Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Collaborative and Distance Communication Platforms and Tools

I actually have some experience with this topic!  I have used Skype quite a bit and really like it.  I haven't used it much in the past couple months because of FaceTime on my iPhone.  They are both really fun, and are great ways to keep in touch with people.  I think that it makes online connection a lot more personal, because you are able to see the person you are communicating with.  I read an article on geek.com that talks about a robot called Botiful that you are able to control via Skype with bluetooth or a USB cable.  It is such a cool idea, there is a short video about Botiful on geek.com that explains it in detail.  I think it would be fun to have Botiful to play around with while using Skype.
An article on businessweek.com talks about a great use for Skype, Skyping a doctor!  According to the article there are not enough physicians in Georgia to serve the 1.9 million rural residents.  I think this is awesome, people are now able to access medical help via Skype within minutes, instead of the hours that they had to drive previously.  I think this technology is an asset and will be used in many more ways that I haven't thought of.  It will be interesting to watch this technology grow and change.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Blogging

I feel like I am behind when it comes to social media.  In my last post I talked about how little I knew about FourSquare and other platforms like it.  For this post I will be blogging about how inexperienced I am when it comes to blogging.  I have only had a blog because I have had classes that required it.  It was interesting for me to research more about it and read some tips on how to be a better blogger.
I started with the most basic question, "What is a blog?", after reading a short article on problogger.net I realized that a blog is simpler then I was thinking.  It really is just a chronological collection of a persons thoughts.  I personally made blogging much more complicated in my mind, for the longest time blogs were a little abstract and intimidating to me.  After reading the article it helped me to realize that a blog is nothing to be intimidated by!
I was also interested in some tips to create a blog that people will want to read. There are a ton of websites dedicated to tips on blogging.  One in particular was really cool, it had tips on how to customize your blog with different colors, videos, pictures, all sorts of different things.  It explained the difference between HTML and XHTML, there is a search bar that you can use to search any topic that you have a question about, and chances are this blog has the answer.  The blog is Tips For New Bloggers I learned a lot of cool new information about blogging from this blog. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Location Based Platforms

To be 100% honest I know very little when it comes to location based platforms.  I have used FourSquare in the past, but quickly forgot to ever "check in", so I deleted it from my phone.  I have only checked in on Facebook one maybe two times.  So it is easy to say that I am an amateur, at best, when it come to this topic. 
I wasn't really sure where to start when I was researching about this topic, or what I should really talk about, so I did a quick search online and found this article Why Location Based Services Like FourSquare Are Going To Become Big Businesses.  It taught me a lot about the reasons why businesses use services like FourSquare, and why people check in to theses services.  I never realized that there was so much going on when it came to platforms like this.  It is really cool to me that people are able to earn rewards from companies by checking in to FourSquare.  The article described it as a "loyalty rewards program", this description helped me understand the whole concept much better.  I'll be honest, I thought this checking in thing was a little goofy at first, I didn't really care where people were and what they were eating for lunch.  I also didn't really care for anyone to know where I was and what I was eating for lunch.  My thinking was, the people who already knew where I was, were the people who needed to know.  But my opinion has most definitely changed about this concept, I am much more interested in this system now that I have learned more about it.  My ignorance was definitely affecting my opinion on these location based services. 
After reading Top 5 Location-Based Services I am very interested in checking out all of these services to find out which one I like most.  I am excited to utilize these platforms, and receive the benefits of taking that extra second to check in. 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Platforms

As social media continues to grow it is becoming more and more crucial for businesses, big and small, to be involved in a few different platforms.  It is equally important that these platforms are utilized effectively and efficiently.  There are a few platforms, in particular, that have the largest following and because of this they will be the best sites for any business to market themselves on.  In the article Top 3 Social Media Platforms for Businesses the author explains why Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs are critical for a businesses success.  After reading a few articles, it is apparent that businesses are going to need to be proficient in many forms of social media.  Social media positions will increase and will be a crucial part of marketing teams.

With that said, I also read an article on wired.com, about the problem of fake "likes" on Facebook.  It has become of large problem that Facebook is really cracking down on.  In the article it talks about how fake "likes" helped to boost the companies standing, and made the companies look much more popular then they actually are.  This has backfired, making the public lose trust in the company and will now be less likely to purchase their products.  This also has shed a poor light on Facebook, causing people to lose trust in them.  People do not want to be a on social media site that allows fake profiles to be generated just to boost a companies standing.

It was really interesting to read about this topic, I believe that social media is going to continue to play a crucial role in marketing.  There will be a big demand for individuals who are knowledgeable and creative to run social media teams in every kind of business, it is an always changing topic, therefore companies will need to stay on top of the changes and will need to be educated in the evolution of social media.