On the blogosphere this week in BADM 7050, we have seen a great debate about our private and public lives as well as the role of social networking. There were a lot of great blogs about the impact of technology on culture and how it truly has changed everything. Several of you raised the issue of mobile technology, Google, and the Apple TV. So, by now, all of us have a broader understanding and appreciation of the role of IT within our economy and society. Now let us focus on the enterprise, as we shift our focus to how IT facilitates decision making and operational excellence. Let us pick up on some of these technologies and see how you think that firms could use them for decision making.
The first is social networking. Is this simply a consumer phenomenon? Or can firms use social networking to make it easier for knowledge management? How do you think firms can use them? There certainly are various opinions about how it can be used [MSNBC], so what do you think?
The next technology is mobile. A new study says that the Mobile Web will rule by 2015 [MS report]. How will these changes alter how business is conducted? How does it need to change?
The lecture this week will raise two other emerging technology trends - mashups and cloud computing. A mashup is putting together services from multiple websites to create a composite application. Check out some of the examples on the Programmable Web website [here]. What will happen in firms when users can create their own apps? In your job experience, how much control did you have over IT solutions? How will this change everything?
The next is cloud computing. Cloud Computing is sourcing services over the web. There was a great blog in Computerweek that summarizes some of the great enterprise questions that a Cloud environment raises [Ryan Nichols]. After reading the article, what do you think?
While not directly related to the technologies we have talked about in class, CIO had an interesting discussion about some future technologies [CIO]. As a future manager, which technologies do you think your firm should implement? What do you think would make firms more effective?
As future managers, I want you to start to view these technologies through the prism of the golden rule - there is no such thing as a technology project, just business projects about technologies. While these technologies are really cool, how will they change decision making? Knowledge Management? Operational Excellence? I look forward to hearing what you think!
Social Media and Social Networking- is it here to stay?
ReplyDeleteTechnology trends come in waves. A somewhat recent trend in technology is this emergence of social networking. We, as technology consumers, are choosing to make our private lives, public, through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. Dr. Schwarz brought up a valid question...is this willing publication of private information a consumer phenomenon? Will the trend last? Or is it a technology trend that will come and then go? After giving this question some thought, I believe only time will tell. Social networking is such a new idea that it may be too premature to predict its future path.
However, I believe large corporations, through IT and strategic communications departments, are preparing for this social networking trend to stick around for a while. Over the summer, I interned with Albemarle Corporation, a global chemical company. Working in the strategic communications department, and very closely with the IT department, I was given the task of researching other social media policies and also to construct a social media policy for Albemarle. Firms have a choice to participate in social media, and therefore have a social presence in cyberspace.
A social media policy basically gives employees an outline on how to interact with the online world. After researching social media policies for GM, Coca-Cola, American Red Cross, Dell, Wal-Mart, etc., I found some commonalities. In these policies, corporations state their purpose in embracing the online social world, encourage responsible, yet authentic writing, ask employees to employ good judgment, consider the audience, respect copyright, remember the importance of confidential information, add value to the company, and to keep productivity in mind. You can find a ton of information on the web about social media policies.
So, even if social networking is a technology trend that is here today and gone tomorrow, corporations are preparing an altogether permanent change with this new form of communication. But again, only time will tell.
Social Media and Social Networking- is it here to stay?
ReplyDeleteTechnology trends come in waves. A somewhat recent trend in technology is this emergence of social networking. We, as technology consumers, are choosing to make our private lives, public, through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. Dr. Schwarz brought up a valid question...is this willing publication of private information a consumer phenomenon? Will the trend last? Or is it a technology trend that will come and then go? After giving this question some thought, I believe only time will tell. Social networking is such a new idea that it may be too premature to predict its future path.
However, I believe large corporations, through IT and strategic communications departments, are preparing for this social networking trend to stick around for a while. Over the summer, I interned with Albemarle Corporation, a global chemical company. Working in the strategic communications department, and very closely with the IT department, I was given the task of researching other social media policies and also to construct a social media policy for Albemarle. Firms have a choice to participate in social media, and therefore have a social presence in cyberspace.
