Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Win $1 Million!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Who wouldn’t want to win $1 million just for sharing a photo on Facebook? That’s what over 500,000 people thought! Nolan Daniels posted a photo on Facebook of him holding a Powerball ticket with the winning numbers. He captioned the photo as,

500-000-facebook-users-chase-fake-1-million-from-powerball-winner--df8580a087

“Looks like I won’t be going to work EVER! Share this photo and I will give a random person 1 million dollars!”

You can imagine how many Facebook users jumped at the thought of winning that money. Though this may seem like a great deal, the photo displayed photo-shopped the winning numbers on the ticket. This scam is sure to bring some angry Facebookers who believed the contest to be legitimate.

When you see photos such as this on Facebook, do you ‘share’ them in hopes of winning? Do you think they are legit? Or do you disregard the photo?? I know personally I have seen several of my Facebook friends share this photo. How do you react? Give us your thoughts!


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Black Friday


 Black Friday- consumerism at its finest. Families leave the Thanksgiving table in search of the cheapest and latest gadget that they just simply have to have at 5am in the morning. While this is a crazy day of camping out, fighting the crowds, and spending money, there are good deals to be had. Many stores utilized social media to get coupons and store information into the customer's hands. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. were used on this day with great results. See the following link to view the specifics: Link.

 

Did you go Black Friday shopping? Did you use social media to help your shopping? What were your best buys?

Monday, November 26, 2012

Twitter Trolls...



This year there have been many companies, sports teams or public figures that have been criticized either for the Tweets they post or insolent Tweets posted about them.

Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Coach Mike Brown (who was only there for five games) blaming him for their poor start to the season. Fans began voicing their opinions about Brown. 



Not only have there been threats made against Coach Brown, but also against his teenage son. Threats on Twitter have become a fad of our time. More and more athletes and public figures have been threatened on Twitter. Recently Sportscaster Erin Andrews was a victim of this with this Tweet posted,

“@ErinAndrews You make eye contact with me and I will chop you apart. You are just a bad thing”

With this trend becoming more and more common on Twitter, do you think more censoring will come into play? Or will they just continue to allow people to make threats??

Here is a link to read more about the issue twitter trolls

Gangnam Style!



“Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh!”  Do you find that line familiar?? More than likely you have heard the song that has taken the world by storm, Gangnam Style!






As of November 24th, 2012, the YouTube video of Gangnam Style has become the most popular video with over 804 million hits (It has surpassed the previous leading video, Baby, by Justin Bieber) It is now the most popular video on YouTube EVER! Statistics predict that by December 16th of this year the video will reach the BILLION views mark. I imagine the creators of YouTube never imagined their site would attract that many views for only ONE video!

YouTube has continued to increase viewers of their site and generates so many videos everyday. With how effective YouTube is at gaining a large audience, do you think businesses would try to maximize this source of social media to bring recognition to their organization?

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Facebook's New Dictatorship

Facebook is under new management. Not really. They are just under a new kind of pressure. Now being public for over half a year and having over a billion users, Facebook has decided they are "too big for Democracy".

This may suffice for their large population of Chinese users, but many other global users are outraged. Facebook used to maintain the policy of "votes" for change. If a certain strategy or change received 30% of Facebook's users to vote, the change was vetoed. Facebook is under global pressure from a publicly owned perspective.

Revolutions have been mentioned as radical as "Facebook freedom". One talks about tell his grandchildren about the great fight for his Facebook freedom. While Facebook is a social community, others view it as an advertising algorithm. With so many changes going on with Facebook, nobody knows how the information will be used and who will be able to receive private information.

With the general community using the network, many do not know enough or care enough to "vote". Others are very concerned about Facebook's future and especially with regards to "how far is too far?"

Some believe Mark Zuckerberg is willing to do anything to keep his company afloat. Selling personal information is only a marginal cost.

Do you trust Facebook? How do you use Facebook with potential trust issues circulating? If Facebook completely removes themselves from public opinion, will you continue to use your personal profile?


