“Company Offers College textbooks for free”
This particular article informs the public of the website flatworld.com, a website where like the title suggests allows students to obtain their college text books for free. There are a few more details than that of course the website also offers printed versions of the texts book for up to sixty dollars and offers PDF versions of the text for $20 but students always have the option to read the books on a web browser for free. Another interesting fact is that they offer the books by chapter. According to John C. Abell Flatworld.com started by being patronized by 1,000 students at 30 colleges and now more than 40,000 students at 400 colleges use this website.
“Eric Frank cofounder told WIRED (Abell) that the key buy in has been from the teachers who make the assignments and this can attributed to the economy” (cnn.com, 1). Frank believes it will come down to price especially after new formats are developed for the Sony’s e-book reader and Amazon’s kindle. The Company still aspect the PDF copy to be the package of choice e-book and similar devises are capable of reading PDF formats.
I found this to correlate with Chapter three because it offers a new option for students to use the internet and is a perfect example of how the internet has evolved to facilitate the needs of different individuals.
John C. Abell Sept. 8, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/21/free.college.textbooks/index.html
The article I read was from Prisonplanet.com and the article was titled Video adds in Magazines. The article talked about the new technology being introduced to the marketing industry. This technology is a mini display screen, the size of a wafer, that is inserted in a magazine add. The technology has speakers and visual effects. This technology is similar to the singing birthday cards. A similar article posted on MaximumPC.com made the following information known, “The ads will appear on a slender TFT LCD screen, all of 2.7 mm thick, with a 320×240 resolution. Video-in-print, which will be embedded into the magazine, can hold up to 40 minutes of video content. It runs on batteries that can be charged via a USB cable.”
The buzz about this new technology is surfacing because of its up coming use in Entertainment Weekly. The ads will run in the September issue and are purchased by CBS and Pepsi. The ads are to promote the new fall line up. This technology is more expensive. The average cost is high ranging in the seven figures. This is compared to a regular print add that would only cost nine cents per page. This relates to the chapter because the book talks about new technologies over taking old ways. This technology is a way for the print companies to try to compete in a digital world. This technology is similar to the type of ads viewed in Harry Potter. This innovation leaves room for growth. There has even been talks about using technology similar to the Amazon Kendal. The news industry is try to diversify, so that they don’t become another form of history.
A recent dvd quality of a sci-fi blockbuster “District 9″ that was posted to file trading networks for people to download.
This raises the question, as many pros that are affiliated with innovative information systems and technology there are also some negative implications when looked at from a legitamate business/ebusiness perspective. Downloading this content for personal or commercial use is considered to be illegal in the United States but, is still done on a regular basis. The amount of money businesses lose is substantial enough for them to put a lot of their resources towards preventative action to minimize their losses.
I correlated this article as a part of disruptive technology that affects several of the industries in business today. Having the ability to access a wide array of downloadable content for personal or commercial use probably never processed through the companies vision. It’ll be intersting to see what type of new technology arises to help eleviate the negative impact this is having on business.
Wes Finley-Price(2009). Pirated copy of District 9 posted online. cnn.com/technology Retrieved from http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/09/pirated-copy-of-district-9-posted-online/
Gmail is a free email service offered by Google. Businesses use this free email service. A subscription can be purchased which offers additional services. Google, which offers Gmail, is new to the clouding industry.
Electronic Mail (email) has become increasingly integrated into businesses. Mail, reports, memos, and newsletters are steadily being sent by email. A business can buy and maintain its own email service or it may use an email service from a third party.
Clouding refers to companies that offer email and other services. Gmail offers email and other services such as apps. Apps is short for applications and these offered apps are subscription based.
Businesses can either house and maintain their own email and/or other services such as apps or get them from the cloud. Clouding is new and many businesses are skeptical of its reliability and do not like the idea of having less control of an integral component of their business. For example, email systems offered by clouding have downtime every month but so do email systems housed and maintained by companies. So what a business must do is make a trade off. The two main proponents being reliability and cost. Gmail claims they do a better job of maintaining reliability and at a lower cost than housing and maintaining done in house by a business.
