2012 Cell Phone Statistics

As technology continues to improve, the use and saturation of cell phones and their users continues to change drastically. The increase over the last ten years has been incredible and the way we use our phones to stay connected and informed continues to change.

From Pew Internet

• 87% of American adults on a cell phone, and 45% of those are smart phones.
• Only 12% of adults age 65 and over have a smartphone.
• 82% take pictures on their cell phones, up from 76% in 2010.
• 29% check their bank account online, up from 18% in 2011.
• 9% of adults have texted a charitable organization to make a donation.

CTIA Research Stats

• 45% of businesses state wireless is essential to operations.
• 2.27 trillion text messages were sent.
• 1.1 trillion MB of data was used.
• 28,641 cell phone towers were added across the US.

Mobile Usage Growth

25% of internet users are mobile only - meaning, they do not access the internet for browsing from any other device.

71% of smartphone users that see TV, press, or advertising that interests them will immediately do a mobile search.

The average American smartphone user spent nearly 30 minutes a day checking or updating social networks.

2011 Cell Phone Statistics

The way we use cell phones has changed drastically over the last year. Once upon a time, we used cell phones to make calls while we were away from our homes. Recent studies show that we may be migrating away from our primary use of the phone to more of a texting and mobile web device.

Pew Studies 2011

• 53% of adults own a smartphone.
• 13% of users surveyed pretended to be using their phone in order to avoid social interaction.
• 42% of people have used their phone for entertainment when they are bored.
• 51% of users used their cell phone at least once to get information.
• 27% said they had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone.
• 29% turn off their phones to take a break from their digital life at night.

Updated Statistics for 2009

I was sitting around the other day marveling about how popular cell phones have become. It’s amazing that in our culture we make ourselves available every minute of every day -- thank goodness for call display! Anyway, I did a quick Google search and stumbled upon an interesting article with a list of cell phone statistics that I thought was worth sharing.  

Here’s what I learned:

• Cell Phone usage in the US has increased from 34 million to 203 million in the last ten years
• There is an estimated two billion cell phones world-wide, which means about 4.5 billion people go without.
• A 2004 MIT survey said that cell phones was ranked as the one invention that people hate the most, but can’t live without. It beat out the alarm clock and the television!
• A 2005 University of Michigan study said that 83% said cell phones made life easier (choosing it over the internet).
• A Let’s Talk (retail company) survey said that 38% of people thought it was ok to use a cell phone in the bathroom. (Other stats show cell phone use in restaurants, theaters, supermarkets and subways).
• A telephia survey said that Americans average 13 talking hours a month – with the 18-24 age group averaging 22 hours.
• A Sprint survey said that 2/3 people used their cell phone backlight to find something in the dark.

I wonder how many people would stop blogging to answer their cell phone?

Excuse me, I have call…

5 Ways to cut your cell bill - from ConsumerReports Magazine Jan 2008

Special Caller Deals
Cingular has roll-over minutes.  Most carriers allow free in network calls (like a Verizon to Verizon call).  Alltell and T-Mobile offers a select number of phone numbers which you can call for free.

Overage Charges
During months with higher than normal usage, increase your plan just for that month making sure you don't spend the .45 cents per minute for minutes that are over your plan.  Also make sure to regularly check your bills to determine if you need to increase or decrease your lines.  No sense in paying for more than you need.

Control Usage by Children
AT&T offers a limiting service which controls several aspects of the calling behavior.  From the web parents can limit the phone numbers dialed, duration of calls and more.

Pay Attention to All Charges
Getting a good deal on minutes is good, but make sure you consider all other charges.  Text messaging is a great feature but can add up very quickly.  The standard rate for one text message is 15 cents.  With Texting Plans, messaging can drop to only a penny per message.  Also make sure to check the rates for data and web access.

PrePaid Phone
If you barely use any minutes, and 300 minutes is an overkill for you, then a prepaid phone may be the best option.

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you know that I spent a lot of November talking about NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it has a very simple goal – write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Such a challenge written on paper may not seem like much but when you try to do it, you realize that it becomes a feat of writing at least 1,667 words a day. The standard blog post is about 350 – 600 words.

For four years, I have begun November by saying this is the year and I will complete this challenge and every year, it seems like something happens to derail my progress. This year, though, it’s different and I am proud to announce that I am a 2012 NaNoWriMo Winner.

