As the semester and school year close out, I take a look around and think about each class individually as an experience and hopefully that of learning. Some of the classes-mainly gen-eds are 98.2% busywork and often I find myself walking away with little or nothing to take away for the future.
On a more positive note...this IT class really taught me quite a bit and the range of the information which I gained from the class expands beyond the realms of IT, but is important in marketing, communication, finance, and almost every aspect of business and life. The many uses of both social networking and blogging are infinite.
Whether you're looking for a place to live, a bed for your apartment, a date on a Saturday night, an internship or job in August, or something to read when you're bored at night...blogs and social networks are the answer. Ten minutes ago I was reading an article from Forbes that I read on Digg which was about a man who found his wife on CraigsList while just trying to sell his sofa -- Check it out!
Coming in all shapes, forms, styles, and sizes blogs are helpful in many ways from finding the best product, price, restaurant, or reading about the latest car introduces 8 minutes ago at the Toyko Auto Show.
After taking this class, I realize the expanse of the Internet and its application in almost every aspect of life. All I can say is that due to the aforementioned reasons, i'm glad to be an IT major. ... not to mention the job opportunity and demand for IT majors in the workforce at an all time high!
On that note, I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer break.
-Alex Yale
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
GoLoco - Want to Carpool with...SoccerDude928?
social networking is being used to connect both people whom know each other and those who don't. many sites have a niche in the social networking society like college students, business professionals, singles (white, black, green, and blue), musicians..and the list goes on.
i'm sure there exists a social network for everything you are interested and anything you might hold in common with somebody. just when you thought this was the case...then there came another social network.
what do we have today? GoLoco.
GoLoco is a social networking site started by one of the founders of Zip Car which " is a service that helps people quickly arrange ride sharing between friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We also handle online payments from passengers to drivers for their share of the trip costs." -goloco.org
weirded out yet?
How Does it Work? -- GoLoco enables users to create a profile which has a picture of them, their interests, hobbies, friends (users), and college/university/employer with which they are associated.
On your profile you also post trips you are going on or trips you want to go on. This allows users to search through all the trips posted on the website and find a ride to a place where they too are going. Whether you're going somewhere, or want to get a ride to somewhere you post to either find a ride or give one. What i find to be interesting about GoLoco is that if you're somebody who has a car and can get somewhere on his/her own...the incentive is that you can charge for a ride to/from where you're going.
"While you can pick people up just for the sake of it, the website is also set up with money in mind. If you choose not to do it for free, the passenger pays a share of the total cost - and it will be deposited in the driver’s account (with the exception of 10%, which goes to the website) before you even meet each other. Assuming the driver doesn’t just ditch and keep the money, one person has gotten the ride they needed and the other now has more cash." - GoLoco Blog Write-Up
This is an interesting concept and use of a social network in that it can definitely help the environment out...less cars on the road, but it can also save somebody some money if they're going somewhere that somebody else needs to go.
While all this sounds find and dandy..the real question is how safe is finding somebody to carpool with online? At the inception of online dating - many were skeptical about meeting people whom they met online in person in a crowded restaurant in downtown DC. How do you feel about SoccerDude928 who you meet online coming to your house and you getting in their car for a 3 hour trip up to Philadelphia?
luckily -- GoLoco has thought about the safety aspect and has enabled users who have ridden with people to post comments and ratings about them. So if BeerBoy82 rode with JBWilson last week from DC to Annapolis he can write "Bad driver, smokes with the windows up -- don't recommend." Also, you can view people you have in common so if you see your friend Bill is a friend of SoccerDude928's then you can ask Bill about it. Thirdly, one of the important safety features is that if worst comes to worst....GoLoco sends your trip plans to a "secure buddy" that you have designated (friend, girlfriend, neighbor...) so that if you don't show up after 8 days at least somebody has some idea of who you drove with and to where.
even with the aforementioned safety restrains in place...i still feel like though its a great concept, it requires a lot of users to be signed up and a lot of feedback to be available in order for people to feel comfortable enough to drive with SoccerDude928. I just don't think we're quite ready to instill this kind of trust...yet in an age where somebody we require to have 90%+ feedback before we dare buy a $14 dollar item from them on eBay!
