A couple weeks ago in my Marketing 181 class, my professor brought up an interesting question that to this day has me still thinking, "How would you feel if LinkedIn and Facebook integrated thus giving someone dual social membership?" This had everyone in my class arguing about what the future holds for two major social networks competing against each other. Since then, we have explored how the marketing strategies of these two social networks are too different yet they're compatible to some degree. Although the two have been designed to play in different areas such as Facebook's personal communication and LinkedIn's professional/business interaction, they eventually stack up and people start to use them in both ways. Although I am not a member of LinkedIn, I asked my uncle, the CEO of a real estate investment trust, what he thinks about integrating LinkedIn and Facebook since he is a member of both. I remember him saying to me that comparing the two and getting past the different numbers is like comparing apples to oranges. I believe he was telling me that although they both offer great value of themselves, the comparisons will quickly go away once you start comparing specific measurable differences. Facebook encourages more active members with enjoyable communication and collaboration with its Wall and features. On the other hand, LinkedIn misses the useful features of images and is more geared up for business purposes. Recently, Facebook has gotten more innovative with a platform strategy that has opened itself up to numerous entrepreneurs creating numerous applications. Therefore, a question that I ask myself and intrigued my class was, "Do LinkedIn professionals need all the "cool" stuff in business interaction like there is in Facebook?" This question poses an interesting idea about future innovation like, should Facebook and LinkedIn create a link with each other and create applications with each other?
Although an integration between the two sounds like an interesting idea, many people say that comparing two networks with different markets and targets is nearly ridiculous, the possibility of joining the two should not be completely rejected. The cultures of both are very different but to me it seems as if their paths are crossing. When I asked my dad who is in the financial industry, what he thought about the two sites joining together, he mentioned that the culture, numbers, and demographics of the two are far too different to be an agreeable unity. Although I am not 100% sure, how I feel about the integration of the two social networks, I believe there is some kind of value in separating the personal and professional life. But wouldn't it be innovative and more efficient if it happened someday in the future? Is there an obvious division between casual personal and formal professional networks?
Monday, May 9, 2011
Mobile Apps & Sustainability
Now that the world has recognized a need to become more "green" in the future, implementing technology to promote sustainable behavior is a prime example of how innovation is catching up with the latest business trends. Since technology affects all aspects of our lives, it makes sense to use this tool as a way to keep sustainability in our minds at all times. Technology has and will continue to do so in the future directly affect sustainable practices, but it is now up to us to ensure that they help the cause and not destroy it. A recent innovative idea that I will be discussing about is the mobile sustainability applications. By using our cell phones, we can significantly reduce the amount of resources consumed, improve manufacturing techniques, and focus on delivery systems. Smartphones have become a communication necessity in business and they can do just about anything, from tracking packages to depositing a check into the bank. Business owners and entrepreneurs are embracing smart phones because they are better, faster and have applications that focus to specific business needs. Now these phones are helping companies go green with the iPhone and Android's "Greenpeace Tissue Guide" app. This innovative idea allows a consumer to make better green-buying decisions on paper towels, tissues, toilet paper, and paper napkins. I first came across this app a couple months ago on my friend's iPhone and was impressed with how Apple is becoming up to date on the latest environmental trends.
Another brilliant app that mobile devices are now using to encourage customers to be more 'green' is the Avego. This application helps business owners who are worried about gas prices which matches real car drivers in real time as they travel, so ridesharing can be done whenever and wherever you are. This app helps businesses save on road issues and gas. I think that this is a good example of mobile innovation because it allows employees to sign up for ridesharing, which helps the economy focus on working together for a greener environment. The GreenDrive application is another innovative idea that lets a driver know how much more speed to increase or decrease in order to achieve maximum fuel efficiency. According to www.ubergizmo.com, this app saves a driver around 15-25% on fuel costs. As a result of Apple's application products, competitors such as Google and Microsoft will soon follow up with similar concepts. Mobile technology can help business sustainability initiatives and create a form of "green" standards for employees, customers, and owners to follow. Smartphone applications are advancing the way companies service their customers and spend their money. I see this innovative idea as brilliant because the more people use mobile devices, the better companies are creating an awareness for the need of more sustainable behavior. This is an integral way to change people's behavior by making it fun, easy, and trendy.
