China Firm "Hijacked" Data
My last blog of the semester will come full circle from my first blog at the beginning of the year. The article I am writing about today is the charge that a Chinese company, China Telecom, routed about 18 minutes of 15% of all Internet traffic through their servers in April, including branches of the U.S. armed services, the U.S. Senate and companies like Microsoft. Of course China denied it, but China Telecom is a state-owned company and China has been known to actively participate in electronic esponiage, especially against the United States.
This is a good recap for everything we've learned this semester. The digital economy has propelled our country and the world to a higher standard of living and great, rapid progress. What we have to remember and realize though, is that whenever you digitize a majority of things in your country and rely on the Internet for normal day-to-day business, there will always be someone out there that wants to steal your information and use it against you. Whether it be for business or national security.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
How to Sell on YouTube, Without Showing a Video
How to Sell on YouTube
The article for my blog this week is about how small businesses are using YouTube to sell their products and gain customer awareness/reviews. We are probably all familiar with companies using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to advertise products or promotions. There is a trend lately to use YouTube not only to upload advertisment videos, but to comment on videos that regular people post, reviewing a product.
For instance, some random person may post a video in Youtube about how product X is really great but they can't figure out how to do a certain function with it. Product X will then post in their comments and explain to them how to complete this function. This means that everyone that clicks on the video and reads the comments will see the post.
Another technique is for small companies to follow chatrooms and forums that pertain to the product they sell. They will find trending topics or discussions relating to what they sell and then post a Youtube video to answer the question or show the highlights of a new product they have introducted. This keeps them very close to the needs and discussions of the customer base.
I hope this has enlightened you to new ways companies are using social media, in this case YouTube, to increase customer awareness and cheaply advertise.
The article for my blog this week is about how small businesses are using YouTube to sell their products and gain customer awareness/reviews. We are probably all familiar with companies using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to advertise products or promotions. There is a trend lately to use YouTube not only to upload advertisment videos, but to comment on videos that regular people post, reviewing a product.
For instance, some random person may post a video in Youtube about how product X is really great but they can't figure out how to do a certain function with it. Product X will then post in their comments and explain to them how to complete this function. This means that everyone that clicks on the video and reads the comments will see the post.
Another technique is for small companies to follow chatrooms and forums that pertain to the product they sell. They will find trending topics or discussions relating to what they sell and then post a Youtube video to answer the question or show the highlights of a new product they have introducted. This keeps them very close to the needs and discussions of the customer base.
I hope this has enlightened you to new ways companies are using social media, in this case YouTube, to increase customer awareness and cheaply advertise.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Using Social Media to Draw Shoppers
Gap Turns to Social Media to Draw Shoppers
[Gap] "The San Francisco company, which also runs Banana Republic and Old Navy, gave away 10,000 pairs of jeans Friday to people who “checked in” at a Gap using Facebook’s new Deals feature. The social network unveiled the program this week, letting local merchants offer deals to its 200 million mobile phone users."
"Shoppers who weren’t able to get a pair of jeans received a consolation prize: 40% off a full-price item."
Gap, the US's largest apparel retailer, has recently hit rough times and is trying to use the attraction of free items and social media to create a buzz and ultimately more business. I think it's absolutely genius. The price of the jeans and discounts they gave away is a small price to pay for the tens of thousands of Gap "check-ins" that took place on Facebook. I think the "check-ins" will definitely create positive advertising and buzz that will lead to more business for Gap.
[Gap] "The San Francisco company, which also runs Banana Republic and Old Navy, gave away 10,000 pairs of jeans Friday to people who “checked in” at a Gap using Facebook’s new Deals feature. The social network unveiled the program this week, letting local merchants offer deals to its 200 million mobile phone users."
"Shoppers who weren’t able to get a pair of jeans received a consolation prize: 40% off a full-price item."
Gap, the US's largest apparel retailer, has recently hit rough times and is trying to use the attraction of free items and social media to create a buzz and ultimately more business. I think it's absolutely genius. The price of the jeans and discounts they gave away is a small price to pay for the tens of thousands of Gap "check-ins" that took place on Facebook. I think the "check-ins" will definitely create positive advertising and buzz that will lead to more business for Gap.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Apple Opens Chinese App Store
China Opens Chinese App Store
On Tuesday Apple announced that it launched an online store and a simplified-Chinese version of its App Store for customers in China.
"Chinese customers can now order Apple products, including the iPhone 4 and the iPad, online and have the products delivered. Prior to this move, iPhone buyers had to order the devices on Apple's Chinese website and pick them up at one of Apple's four mainland Chinese Apple Stores in Beijing and Shanghai.