....a comment on one of the writeups I saw regarding GoLoco stated, "Why don’t they just make a website where you volunteer to get raped and dismembered? It’d save a step."
i'm sure there exists a social network for everything you are interested and anything you might hold in common with somebody. just when you thought this was the case...then there came another social network.
what do we have today? GoLoco.
GoLoco is a social networking site started by one of the founders of Zip Car which " is a service that helps people quickly arrange ride sharing between friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We also handle online payments from passengers to drivers for their share of the trip costs." -goloco.org
weirded out yet?
How Does it Work? -- GoLoco enables users to create a profile which has a picture of them, their interests, hobbies, friends (users), and college/university/employer with which they are associated.
On your profile you also post trips you are going on or trips you want to go on. This allows users to search through all the trips posted on the website and find a ride to a place where they too are going. Whether you're going somewhere, or want to get a ride to somewhere you post to either find a ride or give one. What i find to be interesting about GoLoco is that if you're somebody who has a car and can get somewhere on his/her own...the incentive is that you can charge for a ride to/from where you're going.
"While you can pick people up just for the sake of it, the website is also set up with money in mind. If you choose not to do it for free, the passenger pays a share of the total cost - and it will be deposited in the driver’s account (with the exception of 10%, which goes to the website) before you even meet each other. Assuming the driver doesn’t just ditch and keep the money, one person has gotten the ride they needed and the other now has more cash." - GoLoco Blog Write-Up
This is an interesting concept and use of a social network in that it can definitely help the environment out...less cars on the road, but it can also save somebody some money if they're going somewhere that somebody else needs to go.
While all this sounds find and dandy..the real question is how safe is finding somebody to carpool with online? At the inception of online dating - many were skeptical about meeting people whom they met online in person in a crowded restaurant in downtown DC. How do you feel about SoccerDude928 who you meet online coming to your house and you getting in their car for a 3 hour trip up to Philadelphia?
luckily -- GoLoco has thought about the safety aspect and has enabled users who have ridden with people to post comments and ratings about them. So if BeerBoy82 rode with JBWilson last week from DC to Annapolis he can write "Bad driver, smokes with the windows up -- don't recommend." Also, you can view people you have in common so if you see your friend Bill is a friend of SoccerDude928's then you can ask Bill about it. Thirdly, one of the important safety features is that if worst comes to worst....GoLoco sends your trip plans to a "secure buddy" that you have designated (friend, girlfriend, neighbor...) so that if you don't show up after 8 days at least somebody has some idea of who you drove with and to where.
even with the aforementioned safety restrains in place...i still feel like though its a great concept, it requires a lot of users to be signed up and a lot of feedback to be available in order for people to feel comfortable enough to drive with SoccerDude928. I just don't think we're quite ready to instill this kind of trust...yet in an age where somebody we require to have 90%+ feedback before we dare buy a $14 dollar item from them on eBay!
....a comment on one of the writeups I saw regarding GoLoco stated, "Why don’t they just make a website where you volunteer to get raped and dismembered? It’d save a step."
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
blogs and social networks can what...SAVE YOU MONEY!?!?
thats right....you head it (hopefully not for the first time)...a lot of blogs out there can help you save money
SlickDeals
Techdeals
SteepAndCheap
...only to name a few.
these blogs are collectively added on to by users updating the website with the most current deals, coupons, and offers ranging from free scoops at Ben & Jerry's to a wireless mouse deal after a coupon and mail-in-rebate at RadioShack. I'm a big fan of these websites and consult them on a daily basis whether i'm in the market for a product or not. However, if you're not somebody like me who has a list of websites in their browser that they check on a daily basis, then you should definitily use a website like Techdeals if you're in the market for something like a computer monitor, external hard drive, or digital camera. Techdeals has listings of where you can find the cheapest deals on products including incentives like Google Checkout, store percentage discounts, and mail-in rebates.
