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.