According to the new Chinese online store, Apple is shipping iPhones in China in one to two weeks, and iPads in 24 hours as of Tuesday morning."
Apple is planning to open 25 stores in China by 2011 and is starting to speed up the release of its products in China, which is the number one mobile market and second largest PC market in the world.
Apple is becoming a more and more global company. They are tapping huge markets to sell their products, especially China, that many of their US competitors are not. Along, with becoming more global, they are keeping the "local flavor." This can be seen in the Chinese App Store and online store that allows their new customers in China to easily gain faster access to their products. I think this strategy will payoff for Apple as they will potentially gain millions of new customers.
On Tuesday Apple announced that it launched an online store and a simplified-Chinese version of its App Store for customers in China.
"Chinese customers can now order Apple products, including the iPhone 4 and the iPad, online and have the products delivered. Prior to this move, iPhone buyers had to order the devices on Apple's Chinese website and pick them up at one of Apple's four mainland Chinese Apple Stores in Beijing and Shanghai.
According to the new Chinese online store, Apple is shipping iPhones in China in one to two weeks, and iPads in 24 hours as of Tuesday morning."
Apple is planning to open 25 stores in China by 2011 and is starting to speed up the release of its products in China, which is the number one mobile market and second largest PC market in the world.
Apple is becoming a more and more global company. They are tapping huge markets to sell their products, especially China, that many of their US competitors are not. Along, with becoming more global, they are keeping the "local flavor." This can be seen in the Chinese App Store and online store that allows their new customers in China to easily gain faster access to their products. I think this strategy will payoff for Apple as they will potentially gain millions of new customers.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Not sure what the plan is here H-P?
H-P Releases Its $800 Slate, the lastest Ipad Rival
The article I am blogging on this week is the news that on Friday H-P released a touchscreen tablet computer that runs Windows called the Slate 500. This tablet is supposed to rival the Ipad and is "the ideal PC for professionals who don't usually work at a traditional desk, yet need to stay productive in a secure, familiar Windows environment."
There are three issues that I see that make me ask: H-P what the heck are you doing?
1) It's six months after the Ipad has been released and nine months after H-P revealed the prototype of it. The Ipad has already built up a customer base and has numerous apps that are already available. H-P will be playing catch up, if it even gets a following.
2) This price of the Slate 500 is listed at $800 which is more expensive than the Ipad, excluding the ones that have the most cutting edge storage space and wireless connectivity. I don't think most people will pay a higher price for a new, unproved tablet that is not any better than the Ipad technology-wise.
3) Lastly, the screen on the Slate 500 is 8.9", compared with 9.7" for the Ipad. Again, priced at $800 I"m not really sure what more you get with the Slate 500 over the Ipad.
H-P I understand that you probably have a lot of money in R-D tied up in developing this tablet which may account for the high cost. If this is supposed to be the main competitor to the Ipad than I am going to say that Apple is going to remain dominant in the tablet market for awhile and their competitors have a long way to go.
The article I am blogging on this week is the news that on Friday H-P released a touchscreen tablet computer that runs Windows called the Slate 500. This tablet is supposed to rival the Ipad and is "the ideal PC for professionals who don't usually work at a traditional desk, yet need to stay productive in a secure, familiar Windows environment."
There are three issues that I see that make me ask: H-P what the heck are you doing?
1) It's six months after the Ipad has been released and nine months after H-P revealed the prototype of it. The Ipad has already built up a customer base and has numerous apps that are already available. H-P will be playing catch up, if it even gets a following.
2) This price of the Slate 500 is listed at $800 which is more expensive than the Ipad, excluding the ones that have the most cutting edge storage space and wireless connectivity. I don't think most people will pay a higher price for a new, unproved tablet that is not any better than the Ipad technology-wise.
3) Lastly, the screen on the Slate 500 is 8.9", compared with 9.7" for the Ipad. Again, priced at $800 I"m not really sure what more you get with the Slate 500 over the Ipad.
H-P I understand that you probably have a lot of money in R-D tied up in developing this tablet which may account for the high cost. If this is supposed to be the main competitor to the Ipad than I am going to say that Apple is going to remain dominant in the tablet market for awhile and their competitors have a long way to go.
