Social Media Project

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kt/5692858415/

I must admit that I am not a fan of "group" projects, however, this group project went well as compared to ones I have been part of in the past.  I am not really sure how many of my fellow group members were familiar with designing and editing wikis, but I had never done either until this project.  Along with not having designed or edited a wiki, I do not really consider myself social media savvy, so this project looked as though it would be challenging (at least to me!).  Our group divvied up the workload by assigning a different outlet of the social media company report to each member.  That member was then responsible for researching that social medial outlet for Coca-Cola Company and citing their sources.  Some members then summarized the Coca-Cola's social media policy and made recommendations to help improve the social media policy.  In all the project went very smoothly and was done in a timely manner (before the due date :).

We found that the Coca-Cola Company utilizes a plethora of social media outlets.  The Coca-Cola Company uses Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Instagram, Linkedin and even has their own blog!  All of the social media outlets allow Coca-Cola to promote their many products from sodas to juice to water and even sports and energy drinks.  They are also able to sell new and vintage merchandise on many of the sites as well.  Social media also permits Coca-Cola to connect with their customers.  Customers of Coca-Cola can post messages and photos while enjoying Coke products on their Facebook fan page.  They can also tweet about Coke products on Twitter and with the Coca-Cola blog customers can interact with Coca-Cola team members!

I learned how companies, such as Coca-Cola use social media to promote products, advertise and connect with customers on a daily basis.  Coca-Cola's company webpage shows the companies history, policies, financials, products and what the company is doing to giveback to communities.  Coca-Cola also has a social media policy in place that embodies the companies core values of leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity and quality.  They also encourage good judgement and common sense while using social media.  In all, I would say that the project was a success!

Week 13 - Clear - Social Media

In this day and age if you are not somehow connected via social media you may feel lost!  But what exactly is social media?  How is social media used? What is the difference between types of social media?

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Social media can be defined as a group of Internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, that allow creation and exchange of user generated content.

Social media can be used for individual purposes or business purposes.  When social media is used for individual purposes it is used as a tool to interact with friends and family, for gaming, to share photos, videos, etc., to share ideas and thoughts.  When social media is used for business purposes it used to advertise, promote a brand, customer relations and experience, a platform for exposure or a cause.

So what are the most popular types of social media and how are they different?

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facebook - Facebook is the most used social media site.  Facebook allows users to add friends, chat, "Like" pages, add photos and videos, network, receive news feeds, video call, add status updates, post on a friends wall and the list goes on!!!

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Twitter - On Twitter, users tweet.  Which means that users can update what they are doing, where they are and what they like with a few keystrokes and followers (whether they are registered with Twitter or not) can see what you are up too!   

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Linkedin - Linkedin is similar to Facebook, but geared more toward the professional user.  On Linkedin you have connections, contact networks, can post photos and resumes, allows employers to search for you, allows the user to search for jobs from specific companies and more!

Week 12 - Clear - Telecommunications and the Internet

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jean-marc_astesana/2640346196/

IPv4 vs. IPv6

Over 70% of Americans spend time online surfing the web! So it's not too hard to conceive the fact that IP addresses are running out.  This is largely due to the fact that more and more people are able to connect to the Internet everyday.  Even in small remote countries that many of us may not even know exist they are able to connect to the Internet thanks to satellites and advancements in remote location connections.  Another reason we are running out of IP addresses is due to the fact that no more than ever we are able to connect numerous devices and appliances to the Internet.  All of these devices and appliances, when connected need and IP address to connect to the Internet, just like your PC or laptop.  However, don't get worried that you won't be able to connect your latest device or appliance to the web.  IPv4 is being replaced by IPv6.  The IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses which means 4,294,967,296 addresses! If you think that's alot then check this out! The IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses which means 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000! So now that IPv4 officially exhausted on February 3, 2011, most things that we buy that are able to connect to the Internet support IPv6.  Many experts have said switching from the IPv4 to the IPv6 will be not only be costly, but will also be a slow process due to the fact that IPv6 isn't backward compatible with IPv4 :(  However, once the switch is made permanently from IPv4 to IPv6 you will see improved speed, reliability and security while you are surfing the world wide web!

So whether or not you connect via PC, laptop or mobile device, have no fear you will be able to connect in the future! 

*Permission granted for use by Standard YouTube license.

Microsoft Access Project

Well as I have mentioned in my previous Microsoft Access blog, I have never used Microsoft Access :( I had many questions with this project, but seemed to find my way through it to the end (finally!). While doing this project I was literally learning step by step.  This includes everything from how to create and import tables to how to label and save reports.  The most difficult section to me was how to generate the query I needed.  It was difficult in the fact that you had to know put fields ahead of other fields in order to sort correctly from left to right and oh ya..those fields couldn't show up in the report (AHH!). However, once I grasped this concept it was really interesting how easily I was able to manipulate the data to generate information that I needed. The easiest portion of the Microsoft Access project was (don't laugh).....setting up the printing! At least this feature was the same as all of the other Microsoft Office programs :)

How would I increase the functionality of Microsoft Access?  First, in creating a query I had problems when I would accidentally drag a wrong field to be sorted, I could not remove that field. Not sure if it was just my inexperience with the Microsoft Access or not, but I started this part of the project over a couple of times when trying to get the sorting aspect correct.  Another aspect I would like to see improved upon would be in creating a report.  I had trouble lining up and getting the fields to fit the length of the data in them.  It would be helpful if you were able to automatically straighten and fit data accordingly.

