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.