Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Will Second Life Grow into a Force it's owner Predicts it to be?
Today I read an article by James Johnson where he interviewed Phillip Rosedale, the founder of virtual community Second Life. In this article they discuss many things from the mechanics behind Second Life, to its expected future growth and changes that could be made to better the experience in the virtual community. According to Phillip Rosedale, he expects his creation to be the next 'it' thing, surpassing actual physical communication and turning the world into a place where we communicate through this virtual world. His basis behind this feeling is that he feels that people are more comfortable expressing themselves in a virtual world than in the physical world. This isn't just Rosedale's opinion, as he has studies that back his notion up.
I signed up for Second Life wanting to know what the website was about. I didn't get past creating a character because the old westbury computer doesn't allow for a the Second Life virtual world to be uploaded on their computer. However, from reading the Second Life manual to seeing the avatar character that I created, I think that Rosedale is on to something. Also, he stated in the article that business meeting have been and are currently being conducted on his virtual database. That means that there is already a cult following behind this virtual world and that leads to expansion. Also in second life, you can live voice conversations where if your computer has a microphone, you can talk to the people in the community. I think this company definetly has a bright future and can become a viable source for people to communicate and handle business in terms of economics.
I signed up for Second Life wanting to know what the website was about. I didn't get past creating a character because the old westbury computer doesn't allow for a the Second Life virtual world to be uploaded on their computer. However, from reading the Second Life manual to seeing the avatar character that I created, I think that Rosedale is on to something. Also, he stated in the article that business meeting have been and are currently being conducted on his virtual database. That means that there is already a cult following behind this virtual world and that leads to expansion. Also in second life, you can live voice conversations where if your computer has a microphone, you can talk to the people in the community. I think this company definetly has a bright future and can become a viable source for people to communicate and handle business in terms of economics.
A New virtual life.....Second life!
Second life is one of the newest technological social network where people can create and make their own virtual self. It is like a social network design to recreate an actual reality into a new one.
IBM is taking second life to the next level and using an avatar to communicate with actual customers. They use the Avatar to process online transactions for customers or other business companies to purchase what they want.
Second Life will be the future of further purchases on IBM and other companies. The second life system is offered in other languages. IBM has a virtual sale associate that can speak and translate into the native langauge selected.
"IBM sales reps will staff the virtual center during business hours in their respective countries and will be able to speak the following languages: English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and French. Asian languages will be supported later this year."
Second life is the way to go! How would your Avatar be like?
IBM is taking second life to the next level and using an avatar to communicate with actual customers. They use the Avatar to process online transactions for customers or other business companies to purchase what they want.
Second Life will be the future of further purchases on IBM and other companies. The second life system is offered in other languages. IBM has a virtual sale associate that can speak and translate into the native langauge selected.
"IBM sales reps will staff the virtual center during business hours in their respective countries and will be able to speak the following languages: English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and French. Asian languages will be supported later this year."
Second life is the way to go! How would your Avatar be like?
Monday, November 23, 2009
"Older adults linked to digital revolution"
With advances in technology, there is new hope for those who have not yet taken part in the digital revolution. Millions of elderly people have not had the opportunity to join the revolution due to the complexity of new electronic devices; however, that is now changing thanks to the creation of new stripped-down ''SimplicITy'' Pcs.“ These new personal computers, "which are less prone to viruses than standard computers, have just six buttons and allow technology-shy users to surf the internet, send emails and watch videos without having to navigate around cluttered desktops.”
Having the ability to use these simple machines, allows millions of elderly people to keep in better contact with friends and relatives through the use of emails and sharing of pictures. Although the new PCs are a little more expensive than your simple desktops, the older generations will no longer be left out when it comes to the use of cutting edge technology. “The company claimed it had already received interest from several nursing home chains interested in installing the machines in communal areas, as well as approaches from Germany, the US and Canada.” These machines seem like a great way to get the older generations on board during what we have called the digital revolution.
Having the ability to use these simple machines, allows millions of elderly people to keep in better contact with friends and relatives through the use of emails and sharing of pictures. Although the new PCs are a little more expensive than your simple desktops, the older generations will no longer be left out when it comes to the use of cutting edge technology. “The company claimed it had already received interest from several nursing home chains interested in installing the machines in communal areas, as well as approaches from Germany, the US and Canada.” These machines seem like a great way to get the older generations on board during what we have called the digital revolution.
Second Life
Philip Rosedale, CEO of Second Life:
Second Life: What Do We Learn If We Digitize EVERYTHING?
Philip Rosedale at the TED Conference in May of 2008:(ForaTV, Cowell Theater - San Francisco, CA. Nov 30th, 2006.)
Cory Ondrejka of Second Life reviews the history of online gaming which leads to Second Life:
Cory Ondrejka, "Building Better Places -- Second Life, Collaborative Creation, and 5 Missing Pieces" (Microsoft Research Tech Talk, December, 2005.)
Videos about the Second Life experience:
Wonderland - virtual relationships (BBC, 2008):
Hugity, "Man vs. Second Life," (2008):
"SLKN Jan 28th - Second Life Korea News [Engish Subtitles]" (Second Life Korea News, January, 2008):
"Live from Second Life: Crisis in Darfur with Mia Farrow and Guests" (Second Life, January, 2007):
Business in Second Life:
IBM Virtual Business Center Tour
"IBM Virtual Strike in SECONDLIFE!"(In Spanish):
Birth in Second Life:
"Kat Horatio Welcomes Twins in Second Life! 7-24-09":
"Te Wāhi Whānau - The Birth Place in Second Life" (Pookymedia, New Zealand. Second Life Education Project, August, 2009):
"SL-Octo Mom - A Second Life Spoof" (pixelscoop.net, Josue Habana, August, 2009):
Architecture in Second Life Machinima (Crescendo Design, ARCH Network, 2007):
More on Virtual Architecture:
"Models from Revit Imported into a Multi-User, Realtime, Collaborative Virtual World" (The ARCH Network, March, 2009.)
Brands in Second Life (Music, filming and editing by Gary Hayes, 2007.)
KZERO Slide Presentation on Virtual World Marketing (April 2008):
Second Life: What Do We Learn If We Digitize EVERYTHING?
