The Evolution of Communication

I recently read the article “When You’re Only Text Friends” by Charlotte Steinway and it got me thinking about communication.

Generation Y is introducing a new way to communicate than our forefathers.  We depend too much on texting, Facebook, and instant messaging.  We are basically spoiled with the ability for immediate communication.  We are also used to being in control when and how that communication will happen.  Young adults and younger people are used to communicating in a non-direct method.  Kids do not talk on the phone as much anymore.  They don’t say high in public when they run across people they know.  They don’t really get to know anyone before they have had a chance to scope them out on Facebook.  They need to pass the Facebook test first; are they human?  Kids prefer to casually browse among pages to see what their friends are up too than actually asking them.  And they don’t like surprises of running into people they know or have acquaintances with.  When kids are put in those circumstances they are now finding ways to ignore the other person rather than have an unplanned conversation in person.  Is this new generation becoming rude or just socially awkward?  Are we misusing technology to disconnect from the real world?

Older generations communicate much differently.  I’ve seen it first hand. For example, when I’m with my, Baby Boomer Generation, parents they seem eager to run into people they know in public.  They love the opportunity to strike up a conversation in the middle of anywhere at random times.  They like to call people rather than text and they always want to visit in person.  Communicating through the internet is just too impersonal.

Communication is evolving.  Is it changing for better or worse?

Update on the iPad

It looks like our class discussion underestimated the success of the Apple iPad.  The first day the iPad went on sale Apple sold an estimated 120,000.  According to Fortune Brainstorm Tech, most buyers purchased iPads that only have Wi-Fi capabilities.  Also, buyers were evenly distributed between purchasing the 16, 32, and 64 GB.

Users are finding interesting uses for the new product.  For example, a cat owner lets his cat play with the iPad (video).

This person found a way to get around that the iPad doesn’t print.

Another example is of Steven Colbert using it at the Grammy’s (Video).

Also this 99 year old women uses it to read and write poems (Video).

It looks like with the new innovation people are finding even more creative ways to use the iPad that we didn’t forecast.

The Power of the Crowds

What is crowdsourcing? The act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to a large group of people or community, through an open call. (Wikipedia- had to use them since we mentioned it in class :))

Crowdsourcing can be a great method to get tedious work complete or have others come up with ideas that you would never have imagined.  Also, crowdsourcing can let companies see what consumers want changed to their products or have added to the store.

Here is a list of some cool crowdsourcing websites:

• Theme Park Insider– Allows theme parkers to report incidents at theme parks that officials do not
• My Starbucks Idea– Lets consumers recommend ideas to Starbucks
• Gas Buddy– Users post gas prices around the US
• Fluevog Shoes– Users can design shoes. Then if voted enough, will be made in production and offered to consumers
• Google Map Maker– Users make their own maps and add points of interest that can be shared with others

And for my Favorites:

• Digg– Readers vote on favorite articles
• Texts From Last Night– Users posts funny texts
• Fail Blog– Users post pictures and videos of people failing
• Failbook– Users posts Facebook funny comments

Old People on Facebook!

One of the craziest trends going on Facebook right now is older people joining.  Some younger users are welcoming the change while others are resistant.  For example, many users have been joining groups such as, “It’s so wrong for parents to have face-book,” “Parents Don’t Need FACEBOOK,” and “Ban Parents off Facebook.”

Younger users are becoming challenged with the dilemma, should I add my dad or not?  Since the most popular age group joining Facebook is 45-65 even more problems are coming to life.  Aunts and uncles are joining now.  Cousins and grandparents.  Even worse could be your boss.  What should users do; friend or ignore?

The best thing to do is not post anything you would be ashamed to have your parents see.  This should become the new rule of thumb.  Then you will have less to worry about when friending your parents.  If it’s too late for that then maybe you should start on a rampage of deleting.

Another option would be to make certain information private or allow “these adult intruders” to see only certain parts of your profile.

I came across a cute article called “Why Facebook is for Old Fogies.” It was funny reading about why this writer believed Facebook was made for older people.  Number 7 defiantly matches my mom on Facebook.  She goes around to each one of her kid’s profiles and finds pictures that she likes of them and then posts them on her own wall to brag to her friends.  Also, my sister who is also a mom updates her status continuously about her children.  It looks like Facebook is becoming a parent fan club.

Planet of the Apps Blog

CNCB recently had a special on iPhone apps.  Below are few interesting ideas or facts from the show.

• Apple gets offered a thousand different apps a day by developers.
• The highest selling apps are games.
• Most app developers do not make money.
• The approval process is like a black hole because developers wait and don’t hear anything back from Apple for weeks to months about the potential launch of the app.
• There are over 100.000 apps.
• Many people believe apps are just a trend.