Winning felt great and completing something that seemed like such a beast over the last few years was even more of an accomplishment. It honestly feels like I can do anything. I wanted to think about how I could translate that feeling into the creative energy I spend at work so that feeling of accomplishment will be in all of my work.

Outline. Before NaNo began, I had the idea, plot, and characters for my novel all lined out. I took each scene and moment step by step so that I didn’t get lost or forget the important points. I’d never done that before and I think that using outlines in blogging will help me to write more content that has a true outcome, instead of just mashing ideas together and hoping to end up with a great post.

It’s easier to get ahead than it is to fall behind. One of the things that always prevented me from completing NaNo was that I always seem to have family obligations in November. If you look at my progress chart below, I was 8,000 words ahead by day five which was a huge help for those days when I was out of town or during the holiday.

Turn off Your Inner Editor. Part of the goal of NaNoWriMo is to encourage writers to just write. In a lot of ways there is no rhyme or reason to the plot of a participant’s story. It’s about encouraging writers to turn off the need to “edit as they go” and instead just put the words down. You can always go back and correct the things that are wrong later.

Find Someone to Battle With. It was a big help to do “word wars” with a friend who was also trying to reach the 50,000 word goal and it was great to have someone that I could battle with. We would pick a time and then write as quickly as we could to see who could get the most words in a 20 or 30 minute period. Even if you battle with yourself you can set a timer to see how many words you can put down in a specific amount of time. On the next post, try to beat your personal best.

The best thing about completing something like this is feeling that pressure off. There really feels like there is nothing to stop me from taking on the world – okay, maybe not, but I did write 50,000 words in 30 days, and that’s a pretty amazing accomplishment.

What will you accomplish today?

Happy Fourth of July, friends!

We will be closed today in observance of the holiday, but we will return to normal hours tomorrow.

I thought I would take a few minutes and show you a little recipe that is a favorite in my house.  I'm a country girl, born and raised my entire life in some of the most "southern" minded places.  Naturally, one of the first things I ever learned how to cook was my Granny's fried chicken. Now, a lot of people know how to fry chicken, but I'm going to share with you the tricks she taught me to keep your breading from getting soggy, falling off, and to keep the chicken on the inside from getting tough.

What You Need

• 2-3 eggs (for larger chicken breasts you'll need more)
• Flour
• Canola or Vegetable Oil
• A non-stick pan (Some people like using a cast iron skillet, but I find the non stick to have a more even fry)
• Chicken breasts

The Perfect Breading

When it's time to bread the chicken, go ahead and turn on the stove to get the oil nice and hot. You're going to want about 1/3 - 1/2 of the skillet filled with oil. Before battering - season your flour. I have a bevy of dry spices that I dump into the flour. I can't tell you all of them but I use some Lowry's seasoning salt, pepper, and some other things. It's important to give the flour some flavor so that it doesn't just taste like fried flour wrapped around some chicken.

Coat the breast in the egg mixture, then dip into the flour, and for the perfect breading do it again. The double batter helps to seal in the juices of the chicken breast and will give it a delicious crunch once it's all cooked. Drop the battered chicken breasts into the hot oil and then observe the next step like your life depends on it.

Leave It Alone

The biggest thing my Granny H taught me about frying chicken is that when you are constantly turning the chicken to fry, this is what makes it tough.  So if you want tender breasts of chicken, you have to leave it alone, and you only flip it once.  It's usually ready to flip once you see that the breading has fried about halfway up.  Now you can flip the breasts and at this point, you may need to put a cover on it to make sure the chicken cooks all the way through. Use a piece of aluminum foil instead of a lid to allow moisture to escape.

Let it Rest

Once the chicken is cooked all the way through and your breading is a beautiful golden brown, line a plate with paper towels and put the chicken there to rest.  It will catch any of the excess oil so that the breading doesn't get all soggy sitting in the oil while you finish up your side dishes. Enjoy!

(Extra Note: Some perfectly southern side dishes include mac and cheese or potato salad.)

Have a Happy Independence day!

In high school, as part of a competition choir group, we were often asked to perform the National Anthem at different sporting events and activites around our community. The one thing I can clearly remember is our sweet choir teacher telling us that we would take it seriously or we would not participate. I can only imagine if I would have shown up on the field holding a tamborine. I would have neverbeen invited back.

