...South Africa, patients in Nigeria and Kenya learned about it through Facebook and Twitter—and today two-thirds of its subscribers come from across the broader African continent and the Middle East. Globalization was once driven almost exclusively by the world’s governments, large multinational corporations, and major financial institutions. But now—thanks to digital platforms with global reach—artisans, entrepreneurs, app developers, freelancers, small businesses, and even individuals can participate directly. New research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) uses novel data to analyze the extent of the connections and their economic impact. The biggest of these online platforms have grown to a scale never before seen (Exhibit 1), and their users are increasingly international. Individuals from Canada to Cameroon can forge their own global connections, whether for business, personal ties, entertainment, education, or simple curiosity about the...
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...Social Networking and Education: Emerging Research within CSCL Abstract: In this paper I introduce a youth-initiated practice: online social networking that is transforming our society in important ways and has vast implications for learning research and education. I introduce the social and technical features that characterize social networking systems and outline results from emerging research that suggests the social and intellectual practices in which participants naturally engage and how these relate to the competencies increasingly valued in formal education. Next, I discuss one research projects which I am currently pursuing that build on early work and suggest how educational programs might employ such practices to advantage. Finally, I discuss what I see as the educative value of this technology in certain contexts and suggest a course for future research and development. My overall goals are to inform other researchers interested in pursuing similar projects and to stimulate interdisciplinary conversation about where such agendas fit within and advance the aims of CSCL. Social Networking Systems: The Next Wave of CSCL? Recent conference symposia, papers and journal articles within the CSCL community have demonstrated keen interest in learning from students’ everyday out-of-school socio-technical practices about how to better develop future technology-powered contexts for learning (Barron, 2006; Fields & Kafai, 2007; Forte & Bruckman, 2008; Gardner & Kolodner, 2007;...
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...Social Media and Its Effect on Human Behavior Online social networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn, already popular with millions for their easy ability to help people forge connections based on common interests, also have become ideal "laboratories" for social scientists who want to study human behavior. "The volume of online social networking is exploding, and it appears it is becoming more pervasive than real-life social networking," said Dan Stefanescu, professor of mathematics and computer science at Suffolk University in Boston, where he is directing several projects using online social networks as a research tool. "This is not surprising, given the ease with which one can pursue interactions in the digital world." Furthermore, in an online social network environment, "it is so much easier to find new 'friends' for social intercourse because, unlike in real life, one can reach the 'friends' of 'friends' of 'friends' of your 'friends,' ad infinitum," he added. Data available from online networks can provide insights into certain behaviors—how people will vote in upcoming elections, for example, or what consumer products they are likely to buy—and also can prompt blueprints for engineering new social systems, and predicting certain events and economic outcomes, he said. In the job market, for example, information obtained from social networks can improve "the ability to find better employer/employee matches which, in turn, imply better productivity, and reduction in wasteful...
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...Emerging Trends in Social Networking Sites & Their Applications Social networking sites along with their applications in business, government, education, dating and e-shopping, have tremendous global presence and influence and have positively impacted India also. Social networking is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. Most social network services are web based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. With the widespread use of the internet, Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become increasingly popular among people. Social networks provide means for enterprises to capture and build collaborations, partnerships and build informal connections between their stakeholders. SNS websites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, Google’s g+, etc. have opened a new era of innovative techno-entrepreneurship which has immense potential to sustain growth and unfold business opportunities. The prowess of these websites can neither be ignored nor underestimated as this would mean restricting the business to a limited sphere in a seemingly limitless world. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks. The main types of social networking services are those which contain category places (such as...
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...Background For over a century, Coca-Cola and Pepsi- Cola vied for “throat share” of the world’s beverage market. In a “ carefully-waged competitive struggle”, from 1975 to 1995, both Coke and Pepsi achieved annual growth of around 10%; this was largely attributed to the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Analyzing the environment and understanding the market Instead of engaging in a “head-on confrontation” and getting involved in the largely dreaded price wars that promise to inflict much impact on the financials of both parties, both companies would always select customers that it can serve well and profitably. For instance, Pepsi “[is] going after the younger consumer… where the profits are”. This is an illustration of concentrated marketing, which has been Pepsi’s strategy since 1970s. It allowed Pepsi to gain a better foothold against Coca-Cola, the market giant, and eventually grew into a stronger competitor. Till now, Pepsi still practices demographic segmentation where it divides the market into smaller groups of customers in accordance to their age. They then targeted the niche group, youths or Generation X, whom Pepsi has always believe that it is the group with better segment structural attractiveness. Teenagers have distinct and unique behaviors such as “purchasing a single-serve product at a convenience store like 7-11”, thus when Pepsi offers such convenience services, it has created a loyal base of young customer who are the largest consumer market...