For more information, click HERE!

www.[YourNameHere].donuts

Remember hearing about the battle over the "Microsoft" domain name back in the 90s which ended in a computer geek's multi-million dollar payout? Whether or not this is fact or fiction, perhaps nobody knows.

Now, the battle is over domain names. In 2013, companies are expecting to expand the domain names from common ones like .com, .net, .me, .org, and .gov, to more precise domain names like the following: .dentist, .lawyer, .ad, .buy, .coffee, and .donuts.


Companies like Google and Amazon have raise the bids on many names they would like to buy. Rightfully so, they have revolutionized the search and buying industries forever. A conglomeration of donut shops have now come together to request the domain name of their choice, and of their niche.

.Donuts has raised a whole new style of thought. Giving companies more options for their domain names, this domain name will help focus the industry as well as give them a strong asset to build their online presence. Thought they won't be selling digital donuts, they are looking to spend a pretty amount to purchase their domain name.

They have spend more than $56 million on over 300 domain name suffixes. In attempts to hold out like one did on Microsoft, these domain names come with a high payout. This is a business strategy for donut shops and multi-billion dollar retail sites alike. The donut cornerstore and Amazon all have a common interest in this dilemma. It will be determined by a government non-profit called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).

Do you think focusing the domain names will be good for business? 

Many venture capitalists are becoming involved in this as mere investment strategies. How could Icann help protect small businesses from having to pay millions of dollars to recapture their deserved domain name?

Grab a .donut and a .coffee and think about how you could benefit from this emerging change.

For more information, click HERE.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Papa Annoying

 Papa Johns has been taken to court recently by individuals who are sick and tire of receiving illegal text messages from the country's favorite fast food pizza chain. Apparently, Papa John's has been accused of sending over 500,000 unwanted messages to customers who had recently frequented their stores. Some individuals attested to receiving chains of 15 messages even in the middle of the night. Plaintiffs are asking for up to $1,500 per message from Papa Johns.

 

See the full story by clicking this Link.

An independent company actually sent the messages on behalf of Papa Johns. Do you think that Papa Johns is liable for these messages? Or is the third party company who actually sent the messages liable??

Hacking for Dummies

According to a Wall Street Journal article, there is one thing to assume about the Internet.

The Internet isn't safe.

As secure and complicated as we may think it is, everything can be compromised. When we talk about everything, we mean Twitter, Facebook and even our private e-mails.

Most of us have experienced the frustrating hack on our e-mail and Facebook. What's worse is getting our information back and private.

With issues surfacing regarding the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), David Petraeus, we are learning how insecure we really are.

Caught in the middle of a extramarital scandal, Petraeus' private life has been brought to light through a series of e-mail hackers.

With great amounts of our information stored on Google databases, it has become much easier for organizations and the government to find information without seeking warrants or permission.

This issue has really put Google and other major companies on the line. Holding so much information, they are responsible for maintaining the privacy of the individuals they represent. Also, they are responsible to withhold any information they store. Nobody knows who all has access to the oasis of knowledge on Google and this has provided a major security and privacy threat.

What steps do you take to ensure your information is private? Do you trust Google and other online databases to keep your information safe?

 

To read more, click HERE

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

President Romney



 WOW, The election results are in and the new President is.... ROMNEY! Or so his campaign declared. Romney staff prepared in advance a transition website in the case that he should win presidency. For just a few moments on election day, the website went public. Not for long, but long enough for some to get screen shots. Some are ragging on Romney saying that he was cocky in assuming his win. But was this just good business?

Do you think Romney was just being prepared for what very well could have happened? Or should this site not have been created until he knew he had won?



 Romney

The Pinfluence of Pinterest

Pinterest has created a buzz among women to share their recipes and craft ideas.

How can the blog of recipes, crafts, sayings and other little snippets be used for businesses?

People have found a great use for Pinterest using the repin feature. This way of circulating data online has drawn the attention from businesses from all sorts of markets.

Perhaps the simple statistic, "1.4% of Twitter tweets are "retweeted" 80% of Pinterest pins are "repinned"" will help explain why companies are jumping on "board" with Pinterest.