Philip Rosedale at the TED Conference in May of 2008:(ForaTV, Cowell Theater - San Francisco, CA. Nov 30th, 2006.)
Cory Ondrejka of Second Life reviews the history of online gaming which leads to Second Life:
Cory Ondrejka, "Building Better Places -- Second Life, Collaborative Creation, and 5 Missing Pieces" (Microsoft Research Tech Talk, December, 2005.)
Videos about the Second Life experience:
Wonderland - virtual relationships (BBC, 2008):
Hugity, "Man vs. Second Life," (2008):
"SLKN Jan 28th - Second Life Korea News [Engish Subtitles]" (Second Life Korea News, January, 2008):
"Live from Second Life: Crisis in Darfur with Mia Farrow and Guests" (Second Life, January, 2007):
Business in Second Life:
IBM Virtual Business Center Tour
"IBM Virtual Strike in SECONDLIFE!"(In Spanish):
Birth in Second Life:
"Kat Horatio Welcomes Twins in Second Life! 7-24-09":
"Te Wāhi Whānau - The Birth Place in Second Life" (Pookymedia, New Zealand. Second Life Education Project, August, 2009):
"SL-Octo Mom - A Second Life Spoof" (pixelscoop.net, Josue Habana, August, 2009):
Architecture in Second Life Machinima (Crescendo Design, ARCH Network, 2007):
More on Virtual Architecture:
"Models from Revit Imported into a Multi-User, Realtime, Collaborative Virtual World" (The ARCH Network, March, 2009.)
Brands in Second Life (Music, filming and editing by Gary Hayes, 2007.)
KZERO Slide Presentation on Virtual World Marketing (April 2008):
Labels: Second life, virtual worlds
Saturday, November 21, 2009
New Online Ads, Behavioral Targeting
We are living in a mass production and a mass consumption era, so marketers always are trying to sell their products to get big profits. According to improve the digital world, marketing has been transformed in a traditional way to the behavioral targeting in online ads.
We know that Google’s enormous revenue come from online ads. One of the plans is behavioral targeting, which involves tracking user’s online words. Eric Auchard described the process of tracking of behavioral targeting in his article, “Google Wary if Behavioral Targeting in Online Ads”:
“A user who types “Italy vacation” into a Google search box might
see ads about Tuscany or cheap flights to Europe. Were the same
user to subsequently search for “weather,” Google will assume
there is a link between “Italy vacation” and “weather” and deliver
ads tied to local weather conditions in Italy.”
It is absolutely a smart and economic way for marketers and consumers as well as Google, but we always afraid of our privacy.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Traditional Media Not Dead Yet
Although digital advertising is continuously growing and changing depending on who the the advertisement is intended for, the impact compared to the traditional ways of advertising isn't as positive. As studies have proven the traditional way of advertising such as T.V., billboards, magazines, newspapers, etc are still “much more likely” to have made a positive impression with consumers than ads running in digital media.
As seen in the article “Traditional Media Not Dead Yet for Marketing, Study Says," when asked what kind of an impression the ad made, 56 percent of survey respondents said traditional media ads made a positive impression, in contrast to 31 percent who said that about digital media ads. Thirteen percent reported a negative impression of traditional media ads versus 21 percent for digital media ads"
Reasons for these statistics are said to have to do with the mood a person is in while viewing these ads. People who are viewing advertisements on T.V. are more likely to be in a positive mode, while relaxing and taking interest in entertainment, while others who use digital media may be in a busy mood looking to solve a problem.
As seen in the article “Traditional Media Not Dead Yet for Marketing, Study Says," when asked what kind of an impression the ad made, 56 percent of survey respondents said traditional media ads made a positive impression, in contrast to 31 percent who said that about digital media ads. Thirteen percent reported a negative impression of traditional media ads versus 21 percent for digital media ads"
Reasons for these statistics are said to have to do with the mood a person is in while viewing these ads. People who are viewing advertisements on T.V. are more likely to be in a positive mode, while relaxing and taking interest in entertainment, while others who use digital media may be in a busy mood looking to solve a problem.
Google and Behavioral Targeting
Since the rise of the internet, online advertising has always played a factor. Now, no matter what website you go on, you are most likely to see an advertisement somewhere on the page. In an article written in 2007 by Eric Auchard titled Google Wary of Behavioral Targeting in Online Ads, it talks about how Google is trying to find more connections between searches and searchers. At the same time, Google is backing away from selling tools to advertisers who draw lines between all your online activity.
"That is not something that we have participated in, for a variety of reasons," says Susan Wojcicki, vice president of Google's product management for advertising.The problem that most people have with behavioral targeting is the privacy issues. Many feel that it is invading on their personal online actions and that it may not have any purpose in conducting research between searches and information gathered from those searches.
This article that I got this information from was written and published in 2007. I figured that was a while ago so either they found other ways around this or they simply gave in. I found an article from March 2009, about Google and its more recent behavioral targeting policies. What I understood from this article is that while these years have passed by, most of people's general online activity was monitored through other sources, so the information was already out there. They are working on ways to opt out of this online activity tracking offering plug-ins that opt out of storing cookies, or they have an Ad preference managing tool.
A representative from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Markey said
"he and his colleagues plan to introduce legislation next year, a sort of online-privacy Bill of Rights, that would require that consumers must opt in to the tracking of their online behavior..."
Labels: Advertising, Behavior Targeting, Google, Marketing, privacy
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Come to think of it, Ebay!
Ebay is home to millions who sell things they no longer need. Ebay is an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell amost anything! Anything from cars, books, to even Combos cracker snacks can be bought or sold on this online platform.
But is it as popular as it once was?
"Amazon, has emerged as one of the most vibrant and reliable retailers in the country"- The New York Times
Much like many other forms of big business, Ebay is feeling the effects of the economic slow down. Just last week, my cousin went to Amazon to make a purchase. As the times change, so do the ways consumers shop. Online shopping is safe (for the most part), secure, and brings the mall to my desktop. Why not? Come to think of it, Amazon...
But is it as popular as it once was?