Ebusiness is what Google is doing more of these days. Gmail which is beginning to offer more services will make a lot of money for Google. Mostly, making money is what ebusiness is all about.
I like that Google is expanding its Gmail services. As it is I use Gmail all the time and I can’t wait to see what else Google comes up with to offer businesses.
Jessi, H. (2009 September 3). Retreived November 25, 2009. Is Gmail ready for business? Fortune Brainstorm Tech. http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/09/03/is-gmail-ready-for-business/
Doing e-business means a greater number of customers, partners and suppliers, and even government regulators need unparalleled access to corporations’ computer systems. it’s a very different security situation these days, where many of your insiders are not actually employees.virus and spam protection are only part of the picture. According to the State of Information Security Survey 2003, a complex integration of technology, education, risk analysis, as well as corporate and government regulation are needed. “In many parts of the world governments and many industry sectors are rolling out legislature and regulations that are imposing greater obligations on IT departments,” says Simon Harriss of Accenture Consulting. Microsoft is also making security a top priority. The latest version of Office has new information management features for businesses. Senders can specify who opens e-mails, make changes, forwards, or prints them. There is also an expiry function, after which no one can open them — same for documents. Company policy and the law is only just beginning to play its part in order to minimize cyber risk. I think this kind of problem is inevitable as e business is being. Customer information is usually useful when we bought some product, but when it use wrong way, it will be disaster. We should always care about that. I saw the American movie. The hacker hacked government system. And then paralysis government system. At that time I thought It is enough to realize. now we live in digital world. So we need to have ethical mind for all of us.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/10/globaloffice.cyber.security/index.html?iref=newssearch
An associated risk of using Ebusiness is e-commerce fraud. One common type is identity fraud. There are three warning signs of fraud. First, the order velocities should be monitored. Second, look for risky street address and investigate them; this process can be aided with Google maps. Third, avoid using free or anonymous email accounts. The safest email accounts are the ones provided by the internet service provider and company accounts.
There are different types of fraud that occur in ebusiness. Common types of fraud are retrieving and using the card number to purchase items without the physical card and friendly fraud, which is ordering an item and later filing a complaint stating that you never made the purchase or lying that it never arrived. Majority of fraud occurs with the acquisition of the credit card number without the holder being aware of it.
Credit card fraud is one of, if not the biggest problem to the e-commerce industry. Fraud committers are improving ways to be undetected by the merchants. Another important worry for the e-commerce industry is the security and protection of mobile commerce, transaction through the use of wireless devices. Users of mobile devices are more susceptible to fraud because websites designed for these devices are less protected. Users of ebusiness should take caution when ordering online and take all necessary steps to prevent fraud.
Source: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/66278.html
In Charlie Sorrel’s “A tale of two iPods: Why the Touch has no camera,” Sorrel points out the reasoning behind Apple decision of not putting a camera on the iPod Touch, but putting it instead in the iPod Nano. By installing a video camera in the iPod Nano, Apple hopes to boost the sales of the sporty fitness Nano. The Nano’s video camera was introduced with reference to Flip’s own tiny, no-zoom camcorder(Sorrel, 2009).The new Nano will also have a FM turner that would allow for the pausing of live radio and being able to rewind up to 15 minutes with the buffer. The iTunes-Tagging will be able to save the song and allow the user to be able to purchase in on iTunes. The implementation of a camera into the iPod Nano is a form of sustaining technology that will encourage current iPod Nano users that have older versions to upgrade to the new Nano if the ability to use the video camera capabilities and the FM radio are features they would like to have. I also see the Nano as a form of disruptive technology as it takes onto a new market of having a video recorder ready to use with a simple click, a technology that still is not available in any other iPod. Venturing out into a different market is smart as Apple will be able to appeal to a larger audience that value the camcorder feature. The improved capabilities of the iPod Nano will give Flip’s own version of the camcorder competition and possible take some customers who also seek the music listening feature in their video recorder.