With the capabilities to have corporate boards where they can sort material to their liking, companies are now placing the iconic "P" next to the Facebook "F" and the Twitter "T".

While women primarily drive the popularity of Pinterest, it is only a matter of time before men will find their stake on the growing site. MLB and other male-driven companies have already established their boards. Stay pinned to see more postings from these companies.

What companies have you seen utilizing the Pinterest interface? How could you see your company or organization use Pinterest to help communicate better?

The following links may help you learn more about Pinterest:

How Pinterest Can Help You

How Pinterest Can Help Your Business

"Pinfluence" on Businesses



image of pinterest logo

Thursday, November 8, 2012

We are so not Facebook friends...






With the election going on, social media has blown up with people voicing their opinions. Facebook and Twitter posts were consuming the web the night of the election. I personally checked my Facebook page that evening and almost every single status I saw was about the election. But did you know that many people took their political views to the next level? Statistics show that 47% of Facebook users “unfriended” someone because of the results from the election. How crazy is that?! Unfriending someone just because they have different political views that you do…

Have you or someone you know, “unfriended” someone after the elections possibly because of a status or Tweet they shared? What are your thoughts on this link between social media and politics? In 4 years at the next presidential election, how do you see social media coinciding with politics?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

#vote

Instagram is the new hottest trend in social media. We all use Instagram to keep our friends updated on how cool and hipster our lives are. We enjoy sharing our pictures through this easy to use app that allows users to view, like, and comment on other user pictures.

This is great to keep up to date on the best restaurants, local activities, and other fun times, but it also creates a problem with sharing too much information. Especially in this election season, Instagram is posing legal issues. Today already, there have been over 500,000 #vote pictures listed on Instagram. These pictures include posts of individuals actual ballots.

 

This has been deemed illegal by several states, but is this a real problem? Is it important to keep this information private? What are your opinions?

View the full story here: http://mashable.com/2012/11/06/instragram-voting-illegal/

Thursday, November 1, 2012

@hurricannesandy

As we all know, Hurricane Sandy has been utterly destructive around the world today. Thousands of people have suffered loss as a result of this storm. There is great reason to be concerned about this storm and to keep up to date on the status of it. Social media has offered a great solution to the question, "How do we keep the world updated on this storm?" Facebook, Twitter, News Websites, etc. have proved to be very effective in sharing news with a wide variety of individuals.

One individual, however, may have taken this too far. Twitter account @hurricannesandy continuously posts updates on the storm. But these are not objective statements of fact- they are silly comments that can even be interpreted as inappropriate.

Tweets such as "I HOPE RIHANNA'S UMBRELLA IS BIG ENOUGH FOR YOU ALL"

and

"I BROKE UP WIT MY HURRICANE BOYFRIEND SINGING WE ARE NEVER EVER EVER DESTROYING CITIES TOGETHER... LIKE EVER."

 are some of the quotes.

 

How do you respond to this? Do you think this is funny or terrible?? Would you follow @hurricannesandy?

https://twitter.com/hurricannesandy

Friday, October 26, 2012

Movie Theater Blunder


A theater in England this past week was scheduled to show the new children’s movie, Madagascar 3. Tons of children with their parents filled the theater in excitement for this family friendly movie filled with penguins, giraffes, lions, zebras, and many other animals.

Just as the movie was about to begin, BAM! A corps was hurled on the screen. Screams of terror filled the theater as parents rushed their traumatized children out of the theater. What happened? Instead of a showing for Madagascar 3, these innocent children endured the beginning of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4!

Parents were outraged at this mistake made by the theater. How could they mistakenly air a children’s PG movie with a rated R movie? A spokesman for Nottingham’s Cineworld apologized for the incident saying it stemmed from a “technical error with the projector”. A refund and complimentary tickets were offered to the moviegoers and a chance to see the real Madagascar 3 later that same evening.

