Chapter 7 - E-Business

There are many different markets to look at on the Internet.  You have direct marketing business to consumer, then you have business models, that can be used to target specific groups.  It is a shop-a-holics dream, if you have the money.  There are many retailers who only do business online and then you have businesses who target consumers in many ways.  They advertise, sign you up for emails, have direct marketing by mail or flyer's.  I always believe that in real estate it's location, location, location; and with the Internet it's the product, the product, the product.  If you have a niche in the market you are as good as gold.
Businesses have stretched their marketing and pennies to use the Internet.  In many cases you can use many of the tools to advertise for free, Twitter, Blog, LinkedIn to get your name out their.  You can also have a web site created with all the specifics about your services as well as products. You can use the services of companies who provide you with business to business or business to consumer data and marketing materials.  There are so many sites, search engines and tools that there is a infinite amount of possibilities for everyone on the Internet. 

http://www.btobonline.com/
http://www.btobb2b.com/

Chapter 7 - E-Business

There has been such an explosion of E-Business or E-Commerce that according to eMarketer, sales should exceed over 200 billion in a few years.  But it is interesting that the first forms of e-business began around the 1960's.  I really never thought or considered that e-business would have originated with EFT's and EDI's. But fast forward to today and the Internet, where almost every consumer has a computer or access to it.  Today the consumer is given the opportunity to be smart, do research on a product check the pricing and make a purchase right from their home.  Life is good for everyone. 

Marketing on line can really advance your business and your market but expanding nationally or even global.  You have to have the right product, geography and timing.  With the market be soft, people are looking to save money and they can if they are able to do the research in advance.  Companies market their products, give incentives or even discounts if a consumer purchases a product online.  The Internet has given businesses and consumers the ability to deal direct with each other, knocking out the middleman or the intermediaries.  In other cases, the intermediary can help by brokering their services in with others, such as hotels who are stuck with empty rental units.

http://search.rr.com/?q=Hotels.com&cat=web
http://www.emarketer.com/Rss.aspx

Chapter 6 - Go Animate

GoAnimate.com: CHAPTER 6 by Debbieswi

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Chapter 5 - Finance, Health and Fitness

When it comes to personal finance, more people use the Internet to do online banking, transactions and paying bills.  But this leaves the opportunity for Internet theft.  So it is very important to keep your passwords private. Also checking often to make sure that there are no discrepancies with any transactions.  You need to police your usage of any financial activities that you conduct and always make sure that the site is a secure one.  People are using the Internet to research health issues, such as Webmd. However, it should be your responsibility to make sure that you are visiting a site that accredited by the URAC or HONcode.  These organizations read, view and evaluate the sites for accuracy.  The same rules should be applied when viewing fitness and health sites.  Just because they say you should do something, doesn't mean that you can based upon your health and well being.  You should always consult a physician.

http://www.fitnessforhealth.org/

http://www.google.com/finance

Chapter 5 - Reseach & Reference

This section again reminded me of the importance of checking the sites credibility and that it is updated.  I always think that the scholarly sites are the best to use especially when doing research for school. Reference sites are important in getting the correct meaning and information about your topic.  Who needs to buy large expensive encyclopedia sets; when all you have to do it type in encyclopedia.com or refdesk.com.  These are both trusted credible sites.

Chapter 5

After reading this section about Google Maps and Google Earth, I was very interested in the updated version. So I checked it out and it's amazing. Just typing in the address and view it in a 3 dimentional image, and you are also able to drag a character so that you can view everything at street level. This is a great tool when planning a vacation, or if your relocating. My family and I spent about two hours checking out the place and area where we'll be vacationing. Since we've never been there before, we were able to see what restaurants are near by as well as how close we are to the ocean. This site also gave you additional information about what else was available in the area. As well as being able to get driving directions and traffic issues. This site was very easy to use and navigate, they even provided a tutorial that you could view prior to starting your search. I have posted this video below under a seperate heading.

Chapter 5 Google Maps/Google Earth

Chapter 5 - Getting More...Portals

Portals are gateways to surfing the Internet.  With a little imagination, innovation and information these portals can be very helpful.  There are a few different types of portals, consumer, vertical and Industry.  Consumer portals have a wide range of content, search tools, news and weather.  Popular portals for consumers are Lycos, MSN.  Horizontal portals are more personalized and customized to fit your individual needs. These interactions are person to person or person to business.  Vertical portals or vortals, target specific interests based upon a persons search inquiry.  Then you also have business to business exchanges, these corporate portals are also called EIP's or Enterprise Information Portals.  Business to business partners share and conduct day to day operations.  However, access to business records are secure and access to this data may be limited to the users chain in command at their place of employment. 
Examples of portals are:

http://www.earthweb.com/

http://www.cancer.gov/

http://www.usa.gov/

Chapter 4 - Junk E-Mails

It seems that no matter what blockers you have to protect yourself from spam; they still appear.  These hackers do whatever they can to manipulate you into thinking that they have some money for you, or that a friend needs your help and that there could be a financial windfall.  They are all scams, and I forward them all to my spam abuse folder.  A problem that does occur if you block the spam, you could also be blocking messages of importance.  It's buyer beware, if your not sure where it came from or who sent it, then delete it.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5097840_stop-spam-junk-mail.html
http://www.fraud.org/tips/internet/phishing.htm

