Facebook is now allowing parents-to-be to list their unborn children on theis personal profiles. Along with the option of "Expected: Child", parents can add the due date and the baby's name. With the feature, the expected child would appear to the other family members on the user's profile and changed status would appear in friends' news feed.
The option has existed for a while, but the internet didn't pick it up on it until this week and the British Daily Mail had reported that the feature "rolled out" last Wednesday. The Mail and others had speculated that the option is meant to cut down on parents who create separate Facebook pages for their as-yet unborn children. According to Facebook rules, anyone under 13 cannot have a page.
In my opinion, I think this feature is good, but bad as well. In one way, it is good because it let's your closes friends and family members know that you are expected a child and when the baby is going to be due. It would be good to inform old friends whom you can't get in touch with via phone. It is also bad because the mother could have a miscarriage. Using the feature on Facebook is like telling people that you are pregnant to their faces basically. However, I just think it would cause more sadness if that was to happen. Not only that, not all of your friends on Facebook are really your "closest friends" so even though they will feel sorry for the loss, to the mother it wouldn't really be a "meaningful" sorry.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/02/facebook.expected.child.pregnancy/index.html?hpt=te_r1
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Buyback Insurance: A Good Deal for Retailers.
Today, I went back to the Bloomberg Businessweek website and came across this article. Many people may be familiar with the Buyback Insurance. Best Buy, the world's largest electronices retailer, started its own buyback program sometime earlier this year. The insurance normally works like this: for an upfront fee, the retailer agrees to buy back an old device for up to half its original cost when a customers returns it within a few years. Office Depot and Radioshack has offered buyback insurance for the last few years now.
TechForward, the Los Angeles startup that offers buyback insurance through Walmart, disagrees that this program can be profitable. Marc Lebovitz stated that "we are giving people a solution that makes upgrading more affordable and environmentally friendly." He is the company's chief operating officer. Sean Stephens who is the senior director of Best Buy services said that the insurance "appeals to people who see value in knowing what they'll get back when they redeem their device." TechForward began offering the plans in 2006, but it didn't sign its first big customer until 2008. However over the last two years, large retailers like Office Depot and Dell have began offering TechForward's plans. Consumer advocates say that the buyback insurance is a bad idea.
I personally don't know much about the buyback insurance program. I have heard about it over the last year or two though. I have heard both bad and good things about the program.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/buyback-insurance-a-good-deal-for-retailers-07282011.html
TechForward, the Los Angeles startup that offers buyback insurance through Walmart, disagrees that this program can be profitable. Marc Lebovitz stated that "we are giving people a solution that makes upgrading more affordable and environmentally friendly." He is the company's chief operating officer. Sean Stephens who is the senior director of Best Buy services said that the insurance "appeals to people who see value in knowing what they'll get back when they redeem their device." TechForward began offering the plans in 2006, but it didn't sign its first big customer until 2008. However over the last two years, large retailers like Office Depot and Dell have began offering TechForward's plans. Consumer advocates say that the buyback insurance is a bad idea.
I personally don't know much about the buyback insurance program. I have heard about it over the last year or two though. I have heard both bad and good things about the program.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/buyback-insurance-a-good-deal-for-retailers-07282011.html
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Congress gathering debt-crisis feedback via Facebook.
Today on CNN, it was stated that many of the members of Congress are turning to a digital platform more associated with sharing personal updates and funny videos about cats: Facebook. Over the last few days, lawmakers have swarmed the popular social network to post videos outlining their positions, conduct opinion polls, reach new constituents and ask for feedback. Andrew Noyes, manager of public policy communications for Facebook said that "over the past week, our team has seen a marked increase in the number of members of Congress speaking directly to constituents through their official Facebook pages" and that the number of posts including video or radio snippets also has increased over the past week as lawmakers seek to engage their followers in new ways.
All of House Speaker John Boehner's Facebook posts in the past two weeks have articulated his positions on the debt crisis. A message by him on Monday had drawn more than 15,000 comments. In addition to that, congressional Democrats have been using Facebook to rally opposition to Boehner's debt-ceiling bill. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, had asked Facebook users to sign his online petition which urged Congress to adopt a "sensible" bipartisan solution. Another Democratic, Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland had posted a C-Span clip of his comments from the House floor on Facebook.