Another brilliant app that mobile devices are now using to encourage customers to be more 'green' is the Avego. This application helps business owners who are worried about gas prices which matches real car drivers in real time as they travel, so ridesharing can be done whenever and wherever you are. This app helps businesses save on road issues and gas. I think that this is a good example of mobile innovation because it allows employees to sign up for ridesharing, which helps the economy focus on working together for a greener environment. The GreenDrive application is another innovative idea that lets a driver know how much more speed to increase or decrease in order to achieve maximum fuel efficiency. According to www.ubergizmo.com, this app saves a driver around 15-25% on fuel costs. As a result of Apple's application products, competitors such as Google and Microsoft will soon follow up with similar concepts. Mobile technology can help business sustainability initiatives and create a form of "green" standards for employees, customers, and owners to follow. Smartphone applications are advancing the way companies service their customers and spend their money. I see this innovative idea as brilliant because the more people use mobile devices, the better companies are creating an awareness for the need of more sustainable behavior. This is an integral way to change people's behavior by making it fun, easy, and trendy.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Technology and Social Interaction
In such a globalized world, technology has had a major influence over the way we connect and interact with each other. People have so many forms of communication than ever before, and they all operate at high speeds and facilitate instantaneous multiparty communication. I feel that since the beginning of the 21st Century, the choices, accessibility, and affordability of communication technology have naturally changed our social habits in both positive and negative ways. Although the amount of social interaction has increased, the quality has decreased significantly. I remember when I was in the eighth grade, my parents gave me my first cell phone. I had never felt so excited to feel "hip" and connected with the other eighth graders who had cell phones. Although not everyone in my class had one, those who did clearly marked their latest toy as an indicator of maturity and technological importance. Since then I have realized how cell phones, laptops, smart phones, PDA's, video game systems such as Xbox, email and instant messaging are all forms of technology that make frequency a positive example. Easy access to these technologies means we are able to communicate more frequently than ever, from texting in the classroom to making phone calls in the bathroom.
In some social locations, technology has made people to write more and talk less. The ubiquitous and cheap nature of email has made it a backbone of business and personal communication. Emails have the advantage to send information instantly to numerous people and with the increasing number of people obtaining iPhones and Blackberrys, people no longer have to be at their desks to communicate. Last year, I took an internship with Wells Fargo and the entire time I was there I never saw anyone from the other floors of my office because there was no face-to-face communication. Written electronic communication completely replaced phone calls and personal interaction. Similar to this is the case of online dating websites such as match.com or eharmony. Sometimes people can get too wrapped up with electronic communication that they forget the personal interaction skills and therefore can't maintain a healthy relationship with a companion.
When I was little, I would always remember my dad telling me and my friends to play outside more and leave the house. He would mention how back in his day him and his friends practically lived outside unlike nowadays children are too wrapped up in video games. Now that I am older I now understand why my dad encouraged me to go outside and not get wrapped up in virtual reality. I've realized that they lower social skills and advancements in game systems such as Xbox Live has allowed online players to have multiparty conversations while playing with headsets on. Thus, this creates a "virtual" relationship while in reality each player is alone.
The technological advancement of online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have allowed people to stay connected to family and reunite with long-lost friends from high school or college. A couple weeks ago, a person whom I used to be friends with in grade school friended me on facebook and it was good to see what he is doing with his life. Although we no longer communicate verbally anymore, it is nice to see where he is going with his life. Social networking allows us to share our daily lives and thoughts with with one another through messages and walls that signal our connections.
