Shawn Smajstrla

Shawn Smajstrla has spent more than seven years at MultiView in various editorial roles, developing and producing content and communications for association partners across multiple specialties including business, marketing, leadership and travel. He has also served as the editor of a sports magazine and as a journalist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Shawn has extensive experience in print, broadcast and digital media and is one of those people who thinks Radiohead is the best band ever.

Articles by Shawn Smajstrla

• Company’s new tech brings AI to overlooked aspect of healthcare

  Wednesday, September 12, 2018

  Weekly, if not daily, articles are published and posted across the internet hailing the potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Much of this content focuses on two primary aspects of the overall healthcare ecosystem: clinical and administrative. But Change Healthcare, a tech company that works with providers and payers to build a more collaborative and efficient healthcare system, has identified a different kind of use case.

• It’s time for the energy industry to think like Apple

  Thursday, August 16, 2018

  When the iPhone debuted in 2007, its impact was immediate. Since then, the iPhone and other smart devices like it, have changed the way we work, play, shop, communicate — the way we live. What made the iPhone so revolutionary, though, wasn’t its touchscreen, camera or user interface. What truly made the iPhone a breakthrough was how it utilized a convergence of digital technologies. Meanwhile, the energy grid that powers our connected lives continues to function largely as it has for more than a century.

• Will Google’s Fuchsia bring a new shade to smartphones?

  Monday, August 06, 2018

  Though it came to our attention more than two years ago, Google's "Fuchsia" project recently made news again when Bloomberg dropped a report indicating Fuchsia was intended to replace Android within five years. Though a Google spokesperson later disputed some details of the report, it hasn’t stopped speculation about exactly what the company's ambitions and expectations are for the software at this point. To call it a massive undertaking is probably putting it lightly, so what would Google really stand to gain from this mammoth endeavor that would justify it? Let’s analyze some of the possibilities.

• How will AI impact your business?

  Friday, July 27, 2018

  Is your business ready for AI? Artificial intelligence has become common conversation in business media as we seem destined to eliminate the fiction part of science fiction. A Deloitte survey of what it calls "aggressive adopters of cognitive technology" revealed three-quarters expect AI to "substantially transform" their organizations within three years. But AI isn’t a one-tech-fits-all solution. It’s an array of systems, processes, tools and algorithms — all still developing rapidly.

• Recent IT employment reports deliver mixed messages

  Tuesday, July 17, 2018

  What’s the status of information technology (IT) jobs in the U.S.? It’s improving. Or, it’s getting worse. It depends on who you ask and depends on exactly what you ask. A handful of recent reports paint varying pictures of IT employment across the country. A report from the TechServe Alliance reported the number of IT jobs crept up 0.04 percent in June, totaling more than 5.3 million. On the other hand, a CompTIA report cited a drop of 90,000 IT jobs in June. It’s one thing to look at what happened in June, but what, if anything, can we extrapolate about where employment in the sector is headed?

• Food supply chain is bee-ing naïve about pollinator decline

  Thursday, May 31, 2018

  The declining bee population isn’t news. Scientists have tracked a diminishing number of bees and other pollinators for years. Some fear extinction is on the table for these insects, and the impact could be far worse than losing a species. The deteriorating numbers of pollinators could have catastrophic results on food supplies, and thus the food supply chain. Just how important are these creatures?

• Small businesses closely watching Supreme Court sales tax case

  Thursday, April 19, 2018

  The Supreme Court has yet to rule on South Dakota v. Wayfair — a case that effectively determines how retailers collect sales tax on internet purchases — but most small business owners supporting the current policy probably felt good about the proceedings in Tuesday's oral arguments.

• Can AI actually make recruiting more ‘human’?

  Thursday, April 05, 2018

  In the news last week was a recruiter named Vera. What made Vera newsworthy is that she's a robot. A Russian startup developed Vera, and big-names like PepsiCo, Ikea and L'Oréal are listed among the 300 or so clients already using the artificially intelligent software to help vet for open positions.

• The skills gap: Real or monopsony?

  Wednesday, March 28, 2018

  In case you haven't heard, there's a skills gap in the United States. That has become common rhetoric over the past few years and seems to be the refrain on business pages across the country. The flames were fueled by recent reports that U.S. job openings set a record high in January of this year.

• Sports leagues dance a little closer to gambling

  Monday, January 29, 2018

  As gamblers, both serious and casual alike, prepare to lay down some $5 billion in wagers on this weekend's Super Bowl, a tectonic shift in sports wagering is taking place under foot. Once outwardly opposed to relaxed sports gambling laws, the major sports leagues in the U.S. are rethinking their positions — led by the NBA, which recently made its pro-wagering stance quite clear.

• Everyone loves video — except when they don’t

  Wednesday, December 06, 2017

  ​You love video. You know how I know? Because just about every report I've read in the past year related to video content says you do. Apparently, I'm supposed to love video also. Except that I don't.

• Toys R Us hinges its future on augmented reality

  Tuesday, October 03, 2017

  ​Toys R Us, the big-box behemoth that long ruled from atop the toys and games mountain, became the latest retail victim of bankruptcy last month. As the company reorganizes, it's hinging a large part of its future on a slice of the future: augmented reality.

• Amazon vs. Walmart shaping up like Mayweather vs. McGregor

  Friday, August 18, 2017

  As Amazon continues to enter and disrupt new markets (e.g., medical records and meal kits), its grip on retail appears ever-tightening. The collective sector faces the lingering question: Can anyone compete with Amazon?

