Green Monday?

In a recent article by Chanelle Bessette, the reporter discusses Wal-Marts promotion of "Green Monday". A week after "Cyber Monday" Wal-Mart and other big retailers are trying to increase their online and mobile sales. The retail giant Wal-Mart wants to continue to increase their sales in this category in order that they may retain their title as No. 1 in sales from last year.

Why does Wal-Mart feel that it needs another day to promote its online sales? Was Cyber Monday not enough for the them? My thought is that Wal-Mart is trying to out compete Amazon with its online sales. The company wants to be number 1 in very industry. They also care so much about sales revenue that they are willing to have another promotional day. Customers probably are content with this extra day, but when is enough enough. If a company is so focused on gaining revenues that they can't focus on other important issues, there should be genuine concern. In this society, it is all about getting ahead and doing whatever it takes to get there. Does Wal-Mart really need another promotional day to be successful? No, but they do it anyway. It is just a little concerning that Wal-Mart continues to take every opportunity to make an extra sale. 

A Big Merger

Today American Airlines and US Airways is expected to sign the merger paperwork. With the signing of these documents, the new airline company will become the largest company within the industry. The company will retain the name American Airlines. This merger has been a long time coming. The two companies had to settle a lawsuit first on principles on the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in order to continue on with merger. The reason for the lawsuit was on the basis that customers believed that airline prices would increase because of the decreased number of options. The court ruled against the Plaintiff and American Airlines and US Airways can continue on with the merger. The author of the article American Airlines, US Airways to form Largest Air Carrier Monday stated that airline prices have not increased significantly since 2004 even with the United and Continental merger. The hope is that this merger will not cause airline prices to rise and that market will not suffer as a result of this merger. 

Technology in Schools

I am currently in the class Current Topics in Technology. In it we have done technology interviews so that we may become more acquainted with the aspects of technology in certain professions. What struck me as most interesting though was the differences in technology in school systems.  I interviewed two employees from the Spring Hill School District and their use of  technology.  It was interesting to see the differences compared to MidAmerica Nazarene University. Spring Hill uses Moodle and other technology, but not to the extent of MidAmerica. MidAmerica uses Moodle on a daily basis whereas Spring Hill is still getting used to the idea of using technology for projects outside of the classroom. 
Do you think it would be beneficial for Spring Hill to look at more technology tools to get students better prepared for college? What tools do you think would be beneficial in either the high school setting or the college setting?

Rose Brooks

I am currently taking a Current Topics in Technology class. In this class I have realized the power of social media and its importance in the business world.  There is an organization that has caught my eye in regards to their use of social media. This organization is Rose Brooks. Rose Brooks is a domestic violence center for women and children that have been abused. It is important is a business such as that to have a great social media plan so that they can not only get the word out about domestic violence and the need to stop it, but also to advertise their own organization to get volunteers to help. Rose Brooks offers a variety of social media such as twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
It is easy to access on their website, but are there things that could do differently to get the word out? I feel like they could do a better job with their overall plan by tweeting more or updating statuses to get the word out more on a regular basis so that people do not forget about them.  Even blogging would be a good idea with links on twitter and Facebook to the blogs. What is your opinion on the social media plan for Rose Brooks?

Current Technology

We have heard all about technology and how much it will change by the time the kids of today are all grown, but have you ever stopped to consider what will happen to the current technology we are enjoying and excited about today? That the current technology we love today in the eyes of children not long from now will soon be like a cassette tape or CD compared to the iPods we use now?  This all seems mind boggling, so let’s take a moment to appreciate the current technology we have that we often take advantage of.

Just some of the current technologies we use today include remote controls, land line phones, movie theaters and a windows operating system.  To me, life without these seems “old fashioned,” but on the contrary! It will actually be a future version of all of these.  The windows operating system will completely turn into touch operation and how long before every computer agency turns to that? This “current technology” we have today and that love will soon be nothing more than stories our kids hear about. 

Now, what technology that you have today would you not want to give up? Or, is there a technology that you can think of them improving in some way that you are looking forward to?   

