Social Media Project - Starbucks Is King!

                         Group 19 & Starbucks 

http://www.blonde20.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/starbucks-logo.jpg

For our final project on social media, my group chose Starbucks to research. It really didn't take a very long time to choose as most of the group seemed to be leaning towards Starbucks initially. The most difficult part of the project, in my opinion, was actually the beginning. It took a little time to figure out exactly what was the best way to communicate. Once our group members identified themselves on the discussion board, we seemed to primarily post our thoughts there too. I did use some email but the discussion boards were best suited to share our progress

I have to give kudos to Melissa Harrison. She took the reins and became the group leader. She divided up the topics to research and kept the ball moving. She was also very considerate not to assume that what she posted for tasks was in stone. Everyone, i think, was happy to have someone fill this role and she did it perfectly! Especially since working in groups can be difficult and the level of difficulty is increased when the group is online. 

Not being a coffee drinker and not understanding why anyone would pay the prices charged by Starbucks, this project gave me much insight into the Starbucks company. While not converting me to become a patron, I did gain much respect for the way Starbucks utilizes social media. Probably the most impressive point for me was the way Starbucks takes a stand on issues it believes in. It may not always be politically correct and some may say they are taking a chance at offending those who don't share that view, but they continue to be successful in spite of publicly expressing those views. Views like gun control and same-sex marriage are not subjects that you usually see a company throw their two cents into. This was quite refreshing for me to see. 


I also learned that Starbucks was rated #1 in a study of the most socially engaged companies. Here is a link to an article regarding the study: www.phaseone.net/news/starbucks. What is very interesting is that they achieved this distinction without even having a social media policy. After taking a look at their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages, just to name a few, it is even more surprising because they do such a wonderful job of communicating to their audience. I have to say that Starbucks should be the model for any firm trying to start or improve their social media presence. 
Here is the link to my groups Wiki page: 

https://ism3004socialmedia.wikispaces.com/Starbucks 



Well, finally, this is the last blog entry for ISM3004. While I am not one to openly opine, let alone write my thoughts down publicly, I found this experience very insightful. The class material and project assignments were challenging, informative, and yes fun. I see the value in taking this course and know it will be something from which I will draw from later in my career.


And with that I'll sign off as always,
 

 GO GATORS!!!
     

Week 13 Clear Social Media

http://wemtech.wikispaces.com/file/view/web1vsweb2.png/101172389/web1vsweb2.png

This week's lesson on social media presented a variety of information and statistics regarding it's usage. One type of information that I found particularly interesting was the distinction between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Honestly, until this week, I never even realized there was such a difference. The difference? Our textbook defines it as Web 2.0 being about collaboration and information sharing, with Web 1.0 being mostly transaction oriented. As you can see in the illustration above, much has changed in just ten years. 

Social media, content that is peer produced and shared online, has played a significant role in that change. It has allowed many people all over the world to engage and participate with others like never in human history. Here's a video showing the impact and the variety of sources of social media.




One other aspect of interest for me was the power that these outlets have had to influence businesses, society, and even the government. Most notably is the blog or web log. Our text stated that blogs have prompted the new design of insulin pumps and have been responsible for exposing various product flaws. The authors of some blogs have been featured on major television news outlets like CNN and Fox News. The late Andrew Breitbart is a perfect example. He was really just a conservative blogger that slowly rose to political fame through the power of his readership. Breitbart is known in particular for his role in the ACORN scandal, the firing and re-hiring of U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod, and breaking the news on Rep. Anthony Weiner. I'd say that's a pretty huge impact from such humble beginnings.

Finally, the biggest impact for me this week was the need for businesses to harness social media for a competitive advantage. Taking a look at the top firm's in the world, you immediately see they have immersed themselves in trying to connect to their customers. The best way is through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It has become a format to not only speak to existing customers but, more importantly, to speak to potential customers. 

The power of social media is best summed up by Jeff Bezos, CEO at Amazon.com. He said, " If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.” Now, you have to agree, there is a lot of power in those numbers!


Until next time, GO GATORS!

