Final Blog Write-Up

Obviously I have heard about and read about blogs before this class. I had only constructed one myself previous to this and it was for an entry level English class here at Clemson. Fortunately, I enjoyed writing this one a little more. I think the reason being was because of my interest in the class. For the most part, I was intrigued by the discussions we had in class, even if I was not able to have as much input. I felt as if sometimes I was a little overwhelmed with the lingo, technology speak, and overall knowledge of emerging technologies. However, most of the material was still interesting and even opened me up to doing a little research on my own outside of class time on our class topics. I guess that means that these blogs were a success in the sense that it did spur me to research and converse with others about materials outside of class. So I am glad we did them. I do not think these weekly assignments have attracted me to blogs in general though. Frankly, I do not really like writing about my thoughts and never seemed to see the allure of posting something on the internet for all others to see. In conclusion, I am satisfied with what the blog assignments have done for me, but I probably will not create my own in the future.

Week 11

Yesterday, we had a very interesting guest speaker. Lisa Laskey, works for Clemson. She goes on Jihadist forums on the internet and searches for potential terrorist threats to the country based on what they post online. She has tracked and spoken with many different characters on a number of occasions. She told us many different stories and example of threats who she has helped the D of D, or as she refers to, men in suits, to capture threats of the well-being of Americans. I think the whole class was impressed with the data mining and tracking methods she utilized and showed us during the presentation.

Week 10

In class we had a presentation by Thomas Friedman called "The World is Flat". This was a concept that I had previously seen and discussed in another class, so I was very familiar with the topic to begin with. It is a concept that I agree with overall, because as I have studied in other classes, globalization and the world market are real and are here to stay. With emerging countries and near-powerhouses in South America, Europe, and Asia, the global market is a place where money is to be made. I also think and fear that America being a perennial leader in the global market, may not be a statement we will be making too much longer. China, especially has proven that they are a market to be wrecking with.

Week 9

In class this week, we briefly reviewed about internet privacy, especially with social media like FaceBook. I have heard most of the warnings about FaceBook and how it can alter future job opportunities, which is why I have had mine deactivated for quite a few months now. The risk simply isn't worth the reward when people can not take social media seriously. We also discussed the impact of Occupy Wall Street. Or whether or not this movement will have a long term impact. I understand that their needs to be an overall different perspective on the distribution of wealth across this country, or how their could be a desire for one. But frankly I do not think this is a very intelligent way to attack this problem. It seems like the protests are attracting some of the wrong type of people for these peaceful public displays. I have heard many stories of hard working people who are underpaid and not in a good financial situation, however there are plenty of folks out there looking for handouts.

Week 8

In class we had a presentation and discussion on stealing passwords and internet security. We found how easy it is to have your password stolen leaving copious amounts of personal information available to hackers. It seems like this is part of the information systems industry that will continue to offer job opportunity and room for improvement. As long as hackers and passcode crackers continue to develop new and improved ways to break into systems, IT and IS professionals will continue to research and discover ways to keep the information we need secure.

Week 7

We had a guest speaker who introduced to Yahoo!Pipes, a product that allows you to filter information off a website to exactly what you need. I made one on the Yahoo Fantasy Sports website, and it was successful for the most part. We also spent a good bit of time discussing free website models. This concept is always an interesting one for me, because they are providing a service without actually being compensated for it...directly that is. It is impressive how creating a free business model establishes a solid base for a company to start making profit. FaceBook is an example of this, as well as GroupOn.

Long Tail and Beta's

This week we discussed the concept of long tailing in distribution. The original long tail equation suggested that you made 80% of sales on 20% of your products, creating a long tail. However, modern-day online businesses are finding out that this is not always the case, specifically when customers are searching for a certain item. In a retail setting, customers are more likely to browse and select attractive, popular products. Whereas during online shopping, customers know what they want. We also spoke about a couple different Beta's. Companies such as Sony with the PlayStation 3, and Google, utilize beta's to constantly update their products utilizing their wireless capabilities.

Week 4

In class this week, we discussed the functions of beta's and the many different applications they are found in. We also discussed websites such as woot.com, facebook.com, and ebay.com. Woot and eBay are similar websites in that they auction off products to the general public based on a bidding system. Both of these websites are able to get rid of products at a rate that customers want, at a price that they desire. We discussed the topics of key partners, key activities, key resources, value propositions, and customer relationships. We conversed amongst our group members about how each of these topics are attacked and executed by said companies. Seems like FaceBook is a website that often comes up in conversation, from both teacher and students.

Week 3

Had to complete a prezi this week on a network based technology of our choice. Not too familiar with many of the products I have researched, but I have selected to do it on Cisco's ACE technologies. ACE technologies are application control engines that are used to simplify application delivery infrastructure. Essentially, the ACE combines the functions of switches, routers, and computing platforms. One of the biggest issues according to Cisco, that they face on a consistent basis is security. The ACE family of products thrive because of their flexibility to work on multiple platforms as well as its functionality. Big news this week was the passing of Steve Jobs. Interesting to read long-time rival Bill Gates' reaction to the news..."The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come."

Week 2

The lecture that interested me the most this week was the disruptive technology lecture. One example of a disruptive technology that the lecture was mainly centered around is the Flip Video. Personally, I've known people who have owned the Flip Video and in all likelihood are not using it anymore. In class, we discussed how the Flip Video had the right idea with their product that recorded video and could be plugged directly into your computer or laptop and upload the file. The problem is new technology like smartphones came around and could do this in a much more efficient style. Which led us to our next disruptive technology, the smartphone. We conversed about the characteristics that make smartphones disruptive such as the versatility of them, the portability and the capability of pretty much doing the tasks that a gps, camera, camcorder, and laptop can do. I have owned a Droid for about a year now and can attest to the hype and overall affection for the things. It is crazy to sit in some of my classes and at any point in time look around and see at least a decent portion of the class staring at this device relentlessly. Never before have human beings had an item in their direct possession at all times quite like this. Which begs the question: if the pen is mightier than the sword, where does the smartphone fit in?

Week 1

This week we watched a documentary called "startup.com". The documentary followed two main entrepreneurs, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman, in their pursuit to create a successful new company. They tried to create a web-site based business called "govworks.com". The site started off well, but within the next 12 months it fizzled out of business. This happened for a couple reasons. First, other people had came up with the same or similar ideas for a website. Also, the Kaleil and Tom really were not aware of how to handle any of the technical aspects of maintaining the site. This definitely slowed the maintenance process especially when the company was understaffed. Despite their brief success, govworks.com soon shut down and Kaleil and Tom went on their separate career paths. This movie was a good example of how quickly success and failure can impact a young company. Kaleil and Tom were not very organized nor prepared for the challenges that they encountered and because of that their company failed.