In my opinion, I think reaching out to Facebook users for this is a good idea. This is "business" like, not too much of "personal". Noyes had stated that "facebook has become a critical channel for government communication" and I agree with him. In general, people are taking advantage of social media. He also stated that "politicians are only getting more creative with social media as the debate over the debt ceiling and other crucial public-policy issues continue." Imagine how it would be if Facebook wasn't here and Twitter. Politicians would still be trying to get their votes and voice their opinions the old fashion way. Social media has given people the opportunity to contact information and etc newer way. There is more to this article on CNN. The link is below.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/07/29/congress.debt.facebook/index.html?hpt=te_bn1
All of House Speaker John Boehner's Facebook posts in the past two weeks have articulated his positions on the debt crisis. A message by him on Monday had drawn more than 15,000 comments. In addition to that, congressional Democrats have been using Facebook to rally opposition to Boehner's debt-ceiling bill. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, had asked Facebook users to sign his online petition which urged Congress to adopt a "sensible" bipartisan solution. Another Democratic, Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland had posted a C-Span clip of his comments from the House floor on Facebook.
In my opinion, I think reaching out to Facebook users for this is a good idea. This is "business" like, not too much of "personal". Noyes had stated that "facebook has become a critical channel for government communication" and I agree with him. In general, people are taking advantage of social media. He also stated that "politicians are only getting more creative with social media as the debate over the debt ceiling and other crucial public-policy issues continue." Imagine how it would be if Facebook wasn't here and Twitter. Politicians would still be trying to get their votes and voice their opinions the old fashion way. Social media has given people the opportunity to contact information and etc newer way. There is more to this article on CNN. The link is below.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/07/29/congress.debt.facebook/index.html?hpt=te_bn1
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sprint throws 4G Hail Mary. Stock plunges. Teams up with LightSquared.
I decided to go read some articles on CNN.com and this one definitely caught my eye because I have Sprint and I have their first 4G phone, HTC Evo. Sprint is losing its most valuable subscribers to its biggest rivals which is mostly AT&T. Shares are plummeting and its once-leading 4G coverage is getting passed by. On Thursday, there was a $9 billion partnership agreement with fledgling 4G wholesale provider LightSquared. Sprint is planning on licensing some of its unused wireless frequencies to LightSquared, which the wholesaler will use to deploy its 4G network and then Sprint will be able to buy back some of the 4G services that LightSquared provides to offer to Sprint customers. In June 2010, its first 4G phone, the HTC Evo 4G, went on sale. This was five months before T-Mobile rebranded its service as "4G" and 10 months before Verizon started selling its first 4G phone.
Sprint's customer losses have decreased but the company is still losing ground in the wirless market. AT&T added 331,000 contracted customers and Verizon netted 1.3 million. The top two wireless providers have both recorded billions of dollars in profit last quarter.
I am a Sprint customer even though my mother pays for my phone, but I have had my Evo since it first came out and to be honest I like it. However, I have had too many problems with it. I don't think Sprint realized how much problems they would have with this phone. Since Jully 2010, I have had two Evos. I am a clumsy person at times so I do tend to drop my phone, but that shouldn't really do much damage. I do have insurance on my phone, but that is a lot of work transferring pictures and etc to a new one. With my first Evo, I began to have problems with it. It stopped charging. I figured it was just my charger myself or maybe a certain outlet, but then I thought to myself that that can't just be it. I took it to the Sprint store at the Quarry and come to find out my charger port within my phone was damaged, reason why it had stopped charging. Now the Evo itself takes up some battery life, but my battery life was being taken up way too much. I got a replacement Evo and ever since then, I don't even like using my phone I guess because it isn't my original. Not only that, I am noticing the same problems as before.. the not charging. I always wanted an iPhone, but I didn't ever get one. AT&T is a good company. They have their bad times every once in a while, but overall they are good. I am trying to get the new iPhone 5 when it comes out. No hard feelings to Sprint because they are good as well, but I am having way too many problems with my Evo and I'd rather just have an iPhone if I wanted to deal with these problems. Also Sprint always does something where no Sprint users can text for like an hour or so. They are just having too many problems and plus it's time that I get a cellphone in my name anyways.
Overall, this article was interesting of course. As stated earlier, it had caught my eye since I am a Sprint customer and I have their 4G phone. I didn't talk much about the article because I wanted to talk about my little experience even thought it really didn't have to do with much, but the link is below if you want to read it.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/28/technology/sprint_lightsquared/index.htm?hpt=te_bn2
Sprint's customer losses have decreased but the company is still losing ground in the wirless market. AT&T added 331,000 contracted customers and Verizon netted 1.3 million. The top two wireless providers have both recorded billions of dollars in profit last quarter.
