Sunday, September 30, 2007

Get a FIRST life !!!!

Where have I been? I had never heard of Second Life until I read the articles for this week. It is a virtual world that enables you to do almost anything you want. Is it a joke? Maybe I’m just new at this virtual world thing, but it doesn’t make sense to me at all. Why are people wasting their time sitting in front of a computer walking around with their simulated twins in their imaginary world doing what they normally do in their REAL life. Seriously, there has to be something else they could be doing than playing around in a 3D world.

On another note, everyone has the right to their opinion, and obviously people see this as an opportunity to do business and communicate with others, because SL continues to grow, but I just don’t see it. I can’t understand how companies are joining this world to promote their products. Then again, I’m new at this, perhaps when I get to experience and understand it I’ll change my mind …… Nah! I don’t think so.

Monday, September 24, 2007

ads and word of mouth go hand in hand!

As we all know, advertising is used as an effective way to move every product available to the hands of possible customers. There are many different types of advertisements shown in tv commercials, magazines, banners, etc. Production companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars on advertisements for their products to reach the mainstream. Since we have become so used to being exposed to ads, we have found ways to prevent, forcing marketers to find alternatives to show their products. Word of mouth is an effective method for advertising because people talk to each other about products they buy and like, without being paid to do so. In my opinion, all advertisers should take this into consideration and save a lot of money from their traditional advertising.

Word of mouth and advertising work hand in hand with each other. Advertising alone gets a product out in the public, but customers are more likely to be unwilling to rely only on the information they provide. Word of mouth by itself could not work either. Advertising gives companies the ability to reach many people at once, but word of mouth gives credibility to the products. You are more likely to buy a product that someone you trust recommends. When thinking about purchasing a new product we want feedback from someone that has already owned it to tell us how great the product is or how bad it was. We tend to believe and rely on others. Blogs are a perfect way for people to comment on their feelings about a certain product. This way others can read the posts and give their own criticisms and reviews. All companies could get advantage of this by reading their customers responses and not only commenting on them, but taking action on fixing and improving the things that customers are unhappy about.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

check it out..

Are you interested in the topics i have covered in my posts? You should go check out what my classmates have to say about them too...

take a look

Monday, September 17, 2007

Building good relationships with co-workers

For this week I read the internet reading “Communities of practice at the core.”

Building strong ties in order to maintain good relationships in the workplace is undeniable. Without good relationship ties among co-workers companies would not be able to prosper. Good relationships come from developing trust and communication. Trust and communication arise naturally with time. Trust is what binds the group of people in a corporation together, if they do not trust each other there would not be good communication, and without communication it is very hard for a company to grow and progress. Although building on relationships is important, giving people their space is necessary too, because in order to work for long periods of time effectively, people need their own personal time and space.

Companies should also give their employees an amount of free time in which they can interact with one another, therefore augmenting their relationship. There should also be a designed space that can be used to relax and interact, because without it, people will be less likely to engage with each other. For example, as the author exposed Chiat/Day was not able to prosper for long because they did not provide their employees with good office space, among other things.

The tipping point is explained in this article very effectively. I believe that “the law of the few” is very true because it only takes a small amount of people to create a really big difference/ impact in the world. Although having people that are good persuaders, the messages that “stick” are also very important because we have begun to work alongside the media and we let it run our everyday lives. Since we are surrounded entirely by media and all their messages, there has to be something really special or something that draws your attention about that particular product; which is quite hard to do when so many options are already available.

When it comes to describing the technology aspect there is some right and some wrong in what the author expresses. I agree with when he expresses that human beings need to encounter other human beings from time to time. I differ from him though when he states that good relationships cannot be made via technology. (going back to my last post) Nowadays technology runs our lives, people spend a numerable amount of hours everyday in their computers using AIM, Facebook, and messenger. A lot of the relationships they form are built upon these networks. Although the author states that trust cannot be gained through technology, using this devices people do create some trusting relationships, as they spend moments of everyday encountering and engaging with other people.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Impossible to live by ourselves

Some of the statements Charles Kadushin makes in his "Introduction to Social Network Theory" are merely obvious. It is almost self-evident that if people live close to you, you are more likely to become acquainted with them because you encounter them frequently. I don’t believe that is a scientific principle, it is merely nature. People vibrate and unite with others in which they see the same or at least similar characteristics. On the other hand, people can form relationships on other aspects that have nothing to do with where they are located.

“In social psychology Charles H Cooley's "looking glass self" (Cooley 1956) begins as Descartes with the individual, but suggests that the self cannot be formed without its reflection from others.” I have to agree with what he states in the excerpt above because I don’t think that people can be fully formed by themselves. If people were to live by themselves they would not be able to survive, so it is absurd to say that people can be fully formed by themselves. People cannot live by themselves; we always need the company of others. By comparing ourselves to others and by interacting with the people around us is how we better ourselves as human beings. (for ex. our flaws or weaknesses)

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

my first post

hey everyone!
im a student at american university majoring in marketing and international business, this post is for my ITEC333 class.

in my honor all posts are my own.