Week 12 Clear Internet & Web

             Think and Think Again Before Clicking!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4105726930/

With the advent of the Internet, a new and wondrous technology provided a growth in freedom never thought of by our founding fathers. Not only was the world now able to tap into any and all information from the comfort of their own home, we could now communicate with that world without ever needing to know a phone number. Heck, except in the beginning, we don't even need to own or have access to a phone.

http://www.facebook.com/baronacton

Decades later, we are only beginning to realize how powerful a tool the Internet is and potentially could become. In 1887, Lord Acton, an English historian, said "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". I feel the Internet illustrates that potential to corrupt. I say this mostly due to the widespread ignorance with which users have when using their computers. 


We are just beginning to understand that, even though we are in the privacy of our homes when "surfing", posting, or searching, we really don't have any privacy whatsoever on our computers. Social media has brought this fact to the forefront. It seems everyday there is a story about someone, somewhere, posting to a blog or Facebook something that gets them into trouble. The military and, increasingly, employers are demanding access to these sites to monitor the content for any red flags they deem harmful to their organization. The reason? People are putting things on the Internet that they normally wouldn't have said out loud in public. 


From bullying to complaining about work to inappropriate jokes, privacy online is just a fallacy. Once you click the send button, your content is immortalized somewhere in the ether. It is available to anyone, forever! And, you don't have to be a bad person either. Good folks are getting caught up in situations they never would have dreamed of prior to going online. The problem is, you usually won't know it until it is too late. Think of the Rutger's University students involved in the web cam incident that resulted in a suicide. 

http://momlot.com/images/hard-working-mom.jpg

 

Finally, I'll leave you with what I think is a good rule of thumb when putting something up on the Internet. I'll call it the "Mom Factor". Whenever my sons are on the computer, I tell them that they should only be putting content up that they would not mind their mother seeing, reading, or hearing about. This is, I think, as high a standard as you can use if your goal is to not be embarrassed or ashamed. It makes them THINK before, not after, the final mouse click. The soapbox has been put away.

Until next time, GO GATORS! 

Week 11 Clear Database 2

http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/are-you-a-meat-and-potatoes-kinda-guy.250043499/

This week my confidence is riding high! Following the Access project from last week, which I feel pretty confident about too, we focused on The Data Asset. This lesson was what I'll call the meat and potatoes of data management. Here we learned about what data is and some of the ways that data is driven. 

http://www.cu.edu.ge/?i=12566&l=1

First, what is data? Data is raw facts and figures. There is structured data, data that is organized, and unstructured data, data that is, well.....not organized. In the business context, data comes from all places. It comes from suppliers, manufacturers, and most importantly, from customers. Putting data together to answer a question or make a decision becomes information. A key source for this data comes from Enterprise Software. This software makes it easier to combine data across all business units to get a more robust picture for the company. The company can formulate a plan based on this data to carry out their business objectives. So as you can see, management of data is a vital skill that is constantly being utilized as the data changes, which could be quiet often.

Next, we learned about storing data. This is done using data warehouses or data marts. This is where data gets turned into information. Data warehouses are a broad type of system where several databases are used to support decision making in an organization. Data marts, on the other hand, are a more focused system that concerns a specific problem. Since data growth is the number one challenge for IT organizations, these tools are an important asset to streamlining data into information.

As you may be able to see, having the skill set to manage all of this information is a make or break difference. It can be something that will push your firm forward to success or pull it back into the business failure abyss. Our text book did a great job of giving us successes and failures to illustrate my point. 

Addhttp://symbolphotos.blogspot.com/2008/10/danger-symbol-sign-photos.html caption

 The final point I would like to make about this week's lesson was the danger of data. Mr. Olsen's lecture concerning this topic was very important. He said that the bigger the size of the data, the bigger the problem with breaches of that data. This has been documented very well in the media with the most recent being this week with a credit card payment processing company. Advancements in technology and the enormous amount of data tracking have become a double-edged sword. This sword is wielded for just as much evil as it is for good. As keepers of the sword, managers must be diligent not only in the gathering but also in the protection of the much sought after data and information. Unfortunately, evil dates back to the Bible. So I also feel confident in saying that it will be around for a very long time to come.



Until next week, GO GATORS!
 