Sorrel, C. (2009). A tale of two iPods: Why the Touch has no camera. Retrieved September 10, 2009, from CNN Technology Web: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/10/ipod.cameras.flip/index.html
Ebay sells Skype
In this article, Elizabeth Woyke discusses the recent sale of the rapidly growing internet calling service Skype by its parent company, Ebay. Specifically, 65% interest in Skype was sold to a number of venture capital investors, including Silver Lake Partners and Index Ventures. Although the management, largely coming over from Ebay, won’t change, the business certainly might, possibly making the moves soon to become a publicly traded firm.
When Ebay started Skype, the management believed the calling service would improve its primary internet auctions business, allowing buyers and sellers to make better contact and more transactions. Unfortunately for Ebay, that didn’t happen, but with revenues of over $550 million they probably aren’t too upset about it. Nevertheless, their inability to make it mesh with their core business was cited as part of the reason for selling the service. Another reason is likely to be the pending litigation with regards to the peer to peer technology Skype operates on.
Skype is growing rapidly, with the number of users rising by 19% over the past six months and expected to make annual profits over $1 billion by 2011. In fact, the reason I found this article interesting was because I’ve recently been hearing Skype brought up in conversation more and more often. It’s becoming a popular solution for video conferencing between two widely separated groups or just for the pleasure of seeing a distant loved one’s face when they can make a call. I think that as Skype become more popular, we’re going to see some significant effects on the communications industry as a whole.
References: Woyke, Elizabeth. “Skype’s Independent Future.” Forbes, September 1st, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/01/ebay-google-andreessen-technology-internet-skype.html
Caulfield, Brian. “Ebay: ‘We were wrong’.” Forbes, March 11th, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/11/ebay-skype-internet-technology-internet-ebay.html
Google, the most famous searching engine, starts to infuse its paid search advertising with video, images and other features. In this article, it represents that Google tries to advertise with progressive and effective techniques.
When it comes to search, Google is the most powerful to search and learn something you want to get. Even though, some people may argue that we let Google know about us too much, nobody can deny Google is very useful and needed to live better. We can get everything from this site, from service and education to the map. Indeed, Google is one of the best examples of ebusiness, because it is nothing without internet. However, Google become huge company that even can control the world, as internet developed rapidly. Lots of other companies want their company-sites to put a high rank, when people search the word related with their companies or products. It is one method to advertise, and Google connect with cell phone to give the information. In other words, people can use to get information easily when moving or without computer. Thus, the article reports that Google puts to use this point, so it could promote more powerful the other companies.
In my country, most people use Naver that is the most famous search-engine in Korea. It is very useful to get knowledge and information. Moreover, we can watch the news and TV, know the weather, use the dictionary, and so on. As people use portal sites many times, they become very good tools of promotion.
article resource -http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/09/09/technology/tech-us-google.html?_r=1&scp=49&sq=internet&st=cse
In the article Web 3.0, by Cade Metz, the new idea of what Web 3.0 could be is discussed. The Internet is now being placed in categories such as Web 1.0, 2.0, and now 3.0. Web 3.0 has been called a Semantic web by the original world wide web creator Tim Berners-Lee. The term semantic web refers to the new web machines being able to read things how a human does. This means a user can search for selected things just by entering what it is that’s desired and the web will understand what is wanted and produce results to the utmost accuracy. This means the web will become an enormous database that can search the net in ways never before seen.
There are some that doubt the idea of a semantic web. The technology and time it would take to completely alter the Internet is dumbfounding. For the new web 3.0 to occur the Internet would have to undertake a complete overhaul. Some believe the new web is possible but will not be exactly how Berners-Lee predicts it to be. The idea of a semantic web is not a new concept, in 2001 ideas of the new web were released to the public conscienceness. This opened the imagination of computer engineers and users alike. The new web would work by adding machine-readable metadata to human readable web pages that we use today. There are already companies starting to develop this machine-readable metadata, but it will be difficult to say the least to get the entire Internet to change to the new standard.