• Email is dead ... long live email

  Tuesday, July 25, 2017

  According to U.S. Census data, more than 30 million small businesses contribute roughly half of the country's nonfarm GDP. For many of these small enterprises, the new millennium has ushered in a new challenge regarding how to market themselves. Traditional local outlets have dwindled while digital has consumed the world, and SMBs have been forced to respond.

• Blockchain: As Bitcoin flounders, its technology is poised to disrupt

  Monday, July 17, 2017

  Since its infancy almost a decade ago, bitcoin has been both viewed skeptically and heralded as the future of currency. Its path to the latter still seems murky. A report by Internet Retailer noted just three of the top 500 online merchants accept bitcoin — down from five a year ago.

• J.C. Penney’s future hinges on B2B pivot

  Thursday, June 01, 2017

  Don't nail J.C. Penney's coffin just yet. The venerable retailer is often mentioned in the same conversation as other retailers thought to be nearing their final breaths, including Sears and Macy's. And it's easy to understand the sentiment.

• Wal-Mart’s omnichannel approach is winning — for now

  Friday, May 19, 2017

  When Wal-Mart announced first-quarter earnings Thursday, the highlight was a surge in online sales. E-commerce for the retail giant rose 63 percent. Its stock subsequently rose more than 3 percent on the day and set a new high-water mark for its 52-week range.

• Canadian DMO enhances visitor experiences through ‘destination animation’

  Tuesday, May 02, 2017

  In a previous article, I explained how a Canadian DMO is bringing a Silicon Valley approach to tourism marketing. RTO4, a regional organization in Ontario, has established a development process that aims to make its destinations vibrant through co-investment with its stakeholders. One particular aspect of this co-investment relates to an important part of that process: destination animation.

• Canadian DMO brings Silicon Valley approach to tourism marketing

  Wednesday, April 26, 2017

  As with every other industry, travel is seeing its share of "disruption" from emerging and evolving technology. But it isn't just on the consumer side, such as booking apps and the sharing economy. The cultural fabric of Silicon Valley has started to leave fingerprints on destination marketing.

• 3 emerging ways to earn non-dues revenue

  Wednesday, September 21, 2016

  Despite their nonprofit status, associations — just like any business — require revenue to operate. Traditionally, dues paid by members constituted the operating capital for associations. Increasingly, though, non-dues revenue has become an important and necessary means of supplementing an organization's dues income to allow it to fulfill its mission.

• High school football is going national — but is that a good thing?

  Monday, September 12, 2016

  Sept. 15, 2008, was a notable day in the long history of high school football. In front of more than 31,000 in the stands at Southern Methodist University's Ford Stadium, Miami Northwestern ended Texas dynasty Southlake Carroll's 49-game win streak with a 29-21 victory. While that itself was noteworthy, something of a bigger scale was propagating.

• Don’t make the same mistakes as FanDuel and DraftKings

  Friday, September 09, 2016

  If you were among the millions who tuned in for the NFL season kickoff Thursday night, you surely noticed all the pomp and fanfare. You also likely noticed the league and its broadcast partners haven't cut back on advertising. You also may have noticed what you didn't notice.

• Does your association offer the right memberships?

  Wednesday, August 10, 2016

  The best recruitment marketing ever invented won't be fully effective if your association's membership options aren't appealing. Consider the types of memberships you offer. Membership in associations cannot be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Different types of members will have different needs and may have different designs on what they expect to gain from membership. They may also have different budgets.

• Make it personal: Retention marketing in the era of personalization

  Tuesday, June 28, 2016

  The value provided to members will always be an association's most important retention marketing strategy. Keeping members engaged is also a key factor in retention, but several other tactics can help persuade members to stay with your organization when it comes time for renewal.

• Recruitment marketing in the digital age

  Monday, May 23, 2016

  In a perfect world, your association provides such value to members that you don't even need to recruit. Members rave to friends and colleagues, and the membership simply sells itself. Our reality tells a different story, though, and membership marketing is a vital component of any association's existence.

• How to engage your members with content

  Wednesday, October 28, 2015

  Most associations are awash in content, and that content is a shovel-ready avenue to member engagement as well as conversions for new members. The key is finding the intersection of what you have to say and what the members (or potential members) want to hear. How do you drive your organization to that intersection?

• Behind the wall: Should associations lock up their content?

  Wednesday, September 23, 2015

  The pace and innovation of technological advancement has many industries trying desperately to see into the future while navigating an ever-changing present. Not insulated from that are associations and trade groups. In fact, like some organizations (e.g. Kodak, Blockbuster), the digital information age is bringing into question the very raison d’etat for associations.

• Texas high school boasts new approach to injury prevention

  Tuesday, September 15, 2015

  Injuries have always been an unfortunate aspect of sports, and the prevalence of those injuries has gone up in recent years. From ACL tears to high-ankle sprains, microfracture procedures to Tommy John surgeries, avoiding injury is always a major concern for coaches. They implement training programs and practices to condition their athletes for the rigors of the sport. Coaches teach the fundamentals of the game to help prevent injury whenever possible.

• Virtual reality is poised to transform destination marketing

  Wednesday, July 15, 2015

  Though its roots extend back at least four decades, virtual reality is just now beginning to show the promise of the 1960s visionaries who recognized its possibilities. VR had a mild re-emergence in the '90s, when we were captivated by the idea that a clunky helmet and some robotic-looking gloves could place us directly inside a video game. But the "reality" part of virtual reality never quite met with its potential.