke on my behalf, have contacted me immeidately to ask, "why did you do that, and what exactly does that mean?" I get a good laugh out of that reaction.

I find great difficulty at times trying to explain to them why they've been poked, and some don't seem to be able to catch on and understand. But those that do become avid Pokers. But what exactly does it mean?

To members of my inner poke circle, a Poke is a means of staying in touch in a busy world without the need to write emails, instant messages, or making phone calls. Sure, we still keep in touch from time-to-time, but the Poke is a fabulous way to keep people close and let them know that you are alive and well.

To the avid pokers, a Poke is a simple way to say hi. It's an exciting thing to run through your poke list and dole out a fresh round of reaching out to touch your friends. For example, every few days I come to expect a poke from cousin Ritchie, daughter Erika, high school friend Dawn, college buddy Sean, church buddy David, coworker Tandi, and several others.

I even love to get a poke from my lovely wife Schasta, even though she protests all the while. When my daughter and I poke her, the response is usually "WHY DO YOU KEEP POKING ME! STOP!!!", to which my daughter hilariouisly replies, "then quit poking me back!". We just laugh and keep it up.

But my son Scott, like some others, refuses to poke back. His response is usually something along the lines of "that doesn't make any logical sense! I'm not poking anyone!"

Several others get really uneasy when they receive a poke, because it doesn't come with an explanation. Some even get freaked out by the action, and take it in a completely weird way.

The Facebook post brought up some interesting questions. Family friend Sister Kim asked if poking people of the same sex was an acceptable practice, because she had heard that a friend took offense to it. Others even wondered if there was some sort of sexual connotation to the poke.

While poking can be something as simple as a "hello", there's nothing to say that some users don't pop out a poke to express a romantic interest in the pokee. It can spark feelings of creepiness or unease.

In the past, I have had the experience of single guys poking some of my female friends who they are not connected with on Facebook. This is clearly a violatoin of Poke ethics. When this happens, I normally get a message from my female friend asking "who is this weirdo friend of yours poking me, and did you tell him to do that?"

I considered writing a post on my Facebook wall stating a rule that there will be no bird-dogging of my female friends by single men without my expressed written permission, or a $100 fine would be levied against any violators. But I chose to just let it go.

But with all of the good and the bad, the Poke can be a wonderful thing if used properly. In fact, I continue to grow my Inner Poke Circle as time marches on. It is something that my poke family has grown to love.

At the same time, I respect those that have no use for the Poke, don't get the Poke, or are simply befuzzled by what it means. I just stay in touch with those friends the old fashioned way.

What does the Facebook Poke mean to you? Are you an avid Poker, or is it something that you could care less for? Join the Poke discussion and tell me about your poke experience!

Carlton Flowers
Premier Poke Pontiff

Bitstrips - Fun Phenomenon, Or Most Annoying Social Media Creation In History?

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BITSRIPS INVASION

About a month ago, I was perusing the Facebook place, and I noticed something was seriously different. There were cartoon strips everywhere. I couldn't scroll for more than a page length without some cartoon strip showing up with different characters and scenes.

But something just didn't add up... the artwork was amazing, and the layout looked just like a professional had designed them all. Each cartoon strip was slightly similar but unique in nature.

However, there was one huge thing that each and every one of them had in common:

They weren't funny.

Not only were these cartoon strips lacking any trace of humor, they were just plain stupid. Almost every strip that I viewed didn't have a story line or punchline.

Instead, there were random references to things that I couldn't have had a clue about as to what was being referenced.

Then it dawned on me... these were being created by Facebook users. Apparently they had all found some way to create their own custom cartoon strips. That explained the this-is-entirely-not-funny aspect. But how were they making them?

I had to dig a while, but then I discovered the "Bitstrips" app on my Android device (you can get an iOS version too). The precipice is that you can create your own custom avatar, and even avatars for cartoon versions of your friends.

Next, you get to choose from a variety of pre-made cartoon scenes or progressions, and all you have to do is fill in the text bubbles. The end result? You get your very own high-quality cartoon feature! Unfortunately, they don't supply the humor.

The problem is, 99% of people are not very good at comedic writing. Instead of making a cartoon strip that would be understood by any reader, and written for humor value, we have "Bitstrippers" who create cartoon scenes involving their friends involving situations that only they would understand.