How could a mistake like this even happen? Should the theater be checking the films each time before sending people in?  Have you ever endured this mistake? Check out the articles below and give us your thoughts.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Bill Gate's Famous Words Disproven

"Be nice to nerds...chances are you'll work for one someday," said Bill Gates. Bill Gates was likely to have been a nerd before he dropped out of Harvard University.

A Wall Street Journal web article has performed a study that now declares that perhaps the "popular" kids in school are now also the future rich kids.

The study suggests that while some popular kids come from families with relative status, this is typically a smaller indicator of class popularity. Popularity is often more derived from athleticism, intelligence, along with other unique attributes.

Nerds are supposed to be the "smart" ones that open companies. The study now has shown that the top fifth of the school's popularity will earn an average of 10% more 40 years after graduating than the bottom fifth of the popular kids. While this statistic is complicated and sounds like political jargon, it is quite substantial to earn 10% more on mere personality.

The study suggests that perhaps it's the simple ability to "network" and play the political game that helps earn one's popularity. Having these social skills in high school tend to prove profitable in the business world.

Do you think politicking and networking in high school really proves to be profitable in the business world? How have you seen this accomplished to support your answer?



To read more from the WSJ article, click HERE!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Schools Tracking Students' Locations

What happens in Texas schools, stays in Texas schools. They know this because they are tracking each student's individual location. While this seems almost right-violating, apparently, the district is doing this so that they can receive more government funding. Using technology that was originally intended for cattle is now attracting lots of attention from civil liberty groups. The schools claim the technology costs around $261,000 to implement the technology and they will receive up to $2,000,000 in more funding.

This is all because schools are rewarded financial grants and scholarships when they can prove how many kids are attending school. With kids in a variety of schedules, they are never in their "homeroom" in the morning classes. Therefore, the Texas School Board left little recognition of the students that were truly attending school.

Privacy concerns are a priority, but it seems that the benefits outweigh the consequences. Many students and parents are satisfied with the implemented technology. It helps kids get through lunch quicker and it also teaches the kids about time-conscious accountability. With only a handful of people and very few protests, it is likely that the Texas schools will continue to use this tracking technology. Only time will tell if this is the beginning of a new age. Virtual attendance is finally here. Scan if you're present.

How would you feel if you were in a school that used this type of attendance counting system? Would you allow your child to attend these schools that are constantly aware of your child's whereabouts?



To read more, click HERE!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Private Messages Now Public? WHAT!?


Facebook is a great mechanism for communicating your thoughts without having to see the person you’re talking to. Private messages are so helpful to hash your feelings out without worrying about anyone else seeing them besides the person you are talking to. But what would you do if those messages were published for EVERYONE to see?!
There has been some question as to whether Facebook is posting private messages from 2009 or earlier, for the public to see. Several people have said they believe their private messages have been published on their Timeline. Facebook has denied this speculation, yet people still believe it to be true. After reading this article I decided to look back to my Timeline from before 2009 and some of the posts could have very well been private messages. What are your thoughts on this assumption? Do you think Facebook really does post private messages from long ago? Do you ever think of your private messages going public? Does this cause you to think twice about what you say in a private message? 

Click on the link below to read more about this problem.

Facebook Linked to Self-Control Issues?

A recent article from the Wall Street Journal has found some rather interesting conclusions. With so much content on CorporateWhiteOut referring to people who have messed up on a social media site, perhaps this post is of interest.

Everyone sits on their throne when they read through Twitter, Facebook, or other social media site. Even more, they really feel a power when they have the anonymous post opportunity. Reading through various posts and feeds, WSJ journalist investigated the question, "Why are people so rude when they converse online?"

Suicides, ruined relationships and lost jobs are all attributed to some of the postings found on social media sites.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the self-esteem boost one receives when they are "liked" online, helps boost their general mood. With this, comes a misbalance of decision making.

Whether or not it is correlated, this article draws parallels between people with "Facebook addiction" and people with eating disorders and financial issues. While there are plenty of other variables to consider, Facebook is a common thread in the 541 people interviewed.

What do you think? Rude comments are not encouraged, yet expected. Happy posting!

Read More Here

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Innocent Prank??