Here’s a link to more information about the CBNC program. Below is an excerpt of the program.

Featured Apps on the show:

Texthog -keep track of expenses through texting

Yowza!! -coupons, find deals by location of where you are

Newber– second number for your iphone -> forwards calls from business desk or home

Card snap- takes a picture of a business card and then uploads the contact info to your phone

Bump– exchanges info from users by bumping phones

Taximagic Video

Notes on the Facebook Platform Case

Facebook uses one terabyte of memory for new photos a day.

Facebook started at Harvard.  The founder dropped out of school to focus more on the promising business model.

How Facebook Makes Money:

1. advertising

2. search deal through Microsoft

3. sales of virtual goods

Two options to make more money:

1. help businesses engage with users more profitably

2. help business make new online apps that used Facebook Connect

Beacon Program was one failure for Facebook since it did not secure user privacy

Facebook is continuously changing due to competition and new developed technology.  Users are not always happy with the new Facebook upgrades.  Sometimes Facebook will change the upgrades if they realize it interferes with user’s privacy.  Sometimes Facebook does not change the upgrade even when users dislike it because in the long run users change their mind once they have learned how to work it properly and have figured out that it’s actually better.

Many of Facebook’s upgrades aren’t actually invented by the company.  Facebook sees what competitors are doing and makes the product better so that they have the advantage, similar to Apple.

Nintendo’s New 3DS

Nintendo has  announced a new product.  The item is an upgraded DS that is 3D.  According to the New York Time’s Nintendo has not been doing as well in earnings even with the successful sale of the Wii.  Nintendo hopes that this new and innovative product will change the company around.

Just like Apple’s iPad this product will be opening new video game markets.  What will gaming engineers be developing with this new technology?

The New York Time’s suspects games focusing on Avatar and Alice and Wonder Land movies.  I think that will only be the beginning for this 3D market.  New games are going to be developed just for this particular gaming system.

With the new trend of 3D movies, TV screens, and video games other media devices may also follow the direction.  What company is going to come out with the first 3D computer/ monitor? Will GPS become 3D?  What about eReaders?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ds.kombo.com/images/content/news/3ds.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ds.kombo.com/article.php%3Fartid%3D7952&usg=__SI6XLwS5RpYKlLQy_6rsWlFxU7M=&h=480&w=640&sz=130&hl=en&start=8&itbs=1&tbnid=j4PgH-lGyNRPHM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnintendo%2B3ds%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

Back From Spring Break

The New York Times posted a very interesting article in the business section tonight.  The article was a warning readers about privacy issues with social networking sites.  Basically the theme of the article was that the more databases are developed, the more easily they are able to identify personal information from the public.  This is a huge risk to users because your whole life story can be stored in a database that is trusted more than it should be.  Also, this growing technology eventually could be developed by criminals. A few interesting statements the article said were:

-Friend or Foe? Even if you do not disclose information about yourself, such as where you live or your email, who knows what your friends say about you and can be identified to you.

-Carnegie Mellon University, “reported that they could accurately predict the full, nine-digit Social Security numbers for 8.5 percent of the people born in the United States between 1989 and 2003 — nearly five million individuals.”

Blog #6- Notes on Google Inc. Case

To prepare for the quiz this Thursday I have complied a few notes about the Google Inc. case by the Harvard Business School.

Case topic: What should Google do next?

They have already entered several markets because of gmail, Google Docs, Google Fianance, and Google Maps.  What other products should make?

Google founded in 1999

-became a hit because they introduced new search engine technology

Paid Listings

-higher bidders don’t necessarily get chosen to by Google to be shown during searches

-bidders must have a high CTR

-bidders’ destination location should also be relevant

When Google decided to offer its first IPO, they offered the stock under different conditions than an IT computer normally would.  They did this to sustain the focus of the company and defend from new stockholder taker.  They are focused on long term growth and gains unlike other companies.

Google wanted to take the competitive advantage by keeping their secrets close.

Google influenced small work groups and individual chosen projects to increase innovation.

Google was willing to invest in risky projects but would rather have payouts from longterm.

In 2009 Google’s Youtube was estimated losing $470 million.

From Google’s intensely high market share in the internet advertising, concerns have formed of them possibly becoming a monopoly.

Competitors:

Yahoo, Bing, eBay, Amazon, Hulu, Facebook, Washington Post, and more

Options for what Google should do:

1.  Continue to focus on superior search solutions

2. Branch into more areas and expand