How much is a Tweet worth?

KFC announced today they will unveil plans to award $20,000 toward one high schooler's college tuition for the best tweet it receives. Certainly, tweeting is a lot easier than filling out long applications, which KFC had required for all college scholarships. But this year, it's awarding one of its 75 college scholarships based on a tweet.It's how this generation communicates," says John Cywinski, KFC's marketing chief. "It's a generation used to instant messaging and immediate gratification."
 I think this is genius! What better way to get free publicity for something they have done for years. Twitter is a public site and anybody can read these tweets. This approach to marketing worked well for JetBlue in the past. They announced over Twitter that they were giving away 1000 free round trip tickets and certain locations in Manhattan and thousands of followers crowded these locations to receive these freebies.
IT is always evolving and influencing other parts of business practices all the time such as marketing. Just look at what KFC could gain from this free marketing strategy! I mean I am even talking about them on this blog and did not even cost them a cent!!!!

Watch What You Say and Where You Say It

This past week the National Labor Relations Board  accused a company of illegally firing an employee after she criticized her supervisor on her Facebook page. This case has been viewed as ground breaking by many lawyers. Let me explain what happened. A worker at American Medical Response of Connecticut wrote some “disparaging” and “discriminatory” remarks on her own Facebook page about her employer and supervisor. The company accused her, among other things, of violating a policy that bars employees from depicting the company “in any way” on Facebook or other social media sites in which they post pictures of themselves.

However, Lafe Solomon, the National Labor Relations Board’s acting general counsel, said, “This is a fairly straightforward case under the National Labor Relations Act — whether it takes place on Facebook or at the water cooler, it was employees talking jointly about working conditions, in this case about their supervisor, and they have a right to do that.” American Medical Response of Connecticut denied the labor board’s allegations, saying they were without merit and the employee was fired for many other complaints other than just this one intense.

I now pose questions to you.  Should an employer be able to fire an employee for voicing their personal views on a semi-private site?  And if so should there be a disclaimer signed upon hiring that states you will be terminated if remarks are found?  Or should you just not speak about your work environment on the Internet?

Claim Your Domain

Think back to Launch Week (I know it feels like 2years ago already). Do you remember the countless lectures on how we need to clean up our online profile? Yep, that's right about a million times we were told how facebook, twitter, myspace and other sites on the web could be the deciding factor on between whether we get that job we are dying for or the the guy next to us gets it.  Well I am here to say that I read an article this week that basically says there is no way to hide everything that could be negatively perceived from potential employers. The author of this article actually suggests that we create as much information about ourselves online as we can. Therefore, when our name is googled we can control the information about us on at least the first page or two of that google search.

The way of going about this is purchasing a domain name that includes our own name. Then link as many things to it that we know are positive and would approve of our grandma's seeing. This way it will be the first thing pulled up in a Google search and possible employers usually don't go digging to far if they see a lot of positive information first.

I think this could be an ingenious idea. I mean even if you Google your name on a regular basis you never know what could be put on the Internet within a matter of minutes that could ruin your future first career.
Just as a side note I Googled my name before this blog. Thank God there is a famous singer in the PussyCat Dolls with the name Kimberly Wyatt. I had to go through 7 pages before I saw anything that was related to me:)

Rebirth of Myspace?

I can remember about five years ago creating my first social networking account. I logged on to Myspace and began decorating my profile page and sending friend request out. It was such a unique experience to see your friends all of over the Internet and even catch up with people I had not seen since elementary school. About the same time as I created my Myspace page I also started an account on this social school related site called Facebook. I rarely signed on to Facebook but occasionally would get emails that somebody wanted to be my friend.  Years went by and Myspace basically took over every conversation. Starting about 2 1/2 years ago I found myself getting in Facebook more and more every week and eventually cancelling my Myspace account because it had begun to get so cumbersome to use and navigate.

