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4 Ways To Beat Social Media Suck

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

6a00d83451b36c69e2017615eed4b3970c-800wiI admit it – I suck at social media.

I’m not talking about the number of followers I have on Twitter or the number of likes on the new POP GOD Facebook page, although I’m always wishing I had a few more.

I’m talking about the way I use these incredible technologies.

Ever since I got an iPhone I’ve been a lot more connected to Facebook. In the back of my head I was afraid this might happen.

What was once a fun hobby has become an annoyance. I don’t even really enjoy Facebook anymore. Yet I can’t look away.

I still check it religiously, wondering if I missed something important, if someone posted something interesting, if someone tagged me in something or liked my post.

Nope – just another baby picture or irrelevant political opinion.

I used to think the problem was with all of my Facebook friends. Now I think the root of the problem is in myself.

I don’t think my friends have a problem with over-sharing on Facebook. I think I have a problem with over-consuming. Continue reading →

A Brief Lesson From Your Phone

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment
IMG_2931

@HistoryInPics on Twitter

Your phone wants to teach you something.

Go ahead and pull your phone out of your pocket. Have a look at it.

Remember what your phone used to look like 10 or 15 years ago. Remember what it used to do.

The word Phone used to mean “the device you use to talk with someone in a different area.”

Now the word Phone means “the device you use to check social media, get directions, take pictures, write email, play games, listen to music, watch movies, read my Bible and occasionally talk to someone via text or video chat.”

The name of the device in our pockets is still a Phone. But the definition of Phone has completely changed.

The times have changed. There’s no going back to the old definition of Phone.

The same could be said for my definition. Continue reading →

Tips For The Beginning Time Traveler Part Three

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

I downloaded a new app for my iPhone a few weeks ago called Timehop. Timehop presents your day in Social Media History, allowing you to travel back to your posts across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and just about every other outlet (except for Myspace).

photo-3It also has an adorable dinosaur named Abe for a mascot. He’s at least 10% of why I downloaded the app.

Timehop is pretty neat. Looking back at all your old status updates and tweets is more fun than you might think. Our old social media posts exist in a weird realm of the internet. They seem so important at first – important enough for us to stop what we’re doing and let the world know exactly what we are doing.

Then, moments later, they disappear, slowly scrolling down our news feeds until they’re simply yesterday’s news.

As fun as it is to look back in history, it’s also a little depressing.  Continue reading →

You Don’t Need A Filter

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

photo.PNGA picture is worth a thousand words. And when a thousand words aren’t enough, we use Instagram.

People of my generation (myself included) can’t seem to post a picture without putting a fancy filter on it. Whether it’s through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter apps, or even just on the iPhone itself, no picture feels complete without adding a little tint to it.

Why is that? Why don’t we think a normal picture is good enough anymore?

Continue reading →

Throwback Thursday: Making The Most Of Your MMMBOP

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

***Last week on the blog I asked for your requests and ideas for POP GOD. This week we have our first reader-requested post from my friend Ogden, who asked for a post on Hanson’s classic song “MMMBop”. If you have a current or classic pop culture item you’d like to see discussed on POP GOD, leave a comment and I will make your request happen:

Middle+Of+NowhereHas there ever been a song quite like “MMMBop”?

In 1997 the Hanson brothers exploded onto the pop scene with arguably the most infectious and nonsensical song of the 90s.

Everybody knew “MMMBop”. A lot of people still know “MMMBop”. Just play the video if you can’t quite remember the song and it should come rushing right back to your brain.

(Click Here if you can’t see the video above.)

You can sing the chorus right now. It’s just a bunch of nonsense bebops and dubadops.

But do you know the rest of the lyrics? Can you sing the other verses of “MMMBop”? Continue reading →

What To Remember When It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

What is Christmas supposed to feel like?

Living in Georgia the past 20-some-odd years, I’m beginning to wonder.

Growing up I’ve always thought Christmas was supposed to be feel like winter, interchangeable with snowflakes and hot chocolate and wool sweaters.

So how come it’s December 9 and still 75 degrees outside? Continue reading →

The Blockbuster Of The Summer

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

despicable-me-2-poster-01Seen any good movies this summer? What was your favorite: Iron Man 3? Despicable Me 2? Fast And The Furious 6? Something without a number in the title?

When advertising a new film, a marketing company’s job is to make you feel like you need to see a movie immediately. And now with Twitter if you don’t see a movie the moment its out you’re also subject to spoilers across social media.

In the summer season success is not measured in how much money the movie makes during the 8 or so weeks it sits in theaters. It’s all about the opening weekend. Continue reading →

Stay Plugged In

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photo (24)Last week I unplugged for a few days with my extended family. We rented out a rustic log cabin – on Fernandina Beach in Florida.

While spending time with relatives in our untraditional abode I really tried to unplug myself from my iPhone. It was a struggle.

The first couple of days at the beach I found it impossible to not worry about email, Facebook, Twitter and the many balls in the air I had going at the church.

It really wasn’t until the day before I headed I home when I really began to swim away from my phone, only to dive right back in as soon as I shook the sand from my flip-flops.

Do you ever struggle with unplugging? Our phones, jobs, and social media profiles make it nearly impossible to truly break free from the connections which clutter our minds.

I wonder though if unplugging is all it’s cracked up to be. I think we are actually created to be plugged in. Sometimes we just get our cords attached to the wrong outlets. Continue reading →

The Trick To Ignoring The Masters

/ Alex Doriot / 2 Comments

IMG_4033The Augusta National Golf Tournament, better known as The Masters, begins today. My hometown of Augusta, GA has been overtaken by golf fans from across the world.

But there are some who don’t care about the Green Jacket at all. If you’re one of them, you know it will be hard to get away from Masters chatter. You won’t be able to ignore the coverage on ESPN and CBS all weekend. Talk of Tiger Woods will surely take over your Twitter feed.

If however you simply can’t stand golf and need to know the trick to ignoring The Masters, I have the answer for you:

Live in Augusta.

Really. Continue reading →

Average Sucks

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Want to know why the Harlem Shake is so popular that a new version appears on Youtube more often than a new baby is born these days? (I didn’t fact check that, but I’m willing to stand by it.)

Because we’re ok with being average.

Look, I’m not judging anyone for creating a Harlem Shake video. In fact I just participated in my first one this weekend. I’m in the back somewhere. I promise.

But the Harlem Shake phenomenon encourages us to just be average. And being average sucks the life out of you. Continue reading →