One day I stumbled upon a very interesting website, www.janusessays.org which correlates to how technology has impacted the way we socialize. A group of students and professors called the Janus Project which brings together theology programs from Yale, Cornell, Fordham, Brown, and Georgetown have expressed their concerns of technology on interpersonal communication. This project wrote essays worried about how email, social networking, texting, instant messaging, and video games have diminished our social skills. They also claimed that technological communication and interaction through devices will ruin our ability to interact comfortably around each other's presence. I personally believe that the Janus Project is too extreme in their prediction of technology's affects of communication. I think we as a society should encourage "real" space/ public spheres to connect in moderation. If someone spends too much time on technology, I think that our everyday relationships will turn into "virtual" relationships. Moderation is key to successful innovation.
In some social locations, technology has made people to write more and talk less. The ubiquitous and cheap nature of email has made it a backbone of business and personal communication. Emails have the advantage to send information instantly to numerous people and with the increasing number of people obtaining iPhones and Blackberrys, people no longer have to be at their desks to communicate. Last year, I took an internship with Wells Fargo and the entire time I was there I never saw anyone from the other floors of my office because there was no face-to-face communication. Written electronic communication completely replaced phone calls and personal interaction. Similar to this is the case of online dating websites such as match.com or eharmony. Sometimes people can get too wrapped up with electronic communication that they forget the personal interaction skills and therefore can't maintain a healthy relationship with a companion.
When I was little, I would always remember my dad telling me and my friends to play outside more and leave the house. He would mention how back in his day him and his friends practically lived outside unlike nowadays children are too wrapped up in video games. Now that I am older I now understand why my dad encouraged me to go outside and not get wrapped up in virtual reality. I've realized that they lower social skills and advancements in game systems such as Xbox Live has allowed online players to have multiparty conversations while playing with headsets on. Thus, this creates a "virtual" relationship while in reality each player is alone.
The technological advancement of online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have allowed people to stay connected to family and reunite with long-lost friends from high school or college. A couple weeks ago, a person whom I used to be friends with in grade school friended me on facebook and it was good to see what he is doing with his life. Although we no longer communicate verbally anymore, it is nice to see where he is going with his life. Social networking allows us to share our daily lives and thoughts with with one another through messages and walls that signal our connections.
One day I stumbled upon a very interesting website, www.janusessays.org which correlates to how technology has impacted the way we socialize. A group of students and professors called the Janus Project which brings together theology programs from Yale, Cornell, Fordham, Brown, and Georgetown have expressed their concerns of technology on interpersonal communication. This project wrote essays worried about how email, social networking, texting, instant messaging, and video games have diminished our social skills. They also claimed that technological communication and interaction through devices will ruin our ability to interact comfortably around each other's presence. I personally believe that the Janus Project is too extreme in their prediction of technology's affects of communication. I think we as a society should encourage "real" space/ public spheres to connect in moderation. If someone spends too much time on technology, I think that our everyday relationships will turn into "virtual" relationships. Moderation is key to successful innovation.
My Media Diet
Day 1: Monday
3 hours internet
1 hour phone
1 hour television
During the first day, I spent a considerable amount of time on the internet because I had a paper due the next day. I had to do some research on the internet in addition to checking my emails and checking facebook for about a half hour that day. I talked to my mom and dad for an hour to catch up on how their week-end was.
Day 2: Tuesday
4 hours internet
30 minutes phone
30 minutes television
For my Tuesday class, I had to be on the internet for one of my classes for 105 minutes. Also I was on the internet for the usual checking of my emails and doing homework
Day 3: Wednesday
2 hours internet
30 hour phone
1 hours television
During the middle of the school week, my media consumption is usually lower than the end and beginning of the week due to written homework assignments that take up a majority of my day after I am done with class.
Day 4: Thursday
3 hours internet
2 hours television
This day does not represent my usual media consumption of television. Around the end of the week, I tend to be on the internet more and watch t.v. with my friends more. Most of my roommates are the same way since the day before Friday tends to be a very relaxed do whatever you want day.