"Amazon, has emerged as one of the most vibrant and reliable retailers in the country"- The New York Times
Much like many other forms of big business, Ebay is feeling the effects of the economic slow down. Just last week, my cousin went to Amazon to make a purchase. As the times change, so do the ways consumers shop. Online shopping is safe (for the most part), secure, and brings the mall to my desktop. Why not? Come to think of it, Amazon...
Phone Apps for illegal aliens
An article from readwriteweb.com discusses a phone application helping illegal immigrants come to America. A phone app called the "Transborder Immigrant Tool" has been developed by a group called Electronic Civil Disobedience.
Its a simple mobile application that was made to aid border-crossers from Mexico. The application maps the safest routes to take from Mexico to the U.S..
The app originated from a hacktivist from UCSD. The app is made compatible with even the cheapest cell phones and uses spatial data systems as well as GPS for simulation, resource allocation, survaillence, management of opertive networks and pre-movement pattern modeling.
One model is called virtual hiker algorithm. This is what maps or potential trails for hikers but is in an alpha state of development.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdvnWmgySrE&feature=player_embedded
Its a simple mobile application that was made to aid border-crossers from Mexico. The application maps the safest routes to take from Mexico to the U.S..
The app originated from a hacktivist from UCSD. The app is made compatible with even the cheapest cell phones and uses spatial data systems as well as GPS for simulation, resource allocation, survaillence, management of opertive networks and pre-movement pattern modeling.
One model is called virtual hiker algorithm. This is what maps or potential trails for hikers but is in an alpha state of development.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdvnWmgySrE&feature=player_embedded
Marketing Control
Marketing strategies are becoming more and more personal nowadays. Company's like Dunkin Donuts are testing out this new age of technological marketing, by tailoring promotional ads towards specific consumers based on what they purchased. Dunkin Donuts has teamed up with YCD Multimedia to experiment with consumers "on in-store digital screens based on items that the customers have purchased". For an example:
"When a consumer picks out a shampoo for a particular type of hair, for instance, the screen recommends the most appropriate conditioner or other hair products" .
Emily Steel, “The Ad Changes With the Shopper In Front of It,” 2008
Advertisers are definitely spending more money on in-store ads because of the pressure the economy is in. However, it also can result in a waste of time and money because most consumers don't really acknowledge these ads, maybe if it mentioned getting something for free. YCD Multimedia and Dunkin Donuts are looking to succeed with this strategy, which is still in the works.
"YCD Multimedia, is in the midst of deploying facial-recognition technologies that can classify people into certain demographic groups by identifying their approximate age and their sex".
In addition this type of marketing can also help company's like Dunkin Donuts keep control of their inventory.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Beyond Spam: Online Marketing & Advertising
Sources for Online Marketing/Advertising News
Marketing (Time Topic, New York Times)
Digital Next (Advertising Age Blog)
ClickZ News
Are you familiar with "behavioral targeting"?
For a quick introduction read "Primer on Behavioral Targeting" by Phil Morettini posted on sdnn.com
"Behavioral Targeting: Ads That Track Your Web Activity" (Jack Myers & Mark Ghuneim on Fora.tv)
How about "Google Analytics"?
Google Analytics is a tool for businesses that would like to understand your online activities and habits. Watch Google's "product tour" for an overview. Here is a short video from Daily Motion that explains how to use the data generated by Google Analytics to improve your online business.
How are marketer's making the most of social media?
Here is a "new social shopping tool" from RichRelevance
What is "Conversational Marketing"?
Excerpts from Conversational Marketing Conference (International Advertising Association
San Francisco, CA, February, 2009)
Marketing (Time Topic, New York Times)
Digital Next (Advertising Age Blog)
ClickZ News
Are you familiar with "behavioral targeting"?
For a quick introduction read "Primer on Behavioral Targeting" by Phil Morettini posted on sdnn.com
"Behavioral Targeting: Ads That Track Your Web Activity" (Jack Myers & Mark Ghuneim on Fora.tv)
How about "Google Analytics"?
Google Analytics is a tool for businesses that would like to understand your online activities and habits. Watch Google's "product tour" for an overview. Here is a short video from Daily Motion that explains how to use the data generated by Google Analytics to improve your online business.
How are marketer's making the most of social media?
Here is a "new social shopping tool" from RichRelevance
What is "Conversational Marketing"?
Excerpts from Conversational Marketing Conference (International Advertising Association
San Francisco, CA, February, 2009)
Labels: Advertising, behavioral targeing, Marketing
Upgrading a supercomputer?!!
One of the world's most fastest and highly sophisticated machine is called the Jaguar. The Jaguar is a super powered computer designed to have one of the fastest AMD processor in the world. The supercomputer runs at About 37,376 AMD processors, to begin with. The Jaguar has 255,584 processing cores and is built using AMD six-core Istanbul Opteron chips running at 2.6 gigahertz. Now if you compare that to your computer, you then realize trying to upgrade your computer is no where near difficult as this super powered computer.
The Jaguar has a system memory of 362 terabytes, which is almost three times that of the second largest system. It can read and write files at 284 gigabytes per second and uses a 10-petabyte shared file system. Most of those components remain unchanged from the earlier versions of Jaguar. This makes the upgrading process take about a week to do. The jaguar is ranked one of the top 500 supercomputers in the world. It also competes against the IBM's "road runner" supercomputer beating it.
The Jaguar has a system memory of 362 terabytes, which is almost three times that of the second largest system. It can read and write files at 284 gigabytes per second and uses a 10-petabyte shared file system. Most of those components remain unchanged from the earlier versions of Jaguar. This makes the upgrading process take about a week to do. The jaguar is ranked one of the top 500 supercomputers in the world. It also competes against the IBM's "road runner" supercomputer beating it.
Monday, November 16, 2009
MIT scientists chrged up
MIT (massachusetts Institute of technology)scientists have developed technology that might one ay allow people to actually charge their cellphones in 10 seconds or a drained plug-in car battery in a short time, basically reshaping the way such gadgets are integrated into our lives. The way the scientists began to do this is by tweaking a lithium-ion battery by creating access to the equivalent of on-ramps so that ions can easily enter an energy highway within the material. This advance enery allows thw batteries to charge in seconds and discharge about 100 times faster than current lithium-ion batteries according to Gerbrand Ceder, who is a material science professor at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology.