The Threat of Smartphones

Smartphones have allowed us to have the world at our hands. If in an area that allows the phone to send and receive data, a smartphone user can perform many tasks. They can check their email, post a Facebook status or even post a photo of them at that exact moment. This new technology has provided convenience to the user and many of those conveniences can be named by almost every smartphone user. However, smartphones are starting to prove dangerous and fatal to some teenagers and young adults.

In a CNN news article entitled Young Drivers snapping 'Selfies' at the Wheel, author Heather Kelly describes how teens and young adults are using their smartphones to take pictures of themselves or their passengers while they are driving a vehicle. This distraction increases the risk of drivers getting into an accident. The drivers eyes are averted from the road and in an instant they can get into a serious accident. They are putting themselves and everyone on the road in danger. The problem is not just texting while driving anymore, the problem now is any use of the cell phone that distracts the driver from the task of driving.



The Department of Transportation states that distracted driving accounts for about 3,300 deaths every year. This includes texting while driving and snapping pictures while driving. Why do people not understand the danger of using a cell phone while driving? They believe they are good drivers and they can remove their eyes from the road for a second. By doing this people are putting everyone on the road in danger. You are increasing the chances of getting into an accident and possibly killing someone. The text can wait. The 'selfie' can wait until the vehicle is at a complete stop. It is not worth the consequences to get a text in or a picture posted to the latest social media site.

Smartphones can make many things convenient. However, they provide an inconvenience by distracting drivers while they drive a 2000 pound vehicle. Why do people feel it important to text and drive? Why can they not wait to snap that photo until they reach their destination?  It is the answer to these questions that could save lives.

Keeping up with the Joneses and Everyone Else

I recently read a blog from Dave Ramsey's website. The blog was entitled 6 Stages of Facebook Envy. We have all heard the term "keeping up with the Joneses". We know that many Americans want to have the latest and greatest things. They are willing to go into as much debt as possible in order to get what they want.

I love Dave Ramsey and his wisdom on personal finance. I am currently taking his Financial Peace University course. He is very passionate about getting out of debt and staying out of debt. This American mentality of keeping up with the Joneses does not allow people to get out of debt. However, according to Dave's blog, this mentality has only become worse as a result of social media.





Facebook allows people to post pictures and statuses about everything that is going on in their lives. People can post pictures of their new house or new car and let the whole world see their "success". As a Facebook user, you see that post and you may become envious. You want to have the standard of living that those people have. However, what you probably don't know is they probably accrued a lot of debt in order to get those new things. Nevertheless, you are wanting to keep up with them and have the newest and greatest things. Now people are not just keeping up with the Joneses. They are keeping up with the Joneses and everyone of their Facebook friends. It provides for a society full of envious and covetous people.

Facebook can be used for communication and staying connected with friends. However, this fact of "Facebook Envy" may be stirring our nation in the wrong direction. We have a high national debt now, this envious attitude could cause that debt to increase even more.

Do you think Dave Ramsey has a good point about "Facebook Envy". Do you believe that this social media tool could cause American's to go even further in debt?

Custom Shoes and More!

There is a new technology among us called computer-aided design (CAD.) Right now, CAD is popular right now with engineers and others wanting to make 3D products, however, the future has more in store for all of us.  Eventually CAD will be available for all consumers.  This means that they can create and manufacture goods that they can create online through CAD and in 3D!

The article states, "3D Printing in an industrial setting is often referred to as “additive manufacturing.” As products are ordered online, versatile manufacturing stations controlled by robots will quickly and affordably crank out custom-manufactured products." For more information visit this link. 

An example includes Nike to an extent, just imagine cheaper and better!  Nike allows customers to design their own shoes online, however, it is costly and takes weeks to arrive.  With CAD all companies will be able to customize items and in 3D!

Have you ever used Nike's custom shoe maker? What other companies would you want to use CAD someday? 

It's All About the Money!

NBC News did an article about fifteen technologies that we will improve upon/use by 2030.  For more information on these fifteen technologies, visit the NBC News Link.  The main 'technology' that we will focus on is cash.  Cash? That is right, cash is listed as one of the fifteen technologies in the article. 