Day 5: Friday
1 hour internet
2 hours phone
Since I get out early on Fridays, I tend to not go on the internet as much and instead interact with my friends. Although my internet usage was lower than normal, I talk on the phone way more on friday than any other day because I like to call/text my friends and family about what they are going to do for the upcoming weekend.
Day 6: Saturday
1 hour internet
1 hour phone
1 hour television
Day 7: Sunday
5 hours internet
30 minutes phone
The websites that I tend to go on a lot is stumbleupon.com, espn.com for the latest sports updates, and yahoo news. I tend to not watch too many television shows and instead I watch movies.
Until I did this media diet, I never realized how most of my media consumption was based upon my internet use. I was struck by that because I feel that I go on Facebook less than other people my age, but it may be attributed to my high email activity and surfing the internet for homework. I believe that my diet reflects how American society is so dependent on the internet for information and academic sources. Overall, I do not feel that I have anything to change about my media consumption. I do not watch too much t.v. and I limit my facebook use by playing sports outside and personally conversing with my roommates. The only media I tend to loose track of time is on the internet. When I am surfing the web for homework or on www.stumbleupon.com when I am bored, I tend to forget how much time has flown by. My social location influences my media intake because if I am outside or with my friends on the weekends, then I am not as likely to be using my phone or computer. During school days and when I have a lot of homework I will stay inside and more likely be on the internet.
3 hours internet
1 hour phone
1 hour television
During the first day, I spent a considerable amount of time on the internet because I had a paper due the next day. I had to do some research on the internet in addition to checking my emails and checking facebook for about a half hour that day. I talked to my mom and dad for an hour to catch up on how their week-end was.
Day 2: Tuesday
4 hours internet
30 minutes phone
30 minutes television
For my Tuesday class, I had to be on the internet for one of my classes for 105 minutes. Also I was on the internet for the usual checking of my emails and doing homework
Day 3: Wednesday
2 hours internet
30 hour phone
1 hours television
During the middle of the school week, my media consumption is usually lower than the end and beginning of the week due to written homework assignments that take up a majority of my day after I am done with class.
Day 4: Thursday
3 hours internet
2 hours television
This day does not represent my usual media consumption of television. Around the end of the week, I tend to be on the internet more and watch t.v. with my friends more. Most of my roommates are the same way since the day before Friday tends to be a very relaxed do whatever you want day.
Day 5: Friday
1 hour internet
2 hours phone
Since I get out early on Fridays, I tend to not go on the internet as much and instead interact with my friends. Although my internet usage was lower than normal, I talk on the phone way more on friday than any other day because I like to call/text my friends and family about what they are going to do for the upcoming weekend.
Day 6: Saturday
1 hour internet
1 hour phone
1 hour television
Day 7: Sunday
5 hours internet
30 minutes phone
The websites that I tend to go on a lot is stumbleupon.com, espn.com for the latest sports updates, and yahoo news. I tend to not watch too many television shows and instead I watch movies.
Until I did this media diet, I never realized how most of my media consumption was based upon my internet use. I was struck by that because I feel that I go on Facebook less than other people my age, but it may be attributed to my high email activity and surfing the internet for homework. I believe that my diet reflects how American society is so dependent on the internet for information and academic sources. Overall, I do not feel that I have anything to change about my media consumption. I do not watch too much t.v. and I limit my facebook use by playing sports outside and personally conversing with my roommates. The only media I tend to loose track of time is on the internet. When I am surfing the web for homework or on www.stumbleupon.com when I am bored, I tend to forget how much time has flown by. My social location influences my media intake because if I am outside or with my friends on the weekends, then I am not as likely to be using my phone or computer. During school days and when I have a lot of homework I will stay inside and more likely be on the internet.