Ceder basically feels like if they made a cellphone battery that could charge in 30 seconds, that it would change peoples lifestyle. People might settle for a smaller battery, for example you can almost stand by and sip your coffee and it's done. Lithium-ion batteries store lots of energy, but charge and discharge relatively slowly, as positively charged ions slowly migrate across the battery material to create a current. To speed the ions along, he and graduate student Byoungwoo Kang developed a coating that gives the ions the ability to move quickly to entry points.
Seth Grodin On The Marketing Decisions That Made Google Great
"All Marketers are Liars" - Author Seth Godin speaks at Google (February, 2006.)
Seth Grodin at TED, 2007:
Seth Grodin at TED, 2007:
Labels: Advertising, Google, Marketing
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Amazon's New Strategy of Payment Service
I still like to go offline bookstore near my house because of the smell of coffee, music and the people gathered around. I like that atmosphere. However today I bought some CDs for Christmas presents at the Amazon.com. This is my first purchase through online. I still got afraid of my privacy but… To participate in the digital world, I attempted online purchase to save time and energy; it is so simple and very comfortable.
Since 1994, the company grew one of the most popular online vendors in the world with their consistent study of technology and business strategy. Brad Stone provided their new strategy of payment service in his article, “Amazon Offers Other Sites Use of Its Payment Service”;
“It will offer other online retailers to use on their Web sites.
That means the 81 million customers who have already given
Amazon.com their payment details, like credit card number
And shipping addresses, will be able to that information,
Without re-entering it, to buy products on any site that uses
The new service.”
I believe that the Amazon.com will prosper and become broader in its business to grab both online and offline market with their consistent technological studies.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
TiVo and Amazon working together
Theres no need to any longer leave your house to go shopping. Now a days, TiVo and Amazon are working together in order to come up with a way for a consumers to easily sit home and shop using the same remote they would for their TVs. Using TiVos ability to easily record and or pause shows, consumers will now be able to purchase their goods without missing their shows. TiVo will also have the ability to save the advertisement, so the viewer can return back to it and make a purchase if desired. Unfortunately it hasn't worked out as planned since no one takes the time to watch commercials, instead they just fast forward through them missing all the advertisements and opportunities to buy from home.
Ebay Losing 'Ground to Amazon
According to the article "Amid the Gloom, an E-Commerce War " by New York Times writer Brad Stone, Ebay is now facing serious competition from a company they thought they weren't in the same economic path as, Amazon. The reason Ebay thought they were similar but different from Amazon is due to the fact that Ebay has auctions, while Amazon just does fixed prices of items sold from different vendor. However, with the economy in an a downturn and people not wanting to look for a deal that has a reasonable possibility of going wrong through auction anymore, people are not investing as much money in Ebay. Just this past January, according to the article, Ebay laid off about 10 percent of its workers. Also, Ebay is barely beating Amazon in terms of overall usage(84 million active users to 81 million active users) , as opposed to when it had a size-able 30 percent advantage on Amazon several years ago. I think Ebay's' demise has a lot to do with what has been going on the past couple of years with vendors and costumers stealing money done through these auctions. In these times when money is not as abundant as it used to be, people are scared to take that risk dealing with auctions and would rather pay the little extra to know that they are getting their items safe and secure, thus the rise of Amazon.
New digital shopping mag by Ebay
I found an article baout Ebay announcing the launch of The Inside Source, which is a new digital magazine for inspired shoppers. It features insights and stories based on selling on Ebay. The magazine will generally produce original articles, analysis and opinions from journalist as well as ebay community contributors.
Over thousands of people tell ebay what they want each day and the ourcahses that they make, that rite there helps make up The Inside Source magazine. Readers and viewers can get the insight on shopping trends, pop culture obsessions and the stuff people love, that only can ebay can provide them with.
This informative magazine will be directed(editorial content) by Merideth Barnett, who is the former directoe of digital media for Lifetime Digital. The editorial content will cover alot of lifestyle topics, including fashion, technology, automative, home and garden, and more.
Overall ebay is a very big shopping site. People basically sell things on there that they dont need anymore, such as books, camers, laptops , and many more things. I think its a very helpful inexpensive site and i would recommend anyone to shop on this site.
Over thousands of people tell ebay what they want each day and the ourcahses that they make, that rite there helps make up The Inside Source magazine. Readers and viewers can get the insight on shopping trends, pop culture obsessions and the stuff people love, that only can ebay can provide them with.
This informative magazine will be directed(editorial content) by Merideth Barnett, who is the former directoe of digital media for Lifetime Digital. The editorial content will cover alot of lifestyle topics, including fashion, technology, automative, home and garden, and more.
Overall ebay is a very big shopping site. People basically sell things on there that they dont need anymore, such as books, camers, laptops , and many more things. I think its a very helpful inexpensive site and i would recommend anyone to shop on this site.
Digital Giants
TiVo, a program that allows you to, stop, pause, record TV at any time. The next step they are looking to take is allowing your TiVo remote to purchase items being presented on commericials or that guests promote on talk shows, such as Oprah and The Letterman Show.
“What we are trying to do is to create all the underpinnings of a future business model for television" says Thomas S. Rogers, chief executive of TiVo.
Amazon comes into the picture with this whole idea, being that most likely, they will be used for thier payment services. People will be able to record their shows, while purchasing the new CD from the guest on The Jimmy Kimmel using Amazons payment options, and then return to the show when you are finished.
This technology to me is great, you can pause or stop or rewind any show you want, this is great! I feel that commercials on the television because of this have a hard time making it, but I feel that with all the media being used on the web, that web commercials will take over from TV.
Labels: Amazon, commercials, TiVO, tv
E-Commerce Video
Listen to craigslist founder Craig Newmark explain how craigslist works on the Charlie Rose show:
Here's Craig Newmark on Jon Stewart:
Craig Newmark of Craig's List on the Jon Stewart show, February 26,2007.
Tony Hsieh of Zappos on selling shoes online:
Web 2.0 Summit 08: Tony Hsieh (Zappos.com)
Scott Thompson of Paypal on new media commerce:
Scott Thompson (PayPal, Inc.), "High Order Bit: An Open Platform For Payment" WEB 2.0 Summit 2009.