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...We were never really talking about something we need more than ever today: self-made leaders. Instead we were talking about self-made billionaires, self-made entrepreneurs, self-made CEOs, self-made NBA and NFL all-stars. People still go from nothing to something out of nowhere, even overnight. Take Mark Zuckerberg, whose Wikipedia blurb identified him as the “world’s 2nd youngest self-made (my italics) billionaire” in 2012. Zuckerberg is also a self-made innovator. As a college kid, he invented one of the most compelling capabilities of our new century, not to mention the world’s most valuable social network. Still, writing about the 2010 movie The Social Network, The New York Times columnist David Brooks took “the character loosely based on Mark Zuckerberg” to task for being “without social and moral skills” largely because he was a product of a “culture reticent to talk about social and moral conduct.” More recently, the real Zuckerberg is making headlines for what by all accounts appears to be an authentic journey toward becoming the type of leader our companies and world so desperately need. As some detractors called for Zuckerberg to step aside when Facebook’s new stock faltered in 2012, he gave a public interview re-committing to running a “mission-based company”; asserted that his number one priority is Facebook’s “great team”, one inspired by “building something that’s worthwhile.” Early in 2013, the Employees’ Choice Awards named Facebook the #1 Best Company to Work...
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...execute its business plan successfully. The doors will close when the organization eventually runs out of cash to operate. How did the company get to that point? In Eric Wagner’s article Five Reasons 8 out of 10 business fail he states. Reason #3: Failure to communicate value propositions in clear, concise and compelling fashion (Wagner 2013). Communication starts with the organization leaders. It is the leader responsibility to clearly and effectively communicate the direction, vision; purpose will help each employee to understand the role they play in the company’s success. If each employee understands their role the will have a better ability to communicate the company’s vision to the customers. In Ron Flavin’s article, he writes good communication skills help leaders to better understand others and enable them to build trust and respect among their followers and peers while fostering environments where creative ideas and problem solving flourish(Flavin 2015). A leader with strong communication skills will help the organization down the road to success. On the other hand, a leader with poor communication skills can destroy an organization. Today the world is just a click or phone call away. The ability for a company to have such a broad reach for customer and employees has created some unique problems. Two areas that have caused companies to address how they do businesses are customer service/sales call centers and the rapid expansion of social media. I am...
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...can forge people and impersonate them, peoples social media page has a lot of information on about that person so therefore people can have the necessarily information and can make other things up. The new technologies and communication methods are quickly becoming the ‘normal’ in today’s world. The concept referring to the changing trend in the use of web technology and web design is that they have to lead to the development of information sharing and collaboration capabilities. Web 2.0 is now referred to in new ways in which software developers and users use the web. It makes use of the web technologies that were always present but not technically or practically feasible in the web 1.0. there are more and modern technologies such as Ajax, wikis, folksonomy, web feeds, podcasts, semantic web, mashups, social networking, instant messaging, text messaging and blogging these are often referred as a web 2.0 technologies. The web 2.0 doesn’t represent a new version of the World Wide Web. Some social media and modern technologies we know or may use: Instant messaging (IM) Is a computer based method of communication in which a user can type and view messages sent to one or multiple people and can also view their response immediately. Text messaging This is a method of a person to person communication in which users type short text messages from their mobile phone or a personal digital assistant that have wireless telecommunications capability. Social network A social network...
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...ultimately secure the business of new customers. There are many differentstrategies used as part of the acquisition process, with some methods being more effective withspecific types of potential clients. In spite of the many and sometimes contradictory ideas thatsurround the central idea of how to earn a customer, there are a few essentials that are included injust about any type of customer acquisition plan.One of the basics of any customer acquisition effort is to identify and quality potential customers.This is sometimes accomplished with the use of telemarketing as a means of locating individuals andbusinesses who either express interest in or already use products similar to those produced by thebusiness. From this initial list, these leads are then qualified a little further, using various researchmethods to determine if there is any solid chance of making a sale with a given lead. If there is agood chance, and the contact is interested in learning more about the products offered, his or her status is usually upgraded to that of prospect, and assigned to a salesperson for further interaction.Establishing rapport with the prospect is essential to any successful customer acquisition effort. Here,the salesperson finds ways to identify with the stated wants and needs of the prospect, and how the products offered can relate to those wants and needs. At the same time, the salesperson will go further and atteChoosing the best customer acquisition strategy for your business needs typically...
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...Marketing comes in a wide variety of flavors based on audience, media platform and business in today’s evolving and dynamic marketplace. Therefore, it’s no surprise that marketers define what they do differently. Inspired by the31 PR Definitions article, here’s a roundup of seventy-two marketing definitions by experienced practitioners across different specialties. Marketing Definitions To start, here are explanations from the American Marketing Association (AMA), marketing’s professional organization, and Dr. Philip Kotler, the author of business school marketing classics. They’re followed by the other definitions in alphabetical order by author’s last name. 1. According to the American Marketing Association (AMA) Board of Directors, Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. 2. Dr. Philip Kotler defines marketing as “the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.” 3. Marketing is the messages and/or actions that cause messages and/or actions. Jay Baer – President...
