Store clerks say 'hang up the phone'
By Susanna Capelouto, CNN
Editor's note: This story is part of the CNN series, "Our Mobile Society," about how smartphones and tablets have changed the way we live. Listen to the complete story in the audio player above.
(CNN) – Have you ever wondered what the clerk behind the register really thinks when you talk on your cell phone while trying to pay?
[:23] “I've had someone holding up the line because I kept trying to tell them what to do on the credit card prompt machine and they kept canceling their transaction. and we do it 3 times and the line keeps getting longer,” says Ya’Al who works at a pharmacy in Atlanta.
She says when people prefer to talk on the phone rather than interact with her, it makes her feel ignored as a person.
She’s tempted to say something, but customer service always trumps her feelings.
Helping kids cross the digital divide
By Steve Kastenbaum, CNN
Editor's note: This story is part of the CNN series, "Our Mobile Society," about how smartphones and tablets have changed the way we live. Listen to the complete story in the audio player above.
(CNN) – Middle school students at the tech café inside the Island School on New York’s Lower East Side have their laptops open.
They’re working on their next blog posts about current social issues under the guidance of their teacher, Lou Lahana.
He’s on a mission to help these kids go from being consumers of digital products to being content creators – to end ‘digital inequality.’
Building breakthrough apps
By Gavin Godfrey, CNN
Editor's note: This story is part of the CNN series, "Our Mobile Society," about how smartphones and tablets have changed the way we live. Listen to the complete story in the audio player above.
(CNN) – Andre Charoo and Jason Titus have learned to succeed in the business of mobile applications.
That's not an easy thing to do. The competition is fierce and the market is getting saturated.
Charoo is Head of Partnerships with the new mobile picture app Cinemagram, meaning his job is to bring the brand to a larger audience.
[1:44] "Literally, the joy that you get from basically making people happy with their phones is fascinating, it's exciting to be a part of and have such an impact. This is sort of the new way going forward as it relates to having a mobile audience."
Congress’s 'socially awkward' phase
By Lisa Desjardins, CNN
Editor's note: This story is part of the CNN series, "Our Mobile Society," about how smartphones and tablets have changed the way we live.
(CNN) – As members of Congress fight for their jobs and face a near pitchfork-level of anger from voters, deep inside Capitol Hill offices, dozens of 20 and 30-somethings are trying to make things better from their keyboards.
Judd Deere, 24, directs new media for Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), a well-known conservative who started tweeting earlier this year.
Deere was hired to help Crapo's office to get a larger presence in social media. Nonetheless, he encountered some resistance over whether the instant-reaction platforms would be good for the senator.
But Deere insisted that any member of Congress who is not vigorously using social media ultimately won't remain in office:
[7:10] "If you're not on Facebook or Twitter, you don't get your message to a group of people that is even starting with my parents age now. There's a section of people who you're not reaching. At all." FULL POST
Celebs tweeting with care
By Jim Roope, CNN
Editor's note: This story is part of the CNN series, "Our Mobile Society," about how smartphones and tablets have changed the way we live.
(CNN) – On the surface, celebrity and Twitter seem like natural partners. Sometimes though, the two just don’t mix. We talked Twitter with some celebs on the Red Carpet at Sunday’s Emmy Awards.
[:10] “I don’t 'drunk tweet' because I think that that can get you into trouble,” said Melissa Rauch, who plays Bernadette on the hit TV comedy, "The Big Bang Theory."
That’s a safe policy to take says Scott Levy of Fuel Online, a social media management firm. He said some celebrities don’t really understand that what seems like a little tweet, can have huge impact. FULL POST