The reason I choose this article was to further explore the possibilities of a new web 3.0. The idea is both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. If the Internet were able to go through this overhaul humans would be able to use the Internet in ways only seen previously in science fiction. It is a terrifying idea that machines will have the artificial intelligence to understand the exact thinking of humans. It makes one think the inevitable question of; whats next in the world of technology and could machines possibly one day could become far more advanced than humans?
Metz, Cade. Web 3.0, PC Magazine. March 14, 2007. www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2102852,00.asp
Chapter 3 main topic is about the importance of internet to the success of new entering businesses. Many ebusinesses have emerged since the internet became available to the public, including Netflix, eBay, Amazon, Paypal, youtube, and TiVo Inc. However, I will focus on TiVo, the Alviso (CA)-based company creator of the DV recorders. TiVo’s success is the perfect example of disruptive technology. TiVo’s main rivals are cable companies such as Dish Network, AT&T and the world of television itself. What sets TiVo apart from all other VCRs or DVRs is that ability to find and record all your favorite shows, every time they are on, so viewers can watch them at their best convenience, all it takes is turning on the TV. Also, TiVo allows you to pause, rewind, fast-forward through commercials and record live TV. A TiVo box can be connected to the cable service or the internet service.
Although not many people knew about the existence of TiVo, little by little TiVo has become a more profitable and innovative organization; especially, after receiving $200 million in damages from a late 2008 lawsuit against EchoStar, Dish’s parent company. The grounds of the lawsuit were a patent violation.
According to BusinessWeek magazine on August 26, TiVo filed a lawsuit against AT&T and Verizon Communications for an alleged violation of three of its patents for time-sifting and other aspects of its DV recorder. TiVo’s patents are the comparative advantage over its rivals.
TiVo plans to expand by offering rating services to advertisers and broadcasters, including a blockbuster deal with Netflix to stream movies to Netflix subscribers who also own a TiVo.
I would enjoy watching shows and films on my television with no commercials and have the ability to pause and especially record at the same time. I would definitely buy one!
Grover, Ronald. (Sept 8, 2009). The Lawsuit Route Proves Lucrative for TiVo. BusinessWeek. Retrieved Sept. 9, 2009, from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2009/tc2009098_760023.htm
The Fortune Brainstorm Tech area of CNNMoney.com published an article entitled Meet “the world’s most annoying Web site”. It is about the social networking site Tagged.com. The article highlights how New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo plans to sue this social networking site for false advertising, deceptive business, and identity theft. Tagged.com is much like any other social networking site, except for it’s emphasis on meeting strangers (instead of existing friends) and it’s questionable spreading tactics. Cuomo describes the site as tricking people into giving out their contact lists and issuing invitations to join Tagged.com. It gives out sort of personal ads. One of the practices is to send out a message to the contacts of a current Tagged member with the invitation to view “photos” and other things. The requirement for viewing is that one must join Tagged. The problem is that it isn’t photos that Tagged sends out, but Tags (icons that describe a person). Tagged has used it’s tactics to become the third largest social networking site, claiming 80 million registered users. This relates to the text in that it is an example of a disruptive technology. It is essentially a new way of doing things. It is using spam tactics to gain more users for a social networking site. It did not really meet the needs of existing customers in the beginning as it dropped out of favor to sites like Facebook and MySpace. It then employed it’s new tactics to gain a foothold on the market and compete with the existing technologies.