Friday, October 1, 2010
NFL, Verizon Talk Tablets
NFL, Verizon Talk Tablets
My blog for this week is about talks the NFL and Verizon are having to figure out how to distribute NFL games via a tablet computer....i.e. an Ipad. With the new 4G mobile networks coming online the NFL is looking to increase the ways it can broadcast its games. "In March, Verizon signed a $720 million four-year deal with the NFL to be its official wireless partner." This deal only applies to mobile devices though and not tablet computers which are becoming hugely popular.
There are a few issues that need to be worked out first, such as licensing rights disputes and 4G testing to see if the network can even handle the kind of bandwidth needed if millions of people started streaming live NFL games to their Ipad. From a business perspective this is a great move for the NFL. The NFL is already very popular and has a large fan base and it's great to see they are thinking about ways to stay current with the new technology that is coming out. The more mediums the NFL can use to broadcast its games the better they can stay connected with their fans, not matter if they are sitting in front of a TV or not. As more tablet computers make their way into the marketplace, such as the RIM by Blackberry, I think this is just the beginning of the potential that this technology has to offer. Kudos to the NFL for jumping on this early and I think they will be rewarded financially for it.
My blog for this week is about talks the NFL and Verizon are having to figure out how to distribute NFL games via a tablet computer....i.e. an Ipad. With the new 4G mobile networks coming online the NFL is looking to increase the ways it can broadcast its games. "In March, Verizon signed a $720 million four-year deal with the NFL to be its official wireless partner." This deal only applies to mobile devices though and not tablet computers which are becoming hugely popular.
There are a few issues that need to be worked out first, such as licensing rights disputes and 4G testing to see if the network can even handle the kind of bandwidth needed if millions of people started streaming live NFL games to their Ipad. From a business perspective this is a great move for the NFL. The NFL is already very popular and has a large fan base and it's great to see they are thinking about ways to stay current with the new technology that is coming out. The more mediums the NFL can use to broadcast its games the better they can stay connected with their fans, not matter if they are sitting in front of a TV or not. As more tablet computers make their way into the marketplace, such as the RIM by Blackberry, I think this is just the beginning of the potential that this technology has to offer. Kudos to the NFL for jumping on this early and I think they will be rewarded financially for it.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Chapter 11, In Which Blockbuster Does the Inevitable
http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100923/chapter-11-in-which-blockbuster-does-the-inevitable/
The article I selected this week is pretty short, but has a great connection to class. It is about Blockbuster officially filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today in order to cut down some of its $1 billion in debt. This presumably means further retail store closures so they can try and get their debt around $100 million.
The main reason why Blockbuster is filing for bankruptcy is because of the business share they have lost due to the competition from Redbox and Netflix. Hardly anyone goes into a brick and mortar video store anymore to rent a DVD for the night, when they can go to a Redbox vending machine and pay a dollar or stream a show or DVD to their TV/computer or receive it in the mail directly to their house. The business model changed and Blockbuster did not respond to it at all. Relating this to our course is that Blockbuster was not able to create value with their business any longer. Using Porter's Five Forces we can see that Blockbuster had a huge threat of new entrants, as well as a threat of substitute products, and that was satisfied by the the already mentioned companies. The barriers to entry were not high because their core competency was selling DVDs, not a very hard concept. Lastly, with the intense rivalry of the DVD rental business, Blockbuster did not gain a competitive edge by using innovation or technology. They are paying the price now by filing Chapter 11 and I'm sure in the near future other MBA classes will have to present a case study on Blockbuster and what went wrong.
The article I selected this week is pretty short, but has a great connection to class. It is about Blockbuster officially filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today in order to cut down some of its $1 billion in debt. This presumably means further retail store closures so they can try and get their debt around $100 million.
The main reason why Blockbuster is filing for bankruptcy is because of the business share they have lost due to the competition from Redbox and Netflix. Hardly anyone goes into a brick and mortar video store anymore to rent a DVD for the night, when they can go to a Redbox vending machine and pay a dollar or stream a show or DVD to their TV/computer or receive it in the mail directly to their house. The business model changed and Blockbuster did not respond to it at all. Relating this to our course is that Blockbuster was not able to create value with their business any longer. Using Porter's Five Forces we can see that Blockbuster had a huge threat of new entrants, as well as a threat of substitute products, and that was satisfied by the the already mentioned companies. The barriers to entry were not high because their core competency was selling DVDs, not a very hard concept. Lastly, with the intense rivalry of the DVD rental business, Blockbuster did not gain a competitive edge by using innovation or technology. They are paying the price now by filing Chapter 11 and I'm sure in the near future other MBA classes will have to present a case study on Blockbuster and what went wrong.
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