A social media policy basically gives employees an outline on how to interact with the online world. After researching social media policies for GM, Coca-Cola, American Red Cross, Dell, Wal-Mart, etc., I found some commonalities. In these policies, corporations state their purpose in embracing the online social world, encourage responsible, yet authentic writing, ask employees to employ good judgment, consider the audience, respect copyright, remember the importance of confidential information, add value to the company, and to keep productivity in mind. You can find a ton of information on the web about social media policies.
So, even if social networking is a technology trend that is here today and gone tomorrow, corporations are preparing an altogether permanent change with this new form of communication. But again, only time will tell.
I believe that the willing publication of private information by individuals in social networking is definitely here to last. This is true only by the meteoric rise to greatness that facebook, twitter, and others have achieved. They are all based around one thing: what you are doing at that moment in time. Everyone wants to be thought of as important and interesting in the world and social networking sites allow just for that.
ReplyDeleteHowever it is not just localized to consumers. Corporations take advantage of social networking as well because it provides an easy line of communication to and from the consumer. Through facebook you can communicate directly to the company and feel as though your opinion matters.
I agree with Erika though, the internet is an evolving mashup of ideas and only time will tell what someone will think of next that will become the next world changing website.
Social networking will never catch on in a corporate environment. In order for a user generated content site to work, you need people who want to update their information. People don't want their bosses to see their social side. Look at what business concerns are doing to Facebook. The MBA program urges us to use discretion and consider the implications of a employer/potential employer seeing their profile. Some people go so far as to deactivate their accounts completely.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, if a social networking function were built into a wiki-type system to facilitate inter-departmental collaboration, it might catch on. The social networking profile would tell people your education, work experience, and current project. There would be a space for you to write about obstacles and slowdowns. The site would link to the wiki which would contain all relevant files and information.
Even with this type of system, though, people will fall into a common trap. They will read their friends profiles, those people with common interests, and ignore people with whom inter-department collaboration would create benefits.
Cloud computing on the other hand will happen, probably over the next decade. If you consider that we are approaching the asymptote of how fast our current technology can go, you'll see that our demand for constant improvement are going to force us to transition to new types of technologies. Many times these technologies are imperfect: they produce massive heat, they require constant oversight by a technician, they are expensive (but become reasonable in large quantities). All of these downsides are eliminated with cloud computing. The new technologies are run from a central, fully staffed IT office. People access the data on current-gen systems, using the incredible wireless bandwidth we already have. All the data is on the company server at all times, and is always backed up. Cloud computing offers companies huge benefits as we transition technology.
If the cloud trend holds true when the super computer of tomorrow is small enough to fit in your pocket has yet to be seen.
However Social Networking is a great tool for communication between individuals but we have seen companies are getting involved in these networks. We all have seen pages in facebook from different firms or car dealers or even famous people like actors, musicians, and politicians. I believe they are trying to move downstream by linking to their final users and fans. They could increase their knowledge about their costumers and they can share their point of view with them and have a direct feedback without any interface.
ReplyDeleteI believe Social Networking will take an important role in future business world by sharing and networking between different level of an organization from strategic level to tactical and operational levels and finally with customers.
@ Kyle: I agree with you about global relations can be made by social networking and corporations can use this easy line to communicate with their customers.
I think an important consideration regarding social networking’s impact on businesses is whether they are real businesses or hobby businesses. Clearly a growing number of businesses are creating a social network presence, but it seems to me that most of the firms actually doing business via social networking would fall into the hobby category rather than an actual economic impact firm. I realize this is a bit of a generalization, but it seems to hold true of companies I come in contact with on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteAs a small business owner the social networking phenomenon has drastically changed the way I interface with my customers. Currently I manage 11 Facebook accounts (of which only two belong to me) for other small businesses who desired an online presence but didn't know how to interact with their customers. Traditionally, these business owners are not "tech-savvy" and dont even have their own Facebook/Twitter accounts; thus, they hired my online marketing company to manage their brands. On average, the companies have increased sales by 30% since going online. I think this is directly related to the fact that their products/services are actively seeking customers through platforms they prefer.