The other websites that I linked to above, such as Woot.com, and SteepAndCheap.com, both have daily deals where the product changes every day. Each product is the only one sold on the website at the time and the quantity is unknown so it may run out at any time.
With social and collaborative websites such as techdeals and slickdeals, users get the most for their money when buying online. This is an aspect of social networking that we have really not touched upon in class. Though we have discussed the important of users explaining and reviewing products they buy...this give users a central location to which they can post good deals they find when browsing everyday websites.
NOW.....using social networks and blogs, we now have the capability to find products, get reviews, find the best deals, learn how to use them, learn how to fix them, and finally, learn how to sell them as used when you're done! We have come full circle.
SlickDeals
Techdeals
SteepAndCheap
...only to name a few.
these blogs are collectively added on to by users updating the website with the most current deals, coupons, and offers ranging from free scoops at Ben & Jerry's to a wireless mouse deal after a coupon and mail-in-rebate at RadioShack. I'm a big fan of these websites and consult them on a daily basis whether i'm in the market for a product or not. However, if you're not somebody like me who has a list of websites in their browser that they check on a daily basis, then you should definitily use a website like Techdeals if you're in the market for something like a computer monitor, external hard drive, or digital camera. Techdeals has listings of where you can find the cheapest deals on products including incentives like Google Checkout, store percentage discounts, and mail-in rebates.
The other websites that I linked to above, such as Woot.com, and SteepAndCheap.com, both have daily deals where the product changes every day. Each product is the only one sold on the website at the time and the quantity is unknown so it may run out at any time.
With social and collaborative websites such as techdeals and slickdeals, users get the most for their money when buying online. This is an aspect of social networking that we have really not touched upon in class. Though we have discussed the important of users explaining and reviewing products they buy...this give users a central location to which they can post good deals they find when browsing everyday websites.
NOW.....using social networks and blogs, we now have the capability to find products, get reviews, find the best deals, learn how to use them, learn how to fix them, and finally, learn how to sell them as used when you're done! We have come full circle.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A WIRED Interview with Eric Schmidt: Google's CEO and the Interesting Concepts he explores.
so web 2.0 is all about user collaboration and user created content. it has proved that the web is now more geared toward the user and that it is more of an interactive medium that the viewing/reading medium it was not long ago. a definition of web 2.0 which I actually came up with states "Web 2.0 is the second generation of the world wide web which enables users to take a more active approach to the content available, as well as provide them with the opportunity to share and collaborate their thoughts, ideas, and interests with the world via a virtual connection."
as I was reading the articles posted for this class...i kind of drifted off of the realm of CRM capabilities online....and wandered to a homeland of sorts -- digg.com. as i was browsing the headlines to see what's new in the technology world I ran into an article from Wired which was an interview with Google's CEO Eric Schmidt. it highlighted a few major and interesting points.
- Web 2.0 enables any company or venture enter the market (like yahoo, ebay, google) which are all companies which make money in different ways.
-The fact that most web 2.0 technology and software is often free or very cheap due to the fact that money can often be made and especially specialized advertising like Google's AdSense
-Cloud Computer? - Internet as an operating system -- This concept explores the need for programs to exist on one's personal computer....or lack there of .
this third point of cloud computing was most interesting to me. the truth is that with programs like google docs, thumbstacks, basecamp, gmail and the list goes on....there really is no need for having computer software downloaded to our hard drives and paying for software when you can simply use a web app found on a server in the clouds for your every need. Schmidt even talks about the possibility that we can write a document on say....GoogleDocs on the airplane, and when we are reconnected to the internet the Document will then save to the server. Such a thing is impossible now but will one day be possible says Schmidt.