The reason that cash is on the list is more so of the technology we use as cash, such as credit and debit cards.  By 2030, though, some people believe that we will no longer have credit or debit cards, but use "mobile payment systems" instead. However, the old fashioned paper money, will still be  used. Do you agree that fifteen years from now paper money will still be used? What about fifty years?

Cash also has a safety feature that no technology can match and that is security. It keeps your life private and prevents identity theft.  Can you think of any negatives of keeping cash versus going all in on technology? 

Essentially this article was saying that no matter the technology, the paper money we have used for years is timeless. Do you agree? 

The Power of the Crowd

More and more companies these days are utilizing crowdsourcing to bring in more customers. In an article entitled "5 Brands Winning at Crowdsourcing" author  Giselle Abramovich describes how Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co., Oreo, Patagonia, and Budweiser have all recently utilized a form of crowdsourcing. Abramovich mentions that Coca-Cola started crowdsourcing because they wanted to be more open as a company.

This bring up a great benefit of companies utilizing crowdsourcing. In order for the crowd to be involved with the company, the organization needs to be more open with those involved. It can be a little scary for companies to open up and share secrets that only company executives know about. However, this allows the consumers of your product to get involved in making those products better. If the customer feels that they have given input into a product, they are more likely to purchase that product because they know it is what they are looking for. Most of the companies that Abramovich mentioned got the crowd involved through social media sites. They were able to submit ideas and vote on different products through those media outlets. Oreo's Facebook page increased by 4,000 percent during their crowdsourcing campaign. This in itself shows the customer interest when a company is more open.

This is also a great marketing tool. Not only does the company allow customers to contribute to the new product, but it also provides a means of advertising that new product. If more people get involved, then they are more likely to tell their friends and family about the product. Companies do not have to spend millions of dollars on advertising, they have their customers to do it for them.

These are some of the benefits that have been found from utilizing crowdsourcing within a company. Can you think of any cons or negative repercussions from companies being more open and utilizing crowdsourcing to market a new product?

May the Crowd be Ever in Your Flavor

In the summer of 2012, Frito Lay began a never done before contest. They invited people from around the country to submit and create a flavor of Lay's chips that they thought would be popular within the country. The contest encouraged not just chefs to join the contest, but average people like you and I to contribute. The flavors would be put up on Lay's Facebook page and people would be able to vote on the flavor using the "like" button. Coincidentally, Facebook changed the "like" button to a "I'd Eat That" button just for this contest.

The creator of the winning flavor of Lay's chips received a 1 million dollar prize. The two runner-ups each received a $50,000 prize.

This contest was a great way for the public to participate in the creation of a new flavor of chip. Frito Lay used the concept of crowdsourcing to make the public feel that they were an important part of this decision. They took all the information from Facebook and compiled it into the final results of the winners.What a great way to make a company open to the innovation of a new product. More and more companies are using crowdsourcing to involve customers in important choices. This allows the customer to feel that their voice is being heard, however, at the same time, it leaves the company vulnerable to the fact that the public has an inside look at some new innovations.

The final three flavors that made it to the Facebook vote were "Waffles and Chicken", "Sriracha" and "Cheesy Garlic Bread". The bags can be seen in the picture above. Some odd flavors, but obviously the public thought they would taste good. So my question to you is, what flavor do you think would make a good chip? Would you consider submitting that flavor to Frito Lay if they had another contest? Who knows, the crowds may like your flavor and pick it as a winner.

Lay's Use of Crowdsourcing

Smart Watches

Eric Migicovsky, the creator of what is called the "Pebble" watches, came up with this idea of having a watch that can act as a mini tablet so that one can just look down at their wrist for emails, texts, etc. instead of having to pull out a phone or tablet from their pocket.  

This specific "Pebble" watch only runs at about $150 and has been designed to do as "little as possible" so that it does not take away from phones and can be used to look at something at a glance.  

There are more of these smart watches coming out that can do even more though, and the price shows that. 

For more information on these "Pebble" watches go to this link. (Also contains a YouTube video)

Would you be interested in a "Pebble" watch?  If so, how much would you be willing to spend? 

Kindles on Fire?

Are Kindles on fire? Or is Amazon just blowing smoke trying to fit in?