ReplyDeleteCloud Computing - The New Thing in IT !!!
ReplyDeleteFrom the blog written by Ryan Nichols what caught my attention was the magnitude of amount invested on cloud computing by various organizations. When I took some time and analyzed, I came up with a few reasons as to why make investment on cloud computing:
1. In today's world nothing is more valuable than time. This is one of the major reasons, why organization builds products and delivers services to customers, in such a way that the amount of time spent is considerably reduced. If this was not the case, then we wouldn't have online stores, online transactions or even online interactions! All this help us achieve the same objective; reduce transaction time. Well, while software’s and web applications have played their role in reducing time for any service, hardware products are also keeping in pace. This is again evident with the fast evolution of 2G, 3G and the next-generation computing. So much money has been spent on research and development of such hardware’s and software’s!! If there was an alternative for this, the IT industry will definitely welcome it with both its arms wide open!! Well guess what!! Cloud Computing could just be the solution. With cloud computing, we have temporary access to any software we need, and we don’t have to install the software in our systems. This will make our systems much faster as the PC is loaded with lesser software.
2. Piracy has been a curse to the IT industry since its inception. One of the reasons for increased usage of Pirated Software has been the huge price tag that comes along with the purchase of software. Why not give the customer the option of using software on usage basis and charge them a relatively minimal amount. I know, trial version or freeware could be an alternative, but the feature exposed by such software barely demonstrates the real functionalities. With the help of cloud computing, the IT industry can generate good revenues not only by the reduction of piracy practices, but also from on-demand software usage by the customer.
3. As organizations become more decentralized, to keep all members of the organization in the same page, becomes a difficult task. To achieve this lot of human effort and finance is invested. This is the reason why technological tools like Microsoft Share point Server, Colligo to name a few have ravaged the market with their presence and usage. This can as well be achieved with the help of Cloud Computing!
I agree with Lexi that this can definitely work for small businesses. There are many small businesses out there that can fill needs or wants that we have, but they have too small of a marketing budget to advertise the traditional way. I am not sure what the going rate is to hire an online marketing company to run a website, but I would imagine that it is much less expensive than advertising through media such as television or radio.
ReplyDeleteSocial networking can help these companies out by getting their name out to a targeted audience at a cheaper rate, so of course it makes sense for them to continue to do it. Not only does it get their name out, though, but it also helps show off products and sales that the store is currently promoting.
Is it as valuable of a tool for large corporations to reach people? I think not, since they will be able to reach more people in traditional ways through traditional media, though I do believe that they can gain some value from it.
When I hear the term social networking, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Blogger come to my mind.
ReplyDeleteBut what is social networking? What is its purpose?
Why do we have these networks?
Wiktionary defines social networking as the interaction between a group of people who share a common interest; Using social contacts to network; Using internet's network groups (such as Facebook and Twitter) to network and communicate between consumers and businesses (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/social_networking)
The last definition in the sequence, “Using internet's network groups (such as Facebook and Twitter) to network and communicate between consumers and businesses” accurately measures all of the intentions that these social networking sites actually offer.
So is social networking simply a consumer phenomenon?
Absolutely not! In reality, social networking sites allow a business the opportunity to move downstream to have access to their customer base and extend their reach. Also, social networking sites can reduce a business transaction cost. With our economy being in the state that it is and with our government continuing to hamper small business with excessive taxes, why wouldn’t any small business jump on the chance to cut cost incurred to their business. An example of a transaction cost that can be reduce significantly through the use of these social networking sites is advertising.
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ReplyDeleteThe Stats Do Not Lie. All of this information can be found on the link listed below.