No need for me to summarize the entire article seeing I think you should read it as it is both relevant and interesting! Here's the link: Text of Wired's Interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt
in conclusion....i would like end with a statement made by Schmidt towards the end of the interview which poses an interesting questions....is it true? what do you think?
"I would argue that we in the industry forgot this. We became as a group - certainly I did - consumed with the complexity of the systems that we were building for powerful corporations, and we forgot that there's a much larger market around consumers for simple solutions."
as I was reading the articles posted for this class...i kind of drifted off of the realm of CRM capabilities online....and wandered to a homeland of sorts -- digg.com. as i was browsing the headlines to see what's new in the technology world I ran into an article from Wired which was an interview with Google's CEO Eric Schmidt. it highlighted a few major and interesting points.
- Web 2.0 enables any company or venture enter the market (like yahoo, ebay, google) which are all companies which make money in different ways.
-The fact that most web 2.0 technology and software is often free or very cheap due to the fact that money can often be made and especially specialized advertising like Google's AdSense
-Cloud Computer? - Internet as an operating system -- This concept explores the need for programs to exist on one's personal computer....or lack there of .
this third point of cloud computing was most interesting to me. the truth is that with programs like google docs, thumbstacks, basecamp, gmail and the list goes on....there really is no need for having computer software downloaded to our hard drives and paying for software when you can simply use a web app found on a server in the clouds for your every need. Schmidt even talks about the possibility that we can write a document on say....GoogleDocs on the airplane, and when we are reconnected to the internet the Document will then save to the server. Such a thing is impossible now but will one day be possible says Schmidt.
No need for me to summarize the entire article seeing I think you should read it as it is both relevant and interesting! Here's the link: Text of Wired's Interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt
in conclusion....i would like end with a statement made by Schmidt towards the end of the interview which poses an interesting questions....is it true? what do you think?
"I would argue that we in the industry forgot this. We became as a group - certainly I did - consumed with the complexity of the systems that we were building for powerful corporations, and we forgot that there's a much larger market around consumers for simple solutions."
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
home for passover...
while i was home for passover i realized some stuff.
1) the older generation as a whole is really unwilling to accept the extreme change in technology and its great effect on business, communication, and collaboration. not only do many of those who are involved in small businesses remain unaware of up and coming technologies, but they don't have the motivation that large corporations do to change.
Large companies such as GEICO or some mentioned in the articles who are utilizing or trying out programs like Basecamp have the departments or employees who are up to date on technology and provide IT solutions which make it possible for these companies to advance and use the new technology available to their benefit. Small businesses and businesses without money available for such allocation do not grasp such new technologies and may be hurt as a result. For these reasons, older generations currently occupying a major sector of the work force is unaware of the abilities that the internet and social networks provide...and are therefore unwilling to accept and adapt to new methods of interaction.
2) there was a couple at my house who met about 2 months ago on craigslist classifieds...who would think to post their profile there compared to a known dating site like match.com or jdate?
amazingly, for such a simple interface, it seems that craigs list really encompasses an plethora of opportunities and information...strange how a website that appears so old and simplistic can still be so effective and useful.
i know this post was short and random....but just some real life issues that I had encountered , and thought about during my few days home.
1) the older generation as a whole is really unwilling to accept the extreme change in technology and its great effect on business, communication, and collaboration. not only do many of those who are involved in small businesses remain unaware of up and coming technologies, but they don't have the motivation that large corporations do to change.
Large companies such as GEICO or some mentioned in the articles who are utilizing or trying out programs like Basecamp have the departments or employees who are up to date on technology and provide IT solutions which make it possible for these companies to advance and use the new technology available to their benefit. Small businesses and businesses without money available for such allocation do not grasp such new technologies and may be hurt as a result. For these reasons, older generations currently occupying a major sector of the work force is unaware of the abilities that the internet and social networks provide...and are therefore unwilling to accept and adapt to new methods of interaction.