Here's Craig Newmark on Jon Stewart:
Craig Newmark of Craig's List on the Jon Stewart show, February 26,2007.
Tony Hsieh of Zappos on selling shoes online:
Web 2.0 Summit 08: Tony Hsieh (Zappos.com)
Scott Thompson of Paypal on new media commerce:
Scott Thompson (PayPal, Inc.), "High Order Bit: An Open Platform For Payment" WEB 2.0 Summit 2009.
Labels: craigslist, e-commerce, zappos
Amazon: Jeffrey Bezos and the Retail Revolution
Jeffrey Bezos on Amazon:
Jeffrey Bezos "After the gold rush, there's innovation ahead," (TED Conference, 2003.)
Jeffrey Bezos on Amazon at MIT (September 27, 2006)
Start watching at 9:30 of the video for the beginning of Bezos remarks:
Jeff Bezos on Charlie Rose (February, 2009.)
Jeffrey Bezos "After the gold rush, there's innovation ahead," (TED Conference, 2003.)
Jeffrey Bezos on Amazon at MIT (September 27, 2006)
Start watching at 9:30 of the video for the beginning of Bezos remarks:
Jeff Bezos on Charlie Rose (February, 2009.)
Labels: Amazon, Digital Shopping
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The era of digital shopping
E-Commerce giants such as ebay and Amazon which allow customers to purchase items online has revolutionized the way we shop today. The hassle of physically buying an item can now be avoided and be replaced with the click of a mouse.
Shopping online opens a whole new wave of possibilities for both the customers and the companies selling their various products. As a consumer, it provides convenient shopping from the comfort of your home, it provides a more diverse range of products that may not be found in the "brick and mortar" stores. Digital shopping has given companies a vast amount of feedback from its customers. Shopping Websites have started to favor customer reviews over that of professional critics. Revolution in data tracking software have now enabled companies to create shopping profiles of its customers based on past sales or the most searched item in its virtual store.
The other side of digital shopping is that is very subject to fraud such as identity theft, a vastly growing crime. Hackers are also to break into digital shopping sites and steal credit card numbers. Another fear of digital shopping is that the user has no way of detecting malicious sites that may steal valuable information from your computer such as card numbers or install tracking softwares.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Roll up Laptop
According to the article "Orkin Design and Sony Show Off Roll-Up Laptop Concepts" by Jeremy Hsu, Orkin Design and Sony came up with a 'Roll-Up' Laptop. As the years go on, laptops keep getting thinner and lighter, this lap top takes it to a new level. Jeremy Hsu describes this laptop below;
" Orkin Design's Rolltop consists of an OLED display that can start as a roller-up mat and deploy as a multi-touch 17-inch laptop. My beastly HP laptop just shed a tear of envy."This laptop can also turn into a tablet PC, which uses a stylus, or become a standup flat screen display.
I never would have imagined you would be able to 'roll-up' a laptop. I wonder what it feels like.
Monday, November 09, 2009
What is Twitter?? Twitter is another form of social networking, that works by micro-blogging. When on Twitter one usually updates their blog by "Tweeting" and letting their friends and any followers know what they are doing at the point in time. Twitter is text based which means that the post are upto 140 characters or less.
Twitter has become very popular with celebrities and even politicians. Fans of celebrities can check their favorite celebrities Blog to see the lastest in their favorite celebrities life. Obama used social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to reach out to the younger generation.
Although Twitter can be used to relay important imformation on a daily basis, most of the time it is used for celebrity worship. It has become into a way for the "common folk" to constantly keep up with thier stars, almost to the point of addiction.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Users looking elsewhere
People use social networking, not only as a way to keep in contact with friends/ family, but also as a way to voice their opinions or share thoughts on different topics. Due to an over whelming amount of inappropriate discussions/ videos being posted on theses “popular web sites like YouTube and MySpace, they have hired the equivalent of school hallway monitors to police what visitors to their sites can see and do by cracking down on piracy and depictions of nudity and violence.”
So where does this leave fellow “thrill-seekers” to go? Since no one likes being told what they can write about or post videos on, many of these young users have looked else where as a way to network with fellow peers. They’ve come across this new website called Stickam.com, which unlike others has chosen to go where no other social network has gone before. On this website unlike Myspace or YouTube, users from the ages of 14 and up are able to chat & post videos about anything they want without having to obey any rules. Since this website isn’t monitored by anybody and there are no enforceable rules, due to live broadcasting and no way to verify a persons age, its really up to other views to monitor each other.
Many agree ““Letting people do whatever they want is one way for these sites to differentiate themselves,” said Josh Bernoff, a Forrester Research analyst. “It is the race to the bottom.”” While others argue the fact that its very unsafe for children, being that “people are very vulgar and like to ‘get their jollies’ from harassing people.”
So where does this leave fellow “thrill-seekers” to go? Since no one likes being told what they can write about or post videos on, many of these young users have looked else where as a way to network with fellow peers. They’ve come across this new website called Stickam.com, which unlike others has chosen to go where no other social network has gone before. On this website unlike Myspace or YouTube, users from the ages of 14 and up are able to chat & post videos about anything they want without having to obey any rules. Since this website isn’t monitored by anybody and there are no enforceable rules, due to live broadcasting and no way to verify a persons age, its really up to other views to monitor each other.
Many agree ““Letting people do whatever they want is one way for these sites to differentiate themselves,” said Josh Bernoff, a Forrester Research analyst. “It is the race to the bottom.”” While others argue the fact that its very unsafe for children, being that “people are very vulgar and like to ‘get their jollies’ from harassing people.”
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Facebook Losing Some of its Original Members?
Facebook has now become very similar to twitter, with people writing status updates basically every minute about what is going on in their life. To some it's not a problem, and its not also has not affected the web site's growth, as they have expanded to heights never reached before in terms of traffic on the Internet. However, in a recent article written by journalist Brad Stone, some members of the site who fell in love with the website when it first launched, rarely use the site now. The reason for this these members say is because the site has now changed to a point where they cannot keep up with, or don't care to keep up with. Mr. Stone went on to write in the article about one members strained relationship with the website, writing, "Ms. Rabban, 40, a real estate agent and the mother of two from Livingston, N.J., joined the site in November 2007, quickly amassing 250 friends and spending hours on the site each day.