So imagine my surprise when last night at the NCAA Championship Game, The Fray steps out with their guitars, a drum, and a tamborine. (Oh yes, a tamborine) You are welcome to watch it for yourself but lets just say, well, it was awful. In fact, it was worse than Roseanne Barr and she has the unfortunate title of "worst Star-Spangled Banner Ever". Truthfully, that title may be in question after last nights unessecary attempt by The Fray to change the National Anthem.

I didn't recognize it at first. In fact, I thought it was the "warm up" act or "America the Beautiful". As the guitar started to play in an off tempo, somewhat awkward beat, and the singing began, I felt my mouth fall open. The camera panned the crowd and even as they held their hands over their hearts, their mouths and facial movements seemed confused, scared even. When it was finally over, there was an awkward moment, and then applause - but it felt subdued, less like a celebration and more like relief. Relief that it was over and relief that the game was about to begin.

My boss put it best when he said You don't cover the National Anthem.

So to the Fray - I ask, in a manner indicitative of the resepct you showed the National Anthem - why didn't you just light the flag on fire and run away? Exactly who do you think you are that you need to be the ones to change the entire tempo, tone, and musical accompaniment to the Star-Spangled Banner? Even if your guitar had been in tune it would still have been awful.

What a lesson in humility this should be for all of us. Getting asked to perform the National Anthem would be a huge honor for anyone. Even as a teenager in a choir group I understood that. I also understood that my lack of respect for the moment would mean that I would not get to participate.

It's a perfect example of how we get ourselves in the thought process that we need to change something. There are some things that work just fine without the help of some 2nd rate hipster pop group. The lesson to be learned from The Fray? There are some things that are so perfect and amazing in their own right that they do not need your "personal touch". Being asked to sing the National Anthem is no different than making a presentation at a conference or writing a blog for someone else. When you're invited to someone else's stage you have to respect the nature of the stage. If you have been asked to post on a blog that has never posted a curse word, it wouldn't be respectful to include a bunch of them in your submission to the site.

Also, if you're desperate to get that horrible performance out of your mind - here are two that I've always really thought were top notch.

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UPDATE:Nielson Ratings on Most-Remembered and Best-Liked Ads.

The 2012 Superbowl between the NY Giants and the New England Patriots broke ratings history. The ratings make it not only the most watched sporting event, but the most watch television program of all time.

It probably helps that this year's match up pitted two teams with huge fan bases and huge populations against each other. It also helped that other stations abandoned regular programming because who is dumb enough to put their shows up against the biggest football game of the year?

The game was great and it was obvious that the two teams that were there deserved their places on the field. The game kept fans either biting their nails or screaming at the TV all night and, in short, was everything you would hope the Superbowl would be.

Well, everything you thought except for the commercials. While they were still broadcasted and many of them were as funny as expected, some of the most popular ones were released days in advance of the big game to social media audiences.

YouTube has become a big part of marketing and advertising. As someone who is in the business I get it. I am all about companies embracing new media and giving customers a glance behind the scenes to how a business operates or giving away a teaser trailer to entice them to watch for more. I'm just not sure how I feel about social media breaking the tradition of the Superbowl.

How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh, I only watch for the commercials" or chose to grab their refills when the actual game comes back on? I'm not saying that airing the commercials online was a bad idea from a marketing standpoint. I talk a lot about how companies need to be where their markets are, and most demographics are online now. It would make sense that the next logical step for advertising would be online.

It just makes me wonder why a company like Chevrolet would choose to spend the kind of cash for a Superbowl spot, only to post it on YouTube a couple of days in advance of the game. Isn’t that kind of like telling a kid what they are getting for their birthday?

Obviously, based on the ratings, releasing some of the commercials via YouTube days before the game started didn’t hurt the number of viewers for Sunday’s game, but I can't help but wonder if we lost the experience. Marketing is changing – which, it has always evolved as new ways of delivering messages has been in front of people. (Think of the evolution from radio to TV)

Did you feel like something was missing from the Superbowl experience? Were you disappointed that many of the most popular commercials were already seen or spoiled through social networking in the days before the game?

On a sidenote – here is one commercial that was a sweet surprise - the introduction of Ms. Brown for M&Ms.