2) there was a couple at my house who met about 2 months ago on craigslist classifieds...who would think to post their profile there compared to a known dating site like match.com or jdate?
amazingly, for such a simple interface, it seems that craigs list really encompasses an plethora of opportunities and information...strange how a website that appears so old and simplistic can still be so effective and useful.
i know this post was short and random....but just some real life issues that I had encountered , and thought about during my few days home.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
its all about who you know...and how well you know them.
networking. the single most important thing to do in business.
benefits of networking:
finding:
- customers
- clients
- partners
- employees
- manufacturers
- investors
- babysitters
- internships
- jobs
- opportunities
- a wife/husband
...and the list goes on.
bottom line is that networking is the way you meet people. whether you're at the campus cafeteria and you meet a friend through another friend, or you're at one of those Kogod sponsored networking receptions....the person you meet in Terrace Dining Room may be more, less, or un-important as the big business man you met at the reception. personally, i feel that there is no harm in meeting people and from everybody you meet, chances are that you'll grasp or think about at least one thing they did or said...or get one internship, or meet one person they know which will change your life in some way.
as far back as I can remember....every job i've ever had was because of a connection i've made, most times, somebody i knew who knew somebody else passed my resume along...or somebody my parents knew had some tie to something.
"It's not what you know, but who you know." (Don't know who said that..its just a cliche, but a true one at that.)
story time:
so remember that flight i was on last week from Madrid to JFK? yea--the one that caught on fire. well, i was sitting next to women who was an IT major at University of Michigan and now works for Nokia in the technology department. She basically talks to third party vendors and finds software for nokia to use with their phones....well yea, we schmoozed. And I got her card and emailed her and....lets hope I have an internship with Nokia next summer!
(no bull)
to conclude my argument on the importance of making connections and networking.....no matter who is or where you are, we all have something to gain from one and other, whether it be one of those things i listed in the beginning...or even finding out something you don't want to do or somewhere you don't want to work. I interned last fall at Simon Property Group in Arlington, VA....and though the stuff they had me doing was tedious (I was a marketing specialization at the time)....the internship was successful. It was successful because I was able to realize what i didn't want to do...marketing. therefore, even if what you get from meeting somebody is not a positive experience, chances are you'll benefit in some way.
linked here is an article I found which is relevant to my discussion and this week's reading entitled "It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know: Work in The Information Age"
benefits of networking:
finding:
- customers
- clients
- partners
- employees
- manufacturers
- investors
- babysitters
- internships
- jobs
- opportunities
- a wife/husband
...and the list goes on.
bottom line is that networking is the way you meet people. whether you're at the campus cafeteria and you meet a friend through another friend, or you're at one of those Kogod sponsored networking receptions....the person you meet in Terrace Dining Room may be more, less, or un-important as the big business man you met at the reception. personally, i feel that there is no harm in meeting people and from everybody you meet, chances are that you'll grasp or think about at least one thing they did or said...or get one internship, or meet one person they know which will change your life in some way.
as far back as I can remember....every job i've ever had was because of a connection i've made, most times, somebody i knew who knew somebody else passed my resume along...or somebody my parents knew had some tie to something.
"It's not what you know, but who you know." (Don't know who said that..its just a cliche, but a true one at that.)
story time:
so remember that flight i was on last week from Madrid to JFK? yea--the one that caught on fire. well, i was sitting next to women who was an IT major at University of Michigan and now works for Nokia in the technology department. She basically talks to third party vendors and finds software for nokia to use with their phones....well yea, we schmoozed. And I got her card and emailed her and....lets hope I have an internship with Nokia next summer!