All in all though, this was a challenging project to me since I had not used Microsoft Access prior. However, I enjoyed learning how to use the Microsoft Access database program and am looking forward to using the features the program offers in the near future!

Week 11 - Clear - Data Asset

What is data? What is information?
 How do you turn data into information? 

Well below is an attempt to answer these very questions as well as, provide aide as to what types of software can help you turn data into information that is useful to you! Data is/are a set of values that are either quantitative or qualitative and are only raw figures and facts. Information is what data becomes when it is put into a form that can answer questions and aide in decision making. Data is stored in a database, which is simply put one or more lists of data.  

Now you may be asking yourself..."Where does all of this data come from?" Well when we as consumers make transactions, use credit cards, store loyalty cards, use search engines or even click on links, we are generating data. So how do businesses turn this data they have gathered into information that is useful?  Well reporting tools and queries allow businesses to select, sort, calculate, compare, etc., so that their data is turned into useful information for their business. Canned reports, ad hoc reporting tools, dashboards and online analytical processing (OLAP) are all ways in which businesses transform data into information. Canned reports provide summaries (i.e., monthly, annual) of information in a predetermined format.  Ad hoc reporting tools allow users to generate their own reports.  They are allowed to select their own criteria, fields, ranges and parameters to generate the specific information in which they are interested. Dashboards are more of an at a glance with graphs that display critical information. OLAP uses relational databases to calculate and summarize data and then stores this data in a data cube. 

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So now that we know the difference between data and information and we also know how data is turned into useful information as you need is the right team with the business intelligence and the proper reporting tools to help the business use this information to reach new goals!!!

Week 10 - Muddy - Microsoft Access

This week in ISM 3004 we are in the beginnings of our Microsoft Access project.  Unlike the other programs in the Microsoft Office Suite, I have never used the Access program, so this will be a little more difficult than the previous Excel project. For the Access project we are learning how to create tables, queries, forms and reports in Access.

Tables

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While using Access we must create tables or import tables.  Included in the tables are fields which as Professor Olson says, "Must have a description to go along with them so that you know why you made that field."  Good advice! You must also assign a Primary Key.  I am still somewhat confused on how to decide which field should be the Primary Key?!. Thus the reason, I am stuck on step 1bii of the Microsoft Access project :) I will hopefully get some helpful advice so that I am able to move forward with the project fairly soon!

Queries
When learning how to create queries, I learned how to set results that I wanted the query to return.  Access is able to sort by single fields or multiple fields that you select.  In a query you can also tell Access to only return a specific value for a field.  This is helpful when you only want to obtain certain information and it allows you to view it already sorted, ordered and makes it very simple to read.

Forms
In the forms video portion of using Access, I learned the difference in Text Box and Text Label. In the form if you use a text box this means that you type something into the form that is going to be processed.  Whereas, a text label indicates what is going on within the form. Another useful feature I learned how to use was how to "lock" or make something "read only". This is a very easy feature to turn on and off via the Property Sheet.

Reports
In the last portion of the video lessons for Access, we learned how to create reports. In a report you are able to group data by fields, as well as, sort the data.  The report also contains Report Header/Footer and Page Header/Footer. The difference between them are that a report header/footer in found only on the first and last page of the report.  A page header/footer is found on the top and bottom of every page within the report.

Hopefully all of the video lessons will become more clear as I work further into my Microsoft Access project and Access will become less muddy!!!

Week 9 - Clear - Moore's Law

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What is Moore's Law?  Moore's law was term coined by Intel co-founder, Gordon Moore, that says the process of chip making enables more powerful chips to be made at cheaper costs.  The time frame used is roughly 18 months until faster, cheaper chips hit market.  Now as you have probably imagined this will eventually not be the case.  Chips can only get so small.  That is why Gordon Moore himself has claimed that Moore's law is dead.  To find more on Moore click here.

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So if Moore's law is dead or dying how will we continue to achieve the idea of faster, cheaper chips and technology?  Well they are now looking a multi-core processors as well as building up, such as 3-D, that would require less power and yet run faster.  Also in the works are quantum computing, super computing and grid computing.  Another big factor associated with Moore's law, to be more exact, the death of Moore's law, is the large amount of e-waste.  With all of today's array of technological gadgets, e-waste has become not only a major concern of businesses worldwide, but a major concern of the technology consumers worldwide.  Many of our favorite gadgets, cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc., contain cadmium, mercury and other harmful and toxic materials.  Many of these devices end up in low end countries and are harming the water and health of the occupants.  BAN, Basel Action Network, and Greenpeace have stepped in to try to help companies and consumers dispose of their e-waste properly, but much more advancement in this area is needed to make sure that our left over e-waste is not harming the environment.