Well, there is now a new and improved Kindle Fire.  And if one goes to the homepage of Amazon, they can read all about it.  In fact, there are several new Kindle Fires.  These new Kindle Fires include the Kindle Fire HDX and HD. This means that the graphics are even better and it can hold much more memory.  To read more about these new Kindle's and all they have to offer, click the link above.

 

 

What is really drawing people's attention, however, is the fact that Amazon is continually coming up with new ways to stay in the running with Google/Samsung and Apple for tablets.  Unfortunately, Amazon is a far cry from being close in the running's as far as tablets go, at about a five percent of the tablet share. 

 

Do you think that Amazon is trying too hard to fit in? Should they just stick to e-readers and not worry about the tablet shares?  Or do you think they are doing the smart thing to keep their business in the running, even at a small percentage? 

 

Also, would you ever buy a Kindle Fire (or a Kindle in general?) If so, for what? (To use just as an e-reader or to use as an actual tablet.)

 

 

For more information go to Business Week. 

Another Big Acquisition of a Crowdsourcing Platform - Appirio Buys TopCoder

 

Appirio today announced that it has acquired TopCoder, a crowdsource driven development and design community. By combining TopCoder's global capacity and design capability with CloudSpokes' expertise in cloud and advanced web technologies, Appirio and its customers now have access to nearly 600,000 of the world's best developers, designers and data analytics experts. 
"Appirio has embraced community development since the company's inception, and has proven that crowdsourcing is an effective way to increase innovation and more cost-effectively deliver solutions," said Chris Barbin, co-founder and CEO, Appirio. "The rise of the sharing economy is quickly rendering the traditional systems integration and offshore biased model obsolete. Together, the CloudSpokes and TopCoder communities offer more elastic development and design resources than Accenture, Deloitte and InfoSys combined."
I've been a firm believer in TopCoder's service ever since I was proven wrong when I hypothesized, "Everything can be crowdsourced except app development." In fact, app development has become a very effective use of crowdsourcing.
The acquisition will provide members of both developer communities with dramatically more opportunities to earn money while showcasing their respective skills and capabilities. As a part of the investment, CloudSpokes will add an additional track at the TopCoder Open happening November 10-14, 2013, for cloud development, as well as increases in prize money.
"The NASA Tournament Lab has partnered with TopCoder to tap into a global talent pool for algorithmic and software development," said Dr. Karim R. Lakhani, Principal Investigator of the Harvard NASA Tournament Lab. "The combination of the TopCoder community's breadth and depth of design and problem solving talent with CloudSpokes' cloud delivery model appears to create a unique offering in the technology solutions marketplace."
"TopCoder pioneered community-driven open innovation and has delivered design, development and analytics solutions for companies and governments for more than a decade," said Jack Hughes, founder, TopCoder. "We have admired Appirio for bringing together the best of cloud development and crowdsourcing. With the addition of TopCoder, Appirio will redefine what it means to deliver compelling, agile and innovative solutions to customers globally."
Narinder Singh, co-founder of Appirio, has been appointed president of the combined communities. TopCoder founder Jack Hughes will join Appirio's crowdsourcing advisory board. David Messinger, vice president of community at CloudSpokes, has been promoted to Chief Community Officer of the combined communities.


http://dailycrowdsource.com/crowdsourcing/news/1316-another-big-acquisition-of-a-crowdsourcing-platform-appirio-buys-topcoder

Advantages of Crowdsourcing

Ever since the term “crowdsourcing” was coined in 2006 by Wired writer Jeff Howe, group activities ranging from the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary to the choosing of new colors for M&Ms have been labeled with this most buzz-generating of media buzzwords. In this accessible but authoritative account, grounded in the empirical literature, Daren Brabham explains what crowdsourcing is, what it is not, and how it works.

    

 Crowdsourcing, Brabham tells us, is an online, distributed problem solving and production model that leverages the collective intelligence of online communities for specific purposes set forth by a crowdsourcing organization—corporate, government, or volunteer. Uniquely, it combines a bottom-up, open, creative process with top-down organizational goals. Crowdsourcing is not open source production, which lacks the top-down component; it is not a market research survey that offers participants a short list of choices; and it is qualitatively different from predigital open innovation and collaborative production processes, which lacked the speed, reach, rich capability, and lowered barriers to entry enabled by the Internet.

