The Wax Blog

Note: If you received an actual card from me hopefully you weren’t offended by my greeting this year. Sometimes the only way to express oneself is through bad grammar and profanity. Personally, I find the combination quite soothing. “It does not do to leave a live...

-with Ayanna Mehta Now that the media has shape shifted into a constant, chaotic news cycle, consumers have to constantly alter their methods for seeking out accurate news and information.  Ever evolving to remain relevant (profitable) media organizations continue to adapt and redefine new ways to get revenue - and media sensationalism is typically at the top of the list. It's important to understand how headlines drive media sensationalism that in turns motivates our ADD-induced eyeball action. The more clicks an online news organization gets, the higher its traffic numbers, and the more they can charge for ads. That’s the revenue-generation principle of almost every news online site today, whether it’s a traditional publication or primarily a digital one. The better" the headline, the greater the trigger for us - and the greater the number of clicks. It’s also a breeding ground for reporting on news that originates in conspiracy theory. (We’re not discussing QAnon here, but the media does need to take responsibility for that.) This past April in a piece on coronavirus conspiracy theories, New York Times’ Max Fisher wrote “..The belief that one is privy to forbidden knowledge offers feelings of certainty and control amid a crisis that has turned the world upside down. And sharing that “knowledge” may give people something that is hard to come by after weeks of lockdowns and death: a sense of agency.” With actual fact checkers a thing of the past, there’s no mechanism for granting validity - resulting in a perfect storm of disinformation. From politics to the pandemic, we really don’t know what’s happening in our world, or what will happen tomorrow. Digging into the media feels like a way to regain control, but what you have to realize is that most of the news media is no longer news. In fact, media sensationalism is actually betraying us and making things much, much worse. Mind pollution is only one of the problems.  [pullquote]People hear what they want to hear. Not only does the media know this, they are making money off of it.[/pullquote] Understanding media sensationalism and its relationship to revenue  is the first step to help cut through the clutter. Not only that, this knowledge can reduce the amount of emotional turbulence you may feel, particularly if you’re prone to doomscrolling. In your search for facts, make sure you're filtering your information based on these following unfortunate truths about the state of most media today:

A chatbot is a computer program simulating and processing human interaction and conversation. The main purpose of chatbots is to help businesses get closer to their audience. Chatbots have become increasingly popular in recent years, and more and more businesses use them in order to provide support to their clients and improve customer service. According to Blue Meta, digital marketing agency in Vancouver, 80% of all businesses in 2020 want to have their own chatbots, and over 60% of young people use them on a regular basis.  

7 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Chatbots

  • Answering FAQs
Many nonprofits use chatbots to answer FAQs directly and quickly. Responding manually to the same questions from donors over and over again is a drain on resources. In this case, a chatbot is very helpful. It can provide links and information that will help to resolve up to 80% of user problems. It will make the visitors of the organization's website feel at home by providing them answers to their questions instantly. If there is a question that needs a human response, a chatbot can always send a user to an agent.
  • Stating the organization's history

After the last presidential election the internet went wild, creating a polarity that damaged friendships, split families, and even destroyed marriages. For many people it was disturbing but for people like me, someone that worked in social media all day long, it was nothing short of traumatic.   Every day I had to sift through the growing stream of virtual sound bites to find good curation sources. Every day I saw both sides of the argument get stronger and stronger, and frankly it drained me. Three months after the election I had to go entirely off the grid for four days. I realized my mind had become polluted. I was chronically tired, angry, sad, stressed and experiencing a lot of other emotions at the same time. I had to come up with a way to manage my time online that didn’t damage my energy and my emotional wellbeing. Literally, I had to find a way to clear the fog in my head. As we protect ourselves against the virus, many friends are home spending a lot more time in social media - and their minds are becoming polluted as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or left – the techniques used by today’s influencers (many of them either trained by Steve Bannon or copying his methods, bless his black little heart) are being used not just to influence us but more importantly - to make us angry enough to do something.  Are you feeling overly fatigued, angry, frustrated? It might not just be the quarantine. Here are few ways I handle mind pollution that might help you as well.
  • Try to remember that hardly anything you read as a headline or sub-headline is a fact.

Learning about SEO is something that every marketer, blogger or business person trying to advertise their brand needs to do. SEO is one of the most important segments of digital marketing and without it, you can't expect great results. This is why more and more people try to master the art of writing SEO friendly content and using this technique to rank higher on Google. Despite best efforts there are still many common SEO misconceptions. This article will break down the 6 most common mistakes and teach you how to do the right thing instead. Let’s take a closer look.

If you’re browsing a company’s website these days, chances are likely a chat frame will pop up in your window. You’ll typically be greeted by a friendly photo and a “Hello there! How can I help you today?” Welcome to the era of the chatbot. This popular marketing trend is here to stay, and if you’re not already using one, you’re probably missing out. Want proof? From customer service to information sharing to sales, there are incredible possibilities for incorporating a chatbot into your marketing strategy - and no coding experience required! With some time investment up front, a chatbot can offer your clients and prospects a level of engagement that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Here are some reasons to get on board:
  1. Customers want personalization, and chatbots deliver.
Today, customers simply expect personalized service. Though automation may seem contrary to that idea, chatbots can tailor content to an individual’s specific needs in real time. The flexibility of chatbot programming and settings allow you to build frameworks of messages around common customer profiles. This allows the bot to deliver accurate information for a wide array of user needs. You also define the rules for which visitors see your chatbot and when, whether that’s all visitors immediately upon accessing the site, first-time visitors only or those who spend a specific amount of time on your pricing page. And it’s a good practice to build in the option for users to connect to a human employee if they wish. Customers appreciate the quick, personalized service that a chatbot provides.
  1. Chatbots can save you time and money.