Homecoming has become a major event throughout high schools and even colleges. Everyone is in hope of their team winning the “big game”, the dance, and hoping to be elected homecoming King or Queen. Nominations for King and Queen are of great importance during this time. “If people vote for me, that means I’m popular!” “Everyone must love me!” WRONG.

Only a week ago 16 year-old Whitney Kropp from West Branch, Michigan was devastated to discover her classmates nominated her for Homecoming court as a hoax. Classmates would stop and laugh at her as she walked through the halls. This bullying continued going from school to Facebook as well. She was quoted saying, “I felt like trash”, “I felt so unworthy”. Whitney was so crushed because of this prank that she considered suicide. Luckily, she had support from her loved ones to help her overcome this. Friends and family retaliated by creating a Facebook page to help support teen bullying and they received a vast amount of feedback. This is not the only account of teens being bullied not only in school but on the internet and considering suicide. Do you think this was just an innocent hoax? Or should those involved in it be accused and punished? Watch the videos/read the articles below to hear more about Whitney's story and give us your thoughts!

New Status Update...

 Most summer Facebook statuses consist of individuals bragging about their time at the beach or pool, soakin up the sun and lovin life. Facebook statuses are a great way to keep friends and family updated on what you're up to and what you're thinking about. They are harmless, fun quips about daily life. What happens, though, when one's daily life includes criminal behavior? Does Facebook then become a way to assist in crime? You tell us.

Last summer, one man took a woman hostage in a local motel. He then proceeded to keep his Facebook friends updated on the standoff between himself and local SWAT members through his Facebook account. Friends and family responded with over 100 posts to encourage him and offer bits of advice as he held the woman at gunpoint. The man was even able to gain a few new friends from the experience. Some of whom offered him great information of how the SWAT team was handling the situation. How should the legal system handle this situation? Is the man with the gun the only one at fault in this situation or are those who offer him assistance through his Facebook page also to blame? See the whole article at the link below and talk to us!


News Article

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Olympian Unsportsmanlike Conduct

 During the 2012 summer Olympics held in London, Swiss soccer player, Michael Morganella, was kicked off his team and sent home after he authored a nasty Tweet directed toward his South Korean opponents. Apparently, Morganella was outraged after a dismal loss against the Koreans and posted his anger on Twitter, referring to his opponents as "handicapped retards." The stunt was received extremely offensively and Morganella was consequently sent home from the Games. For the full story, see the link below.

Olympic Story

Some individuals believe this was a racist comment. Others simply view this as competitive "smack talk." So you think this comment was appropriate in the setting of the Olympic Games?

Vante, ever heard of it? Now you have. Chick-Fil-A fires back.

Chief Financial Officer of Vante, a medical manufacturing company from Tucson, Arizona, has choice words for Chick-Fil-A. Opposing their publicized views on gay-marriage, the executive filmed his aggressive stroll through the drive-thru. Proclaiming his distaste for Chick-Fil-A and their views, he verbally attacks the attendant at the window. See the VIDEO he posted and see for yourself. Any thoughts? He was later publicly released from Vante. Had you heard of them before this debacle? Probably not. Now you have. Great PR move. Understandably a respectable CFO.


FoxNews Article

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Democratic National Convention Prayer Is God now a PR move?

Democratic National Convention Prayer

Is God now a PR move?

At the Democratic National Convention, there was a certain public prayer that had peculiar coincidences and careful wording. It opened with a generic, "Dear God". This is an obvious attempt to attract to all monotheistic, and perhaps polytheistic, religious political followers. Through the prayer that appeared to be more of a prepared speech, the prayer seemed to then focus on the Christian-follower's God with references to "Father" and "Jesus". Is the DNC trying to win over Republican fence-sitters with a potentially offensive prayer? Or was this a prayer that will have changed history? The Democratic party has typically secular views on issues that disagree with Biblical principles. It is common knowledge that the church is typically supported by Republicans. Is this a strategic prayer or a genuine hope in God's favor in the 2012 election? You decide.

Click Here to: Hear the Prayer