Database Project

Well, the Database Project is complete! I feel like I have garnered a tremendous amount of useful information regarding Microsoft Access. While I understand that there is a whole lot more to Access than what was required for this project, it was a very meaningful exercise for me. Meaningful in that I learned that playing around with this software is a very useful teaching tool. There were a couple of instances where I was presented with a problem that was not fixable by just watching the lectures. For example, when I worked on the Reports part of the project everything turned out perfect except for the zip code and left date sections. When I tried to view the report in "print preview" mode, the numbers were not displayed. There were # signs in place of the digits and I couldn't understand why that was occurring. My first thought was to use the "Property Sheet" tab on the ribbon to fix it. However, after trying for probably too long with no success, I moved on to see if there was another way. Finally, I stumbled on a way to fix it. I was in Layout View and noticed when I moved a column over a bit, I could see digits. I then realized that I just needed to add space between the columns. Upon doing so, I was very pleased to see all the data displayed to specification. So while I learned how to maneuver within Access and how to use the software to achieve a desired goal, maybe the biggest takeaway for me was to not be intimidated by the unknown and to take a relaxed approach when an unforeseen problem arises. In other words, don't panic. It can be fixed!

One way to enhance the functionality of this database would be to add a form called "Reason for Leaving". This would be something filled out by members upon termination. You could use this information to see if there is a common element as to why members are leaving. You could then create a marketing campaign to address these issues based on the feedback. This would be a great way to get former members to return and possibly retain current members, while hopefully attracting new members concerned with similar issues at the gym they currently use. Since the member mailing information is already on file, a direct mailing effort would be a perfect way to inform all current and former members of the changes being made to improve service.

That's all for this week! Go Gators!

Week 10 Muddy to Clear Skills Track

This week's lesson on Microsoft Access started off muddy but by the end it had become much clearer. The main reason I say it was muddy is mostly because my only exposure was in my introductory class. Viewing the lectures actually helped me to recall certain functions that are available in Access. So, I have to say there is great value in viewing the lectures, not just to help with the project, but to also bring to the forefront of your mind things that you remember vaguely from lack of use.

The area that was most interesting was the forms and reports sections. Most people equate Access to tables. At least that was how I viewed Access. However,  to manipulate the data and display it in a specific form or to create a variety of reports is a feature that I was very unfamiliar with initially. After being exposed to these features, through the lectures, I see what seems to be endless possibilities with regards to data sets. 

My initial feeling about the Access project was a feeling of trepidation. I have never used any aspect of Access, so the thought of  having to complete a project using it caused me to feel this way. I did find a video prior to viewing the lectures that gave me a good overview of what Access was and it's usefulness with databases. Check it out here below if your not privy to the lectures we have in class. 



Well, I hope that gave you an idea of how to use Access and the different ways to group and display all sorts of data. I particularly like the way they describe how Access understands how lists and their contents relate to each other. The video also calls this "relational databases". Here is where I began to understand how useful Microsoft Access could be in a business setting. 

It is now time to tackle this week's project. I have my "cheat sheet" from the scavenger hunt and feel a whole lot better going into this assignment. Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to playing around with Access to get a better understanding of what it is capable of doing.  

So, until next week, happy computing!

Week 9 Clear Moore's Law

This week's lesson was very interesting and informative for me. Moore's Law definition is that chip performance per dollar doubles every eighteen months. This simply means that in eighteen months, you should pay the same price as you do today but with twice as much storage. This also means that the size of the chip will continue to get smaller and smaller, to a limit.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/silicon-innovations/moores-law-technology.html

That was the interesting part. That eventually, Moore's Law will no longer be in existence. As the text states, nature will have to takeover at some point. Size, heat, and power will ultimately hinder the extent at which Moore's Law will prevail, as it has for decades. Which means that software will need to take the lead in contributing to the progression of computing. More specifically, Quantum Computing is the technology on the horizon. This technology uses qubits that can be one and zero instead of the computing of today that uses one or zero.

Probably the most interesting part of this week's lesson was the video by Dr. Michio Kaku on the future of technology. He has a few fascinating theories of what life in the future will be like with "smart machines". He talked about programmable matter, which he described as shape shifting or invisibility cloaks ala Harry Potter. It was enough to make me wish I could live to see all the possibilities to come. For those not in our ISM 3004 class, I have added the video below so you can have a window into the vision of our modern scientists.

The Future of Technology




The vast potential of what is to come in computing is just beginning to be tapped. Dr. Kaku stated that he felt we as a human race will reach his Type 1 Civilization in about 100 years. This will be the age where all human kind will work together for the benefit of the whole planet. This by itself is a fascinating notion and only means that the stuff of our modern science fiction movies will actually become a reality. To borrow a famous line, our future possibilities will reach to "infinity and beyond"! 

So, beam me up Scotty!