The rest of the world must have been thinking the same way I was because for the last year Myspace has been reporting a huge loss. So this past month they released the newly revamped Myspace that Murdoch believes will bring back the coveted 18 to 35 year old market that they use to attract.  This redesign now has Myspace focusing on entertainment and celebrities instead of friends. It also has taken away many features that made it hard to use. 

I don't know about you but no matter what they do I will not re-join Myspace. I feel they are beating a dead dog with this redesign. Maybe it is just me though.  Are you going to start using Myspace again?

Technology in School

I recently read a debate between Jon Schnur and Microsoft. The argument was that technology should be used in the classroom as a support to teaching. Schnur believes that if centuries ago we thought "how can we use technology to improve the horse drawn carriage", the automobile would have never been invented. He then says we need to improve the educational equivalent to the " horse drawn carriage" and create new models of schooling and education that eventually lift up a redesigned teaching job and profession and the way we educate our students. Basically his argument is that we should use technology to support changes in teaching and the way we educate or students instead of basing our education off technology.

Microsoft agrees with the later part of this argument. They believe that we need to look beyond the devices and equipment used in teaching and start using technology to improve the core of education. Furthermore, the believe technology should be used to improve the data on students do that we can create personalized education. For example Microsoft Partners in Learning is now teaching teachers how to do their lesson plans using this personalized student data to improve education.

This is a debate near to my heart. My mother has taught second grade gifted for over 35 years and she would agree with Schnur's argument. Just recently she has started using computers in her class to support her teaching through the use of googling and a spelling game. I would consider this a slight resistance to change. In contrast though, I have very close friends who have just recently begun to teach. They use Microsoft prospective of technology in their teaching.Their lesson plans are done electronically and technology is integrated into every aspect of their teaching. So I ask the question: Should technology be used as a support system in teaching or should it we the tool that changes education?
Debate- technology in classroom

IT Panelists

I found the IT panel discussion very enlightening. I will be honest and say when I first saw that one of my classes this year was IT, I was less than enthused about it. However, after reading certain cases such as CareGroup and listening to the the four panelists discuss the role of IT in their business I have begun to understand the importance of Technology in my future career. While I found all four speakers stories interesting, I was most impressed with Ms. Mills presentation being that I want to specialize in Health Care Administration myself.  One of the most impressive points to me was how OLOL uses IT to facilitate the doctors role in prescription medicine. As we all know doctors are very resistant to change and many would rather the bare minimal IT involvement in their practice. However, OLOL has implemented a system that allows the doctors to prescribe medications to their patients and uses computer programs to double check the patients history to insure that there would not be a conflict or allergies in the prescribed medicine

I now see that there is more to IT in relation to business management than I had previously thought. And that IT's role in advancing your company could be the key to success or failure. If computers can be used to save a patients life I would definitely say that that would be a success.

Generation Change

Our generation is anything but change resistant. Of course as an any group you have your outliers-passive rejecters. I would be willing to bet that the amount of passive rejecters in our generation is minimal. Take smart phones for example; they started off a little slow, with mostly being used by business people. Now look around, almost everyone (including  most of their mothers) has a smart phone. If we were a generation that was resistant to change, would Apple be able to sell a brand new Iphone to a customer only a year after they has just bought one? And boy do they sell, people line up around the stores the night before a new model is released. As in any product their will be a competitor and Iphone has many especially Andriod. I am actually an active rejecter of the Iphone but still own a smart phone. I did not like many things about about it so I purchased the Google phone. However, no matter what smart phone you use, and you probably use one, we definitely are not resist change.

Now on the other hand, I have worked for a local company that was owned by an older man in a different generation. He was extremely change resistant. We had the same Point of Sale software and hardware since the company opened in 1989. Like in the case about Zara the POS suppliers had told him that they could no longer repair his terminals if they broke and still he would not upgrade or change them. I quit before anything like that happened but I hear now the company has close down. This is probably because of many reasons but I can only imagine that if he had changed his technology it would have helped many issues and the company would still be in business.