But these days, she spends less time on the site and posts caustic comments about Facebook’s new design, which turns a majority of every user’s home page into a long “stream” of recent, often trivial, Twitter-like updates from friends.".
As a member of Facebook when the site first started five years ago, I can say I barely use it because it is too much to keep up with, but I do like the every minute status updates because the friends I have leave some funny updates. I don't know, to each is own I guess.
But these days, she spends less time on the site and posts caustic comments about Facebook’s new design, which turns a majority of every user’s home page into a long “stream” of recent, often trivial, Twitter-like updates from friends.".
As a member of Facebook when the site first started five years ago, I can say I barely use it because it is too much to keep up with, but I do like the every minute status updates because the friends I have leave some funny updates. I don't know, to each is own I guess.
Myspace makes Stars
Everyone of my peers has or once owned a Myspace account. The website is mainly popular among teenagers, musicians, people looking for love and some for old friends. My personal use for Myspace is to promote upcoming events or music videos that i've worked on. This has its awkward moments because occasionaly you meet people in the streets that you only ever met online. But this ability to generate recognition is what created careers for people like Soulja Boy.
Soulja Boy who got recognized for posting videos of himself rapping and dancing on YouTube and Myspace. He created a huge fanbase through the social network which ended up with a succesful career. The ability to reach a vast audience through increasing your network is the most benificial aspect of Myspace for musicians. With the feature to add songs and videos on your homepage makes the task of distribution much easier.
Soulja Boy who got recognized for posting videos of himself rapping and dancing on YouTube and Myspace. He created a huge fanbase through the social network which ended up with a succesful career. The ability to reach a vast audience through increasing your network is the most benificial aspect of Myspace for musicians. With the feature to add songs and videos on your homepage makes the task of distribution much easier.
"Beacon" Of Hope?
We are quickly losing any semblance of privacy over the Internet. Literally everyone has a Facebook profile these days, and most of it's users are not fully aware of just how much information about them and their web surfing habits are actually being collected.
To make matters worse, not only is the information being collected, it is potentially viewable by other users, and companies looking to direct marketing strategies toward you if you fit their customer profile. In an article written by Tom Regan, he goes on to outline a program called Beacon, which chronicles your web surfing habits while you are logged into Facebook. The program links activities which you take part in, such as web surfing, game playing, or shopping right to your Facebook profile. Facebook lets users opt out of the program however, if you leave the "remember me" option checked, Facebook still collects, but does not display information about your web surfing, and shopping habits.
In my personal opinion, programs such as Beacon and others which collect personal system and non system data about our everyday lives is really putting our privacy and identity at risk. All of our lives are becoming very public, and more so each and every day. Facebook knows more about our lives than maybe our closest friends and family members. We better stay on the company's good side.
For more information on Beacon Click Here.
To make matters worse, not only is the information being collected, it is potentially viewable by other users, and companies looking to direct marketing strategies toward you if you fit their customer profile. In an article written by Tom Regan, he goes on to outline a program called Beacon, which chronicles your web surfing habits while you are logged into Facebook. The program links activities which you take part in, such as web surfing, game playing, or shopping right to your Facebook profile. Facebook lets users opt out of the program however, if you leave the "remember me" option checked, Facebook still collects, but does not display information about your web surfing, and shopping habits.
In my personal opinion, programs such as Beacon and others which collect personal system and non system data about our everyday lives is really putting our privacy and identity at risk. All of our lives are becoming very public, and more so each and every day. Facebook knows more about our lives than maybe our closest friends and family members. We better stay on the company's good side.
For more information on Beacon Click Here.
Some Privacy Please, Facebook
In 2006, more than 700,000 people signed an online petition to prompt Facebook to be more strict with its privacy issues.
Currently there is an application running with Facebook called Beacon. Beacon is program that shares with users the websites you have been to and even the purchases you have made.
Obviously this could be a problem. If you are friends with someone on Facebook, and bought them something, they could be alerted and the suprise blown, instantly because of Beacon.
"One of the reasons Facebook is popular is that it makes it so easy for users to follow their friends' activities" Says Andy Carvin, NPR's senior product manager for online communities.
This program Beacon, was protested against and petitioned by as many as 50,000 Facebook users. Facebook took a stand and made this program optional with a check box, but there is still way that it stay active anyway.
I personally use Facebook, and I agree, it makes it extremely easy to follow your friends and see what they are doing. I haven't had issues with the privacy policies, but I can certainly see where people do. Facebook is just the start of privacy issues on the internet.
Google currently saves every search ever done, forever.
Beacon "may collect information on non-Facebookmembers." Any computer that is used to log onto a Facebook profile instantly becomes a tracking number for Facebook computers. Facebook says it deletes all this information received in this way ... but we will never know.
Labels: Beacon, facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, social networks
Facebook and Privacy Concerns
"Users rebel over new ad feature; meanwhile, a lack of privacy is becoming 'fundamental' to Web business models". By Tom Regan, Facebook faces up to privacy concerns – again...
I find it pretty unfortunate that no one has privacy anymore. On the Internet it's very easy to find information on practically anyone with the help of joining specific social networks like Facebook or Myspace. In 2007 Facebook had faced some major concerns with users privacy revealed and their web searches being followed. The issue came about when Facebook offered this new advertising feature called the Beacon . "Beacon lets Facebook members keep their Facebook "friends" informed about their Web-surfing habits. In other words, any friend could potentially see every site you visited online, and – in some cases – if you made a purchase there". What comes to mind is how easy it is maybe for employers or future employers to get a hold of your private infromation, web searches and purchases.
I find it pretty unfortunate that no one has privacy anymore. On the Internet it's very easy to find information on practically anyone with the help of joining specific social networks like Facebook or Myspace. In 2007 Facebook had faced some major concerns with users privacy revealed and their web searches being followed. The issue came about when Facebook offered this new advertising feature called the Beacon . "Beacon lets Facebook members keep their Facebook "friends" informed about their Web-surfing habits. In other words, any friend could potentially see every site you visited online, and – in some cases – if you made a purchase there". What comes to mind is how easy it is maybe for employers or future employers to get a hold of your private infromation, web searches and purchases.