Social Networking and Privacy
Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare are representative of how great innovation has become. It allows us to have the opportunity to interact with an expansive universe of new people or "friends"as we now like to call it. Globalization has taken such a stronghold all over the world that it is not surprising how interconnected our society has become via the Internet. Personally, I do not use social networking sites a lot because I try to moderate my 'online' social life with my 'real' social life. I am only on Facebook and I did not become a member until Thanksgiving break last year. I would say overall that I do a decent job of not making Facebook an everyday part of my life. The only reason that I joined Facebook was because once I came to Santa Clara everyone had an account. Nowadays everyone is on Facebook and in fact it has become the norm to be a member of an online social networking site. Overall, I would say that I spend about five hours a week on facebook checking status updates on my computer. I try to limit my time social networking because I feel that privacy is to some degree lost. A couple weeks ago, I bought my first blackberry and was taken back by how facebook and myspace applications were encouraged to be downloaded on a mobile device for a first-time user. Figuring out the buttons on a blackberry for the first time was confusing enough let alone learning how to download facebook. For that reason, I have chosen not to use my cell phone to access other people's personal information. I do not see why I have to see someone's latest picture or status update when I'm on my way to class, a restaurant, or going out.
I think that the cultural move towards social networking, constant access, and the loss of privacy has brought overall a positive trend. However, the positives do come along with it some degree of lost privacy. Social networking has allowed myself and millions of other people to stay connected and create new communities. Facebook, linkedin, and myspace represents a forum in which one can make choices about their identity. The freedom to represent yourself publicly must be expressed in a way that is not detrimental to your future. I have found that through facebook, I have been able to maintain and establish relations with people through sharing wall posts, pictures, and personal interests. From a business perspective, social networking has created positive trends such as LinkedIn's business community. Although I am not a member of LinkedIn, my dad who started his own company has mentioned to me that LinkedIn has been a competent way for him to gain contacts, clients, and an public awareness of what is going on in the business world. As I mentioned earlier, the success of social networking is dependent on someone's ability to to moderate their online activity. Social networking brings with it the negative effects of lost privacy. The degree of lost privacy is reflected by how much online interaction has taken over real social interaction. Online networking can only work if you treat it the same way as a face-to-face interaction. Being an active member of a community or site is only valuable as the amount of effort someone puts into it. The entanglement between our personal lives and technology must be moderated to a level so that it does not interfere with our personal skills. Personally, I have never "over-shared", texted, or posted something that I have regretted because I have learned to present myself as I would in a normal social interaction. With facebook's privacy settings and my ability to limit my time spent on the computer, I have never worried about my privacy. It is integral that all members of online social networking sites realize that whatever is posted reflects their identity to the online world.
I think that the cultural move towards social networking, constant access, and the loss of privacy has brought overall a positive trend. However, the positives do come along with it some degree of lost privacy. Social networking has allowed myself and millions of other people to stay connected and create new communities. Facebook, linkedin, and myspace represents a forum in which one can make choices about their identity. The freedom to represent yourself publicly must be expressed in a way that is not detrimental to your future. I have found that through facebook, I have been able to maintain and establish relations with people through sharing wall posts, pictures, and personal interests. From a business perspective, social networking has created positive trends such as LinkedIn's business community. Although I am not a member of LinkedIn, my dad who started his own company has mentioned to me that LinkedIn has been a competent way for him to gain contacts, clients, and an public awareness of what is going on in the business world. As I mentioned earlier, the success of social networking is dependent on someone's ability to to moderate their online activity. Social networking brings with it the negative effects of lost privacy. The degree of lost privacy is reflected by how much online interaction has taken over real social interaction. Online networking can only work if you treat it the same way as a face-to-face interaction. Being an active member of a community or site is only valuable as the amount of effort someone puts into it. The entanglement between our personal lives and technology must be moderated to a level so that it does not interfere with our personal skills. Personally, I have never "over-shared", texted, or posted something that I have regretted because I have learned to present myself as I would in a normal social interaction. With facebook's privacy settings and my ability to limit my time spent on the computer, I have never worried about my privacy. It is integral that all members of online social networking sites realize that whatever is posted reflects their identity to the online world.
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