Atal, M. (2009). Meet “the world’s most annoying Web site”, CNNMoney.com Fortune Brainstorm Tech. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/08/07/meet-the-worlds-most- annoying-website/
In the article I read it said that Yahoo has released three new applications for the iphone. The new applications are Yahoo Flickr, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Fantasy Football. These applications can be downloaded onto certain versions on iphones and Blackberries. The new applications are receiving good reviews. Yet, this a concern for many businesses who have been spending the last couple years trying to invent Flickr applications and similar programs. The only complaint so far is that these applications are not integrated with such networks like twitter and facebook. A yahoo representative said that later edition will be able to integrate with these features.
In the chapter there was a section on expanding ebusiness to wireless devices and cell phones since they are such a growing industry. Everywhere you go people are accessing the internet from there smartphones. I think this was a great thing that can help yahoo to make revenues and gain security for the future of their business. I do not have internet access on my phone and I feel like I am behind in the world. However, I have used phones that do have the internet and I do not like it as much as using a laptop or home computer. I would rather use a laptop with a full screen of the page I am looking at rather than a little screen that only shows part of the page. So, yes I think internet access is a convenient piece of technology I do not think it will put the home computer or laptop out of business completely.
Dumpalad, P. (2009) Yahoo Releases 3 New Apps. For iPhone. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from CNN Money News. Web: HTTP://money.cnn.com
When the Internet was first discovered, it did not have many users at all because it came very complicated for the public to learn how to. However, when the Internet expanded into more and more of the population, demand for businesses to expand their work onto the World Wide Web started increasing. To be successful in today’s business market, one must be available to its consumers and customers via the Internet. The Internet has allowed information to be easier to compile, increased richness, increased the reach of one’s business to a global level, and it has definitely improved upon the content of the business that can be shared with the public. According to a Business Week article, successful businesses must be online. However, to remain successful once it is up and running online, the company must keep an eye out on its “reputation” online. There are so many review web sites of companies and products that the company must be aware of what is being said about them from the customers or critics, whether it is positive or negative. Using popular search engines like Google and Yahoo! can be helpful in maintaining an eye and ear on what is being stated from the customers or critics. But if you want extra protection, there are even sites that you can pay for them to send you alerts whenever there is something new posted about you on the Internet. If a company does not pay attention to what is being said about their services and products, the company can potentially lose its customers to the bad reviews. The BW article features the Escapist, “a 39-employee video gaming Web site based in Durham, N.C.” that helps companies protect its reputation online. The company’s services provides that whenever there is any new information posted about a particular company, that company is informed of it right away; allowing the company to either take action against the negative comment or dwell in the positive feedback they were able to receive. A lot of small businesses are still unaware of its reputation online. Just because something is not said about you on your own website, it doesn’t mean that you are not being talked about on other websites.
In this article, web site operators are now exposing themselves to instant messaging a new mechanism in creating and closing sales online. About a year or two ago, businesses were using instant messaging and live chats to have their customers interact with them more about questions, comments, recommendations, of services of products in real time. Web operators are saying people have not maximize on the ability to use instant messaging as a tool to boost sales figures. When you use this system correctly and tactfully, indeed you will see a boost in your sales figures. Erik Asarian, a real estate broker in Park City, Utah, installed a live chat box on his web site approximately a year ago. He gives credits to it for boosting his sales up $12 million. He quotes the live chat box has “has become an amazing new profit center.”
One draw back is finding a way to approach customers as they are shopping and pitching to them on the spot. Live changes are beginning to change this, having an IM surveillance capabilities that allow the retailer to see in real time, what the potential shopper is browsing at on the site. On this note, the retailer can approach them knowing a little more about what the potential customer is wanting to know about. “It’s like having special glasses that let you see who’s serious and who’s not,” Asarian says. With this installation, the retailer will know how to approach the potential customer. Some say this will not work cause it does not allow the retailer to close on the potential customer because you cannot be pushy with them through the site, it’s easy for them to click away. Trust is a big issue in being able to close a deal on potential customers. Live chats are recognizing it is easy to scare off customers so a softer easy approach is the best way to go about it. Getting to know about the customers’ situations is key in closing the sale. Ricky Breslin, a retailer in DVDs on techniques to style your hair, runs the business from an office in Summerville, S.C. He uses a low-key approach on his live chat and the results, a 10 percent increase in sales which calculates to $50,000 a month.