Social Networking, Social Media
Is Facebook the "Web’s dominant social ecosystem " now that it has more than 200 million users?
- Brad Stone, “Is Facebook Growing Up Too Fast?” March 29, 2009.
- PEW Internet & American Life Project, “Social Isolation and New Technology,” November 2009.
- Sharon Gaudin, "Study: 54 Percent of Companies Ban Facebook, Twitter at Work," (WIRED, October 9, 2009.)
- "Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Interview"
- Clay Shirky: "How social media can make history." (TED Talks, June 2009.)
Labels: social media, social networks
Is Facebook Taking over My Space?
I remember the first time I created a user profile on Facebook. It was this exciting new place where I got a chance to catch up with old friends from elementary school all the way through college. What I appreciated most was that Facebook allowed for users that were in college. At that time, Facebook was an intimate social network of the many people I went to school with, that were still in school.
As the site grew in popularity it would loosen its regulations allowing every one membership. This is where I started to loose my space. Random people would begin to request me as friends, chain mail is increasing in an alarming rate, and even local promoters flood my profile with event invitations. My personal space has been invaded, and with Facebook growing at its current velocity my space will never be the same.
My inbox is always flooded, my privacy is slipping out of my control, there are tons of applications that are on my profile page that are of no use to me, and most of all its too open to everyone. Where did my space go? Facebook had taken it along with many others, and it doesnt look like our space will every be the same.
Facebook takes over Myspace
According the article " Facebook Expands Into Myspace's Territory," Brad Stone says that Facebook is getting in the way of Myspace. "With an ambitious strategy for expansion, Facebook is getting in MySpace’s face."
Facebook is the Internet's second-largest social network, was originally popular on college campuses, but now is popular throughout the world.
This article was written in year 2007. Stone is saying:
"Some of the new features, demonstrated by software developers at a Facebook event here on Thursday, will allow members to recommend and listen to music, insert Amazon book reviews onto their pages, play games and join charity drives, all without leaving the site."It is not 2009, and these features and more, have happened.
The difference between Facebook and Myspace is:
"The two social networks have carved out contrasting, though shifting, reputations. MySpace, owned by the News Corporation, has fostered an anarchic aura with few restrictions on creativity, while allowing users to integrate tools from other companies into their pages, like slide show displays.""Facebook, on the other hand, has kept its members in something of a creative straitjacket. Users could not customize their pages or add tools created by other companies. Those restrictions helped preserve Facebook’s clean, uniform appearance and reinforced its emphasis on offering practical ways to communicate online with friends."
I have both a Myspace account and a Facebook. I never go on my Myspace and I am addicted to my facebook. Facebook is a drug, and can cause problems between my significant other and I.
How's your privacy on Facebook??
In this article they briefly give a discussion on how Facebook was giving out to much info to others on Facebook. Examples such as friends being online and being notified on anything you do on your computer. Friends will be able to see exactly what websites you visited. That is one of the major issues the CEO of facebook Mark Zuckerberg faced. This new add to facebook was called the beacon. Which was responsible for the majority of Facebookers complaints.
The article stresses the importants on privacy on facebook. People who have facebook accounts give new information everyday and update personal status along the way. Some people don't mind if their business is being put out on the internet. But you do got others who don't wish to have there business posted out on the web.
As a result facebook has develop skills and techniques to overcome the beacon and to safeguard privacy to all facebook members.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
"all the world's a platform"
This article basically just proposes the question what is google all about? Google is the fastest growing company of all times. Google has gave itself the name as the dominant brand in both the media and tecnology. Google is a website where you can find absolutely anything you are looking for. From images, to books, to articles. Google wants to get into the medi distribution buisness. they basically want to be. The only website that people will use when they need anything.
Google is the best website by far that i have ever encountered with. I use google for anything that i have to research. Google gets right to the point and gives you what you need. Im pretty sure everyone around the world uses google. Its practically a worldwide website that will never fade away. I recommend google whenver you need any type or form of information for anything.
Google is the best website by far that i have ever encountered with. I use google for anything that i have to research. Google gets right to the point and gives you what you need. Im pretty sure everyone around the world uses google. Its practically a worldwide website that will never fade away. I recommend google whenver you need any type or form of information for anything.
Facebook Overtaking MySpace
The most popular social networks, MySpace and Facebook, continue to grow offering its users an online relationship. As Dion Hinchcliffe describes in his article, “Facebook set to overtake MySpace,” Facebook is clearly advancing rapidly over MySpace and could soon overtake it. This due to Facebook opening a greater online community and being a platform to anyone that has an application concept they’d like to try. Beyond this, Facebook is also a social network site that offers its users a more mature and functional social environment.
In addition, another measure where Facebook tries to compete with MySpace and overrun it is by introducing the involvement of businesses. Hinchcliffe says,
“I’ve also begun anecdotally hearing how departments in some large organizations are recommending that employees create Facebook profiles.”
This is done to offer better ways to maintain business contacts and the ability for businesses to create social networking platforms to achieve their business goals. Facebook has become another place where employees could dialogue apart from that of the work space. Allowing companies to create their own Facebook applications has opened a new level of integration across the business web. As a result in 2007 Hinchcliff states that,
Since 2007 Facebook has been emerging as a leader in social networking providing sophistication to its users and the notion of creating a business sphere between employees and employers. I believe that Facebook has maintained that maturity that its users seek and has formed a different vibe than that of MySpace. Facebook has also been a site where it has sustained fun like introducing the "Funwall" where its users can draw pictures but, not have to be overwhelmed with backgrounds, sounds, and glamour. This certainly differentiates Facebook from MySpace, where simplicity is nowhere to be found and what its users are compelled to do is create a chaotic page.
In addition, another measure where Facebook tries to compete with MySpace and overrun it is by introducing the involvement of businesses. Hinchcliffe says,
“I’ve also begun anecdotally hearing how departments in some large organizations are recommending that employees create Facebook profiles.”
This is done to offer better ways to maintain business contacts and the ability for businesses to create social networking platforms to achieve their business goals. Facebook has become another place where employees could dialogue apart from that of the work space. Allowing companies to create their own Facebook applications has opened a new level of integration across the business web. As a result in 2007 Hinchcliff states that,
“Over 5,100 apps have been developed”varying from games, education, productivity software, to education. Of those apps about 227 were of the business category including sites such as Zoho, eBay, Blue Nile, and Jobster that offer integration with their home sites and data.