(no bull)
to conclude my argument on the importance of making connections and networking.....no matter who is or where you are, we all have something to gain from one and other, whether it be one of those things i listed in the beginning...or even finding out something you don't want to do or somewhere you don't want to work. I interned last fall at Simon Property Group in Arlington, VA....and though the stuff they had me doing was tedious (I was a marketing specialization at the time)....the internship was successful. It was successful because I was able to realize what i didn't want to do...marketing. therefore, even if what you get from meeting somebody is not a positive experience, chances are you'll benefit in some way.
linked here is an article I found which is relevant to my discussion and this week's reading entitled "It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know: Work in The Information Age"
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
blogging for a purpose
rather than reflecting on blogging and its connection and effect on politics this post is an experiment. Over spring break five of my friends and I decided to do an alternate spring break trip and venture to Spain with nothing but airline tickets and apartment and hostel reservations. Surprisingly, we made great use of all our days abroad and saw what there was to see in the cities as far as official tourism as well as a fair share of things that the Spanish government doesn’t support nor seem to prosecute – like hookers, beer vendors, and drug dealers who line “Las Ramblas” any night after about 1AM. Needless to say, with six best friends in Spain for eight days we had an awesome trip, however, the airline was the only damper. Anyway—the experiment I was going for in this blog was to post about my horrible experience on Iberia Airlines with a picture and see what kind of out-of-class reaction this can/ or will stir up.
on the way to Barcelona, other than about four gate changes connecting in Madrid to reach Barcelona and rude flight attendants – everything went fairly smoothly, that is, other than the landing in Barcelona. The only time I feel Iberia really screwed up was with the flight from Madrid back to JFK. After arriving at the airport we all check in at the ticket counter and are told that since the flight was oversold we don’t have seats and had to take all of our luggage and standby vouchers to a customer service desk. The good news is—they were able to get us seats. Arriving at the gate the flight was delayed 30 minutes for maintenance reasons and then we were able to board the plane. Everything goes smoothly…we take off, and then about 8 minutes later the pilot comes over the P.A. telling us that one of our engines overheated and we need to make an emergency landing back in Madrid. As we touch the ground the aircraft was surrounded by emergency vehicles (fire, police, ambulance) and then we were asked to disembark the plane. Here’s a picture I took from the jet-bridge as we were going back into the airport:
As it turned out, one of the engines had overheated, caught on fire, and was sprayed down by the fire crew. I would think that if they knew it was a problem they wouldn’t put some duct take on and send us on our way across the Atlantic…maybe its just standard procedure. After two hours of sitting in the Airport we were finally able to board a new aircraft and make our way to New York. My friends and I are still trying to come up with an acronym for I B E R I A. Any ideas?
Incompetently
Bringing
Everybody
Roughly
Into
Airports
Hopefully this will let the company know that they really need to get their act together, and possibly some free tickets to Spain for myself? Come on Iberia ....challenge my blog!
on the way to Barcelona, other than about four gate changes connecting in Madrid to reach Barcelona and rude flight attendants – everything went fairly smoothly, that is, other than the landing in Barcelona. The only time I feel Iberia really screwed up was with the flight from Madrid back to JFK. After arriving at the airport we all check in at the ticket counter and are told that since the flight was oversold we don’t have seats and had to take all of our luggage and standby vouchers to a customer service desk. The good news is—they were able to get us seats. Arriving at the gate the flight was delayed 30 minutes for maintenance reasons and then we were able to board the plane. Everything goes smoothly…we take off, and then about 8 minutes later the pilot comes over the P.A. telling us that one of our engines overheated and we need to make an emergency landing back in Madrid. As we touch the ground the aircraft was surrounded by emergency vehicles (fire, police, ambulance) and then we were asked to disembark the plane. Here’s a picture I took from the jet-bridge as we were going back into the airport:
As it turned out, one of the engines had overheated, caught on fire, and was sprayed down by the fire crew. I would think that if they knew it was a problem they wouldn’t put some duct take on and send us on our way across the Atlantic…maybe its just standard procedure. After two hours of sitting in the Airport we were finally able to board a new aircraft and make our way to New York. My friends and I are still trying to come up with an acronym for I B E R I A. Any ideas?
Incompetently
Bringing
Everybody
Roughly
Into
Airports
Hopefully this will let the company know that they really need to get their act together, and possibly some free tickets to Spain for myself? Come on Iberia ....challenge my blog!
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