Exceeding 3GB Data Usage Results In ATT Wireless Reducing Data Speeds

The ATT Wireless and U-Verse divisions are giving it to the public in the A-S-S with their new data usage caps. Since when did they get so stingy with their data, or my data as I would still like to believe. Not only is there data usage cap in the ATT Wireless Division, but there is also a data usage cap on the ATT U-Verse Wi-Fi. Thus far, the amount of data used with your U-Verse home internet is not divulged to you until you’ve already cap-sized. What are they trying to pull over there? The wool over our eyes?

Grand Fathered In | ATT Wireless

I know what your saying to yourself, ” Hey, if you’re grandfathered in, what are you complaining about?” Well it’s true, I am an established ATT Wireless customer and have been for some time, hence the grandfathered in perk of having unlimited data usage with my ATT Wireless service. Here is how the  connection between my ATT Wireless and ATT U-Verse exists. First, let me tell you that I work at home from time-to-time and listen to music on Pandora, or online sports talk radio (Sports Radio 1310AM and 96.7 FM The Ticket). If I were to do this whilst using my Wi-Fi it would eat up my data usage from my ATT U-Verse service. Therefore, I chose to consume my media using my 4G ATT Wireless Service via applications available for download (Pandora and SportsDay) on my cell phone. Haha! I outsmarted you wicked data trolls…so I thought.

I can now say that for being such a faithful, upstanding ATT Wireless customer and most recently an ATT U-Verse customer, I am valiantly being threatened to cease using so much data on my phone. The threat in effect is the following, “ATT Free Msg: Your data usage is near 3GB this month. Exceeding 3GB during this or future billing cycles will result in reduced data speeds, though you will still be able to email & surf the web. Wi-Fi helps you avoid reduced speeds.” Or, in other words, you thought you found a loop hole, congratulations. Now, were sending you and your phone back to the same internet speed you had when you became a customer…enjoy dial-up speeds as you try to pull 3GB of data next month, loser!

It Pays To Be On LinkedIn

Tell us a little about yourself.

If you don’t know who Guy Kawasaki is…you should. He is an idol of mine. He was a technology evangelist for a little company named Apple and he is known for bring them back from the dead…twice. He has created numerous software companies, written a few books and I aspire to be like him, a technology evangelist. But this sort of title isn’t granted to someone over night it requires experience, knowledge, passion, drive and most of all time. I have most of the attributes listed above and am working towards acquiring the rest. We all have to start somewhere and that’s why I just interviewed for a promising start-up application design company today.

While I was sitting in the parking lot, because I arrived about 30 minutes early from lack of sleep due to excitement, I browsed the UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) EMAC student group page on Facebook and found a ‘Good short read’ about interviewing tips, posted by Dave Yeti. EMAC is an acronym for Emerging Media and Communication and acts as an umbrella for all emerging media. One of the main goals of this program is to adapt messages to audiences and technological constraints while retaining (and amplifying) the benefits provided by existing and emerging media. In this short but sweet article posted on LinkedIn, Nicholas Thompson, Editor of NewYorker.com, discusses when to “…present yourself as a specialist and sometimes as a generalist” (Thompson, NewYorker.com).

 

Thompson talks about how that NewYorker.com is in the process of hiring and he is conducting a lot of interviews. He states, “If applying for a job at a place that’s growing fast…be more general.” And that’s what I did. I assured my potential employers that I can offer what many other people cannot, an umbrella of skills that could possibly help the growth of this start-up application design company that is growing fastidiously and vastidiously (okay so maybe the last word isn’t really a word, but you grasp what I’m tossing at you). I was confident, humble and feel I have a good shot at getting the position…fingers crossed. Thanks Dave Yeti and Nicholas Thompson, I might just owe you one in the future!

Also, if you’re not on LinkedIn, you should be. In 2012, I was in the top 5% of most viewed profiles among 200 million users and I only have a standard free account with LinkedIn. This is how I received information about the job opening at the app design start-up and it could work for you too!