I think because technology has come so far you have to either update yourself with it to stay in business or find your very own niche. I think having a software of instant messaging that is capable of tracking of what links the potential customer is exploring in real time is a great way to allow yourself to make an approach. Subtle is always I feel the best way to approach someone who is just browsing on your website. This new way of boosting sales is excellent because to attain a customer on premises of for example, real estate every minute of the day is not as attainable. To find potential customers browsing online every minute of the day is more attainable. This software gives a chance to create the sale, create the desire, the interest in property, or just a chance to meet up with the person. Being absolutely personable is hard to do just through the live chat box, but this intrigues the customer to meet with the broker which could potentially lead to a sale. Web sites are usually self served for the most part, adding this feature is going to break the ice with the customer and the business. It’s another way in gaining business and boosting figures, I am all for it.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/03/technology/live_chat.biz2/index.htm?postversion=2007100408
Apple just recently introduced iTunes version 9, and it has created a buzz at PC World Magazine. The new version of the application carries more features, along with a much needed facelift. Users can now use what is called home sharing and syncing. This enables users to sync and share entire music libraries to every computer on their network, as long as they’re activated through the same iTunes account. This is a major innovation in convenience, and makes the tasks of sharing music from PC to PC, PC to MAC, or MAC to MAC much faster. Users can enjoy the Genius technology, which suggests music and applications from the iTunes store based on what you have already gotten. It also groups music and play lists together in the same fashion. Probably the most significant change is the look and interface of the iTunes store. It has been made more visually appealing, easier to operate, and they’ve added navigation bars to aid in task of navigating the iTunes store. It wasn’t so much the article that caught my attention, but rather the idea that an application such as iTunes, updating its look and features, would be the headliner for PC World Magazine. I think this is a very good example of the power and the effects that iTunes has had on both the business community and the computer industry. iTunes revolutionized the way we listen to and acquire music, videos, and as of recent, applications to enhance our digital world. Due to the vast impact that this application has had, Apple’s iTunes is constantly under the radar.
Will Apple’s New iTunes Put You on Cloud Nine?” PC World Magazine. 9 Sept. 2009. Web. 9 Sept. 2009. .
Nokia cellphones
Nokia is on their way to launch a new product called Netbook. Nokia is trying to keep up with Apples iPhone, however critics are already shooting them down, stating that Nokia has a fighting chance. A product named the Finnish handset is up for lacking profits according to Wall Street analysts. Nokia is already getting a bad rep before their products even hit the market. For Nokias products to be successful they need help from banks and consumers however Credit Suisse already disproved Nokias shares, stating they will not be able to keep up with Google phones, blackberry’s, and iPhones. However Credit Suisse is not counting them out for the long term period. Smartphones are becoming cheaper and Credit Suisse believes this is the time if any for Nokia to make a comeback.
According to Nokias executive vice-president, they are planning to gain profits by earning a small fee on transactions, which she states, “There’s room for disruptive opportunity.” Nokia is trying to setup programs such as applications for Smartphone’s, similarly like the iPhone to make things easier and convenient for the users. At the moment Nokia still has some risks but they are trying to make things easier and hopefully smooth out all the glitches in their phones.
Being that Nokia used to be one of the businesses in the top spots it must be very difficult to hear reviews that are stating they are going to fail. Nokia needs to consider all possibilities and ask themselves how will this be better than what is already out there? How can we use this and improve this product in the future.