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...------------------------------------------------- Task 1: Organization and Leadership Analysis Table of Content Organization Overview 3 Organization Description 3 Leadership Practices 4 Relationship Between Leadership and Organizational Culture 6 SWOT Analysis 7 Organizational Strengths 7 Organizational Weaknesses 8 Organizational Opportunities 8 Organizational Threats 9 Leadership Evaluation 10 Leadership Strengths 10 Leadership Weaknesses 11 Recommendations for Leadership Development 13 References 14 Organization Overview In this section, I will give you a detailed description of my Chosen organization, leadership practices of its primary leader, and how the practice of the primary leader relates to the organization culture. My chosen organization is Weiser Park Youth Center (WPYC): an after school facility located in Fort Wayne Indiana. I will do an evaluation on Mr. Kweku Akan, who was the site director. I choose this organization because I was once an employee there for several years and will like to better understand how having Mr. Akan as a leader affected the organization culture. Organization Description Weiser Park Youth Center is a community center located in Fort Wayne Indiana. It is under the supervision of the City of Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation department. This organization was established on 1998 to serve as an after school program and a safe haven for children living in the neighborhood and surrounding areas. Due to its location...
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...------------------------------------------------- Task 1: Organization and Leadership Analysis Assessment Code: C200 Date: 9/1/14 Organization Overview In this section, I will give you a detailed description of my Chosen organization, leadership practices of its primary leader, and how the practice of the primary leader relates to the organization culture. My chosen organization is Smith Youth Center: an after school facility located in Denver. I will do an evaluation on Mr. John Smith, who was the site director. I choose this organization because I was once an employee there for several years and will like to better understand how having Mr. Smith as a leader affected the organization culture. Organization Description Smith Youth Center is a community center located in Denver. It is under the supervision of the Denver Parks and Recreation department. This organization was established on 1998 to serve as an after school program and a safe haven for children living in the neighborhood and surrounding areas. Due to its location, Smith Youth Center provides services to mostly children and families of the African American demographic. Serving the children warm meals are a routine part of everyday at the center. They are also assisted with homework and also have time to play games and have access to computers and the internet. On some Saturdays during the school year, the children are encouraged to participate in a Saturday school (Tutoring Program) where they learn about...
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...you go out and enjoy life. Only later, when the weather is bad and you have to stay indoors, you start deleting apps, causes, groups and people. And this goes on and on, relentlessly. Whether you have realized it or not, Facebook is a real part of your life, is a real partner whom you have to see for good morning and kiss for good night. What changes over time is your degree of addiction; as it happens with all love-hate relationships.You don’t think you are a Facebook addict. Social networking is just a part of your generation that feels more comfortable with text messaging, chatting and online communication. But, hey! Your generation counts nearly forty years already, while Facebook is around the last five. Supposedly, social networking is addressed to the next generation, to your kids. But, if you take a look at your contacts, you will find people who are at your kids’ age. The generation gap is bridged when it comes to Facebook. Facebook can be used for personal reasons or for promoting your business and gain greater exposure. This is the good part. However, most of the people use it primarily for personal reasons because Facebook has so many...
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...e-Business Analysis Bus 352 e-Business e-Business Analysis of NIKE Generally speaking, exercising was not something that our ancestors had to spend very much time thinking about. By and large, the lack of modern technologies and conveniences meant that their everyday lives tended to be more strenuous, and involve more inherent activity, than most of our lives today. However, as day-to-day living has become more sedentary in recent years, people have had to start planning activity into their days, and, consequently, exercise crazes have become a hot topic. From Jane Fonda’s Workout, to Cindy Crawford’s Shape-up; or from Total Gym, to Zumba, to P90X, or yoga, America has been embracing one exercise fad after another for decades. And because each fad seems to require its own unique workout apparel and equipment, several companies have made it the primary focus of their businesses to provide for this ever-growing market. One of the industry leaders in this business model is NIKE. According to NIKE’s official website, by 2011 the company employed over 40,000 people worldwide, and operated in more than 160 countries on six continents around the globe. ("NIKE inc. locations," 2011) The website also says that NIKE’s mission is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” ("NIKE inc. locations," 2011) In order to achieve this mission, NIKE supplements its extensive global presence with its online transactional website, in a business model known as...
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...Chipotle M Marketing Plan Marketing 5341 Professor Besio December 9th, 2014 The 5 Cs Company Chipotle is a Mexican food chain dedicated to serving high quality “fast” food. The company was founded by Steve Ells in Denver Colorado in 1993, and has grown to over 1,000 stores by 2011. The initial growth of Chipotle was mainly attributed to McDonald’s investment in the company in 1999 for a 90% stake. With the involvement of McDonald’s, Chipotle was able to gain access to not only capital, but to the parent companies’ suppliers through their large distribution system. By 2003, Chipotle had opened 300 stores throughout the country, and had established a loyal customer base. Today, Chipotle remains dedicated to its vision of “Food with Integrity.” This represents their “commitment to finding the very best ingredients with respect for the animals, the environment, and the farmers.” In addition to promoting its high quality, fresh ingredients, Chipotle offers consumers a customizable menu with an open kitchen atmosphere and assembly line food preparation. This allows customers to obtain high quality food quickly and efficiently. Customers Chipotle has done an impeccable job of building customer loyalty. The company has gained this following mainly by word of mouth, considering the company has a small advertising budget of only $4.5 million, less than 1% of its revenue, as of 2011. Considering this small advertising expenditure, it is impressive that the company...
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