I am a Sprint customer even though my mother pays for my phone, but I have had my Evo since it first came out and to be honest I like it. However, I have had too many problems with it. I don't think Sprint realized how much problems they would have with this phone. Since Jully 2010, I have had two Evos. I am a clumsy person at times so I do tend to drop my phone, but that shouldn't really do much damage. I do have insurance on my phone, but that is a lot of work transferring pictures and etc to a new one. With my first Evo, I began to have problems with it. It stopped charging. I figured it was just my charger myself or maybe a certain outlet, but then I thought to myself that that can't just be it. I took it to the Sprint store at the Quarry and come to find out my charger port within my phone was damaged, reason why it had stopped charging. Now the Evo itself takes up some battery life, but my battery life was being taken up way too much. I got a replacement Evo and ever since then, I don't even like using my phone I guess because it isn't my original. Not only that, I am noticing the same problems as before.. the not charging. I always wanted an iPhone, but I didn't ever get one. AT&T is a good company. They have their bad times every once in a while, but overall they are good. I am trying to get the new iPhone 5 when it comes out. No hard feelings to Sprint because they are good as well, but I am having way too many problems with my Evo and I'd rather just have an iPhone if I wanted to deal with these problems. Also Sprint always does something where no Sprint users can text for like an hour or so. They are just having too many problems and plus it's time that I get a cellphone in my name anyways.
Overall, this article was interesting of course. As stated earlier, it had caught my eye since I am a Sprint customer and I have their 4G phone. I didn't talk much about the article because I wanted to talk about my little experience even thought it really didn't have to do with much, but the link is below if you want to read it.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/28/technology/sprint_lightsquared/index.htm?hpt=te_bn2
SAP to Meet Top End of Forecast as Sales Growth Beats Oracle.
I just read an article on the Bloomberg Businessweek website about SAP. SAP AG is the largest maker of business-management software and is said to reach the top end of its profit forecasts by this year after winning market share last quarter on demand for mobile and data-analysis offerings. On July 26th, it was said that second-quarter software license sales had increased 26 percent which had beaten estimates and rival Oracle Corp. Oraclae Corp. is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products. Based on non-international financial repoting standards, full-year operating profit will be at the high end of a previous forecast range of about 4.45 billion euros which is 6.5 billion to about 4.65 euros exlcuding currency swings.
SAP rose as much as 2.8 percent to 44.69 euros in Franfurt yesterday which added about a 3.6 gain from Monday I believe after releasing second-quarter results. The stock was up to about 2.7 percent as of 9:33 a.m. The shares had also gained 17 percent this year giving the software maker a market value of about 54.8 billion euros. Oracle on the other hand slipped 0.2 percent to $32.15 Nasdaq Stock Market trading the day before. SAP had predicted to sell more of its core enterprise software products as a result of introducing new products. It was said that SAP is also benefiting from the use of Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer among those who can have mobile access to real-time business analytics and also provides the software for the order fulfilment behind Apple’s iTunes download system. While Oracle has spent more than $42 billion on takeovers since the beginning of 2005, SAP has made only two large acquisitions in its 39 year history. SAP bought Sybase INC., last year. In 2007, business-intelligence company Business Objects SA was acquired.
I am not too familiar with any one of these companies. However I have heard of both especially SAP. In my opinion, I think this is some interesting competition. They are both technology companies, but SAP is an European company. I think that's crazy how an European company is beating an American company, but then it is not to surprising given the fact that most of the things we use in American isn't made in America. You can read more of the article on the Businessweek website.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-07-27/sap-to-meet-top-end-of-forecast-as-sales-growth-beats-oracle.html
SAP rose as much as 2.8 percent to 44.69 euros in Franfurt yesterday which added about a 3.6 gain from Monday I believe after releasing second-quarter results. The stock was up to about 2.7 percent as of 9:33 a.m. The shares had also gained 17 percent this year giving the software maker a market value of about 54.8 billion euros. Oracle on the other hand slipped 0.2 percent to $32.15 Nasdaq Stock Market trading the day before. SAP had predicted to sell more of its core enterprise software products as a result of introducing new products. It was said that SAP is also benefiting from the use of Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer among those who can have mobile access to real-time business analytics and also provides the software for the order fulfilment behind Apple’s iTunes download system. While Oracle has spent more than $42 billion on takeovers since the beginning of 2005, SAP has made only two large acquisitions in its 39 year history. SAP bought Sybase INC., last year. In 2007, business-intelligence company Business Objects SA was acquired.
I am not too familiar with any one of these companies. However I have heard of both especially SAP. In my opinion, I think this is some interesting competition. They are both technology companies, but SAP is an European company. I think that's crazy how an European company is beating an American company, but then it is not to surprising given the fact that most of the things we use in American isn't made in America. You can read more of the article on the Businessweek website.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-07-27/sap-to-meet-top-end-of-forecast-as-sales-growth-beats-oracle.html
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Apple OS X Lion and Apple Store in China.