Since 2012 is just around the corner I thought I would take a look to see the most popular posts on the AccuConference blog in 2011. These gems always bear another looking at and stay close in 2012 as we celebrate our 10 year anniversary. There will be lots of cool things happening around AccuConference so I hope you enjoy celebrating with us. Have a Happy New Year everyone and I hope 2012 brings you great things.

1. Cell Phone Statistics - Looking for information about cell phone usage? We compiled much of the available data to show you the breakdown.
2. Breaking Communication Boundaries - Is your company getting the most out of your conference call services? You'd be surprised at the statistics of companies who aren't.
3. Cell Phone Safety - Companies are evaluating and changing their policies on cell phone use while driving company vehicles.
4. In-N-Out Fort Worth - One of the most exciting things that happened this year was the opening of the In-N-Out burger in downtown Fort Worth. This was a process that was documented by our fearless leaders and their enthusiasm earned them a feature quote in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
5. Types of Presentations - When asked to present on a conference, the first thing you have to decide is what kind of speech you're going to be making.

Honorable Mentions

• Great Communicators in History - From Winston Churchill to Bill Clinton, history is full of great public speakers.
• What I Wish People Knew About Me - Inspired by another blogger here are some things about me that you may not know, but you should.
• How to Debate Effectively and Rationally - As a supporter of healthy debate I created a list of rules for sharing ideas.

Update August 12, 2011 - Well, the In-N-Out is officially open here in Fort Worth, Texas.  Not surprisingly David, Rob, and Jim were some of the first people in line. Barry Shlachter with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram caught up with them as they were buying t-shirts.  Check out Barry's article to see how we, and the rest of the city, reacted to the long awaited opening.  

Update August 4, 2011 - The In-N-Out burger is making progress on West 7th. It should be opening soon and while there is no official Grand Opening available on the website just yet, the building is mostly in tact and should start to get seats and cooking equipment soon.

Every so often I come along a place that I love. Usually these are restaurants. One great example is Maggiano's. I've eaten at the one in Vegas and it was great. Since I live in Fort Worth, TX, there are rare times when I actually get to eat there. There is one in Dallas, but that is a pretty far drive.

My apologies to our CIO, since our office is 100% Microsoft, but another place I love is the Apple store. Fort Worth finally got their own Apple store and it's been great having it so close (again, the closest Apple store used to be Dallas). If you have never been in an Apple store, do so. It's an experience.

Finally, another food love is coming to Texas.

When I was in Vegas for work, I got to eat at In-N-Out Burgers. I don't know what it is or why I love it so much, but it's awesome. Double-double with cheese and a chocolate shake. Heaven. And the fries are out of this world. After eating there the first time I immediately wished that they would expand farther east (In-N-Out started in California). Of course this was a pipe dream and I resigned myself with the fact that it would never happen. I would only get to dine in hamburger heaven when traveling out west.

Then the unexpected happened. In-N-Out announced they were coming to Texas. And not just Texas, but my hometown of Fort Worth!

So, in celebration (and eager expectation) I am going to document the progress of the building of this fine establishment.

The location is on West 7th. There are several places worthy of eating on W 7th, so once a week, I head over to that part of town to dine (but really just to check out building progress!).

This past week saw the builders finally started putting up framework! Previously it was foundation and plumbing. Here are the pictures we have been taking in order. Enjoy and stay tuned for more updates!

Bonus: In-N-Out has a very simple menu. But, if you are one of the few that know the ins and outs (pun intended), then you know about their secret menu. If you don't, I've included it below. http://in-n-out.com/menu/not-so-secret-menu.aspx

Third in the series following our summer interns. This week Kaitlyn learned that taking the evelvator up one floor is risky and that we get to do some pretty cool things in the office. 

By: Kaitlyn

Well, it finally happened. Laura Lee and I got judged for riding the elevator up one floor to the AccuConference suite. I believe the judger’s exact words were, “Shame, shame, shame. Elevator foul!” He was kidding (I think), but I still felt ashamed. This occurred on our way back from our celebratory lunch. We were commemorating our one-month anniversary of working for AccuConference. Maybe it wasn’t one month to the exact day, but it was close enough. We just wanted a reason to celebrate and to eat something other than our sandwiches for lunch.

It sure does not feel like a whole month has gone by. Time goes fast when you stay busy. My latest assignment has been editing a collection of books the company hopes to publish. It feels good to know that my input is wanted. It has taken me a lot of time, but it is worth it knowing that my edits might one day appear in a published book. How exciting is that? Plus, this rewriting process has been oddly enjoyable to me. I have always liked writing, but I never knew that I would like editing, too. Perhaps I am learning more about myself than I thought I would while working here.