Kim:)

The end of the HBO era?

Is it the end of the Premium Cable Era? The answer is, only if HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and others do not adapt to the changing world of technology. To use a term discussed in lectures they could be a product of Digital Darwinism if they do not adapt. As Netflix has become a monster in the DVD world sending BlockBuster to the edge of bankruptcy and now continues its dominance into instant viewing/streaming on the internet. This has many of the Premium channels worried , as they should be. For decades these channels have made their profit from licensing movies, from production companies, and showing them on their channels for relatively low prices. But now with Netflix encroaching on their market they must make drastic changes. I must note in recent years these channels have moved from just showing movies to writing/producing their own products such as one hour drama, sitcoms, and mini-series. To their benefit many of these shows have a cult following and have won many awards.

However, these Premium channels have now got to be creative and find other ways to keep the viewers attention so they don't go the way of BlockBuster. A start to this is, continuing to produce their own shows, but much more than that has to be done to fight the monster that is Netflix. I don't begin to have the answer for this but I do think it is possible to be done. For example, Showtime is now licensing Weeds to Netflix, for streaming, 90 days after they first show. This allows Showtime to make extra money not only from DVD's but now from online viewing. HBO has yet to licence any of their shows to Netflix for streaming, but I believe they will ultimately have to if they want to keep up.

Basically people: Until these channels find a way to not go extinct please continue to watch them because I will truly be upset if they are gone and I can't watch True Blood anymore :)

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_39/b4196021822248.htm

A Happy Balance

Thinking about the two cases presented this week it becomes quite apparent that for the most part a business needs a healthy balance between IT control and freedom. However, this is easier said than done, just ask Ms. Field's or Otisline. I am sure it was obvious to the majority of people in the companies that either control needed to be relinquished or gained. I think the balance is needed for most companies with a very small percentage of exceptions.

With Ms. Field's company, IT basically ran everything except for  actually baking the cookies and ran on the motto "it is demeaning for people to do what machines can do". Well we see how well this strategy worked. In strict contrast though, Otisline may as well have not had any IT control. Ultimately, too much freedom and control almost ruined both of these companies.

The question was asked as a executive is it possible to create the right amount of control and freedom. I think it absolutely is possible and I think it differs for each individual company based on their needs. Look at all the flourishing firms out there that have found the correct balance and are making the money! The two cases presented to us this week can teach us that balance is a necessity and should not be ignored. And when attempting to find the perfect balance for your company, you must not forget how these changes effect other parts of your firm, such as organization structure, which in turn must be changed as well.

Androids are taking over!

Having owed both and IPhone and a G1, one of the first phones using Android as the OS, I strongly agree with an IDC forecast that Android will be leader in mobile devices by the end of the year.  Not only does Android make a more user friendly phone than Apple, they also make it more adaptable to everyday life. For example, instead of being forced to use the Apple charger, I can plug my G1 into any USB by a simple mini USB connection port and start charging or exchanging data immediately. Apple goes out of there way to make it inconvenient for the IPhone to share data without their specialized charger.  This does however insure that they as a company make a killing on accessories.
A new feature on Android phones could also eliminate the need to pay for wi-fi with their new Hot Spots. Which turns your mobile device into basically a free wi-fi router that supplys free wi-fi to multiple computers. Just the simple fact that you can buy an Android phone in every leading mobile company and almost every brand phone means that there are so many options for people to pick the brand and retailer they like and still have the Android OS. By contrast, if you wanted an IPhone you have a choice of 2 retailers and exactly 2 phones at this moment. Flexibility is a huge downfall for the IPhone and I think that will be what ultimately allows them to surpassed in sales by the Androids.
I do believe Apple makes great products I own both an IPod and a Nano and they are both great. However, there is no real competion for them in that market. Eventually there could be and quite possibly will though and as in the IPhone I think if they do not want to lose sales they need to expand their product lines to fit the changing needs of the consumer.