It's a whole other world out there!!!!

So yes it is very true that when I first heard about virtual worlds like Second Life or Viximo, where people create differen characters to represent themselves and live out weird fantasy lives in the virtual environment I chuckled and thought of how foolish they must be with a lot of time on their hands. Boy am I eating my words now!!

Recently as one of my consulting undertakings I have come across one social website looking to monetize through the virtual craze and the existing services that they provide. True that I came in with the same preexisting attitude of "who would pay for intangible goods over the internet????" In my research for this project however, I have found out that virtual goods industry has brought in over $800 million dollars in recent years! $800 million dollars! Who knew that people pay that much money to defend their virtual worlds and distinguish themselves in Second Life. Wearing Versace dress to go out to a night on the town in the most prestigioug club by taking a limo while sipping Cristal costs about $5, gives a chance to experience this for those individuals that have always dreamed of such a lifestyle but could not afford it in real life.

It is this concept of self worth that has so succesfully translated into the virtual world and it turns out that it is a lot easier to actualize this concept in virtual world than in real life, hence the big and somewhat unexpected success. People do pay money to distinguish themselves online and it looks like the more innovative ways will come about to do this, the more money people will spend on this outlet. The growth possibilities are endless and I am excited to keep watching and learning and not at all ashamed to say that I had to eat my words!

I am part of the internet culture... and proud of it!

Have you ever wondered what life would be like without the technologically advanced luxuries that are presented to us these days? Can you remember what it was like to go back to flipping through yellow pages to find a phone number or having to look for a payphone to make a call? Breaking news reached us next day through the newspapers next day or through the late night news in the evening. So yes it is true that no one died from living their life like that, and it is true that people managed to be innovative and informative but I must say having the internet at your fingertips with the vast pool of information makes things so much more convinient.

As I am making a lamb roast... yes I am attempting to cook hahahaha, I reach for my laptop for the best recipie out there and for someone who has NEVER cooked one I appreciate the vast advices that are coming at me through my search. And NO I do not want the EXPERT advice, although it is appreciated if it is out there. In some way I am thankful for the whole LAMB RECIPIE culture out there because once I was curious enough I found that there is an internet LAMB RECIPIE culture.

The talk of internet making us more stupid is just propostorous to me. If people are ignorant to begin with then no amount of information in front of their noses will make them more intelligent than they are. If there is no desire to seek out more information on the topics of interests then nothing will motivate such brains to get curious. If anything, the internet allows us to make educational decisions for ourselves through filtering the vast information that is out there. Contrasting and comparing different views and opinions, different sites and sources, the process of elimination is what helps to make educational decisions. So how can someone say that internet makes us more stupid? All I know is that I am part of the internet culture.... AND PROUD OF IT!

YIKES!!! My boss found my resume....

Well... No not yet! But what happens if that really does happen?

Social networking has become the "way" to mingle and network and that is great especially in this day and age when most of us spend the majority of our time in front of a computer. Linked In, Gobignetwork.com and even Facebook have become vital tools in job search nowadays, replacing the traditional meet and greet events where suits and coktails are a plenty and small talk is abundant and sometimes forced and uncomfortable. So as we move through these social websites trying to land our next career move I can't help but wonder how it could backfire on all our good proactive intentions.

I update my linked in profile and updated my resume, but in doing that the pit in my stomach grows bigger and bigger since I know that my boss looks at those networks. Do I want him to know that I am "looking"? What would happen if he does know? How secure do I feel doing this? Should I be doing this? How can this affect me?

In these uncertain times it's a catch 22 when utilizing social networks for a job search. EVERYONE is somehow connected TO EVERYONE. So while I am trying to keep moving up in my career I can't help but wonder if throwing it out there, in the social network world, that you are looking for a new job could possible hurt you in the meantime.

To view or not to view......

That seems to be the question that popped into my head after trying to google a restaurant for directions. With the name and address information, a few dozen websites popped up offering their reviews of the place. I didn't even think about reading up on the reviews for the place as this particular venue was something that I had been seeking out for quite some time with its offering of foods familiar to my background tastes. So now that I have these sites in front of me what do i do????



First one, slammed the place, calling it nothing more than a glorified diner!!!! Another site praised it for its wide variety of "eastern european" delicacies, yet another one gave it a lukewarm praise. None of them came from a reputable website as Zagat or Yap but most of them were done on sites that rate hundreds of local places.

Hmmm so now what??? Do I ignore the rude bombardment with all these reviews that I didn't ask for and jot down the directions, or do I change my dinner plans? True, this is not a lifethreatening dilemma but it certainly left a somewhat bad taste in my mouth if you will. While I may not be the one to give in too much to the word of social marketing and hyped up reviews, I found myself changing my dinner plans for that night as I was planning a somewhat special night. I still have plans to visit that place and see for myself if you will, but the lesson learned here is if you are googling directions somewhere, ignore the reviews!

Getting lost in your comfortable zone

Some of the recent topics that have come up deal with companies like Yahoo and Google going into overload with additional product/services in their network. Ever feel like every time you sign on to your favorite website you wonder if you have clicked on the wrong link?
Well read up on this here as I found it to be quite interesting in analyzing this topic.

Will computers make you feel fuzzy?

In the age where technology is taking over more and more facets of our lives it is just common that business world is evolving and benefitting from the same technology advances. In the past few decades this has greatly enhanced the way business is done and the outcomes that are received. Removing the face-to-face aspect has helped everyone to speed up the way things are done and arguably make the process more efficient. This however has made some wonder if it could be detrimental to the aspect of the customer relationship and the longevity of the business relationships.

As Dennis Pombriant has argued in his article http://www.technewsworld.com/story/54575.html it is not the same to simply throw your customer base into a social network and call it a day. This does not replace CRM nor will it flow with everyone in the customer book.

Mechanical turk is an innovative way to distribute labor and work as far as possible even bringing knowledgeable individuals all across the world through the help of the computer and the keyboard, but if someone is not able to deliver exactly what you are looking for you are more likely to get more frustrated with the computer and the letters on the screen then if you would have with a human being.

So while technology is great at speeding up processes and delivering efficiency, can it make you feel warm and fuzzy?

Trust a keyboard????

So how interesting is it to see even large companies utilizing social networking? Is it really easier for everyone to express their thoughts to a computer? Is that the "more efficient way" of getting things done nowadays??? I wonder why individuals on the "lower" branch of a social network are more efficient when the face-to-face component is removed. Could it be because there the trust and respect for the managers was not there to begin with?

I find it very interesting that people are more comfortable voicing their ideas, fears, thoughts and even frustrations to a computer. It even alarms me somewhat to know that some people may not be able to voice anything out anymore. So the question that arises in my mind is: At the end of the day can we honestly trust a keyboard to reassure us, to comfort us, to simply be there for us?