    

 Brabham describes the intellectual roots of the idea of crowdsourcing in such concepts as collective intelligence, the wisdom of crowds, and distributed computing. He surveys the major issues in crowdsourcing, including crowd motivation, the misconception of the amateur participant, crowdfunding, and the danger of “crowdsploitation” of volunteer labor, citing real-world examples from Threadless, InnoCentive, and other organizations. And he considers the future of crowdsourcing in both theory and practice, describing its possible roles in journalism, governance, national security, and science and health.


http://www.globalforesightbooks.org/Methods-to-Shape-the-Future.html

Crowdsourcing the Birds

There is something fascinating about the animals that live around us. Thousands of people each year travel to different National  Parks trying to spot those animals that they may not see back home. For some, there is a unique fascination with birds. Some people even devote their entire lives to the study of birds.

Scientists have tried for years to count and map the geographical locations of different species of birds. Some of there efforts have proven successful, however, with the development of new technology, they have begun to realize their data may not be as accurate as they once thought. Through an online site called ebird, scientists and other avid bird watchers are able to share information about different species of birds in their area. This site uses a type of crowdsourcing to compile data from different entities around the world. This has allowed scientists to discover new sub-species of birds in a specific location. It has also helped scientists map out the migration patterns of certain birds because of the almost instantaneous information being uploaded via crowdsourcing.

Some scientists believe that allowing "the average joe" to contribute  to sites such as ebird can cause inaccuracies in the information. However, I believe that it gives more accuracy to the site. Qualified scientists cannot be in many places at one time. Allowing avid bird watchers to contribute provides a way for a specific amount of data to be compiled in one area by many people.

So these questions are posed, do you believe that using peoples love for birds is helpful in the composition of the data around the world? Can we take the idea of ebird and apply it to other topics regarding the environment, and find that it contributes more data then that already found by the scientists? What is the benefit to allowing more people to contribute on scientific research?

Crowdsourcing, for the Birds

A Sense of Security or Insecurity

What if there was a way for a disaster relief team to know the exact magnitude of a disaster without surveying the site? Well, the United States Navy is working on a project that will allow them to do just that. Many people are connected to some form of social media. Whether it be Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, you name it, people around the world are connected through these platforms. 

What the Navy and other organizations such as FEMA have found is that during natural disasters people use these social media sites to communicate the instantaneous destruction. Through a modern technology called crowdsourcing, the Navy will be able to scan the social media sites for information about the disaster. It is their hope that they can know the severity of the situation immediately and act in a timely manner to bring aid to the disaster site. 

In theory, crowdsourcing to aid in disaster relief sounds like a great idea, and could save many lives with the timeliness of the response. However, how would you feel if your Facebook was being scanned for information regarding natural disasters? What is to say that they will stop there? Maybe a tool they intended for good can be used to infiltrate the very privacy that the writers of the Constitution so dearly tried to protect. What do you think? Is this a good or a bad idea? I guess only time will tell for sure. 

News Article on Navy's Use of Crowdsourcing

The Microphone, Ishin-Denshin

Ishin-Denshin

            Ivan Poupyrev is the inventor of this new product, Ishin-Denshin.  What is it you may ask? Well it is a type of microphone, but not just your standard microphone. This microphone works through touch.

            How Ishin-Denshin works is that a person whispers into the microphone, which then transmits it into an electrical signal.  The person is now “charged” and can touch another person’s earlobe.  The vibrations of this then provide the sound of what the original person was saying, through touch, to the other person.  

                This would provide good use to places such as Disney, that do storytelling and that having an effect such as that would be useful to literally allow the people there to feel the stories being portrayed.  What other places can you think of this type of new technology being useful? Whether it be small scale, or large scale (Poupyrev is working on that.) Also, is this a product you 

personally would find useful? 

                Here is a link to the article, as well as a video showing how the microphone works.

Example of Ishin-Denshin YouTube Video

                        Also, here is a link to the article about the new microphone. 

Ishin-Denshin Article