Another discovery I have made here is that at any moment, you just might answer the phone and a celebrity will be on the line, asking to be connected to a conference. It was pretty cool getting to rub it in my boyfriend’s face that a famous athlete called in to my office that day, although he’s still convinced he saw Roy Williams walk into his workplace once.

Aside from book editing, my agenda has been filled with learning about the tedious process of registering trademarks, writing copy for a new website, and learning about SEO strategy within Facebook. Also on the agenda, July 1st came and went, and Laura Lee and I once again assembled and sent out thank you packages for dozens of AccuConference customers. I feel this solidified my interning here for one whole month, considering I did this same exact activity the very first day I came in to work in June. Even though I have only got to do it twice, this is probably one of my favorite parts of the internship. It’s always nice to remind people that you appreciate them.

Before I know it, another month will go by, and then a few more weeks, and then I’ll be back at school again. Judging from how much I have learned during my short time here, I am sure that I will return to college with a new abundance of knowledge. Come to think of it, I will have learned so much that I’m sure there is nothing more for me to learn in school, right? How about this: I persuade the university that I have learned so much at AccuConference that I don’t need anymore courses, I skip out of my last semester of school, and I graduate even earlier than planned. A girl can dream…

Going through my reader last week, I came across this post from Brass Tack thinking by Amber Naslund titled "What I Wish More People Knew About Me". I thought it was wonderful to see a little bit more into someone that I respect and I found out some things we have in common... and some things we don't. (Creamy peanut butter FTW)

Like many others who read Amber's blog, I've decided to compile my own list of things that I wish people knew about me. Maybe the next time you see a tweet or a Facebook update from me, you'll be inclined to send me a hello or engage in some healthy debate. (I say again, healthy). Without further ado here are some things I wish you knew about me.

I know small town life. I graduated from one of those areas that no one has ever heard of. In fact, the closest "big" city is also a place that a lot of people might not have heard of. I have a lot of wonderful memories of driving around on dirt roads as my Friday night activity and going to a high school where you knew everyone. It created an environment that I wanted to be a part of and made me one of those people who loved high school.

Music can do anything to my mood. If I'm feeling happy, mad, sad, and angry, it doesn't really matter what emotion I feel - there's a song out there to keep me there or pull me out of it.

Here's a really fun and random one: I am obsessed with Maroon 5. Not in the giggly fan girl "they are so hot" kind of way, but in the way that their music has spoken to me in such a way that it has the power to bring me to tears and I will always be one of their biggest fans.

My parents knew each other two weeks before getting married. (31 years in August) It's important because it really shaped my opinion of love and relationships. I've always believed there is a "spark" - that sometimes, be it in relationships, love, or work -- I have always believed that there's something to the way you feel about something right away.

I'm far too self-critical. One failure or mistake is sometimes all it takes to make me feel defeated. It can take me a day or two to get over that. It's a flaw, I admit it, but once upon a time, it was much worse. I can at least go back and reevaluate something now where before, I would have just abandoned it all together.

I met my best friend on the Internet. No, seriously - we met on a writer’s forum and we just clicked. Ten years ago, I never would have expected that the girl from Philadelphia would be living practically next door to me, but she and her husband are now my next door neighbors. Just goes to show you that the relationships you chose to cultivate on line can end up changing your life.

I have very strong opinions and cultivated those in college into a successful stint on my college debate team. I tend to keep them quiet though, because I do get very passionate and thus, outside of the IPDA judging system, I admit to getting very defensive. I take issue with some of the things I've been called, so most of the time, I just keep my mouth shut.

Five years ago this August, one of my bridesmaids died suddenly and tragically. I won't go into details, but two months after my wedding, she was no longer with us. I think I mention that because a lot of times her death drives my passion and focus. I think there are a lot of times that I work so hard on something because she can't. She was there for me in my last year of college and helped me stay sane enough to graduate, so I feel like I owe it to her to go far in life.

I'm still pretty young and I have a lot of things to learn, about business and myself. It's like every day there's something new, but it's exciting. Even though I've been in the work force for a while now, I feel like I'm just getting started. I'm happy to have you all following me along my journey.

So -- what do you wish I knew about you?