Ewing, Jack (2009). “Next up for Nokia: Netbooks, Banking” 10 Sept. 2009 from Businessweekly.com Website: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2009/tc2009093_577532.htm
Would you pay for an product or service using your phone? Would you send money to someone via an mcommerce model? Does the idea of having your phone tied to your money supply make you a bit uneasy? If so you are not alone. Mcommerce is an emerging business model that is having a hard time taking off due to consumer’s fears of insecure transactions and lost funds. Oddly enough though this mind set only applies to developed countries. In many developing regions mobile phones for everything from mobile banking to mobile medicine. There is even a service that allows for the spending of minutes like currency.
In developed countries major players such as Visa, MasterCard, Nokia, and Facebook are taking steps to acclimate consumers into using their mobile phones for money transactions. Facebook has parterned with Zong and is testing a model that allows users to purchase Facebook credits with their mobiles. Currently Boku has partnerened up with Facebook and other online communities to offer a mobile payment option for users. Boku’s market focus is payment for virtual “things”. Both MasterCard and Nokia have plans to launch a systems, MoneySend and Nokia Money respectively, that would enable users to use their phones to send money to other users. Uses for these servers suggested are parents sending money to college children, or splitting a bill at a restaurant. Nokia’s offering, however, will only be available in Asian and African markets with no mention of availability in the US.
Read Write Web. (2009). For m-Commerce to Work, We Need to Embrace Mobile Payments (Part 2). Retrieved September 10, 2009 From http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/for_m-commerce_to_work_we_need_to_embrace_mobile_payments.php
Companies Turn To Twitter While Hiring As the internet evolves to better faster technology our “normal” way of life is changing with it. With the boom of networking sites, and the unemployment crises in the Unites States, companies and job seekers are looking for new ways to put themselves out there. Companies are now seeking potential hires by using Twitter. Twitter will let the company view the potential hire’s interest and be able to have resumes instantly. Other sites such as Monster are flooded with old resumes and it takes time to be able zero in the one good resume the company is looking for. Twitter is instant when a person sees a job opportunity they can send their resume, and the recruiter receives it immediately. This new way of hiring is only beginning. Companies are experimenting with this new hiring process but they will have a better idea of how it will work once the job market becomes more existing. Soon companies will be able to simply log into a Twitter account and look for potential hires, rather than job seekers looking for them. On the flip side, job seekers will be able to instantly send information to companies and have a faster response. This new way of hiring is not for everyone, special when it comes to job seekers. This new way of hiring affects everyone job seeker or not. This technology puts the spot light on the fact that you must be careful with what you are writing or allow others to post on your networking site. Schools and your potential future boss might be reading Tweets.
Google Enterprises has recently expanded from just being a search engine to offering a variety of applications to businesses and its users. They have expanded into the world of email trying to compete with other search engine sites with email such as yahoo.com or msn.com. In order to compete with these sites with email services, Google must outperform and rise above its competition to really gain customer loyalty. On September 1, Google had an outage of service that lasted over two hours and it left customers frustrated. For a company that is really trying to gain customers loyalty, this was a serious blow. Google offers an application package known as “Google Apps” to businesses for an annual fee of $50 per user. Included in this package is Gmail service. Companies have been experiencing troubles with the service and quite frankly are not too happy with paying for something that is not reliable. In business, time is money and when email is an important part of your business and it fails, time is lost and in turn money is lost. Google did well in keeping its customers aware of what exactly is going on and what caused the problem. Transparency is important, especially with a new company in trying to gain customer loyalty. An apology helps but Google is going to have to step it up to really compete. Once repeating failure become public, that could ruin the whole business and its plans. I know what it is like to have email troubles and how frustrating it can be. What I expect from an email provider is consistency. If there are constant problems with a provider, I have no problem immediately switching to another provider. When working as a sales rep, I had to email my case counts and my time card. If on Friday my email happened to be down, I would not be able to get my time card in on time and in turn not get paid on time. Ebusiness is becoming a crucial component of most businesses which means for an email provider they must strive for perfection to really win in the world of ebusiness.
Hempel, J. “Is Gmail Ready for Business?”. CNN. September 3, 2009. http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/09/03/is-gmail-ready-for-business/