ReplyDelete“Nielsen published stats showing that “three of the world’s most popular brands online are social-media related (Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia) and the world now spends over 110 billion minutes on social networks and blog sites. This equates to 22 percent of all time online or one in every four and half minutes. For the first time ever, social network or blog sites are visited by three quarters of global consumers who go online, after the numbers of people visiting these sites increased by 24% over last year. The average visitor spends 66% more time on these sites than a year ago, almost 6 hours in April 2010 versus 3 hours, 31 minutes last year.” Nielsen, June, 2010
1.)Facebook- Facebook has announced 400mm users, Feb 5, 2010.
2.)LinkedIn- Now has 60mm users
3.)Twitter- reports to have 50mm tweets created each
4.)YouTube- In general, 20-to-35-year-old bloggers embed most of the videos (57%), followed by teenagers (20%) and bloggers over 35 (20%).”
Link: (http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2010/01/19/a-collection-of-social-network-stats-for-2010/)
After seeing these particular stats, ponder for a second. Ask yourself, if I owned a business why wouldn’t you use these resources to continue your previous relationships with your customer base and to also gain access to the millions of potential customers out there?
Don’t agree with me. Log on to your Facebook account click profile and look at the vertical right hand side of your screen and see just how many business are using these resources to gain access to you, the consumer.
That brings me to my next point, mobile technology. The MS report, reports that based on the current rate of change and adoption, the mobile web (smart phones) will be bigger than desktop Internet use by 2015. (http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/mobile-web-stats/)
ReplyDeleteWill these changes alter how business is conducted? Duh!!
These technological advancements such as high speed internet, smart phone, and Skype allow businesses or employers to multi-task, conduct business on the go, and communicate boundlessly all around the world at extremely fast speeds no matter where they are.
For example, think about what the creation of the iPhone 4 has done for businesses. The iPhone 4 can not only make phone calls, search the web, and send emails, but now has the technology to allow the consumer to Skype visually with any other individual that has an iPhone 4. Amazing isn’t it?
How might this effect the way we conduct business you ask. This little technology improvement now allows a business man to hold a visual conference call from wherever they are in the world that day. No longer do you need to have a desktop or laptop monitor to have access to a visual Skype conversation. All you need is the iPhone 4.
In the future, the way we conduct business will be directly related to the advances in technology. As the MS report states, these mobile advancements will ultimately be a direct result of the down fall of desktop internet. For instance, this fact sums it all up- the average iPhone user only spends 45% of his on-device time making voice calls. (MS report)
One of the four powerful worldwide changes that have altered the business world environment and will continue to alter it in the future is globalization. With this in mind, as a future manager I would implement technologies that enhance my ability to compete on a global scale. For example, the implementation of a universal translator would vastly eliminate the language barrier my company would incur when doing business with non-English speaking countries.
In the future, these technologies will enhance a manager’s efficiency, effectiveness, and knowledge in making decisions.
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ReplyDeleteIn today's cut-throat market, staying ahead of the competition is as crucial as any other process of an organization and embracing IT will enable companies to do just that.
ReplyDeleteCompanies are trying hard to keep themselves updated with new cutting edge technologies to gain an edge over the competition.
The technologies which are helping businesses to run effectively today are Social networking and Cloud computing. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are making it easier for companies to move more down stream towards consumers. There is a facebook/Twitter page for almost all major companies today. The social networking sites have enabled companies to better communicate with the customers in terms of updates on the products, status of the orders ,marketing their new products and collecting feedback.
Cloud computing being a new technology has enormous potential. Once companies embrace this concept, they need not waste time and resources on software related decisions and instead focus on the other important business processes. This concept can save a lot of money for businesses which are not completely dependent on software for manufacturing and distribution of their products. Cloud computing also helps sharing resources effectively between companies which lean heavily on outsourcing.
In the end companies have to understand that they have to strike an optimal balance between leading edge and bleeding edge technologies in accordance to their business goals, to gain the competitive advantage over their rivals.