Resources:

Yeti, D. (JUL 24 2013) Facebook: EMAC Student Group. Link: A tip for job interviews. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 from: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EMACstudents/607686182584762/?notif_t=group_activity

Thompson, N. (JUL 23, 2013) LinkedIn post. A tip for job interviews. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 from: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130723022529-7070331-a-tip-for-job-interviews

Image credit: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbusiness-english.pl%2F%3Fp%3D344&h=0&w=0&sz=1&tbnid=45tJRi66Pe24iM&tbnh=192&tbnw=263&prev=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Djob%2Binterview%26tbm%3Disch%26tbs%3Dsur%3Afmc%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=job%20interview&docid=wa2nhmcgjiOOKM&ei=PAjwUfDUNYuG9gT79YHIDg&ved=0CAUQsCU

Free Scrabble Glitch

Scrabble for iPad Screenshot

My grandmother and I always played the home version of Scrabble growing up. The rivalry was enhanced during the holidays when everyone would play, forming teams. It ended up being a family tradition that my mother and I carry-on through the magnificence of Free Scrabble for iPad. We always have a lot of fun and it has brought my mother and I closer, but as I mentioned earlier we are playing the Free version which allows for advertisements after you play your word. I might also add that there is a ‘Teacher’ that shows you which words you’ve missed after you have submitted your word. Not too long ago, we both noticed the most recent update to the app brought about a few questions regarding an advertisement glitch.

Here is what happened the first time I encountered the the Free Scrabble advertisement glitch. After playing a word I always like to review what the ‘Teacher’ on Scrabble will show me I missed, but this time I had to sacrifice viewing what the teacher saw because the ad did not include any viewable ‘Close’ button. In fact, the advertisement was not even viewable. The only viewable image a thin line about 20 pixels (see below), usually blue located at the top of the page and the rest of the page was black. No matter which way you turned your iPad it did not reveal the true image and if you touched anywhere it would automatically send you to the ad’s home page for click-through advertising.

Shrewd (Double Score)

I think it is actually a tactic by the ad designers to get click through revenue by formatting the ad to fit the screen in a way that any way you rotate the screen, you will not be able to view the image and touching the screen sends you directly to the link. We sacrifice seeing what the ‘Teacher’ says by shutting down the app and restarting to regain access to the Scrabble play board. Scrabble doesn’t do anything about it because not only do they want you to pay for the ad free version for $4.99, plus Scrabble receives a percentage of the click-through revenue. It’s a win-win for Scrabble!

The advertisers are gaining some money before the smart users figure out that they will need to close and re-open the app to regain access, but ultimately they lose. By formatting your ad so that it is not viewable, it is just that…NOT VIEWABLE. Therefore, if I can’t see the ad, I can’t buy the product.

Just an observation.

How do YOU use “ephemeral-humanized” media like Snapchat?

Stephen Colbert Report Interviewing Snapchat founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy

As Stephen Colbert interviewed the founders of new social media app he mentions a possible “sexting” use for the app and can be quoted as saying, “I can’t think of a better way” which obviously means that Colbert is a sex-crazed, dehumanized…genius. But lets not split atoms. The talking point here is the use of the new app Snapchat. It was rumored that Einstein destroyed half of his work because humanity was not ready to understand and utilize his discoveries properly. After all, look what we did when we learned how to split atoms.

When I initially found out about Snapchat I immediately thought of how easy it would be to sext with this application. Snapchat, plain and simple, allows you to take a picture and send it to a friend, but the important feature with this app is that when you send a picture your friend is only allowed to view it for up to 10 seconds.

However, after watching the always hilarious Stephen Colbert interviews Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy about their new app, the creators discuss giving the app a “human” aspect in its daily “ephemoral and transient experience” (Colbert Report Video footage from http://mashable.com/2013/05/02/stephen-colbert-snapchat/). This also registered with me because often times consumers adapt applications to their needs, which may differ from the original use the the creators had intended it to be used.

Finally, I will mention that in this application, there are different increments of time in which you can allow your friends to view, (from 1 second to 10 seconds) This feature has not been mentioned anywhere, which leads me to believe two things: One, the creators of this app may have intended for this app to be used for sexting, and two no one else reporting on Snapchat took the time to use the app. I believe that allowing your friends to view your pic in lower time increments, such as 1 second may insinuate sexual teasing…or maybe I’m a sex crazed dehumanized genius like Stephen Colbert.

Resources:

http://www.snapchat.com

Hernandez, B.A. (May 2, 1013). “Stephen Colbert asks Snapchat founders if their profit disappears too.” Retrieved from Mashable.com on May 12, 1013 from: http://mashable.com/2013/05/02/stephen-colbert-snapchat/

Artwork by Billy Simpson. Screenshot of Stephen Colbert report compliments:

“Stephen Colbert asks Snapchat founders if their profit disappears too.” Retrieved from Mashable.com on May 12, 1013 from: http://mashable.com/2013/05/02/stephen-colbert-snapchat/

Snapchat App button. Retrieved on May 12, 1013 from http://www.snapchat.com