Cyber Bullying Animation

GoAnimate.com: Cyber Bulling by Debbieswi


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Chapter 4 - Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying is a problem not only for the young but adults as well. It's a shame that a simple click on the internet can destroy someones life. People of all ages are harassed, made fun of, false information is given about them, horrible pictures are doctored and then posted on websites such as facebook for all to see. Most people are afraid to ask for help until it's too late, something horrible happens or a person is so distraught that they take their own life. Bullying is out there and tolerated to an extent, and some people just ignore it. When my kids were in school and I was a member of the PTA, I helped to bring awareness to the schools administration. We did our researched and reached out to all parents and students to partake in a non-bully program. It shouldn't be tolerated in any situation. Laws have also been put in place to hold these bullies accountable for their actions.

http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2010/01/cyberbullying-suicide-shows-need-for-cyberbullying-laws.html
http://stopcyberbullying.org/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/more-teens-victimized-by-cyber-bullies/

Chapter 4 - Viruses

Viruses can severly damage your computer system. All that you need to do is open mail, an attachment or a link and you have a virus or a worm. They are created to wreck havoc on a personal site or business site. It can damage your hardware, your drives and personal information. Viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware cause millions of dollars worth of damages each year. They damage your system, which are costly to repair as well as steal your personal data, possibly damaging you financially. Businesses are constantly updating their protection and changing passwords in order to protect themselves as well as their clients personal information. These hackers are criminals and laws have been enacted in order to make them accountable.
http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/a/emailsafety.htm
http://www.techrepublic.com/topics/e-mail+and+viruses++and++worms
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cclaws.html

Mobile Technology - During a Crisis

At times I think that technology is overwhelming and people forget how to converse face to face. Then tragedy strikes in Japan, knocking out or limiting their communications. I can't imagine the pain and angst of people who are desperate to here from their loved ones. This is where social media rises to a whole new level. People are using their cell phones and laptops to communicate. They are skyping, using cell phone videos to show the world the catastrophe. People are using facebook and blogging to families and loved ones to let them know they are fine. People are also passing on information for others who are unable to communicate. Google has also set up a crisis site to help in anyway they can. Pray for them and their families.

http://mashable.com/2011/03/11/google-japan-earthquake/

GoAnimate.com: Sunshine by Debbieswi


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Symbaloo 2

I updated my symbaloo, adding my links to
Audioboo, Linked In, Blogger and Vimeo.
This is a good concept of having everything at
your finger tips.

Audioboo

Audioboo is a cool application that can be used on the go on your iphone, itouch, etc. I think it would work well for people who are out of town, such as grandchildren, or if your in the military.  If you are temporarily unable to speak with someone or are out of commission, you can leave a video message. However, I don't have a microphone on my computer or on my I Touch, so this is something that i'll need to get.  I do think that it could aid in social networking but I don't think that it will replace Facebook or Twitter. I also checked with my older kids to see if they've heard of it, and they haven't. Since is has already been avaliable for a couple of years (2009), I don't think it will have as big as an impact as Twitter and Facebook.  I also joined Vimeo, not sure if i'll use it but they seem to come hand in hand.

http://audioboo.fm./

Google Reader

Checked out and subscribed to the

google reader. Here I think that it is easier to
view other blogs. It says that it will help
manage my blogs easier.  I'm not sure how
much better it will assist me.  But we'll see.
I also subscribed to my peers.

Goggle Docs - Continued

 I did a basic disclaimer form/document as an example. I also did a survey, and a spreadsheet.  This is something that I would like to take more time to research.  I reviewed the help links and using docs videos.
There are twenty five videos to help you use google docs.  This would almost be a class topic in itself.  I will follow through after school is done because this will be beneficial to my business.

I was also looking at the new just launched section and the connector in drawing is very interesting. Not sure if I would ever have a need for it.
Google cloud will also aid with your business because you can connect anywhere including your mobile devices. 

Goggle Docs

Viewed and followed the tutorials. I really like google docs because I have two computers and one laptop, all with differents office products on them.  Now I can work at home, office or anywhere with my laptop and be able to work on my projects.  I was able to do a basic document as well as a spreadsheet. 

Linkedin

I did sign up an account for Linked In, in my business world I don't find it necessary.  However, maybe because I'm working full time and taking four classes, it doesn't leave me much surfing time. I also went back this morning to view again, thinking that I might change my mind on it, but couldn't login.  I didn't realize that you have both a user ID and an email ID, and I don't remember the email ID.  I tried to reset it, but it says that it doesn't hold the email ID.  I might have create a new account, if I don't figure it out.