What is so annoyingly common is that the Bitstrippers create cartoon strips from inside jokes. But why does this rub people like me the wrong way?

It's due to the nature of a cartoon strip. When you are perusing Facebook or other social media site and you come across a cartoon, you get instantly excited because you anticipate something that will give you a good laugh. The Bitstrippers fool you into thinking you're about to experience a great funny, but you are completely let down when the cartoon makes absolutely no sense.

Right when I was able to write this off as a pure annoyance plaguing Facebook, someone tagged me in a Bitstrip cartoon with an inside joke that involved an experience between only myself and the Bitstripping creator. What happened next surprised me...

I laughed insanely.

So I decided to dig further into this Bitstrip mess, and I found that a great number of my friends had avatars set up when I perused my Bitstrip app account on my Samsung Galaxy 4 smartphone. Then came surprise number two...

I found a friend's avatar that made me break out into laughter because it looked just like him. Then I had a second surge of uncontrollable laughter when I instantly thought of an inside joke cartoon strip that I could create starring the two of us.

Could this be the start of my downfall? Will this lead into an addiction? Will I become an annoying Bitstripper that drives everyone insane with comedy-less inside jokes and situations that absolutely no other person will understand?

The jury is still out on that note. Time will only tell. In the meantime, I'm still of the opinion that Bitstrips need to disappear from the Facebook universe, never to be found again. I'm close to disabling it on my own Facebook account. And I don't want to be assimilated into the Bitstripper Borg population.

But will I miss out on some tremendous fun?

Who knows.

Carlton Flowers
Potential Bitstripper

New Social Media iPhone App Developed By Mizzou Graduates

"TEXT THAT Q" LAUNCHES IN JANUARY OF 2013! THE STORY OF AN APP

Almost 2 years in the making, and TextThatQ has launched! It is the newest concept of a social media app to hit the world. After lots of hard work and 2 beta testing periods, the app is now live.

TextThatQ was an idea created by Jake Seeman, a Mizzou graduate and chemical engineer. It was programmed by fellow Mizzou graduate, Stephen Lindhauer. The concept? A place to ask anything about life's craziest questions in complete anonymity.

Users can post questions to the social community with their own set of criteria, deciding what people should receive their question based on common interests, hobbies, age, and more. It allows people to interact in a way that removes the embarrassment of asking their most pressing questions.

Some prefer to ask silly questions, and some ask questions on rather serious topics dealing with a range of issues. These include male-female relationshis, personal challenges, family problems, and personal growth. All the while, participants are much more willing to open up knowing that they remain anonymous.

Once a question has been posted and a user recieves an answer, they can give it a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down". These actions are rewarded with points, or a deduction of points is made. But after the question has been answered, the two participants can carry on a conversation at length.

The app has been in development for nearly two years, and my role has been to head up the marketing efforts. It has been a long, fulfilling journey, and I've learned a lot about what it takes to develop and roll out a successful app.

Now that the app has been released, we have decided to make two new key additions to the core group, which includes web development expert Jason Piper and marketing mogul Tim Largent. It will take the effort of all 5 team members and more to see the app hit the level of success that it is headed for.

With the huge surge in smartphone use in society, app development has exploded. This is what originally attracted Jake Seeman into the rapidly advancing sector. As far as we can tell, there are no boundaries to how far it will reach.

I'll be reporting back on how we are doing with the rollout of the app, and sharing everything we learn. It has already been quite a journey, and we have seen some of our dreams come true. In the meantime, check out the YouTube video demo of the app, and then download it to your iPhone/iPod/iPad here!

Do you know someone who has developed a mobile app for Android, iOS, or Windows Phone Mobile? We'd sure like to hear the story about its success (or failure). Share in the Disqus comments section!

Carlton Flowers
Vice President of Marketing, CoMo Coding LLC

Facebook Holdouts In 2012 - Wise Reasoning, Paranoia, or Social Ineptness?

A VIEW OF FACEBOOK HOLDOUTS IN 2012 - THE PHENOMENON EXAMINED

It is the final month of the year 2012, and the global Facebook population is at an astounding 1 billion people. Yet in your community of educated professional people, there are still holdouts.

What are the common reasons for the restistance to participation? Are some of the reasons logical? Are they fear-based, anti-social, or with valid reason?

Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure. We have experienced a paradigm shift in the way that we as a people communicate and interact in this society, and whether you like it or not, it's called Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg has forever changed the world with the idea he hatched over a decade ago.

But getting back to the topic at hand, the Facebook Holdouts come several different flavors. We'll take an in depth look at each one, and then hold a general discussion. So let's have a look at the variety of the common Facebookless citizens of our world!

THE FOUR FACEBOOK HOLDOUTS - "PROFILES" DEFINED

The Technologically Challenged Facebook Holdout - this holdout doesn't participate on Facebook because they simply don't know how to. They are either elderly or unplugged from all technology, living off the land somewhere deep in the woods. This type of holdout could care less, because they don't have the wherewithall to figure out any type of technology more complex than a feature phone. They get a pass for not participating.

The Paranoid Conspiracy Facebook Holdout - due to an enormous fear of "big brother" watching every move they make, this Facebook Holdout wouldn't dare post a single detail on such a public forum for fear that the government will use it against them whenever they round up all the people and throw them in concentration camps. Forget the fact that this paranoid individual doesn't break the law in any way. That doesn't matter. But the fear of retribution from posting about posting your favorite cookie recipe is real.

The Ostrich Facebook Holdout - this individual is antisocial and would rather bury their head in the digital sand and not be known. They are happy in isolation, and could care less about interacting with people. Facebook would only be an intrusion into this person's perfect quiet life in isolation.

The "I-Don't-Trust-My-Spouse" Facebook Holdout - Infidelity fuels this holdout's funk with Facebook. With the divorce rate as high as it is, and the growing number of affairs that start on social networks, the IDTMS types not only stay off the network themselves, but they also forbid their philandering significant others from flirting with the Facebook family. Sadly, Facebook forbiddance fails to fend off the frivolous behavior.

Enough about the obvious Facebook Holdouts. We've seen these types, and they are no surprise. But what really gets me are those that don't have an excuse to hold out on the world's largest social community.

What leaves me confused are those who would obviously benefit from having a Facebook profile and interacting with people. This would include business owners, sales professionals of all types, those in medical professions, consultants, attorneys, and others of similar nature.

People with these backgrounds have no excuse to hold out on Facebook whatsoever. It goes against the very purpose of their profession - to interact with people and transact business.

Let me paint a scenario...

It's 1975. A new business opens up in a local town. It's a bakery. The owner has the greatest tasting pastries and breads that any tastebuds could ever experience. He wants everyone to experience his award-winning goods, and is excited to open for business.

But before he opens, he tells the phone company that he refuses to have a listing. He chooses to keep his number unlisted. He also is against signs. He will have no part of any signs being erected on his structure.  He also has a beef with the local newspaper, so he refuses to place any ads for his bakery in the paper. Plus he doesn't own a radio or TV, so he can't see spending money advertising with either.

Do you think this would be a wise marketing strategy for a startup business? Of course not! Sure, maybe this guy could generate a fair amount of traffic from the waft of fresh bread baking in the ovens. But he would be turning a deaf ear to the majority of his market by not making his presence known.

I know what you're thinking... that was a stupid example. But it's no more stupid than a professional or business owner in 2012 that refuses to leverage theirself with a Facebook presence.

It is an undeniable fact that the majority of the eyeballs in this world are plastered on Facebook. It's the new town hall, the new phonebook, the new high-tech hangout. Call it what you want, this is where people now live and play.

But for the Facebook Holdout that can find no credible reason for their refusal, what fuels their fight against the most obvious free marketing opportunity on planet Earth?

Carlton Flowers
Self-Proclaimed Facebook King

Coming Soon: How I Figured Out The Golden Path to Facebook Marketing Success Without A Single  Advertisement!

Psycho Social Networking - Are We All This Crazy About Sharing?

SOCIAL NETWORKING OR NARCISSISTIC NETWORKING?

This is an interesting infographic that makes you stop and think just a bit. Are we just in the midst of an interesting techno-psychological age, or are we more self-absorbed as human beings than ever before?

Read this, then you be the judge...

Is this news to you? Do you relate to these statistics, or are you different? Post your thoughts and comments below!

Carlton Flowers
Self-Proclaimed King of Social Media (Narcissist)