Since 2007 Facebook has been emerging as a leader in social networking providing sophistication to its users and the notion of creating a business sphere between employees and employers. I believe that Facebook has maintained that maturity that its users seek and has formed a different vibe than that of MySpace. Facebook has also been a site where it has sustained fun like introducing the "Funwall" where its users can draw pictures but, not have to be overwhelmed with backgrounds, sounds, and glamour. This certainly differentiates Facebook from MySpace, where simplicity is nowhere to be found and what its users are compelled to do is create a chaotic page.
Another Service of a Cellphone, Payment
In the beginning, the purpose of the using a Cellphone was for the freedom to communicate. People wanted to talk to the other people wherever they are.
According to the fast growing, digital technology, the cellphone has been added with more efficient functions than we ever had before. For example, camera, games, Internet and the GPS are the most popular functions in the cellphone.
We usually use a credit card or cash to purchase goods, but in the online world; we can buy virtual goods by paying with our cellphone numbers, from the news “The New York Times, Bits, Using a Cellphone Number to pay for Virtual Goods” by Claire Cain Miller. The author describes the procedures in this article;
“Both companies, players in the hot online payments market, announced
this week that customers could now link their credit or debit card numbers on Zong Web Site and Obopay’s Web sites. Then, when they are shopping for digital goods on certain Web sites, they need only enter their 10-digit phone number to buy something instead of being redirected to a separate Web page and entering extensive credit card information.”
They also suggest letting people use their cellphone to send money to one another via text message and sending money to their children or paying tutors, and housekeepers. In reality, real stuff, like books and clothes could not be payed by using the cellphone numbers. However both companies, Zong and Obopay tried to find the method of the buying the real goods to pay by using cellphone number in near future to simplify and secure their personal information through the wide web site.
Now the cellphone is one of the most essential technological devices of our daily life in this new digital revolution. I think that this new idea, using payment by a cellphone number is very secure and safe to avoid identity theft.
Myspace vs Facebook
Facebook expanded beyond the college campus. It now has over 20 million users. Based on a 2007 article, Myspace is three times the size as Facebook.
Myspace offers more creativity. You can custom your page with graphics and designs. you don't have to use your full name. Outside companies allow you to use their program to add to the site such as slideshows and surveys.
Facebook is geared more towards keeping in touch with those who are a far. Old high school classmates, family or acquaintances. "Facebook, on the other hand, has kept it's members in something of a creative straitjacket. Users could not customize their pages to communicate online with friends." This changes the spectrum, meaning different age groups can participate.
These online social networks also come with a price if you don't utilize it properly. The World Wide Web is unforgiving. What you post can be viewed by the world. In this society everyone can find anybody on these social networks. I have heard that companies looking to hire potential employees will check these social networks such as Myspace and Facebook.
Helpful advice includes never put anything in writing you wouldn't want read in public or by your mother.
Myspace offers more creativity. You can custom your page with graphics and designs. you don't have to use your full name. Outside companies allow you to use their program to add to the site such as slideshows and surveys.
Facebook is geared more towards keeping in touch with those who are a far. Old high school classmates, family or acquaintances. "Facebook, on the other hand, has kept it's members in something of a creative straitjacket. Users could not customize their pages to communicate online with friends." This changes the spectrum, meaning different age groups can participate.
These online social networks also come with a price if you don't utilize it properly. The World Wide Web is unforgiving. What you post can be viewed by the world. In this society everyone can find anybody on these social networks. I have heard that companies looking to hire potential employees will check these social networks such as Myspace and Facebook.
Helpful advice includes never put anything in writing you wouldn't want read in public or by your mother.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Brin, Page & Schmidt on Google
Video on Google:
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin on Google at the TED Conference (February, 2007.)
John Battelle's Conversation with Google's Sergey Brin at the Web 2.0 Summit (October 2009.)
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, interviewed at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Orlando 2009.
Eric Schmit, "One-on-one with Google's CEO," CNN Money, (June 1, 2009)
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin on Google at the TED Conference (February, 2007.)
John Battelle's Conversation with Google's Sergey Brin at the Web 2.0 Summit (October 2009.)
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, interviewed at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Orlando 2009.
Eric Schmit, "One-on-one with Google's CEO," CNN Money, (June 1, 2009)
Labels: Google
Monday, November 02, 2009
Google Infringement
New York Times writer Miguel Helft wrote an article entitled, "Google Settles Suite over Book Scanning." The article explains how copyright lawsuits against Google have forced them to pay $125 million dollars to settle.
The charges were brought on by authors as well as publishers like McGraw-Hill Companies.
They claimed Googles plans to digitize and show snippets of in-copyright books as well as the sharing of digital copies of books was not permissible under copyright law.
If approved the expansion of online access to millions of in-copyright books would be available through googles book search program. The $125 million will be set up for book registry, to resolve existing claims, and cover legal fees.
Search Engine Rap Battle (searchenginerapbattle.com 2008.)
Google Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page interviewed by Journalist James Fallows at Zeitgeist 2007
Eric Schmidt Speaks . . .
Google CEO Eric Schmidt interviewed by Ken Auletta of the New Yorker (Newhouse School, June 2008.)
More Eric Schmidt:
Eric Schmidt at the Ad Age Madison + Vine Conference
Eric Schmidt at Fortune Brainstorm Tech
"Eric Schmidt and Douglas Merrill talk about Google Apps" (April, 2008.)
Douglas Merrill (CIO, VP Engineering, Google.)
Google Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page interviewed by Journalist James Fallows at Zeitgeist 2007
Eric Schmidt Speaks . . .
Google CEO Eric Schmidt interviewed by Ken Auletta of the New Yorker (Newhouse School, June 2008.)
More Eric Schmidt:
Eric Schmidt at the Ad Age Madison + Vine Conference
Eric Schmidt at Fortune Brainstorm Tech
"Eric Schmidt and Douglas Merrill talk about Google Apps" (April, 2008.)
Douglas Merrill (CIO, VP Engineering, Google.)
Labels: Google