Today in class, Mr. Porter had show us a short video about the newest Apple OS X Lion. I found it very, very interesting. It actually made me want a MacBook and an Apple computer even more after watching the video. In general, the apps on a MacBook and an Apple Computer look very organized and that's what I like. In my opinion, I think that this new Apple OS X Lion is a good idea. It gives the opportunity to use your Mac in more that one way, but in "one" specific way which is good if that makes sense. I hate using the same routines sometimes to be honest. I like how it allows you to use different touch gestures and also shows you full screen apps which is good especially if your vision is not that good. I think that would help alot. The launchpad is really cool too. I like that!
Apple OS X Lion
Also today in class, we found out that China has a few fake Apple stores there. I didn't find that to be that surprising, but then I did. It's crazy how they have an Apple store with ALL Apple products that look identical to the "real deal". That's crazy! I guess I didn't find it very shocking because they sell knock-off items on the street that are made in China so it kind of made sense.
CNN: Fake Apple store in China
Bloomberg Businessweek: Fake Apple store in China
Apple OS X Lion
Also today in class, we found out that China has a few fake Apple stores there. I didn't find that to be that surprising, but then I did. It's crazy how they have an Apple store with ALL Apple products that look identical to the "real deal". That's crazy! I guess I didn't find it very shocking because they sell knock-off items on the street that are made in China so it kind of made sense.
CNN: Fake Apple store in China
Bloomberg Businessweek: Fake Apple store in China
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Google+ VS. Facebook
1. In your opinion, how is Facebook and Google+ different or the same?One of my friends recently invited me to the new Google+ social network. Personally, I think both Facebook and Google+ are somewhat the same. They are both social networks it's just Google+ is new and hasn't really gotten the big reconition that Facebook has. I am sure once Google+ allows people to join then it will get the recognition that it is looking for. There's not much that is different except I believe that Google+ has some type of video chat. Other than that, it has similar features to Facebook.
2. How many users does Facebook have? Why so many? Why did Facebook overtake MySpace?
There are over 500 million active users on Facebook. I think Facebook overtook MySpace because Facebook became a better and easy way to contact people. More people had realized that there was a new social network out so they hopped on the bandwagon, tried it out, and ended up liking it perhaps.
3. Do you think Google+ or any other social media will overtake Facebook?
I really don't think that Google+ will overtake Facebook. I think it might take a while for Google+ to obtain such a power thing like that. Google hasn't really been promoting Google+ that much. This could be because you can only join Google+ if a friend invited you to join therefore it will take Google+ some time to gain the users that it needs/wants. All the other social networks are basically old news. Neither of those can overtake Facebook or Google+ in general. Even though MySpace is still being used, I still don't believe that it has much competition anymore. It's now just Facebook VS. Google+ instead.
4. Why do you feel there is such an obsession with Facebook? Do you think this obsession is warranted?
I think that there is such an obsession with Facebook because it is a social network that is/was aimed mainly towards college students and business people. Facebook itself is a social network that helps individuals keep in contact with friends as well as help businesses promote themselves and etc.
5. What was your perspective of the film overall?
Overall, the film was very interesting. It gave us an insight on how Facebook really came about. We all just randomly signed up for Facebook one day because a friend invited us via email, a friend told us about it, or simply because we wanted to try something new besides MySpace, Xanga, or any other social network. It's just sometimes better to see a visual version of something to understand it better or for it to catch your eye.
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
2. How many users does Facebook have? Why so many? Why did Facebook overtake MySpace?
There are over 500 million active users on Facebook. I think Facebook overtook MySpace because Facebook became a better and easy way to contact people. More people had realized that there was a new social network out so they hopped on the bandwagon, tried it out, and ended up liking it perhaps.
3. Do you think Google+ or any other social media will overtake Facebook?
I really don't think that Google+ will overtake Facebook. I think it might take a while for Google+ to obtain such a power thing like that. Google hasn't really been promoting Google+ that much. This could be because you can only join Google+ if a friend invited you to join therefore it will take Google+ some time to gain the users that it needs/wants. All the other social networks are basically old news. Neither of those can overtake Facebook or Google+ in general. Even though MySpace is still being used, I still don't believe that it has much competition anymore. It's now just Facebook VS. Google+ instead.
4. Why do you feel there is such an obsession with Facebook? Do you think this obsession is warranted?
I think that there is such an obsession with Facebook because it is a social network that is/was aimed mainly towards college students and business people. Facebook itself is a social network that helps individuals keep in contact with friends as well as help businesses promote themselves and etc.
5. What was your perspective of the film overall?
Overall, the film was very interesting. It gave us an insight on how Facebook really came about. We all just randomly signed up for Facebook one day because a friend invited us via email, a friend told us about it, or simply because we wanted to try something new besides MySpace, Xanga, or any other social network. It's just sometimes better to see a visual version of something to understand it better or for it to catch your eye.
http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
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