The Uses of Burst Mode

Burst mode is a mode that mainly DSLR camera's have, which allows uses to change the shoot mode from a single shot to a rapid fire. This makes it possible for users to hold down the shutter button and repeatedly take multitudes of pictures. This allows users to capture many more pictures per the same amount of time.

Burst mode works great for athletic events or taking pictures of kids running around. Burst mode makes it pretty difficult to miss a shot, when one can just hold down the shutter button and keep taking pictures. This eliminates much of the lag and time between trying to capture a shot.

More and more point and shoot cameras are also starting to incorporate burst mode. One can now purchase a 14.1 megapixel Sony Cyber Shot from Best Buy for around $130.00. I have a Cyber Shot and I have found great benefits to burst mode. When I go see the Lakers, I can insure that I get shots of Kobe before he makes the shot, during, and post and not just miss the shot completely. Burst mode is a must have for any sports lover. Whenever I go to games now, I can take excellent pictures that would not have been possible without a $2,000 DSLR a few years back. Burst mode is a must have for parents as well. Why miss your child's first steps? You won't as long as you have burst mode. Family trips to Disney World will also yield better pictures. From now on when users are trying to take a picture and people are walking by, the shot will already be captured before the people walk by and interrupt your picture.

Burst mode is not possible without the right SDHC card in one's camera. Users need to have a SanDisk Extreme or SanDisk Extreme Pro card in there camera to use burst mode. Both of these high performance cards also read and write to the card at a high speed and are great for HD recording.

The Extreme card has a speed of 30 MB/s and the Pro has a speed of 45 MB/s. This is a great leap over the 20 MB/s write/read speed of the SanDisk Ultra card. This means that users will be able to transfer images to their computer at a faster rate and the camera will write to the card at a faster rate, meaning users will be able to take more shots per the same amount of time. The Extreme card is a class 10 card and the Pro is above a class 10. Class 10 is excellent for 1080p HD recording. The Extreme Pro is ready for video quality that is not even fully harvested yet. The Extreme Pro will yield even better HD recording and will be ideal for 3D video once the technology is fully utilized. User cannot go wrong with either of these cards. Both cards are a perfect purchase to enable one's camera to perform in burst mode. These cards can be found at where ever SanDisk products are found.

Is the expansion of technology a good thing?

    The Serfdom of Crowds by Jaron Lanier presents the claim that computers are taking over the world and people are becoming obsolete. Lanier presents this claim as a negative change. He claims that technology continues to evolve and soon computers will "understand people better than people understand themselves." He uses the new technology incorporated into search engines like Google and Wikipedia to explain his claim of how technology is becoming super human. Now when one types a search into Google, the search engine will anticipate what one wants to petition for. As one types a new character or uses the search engine more often, the engine will become better able to predict what one wants to find. Lanier also claims that social media like Facebook is destroying real friendships. People have thousands of friends online now days. But the question is how many of these thousands of people are one's true friends? Socialized media is creating more loose friendships and starting to limit the amount of real friendships one has. As people spend more and more time online they continue to develop many more loose friendships.

    Lanier is saying that computers are taking over the world. People are making the mistake of over using computers to the point that it takes away from one's own critical thinking. I agree with Lanier that people should not let computers replace their own minds and do all the task's that we use to do without computers. Computers should be used as a tool for one to use to do certain tasks and not as a means to replace human aspects. I believe that Facebook should be used as a tool to keep in contact with one's friends and acquaintances but one should not over use Facebook to the point that it takes away from one's natural sociability. For example, I will use Facebook to contact friends and set up a plan to meet as opposed to just talking to them on Facebook and never seeing them in reality. I love the direction where technology is going but I do agree with Lanier that overusing technology could be detrimental to society. I think we all need to have a balance is the case with anything else in life.

    Even though computers are taking over people's natural thinking, this can be useful in some instances. In advertising, using the serfdom of crowds can be a good advertising tool. Instead of high paid markets taking random guests and making forecasts on what people want, computers can predict what everyone is into based on what people are looking at on their computers. I purchase many items from Amazon and Amazon always predicts things that it thinks I would like. Amazon is right most of the time. It shows me items that I would like to purchase or that I already own. I feel computers can do an excellent job in predicting people's trends and tastes. As good of a job as a human at least. I feel that he computers data is based on facts and people's predictions are more based on inferences.

    This article was an interesting read and I would rate it an 8/10. Is the expansion of technology a good or a bad thing?

The Importance or lack of importance for LBS’s

    A LBS is a Location Based Service form of Social Media. Four Square and Gowalla are great examples of LBS's. Prior to reading Loyalty in 4D I thought LBS's were completely pointless. I thought programs that allowed users to check in and get silly rewards like Mayor of a certain location were nothing but games and time wasters. After reading this article I can say that I am wrong. This article helped me see the benefits for companies adopting a LBS to complement their Facebook pages and Twitters.

    LBS's allow companies to advertise in the same way a Facebook and a Twitter does but it also helps companies gather data. Firms can learn the tastes of their consumers. Benefits are offered to customers who participate. Even though customers can gain coupons and other benefits, I still saw this as a game. For lack of a better word, tools like Four Square just seemed so dumb to me that participating was not worth my time even if I could get a 25% off Gap coupon. This article helped me see Four Square and tools that are like it in a better light. I am still not sure if I can see myself engaging in the media. I already spend too much time on Facebook and Twitter and I cannot see myself adopting another form of social media. The article offers an excellent example of how Starbucks can use the data to implement new breakfast menu items or to offer other items that might increase the customers who visit their shop daily and for the customers who do, enable those customers to purchase more. LBS programs are a win-win for consumers and for the companies. Customers get to have fun while playing a game and gaining incentives. Companies get to advertise to a bigger market while learning about the preferences of their customers.

    LBS programs like Whrrl seem a little too specific for me. I think Whrrl will limit its user base based on how specific it is. Whrrl chooses to segment the already small portion of users of LBS systems into even smaller groups. I don't think this is a good plan to do with any LBS system. Prior to this reading, I haven't heard of Whrrl or Murphy's, who is the gas chain who found great uses in Whrrl. I think Whrrl will definitely get crowded out once Facebook Places gets on its feet. The first article helped me see the benefit of using Four Square and some other LBS services but I don't really see any true benefit using Whrrl.

    The HBS blog has me pondering whether there is any correlation between customer check-in's and money spent? Checking-in in itself isn't much of a use for companies besides generating an online popularity for other potential customers to see. Companies want to see the people who check-in all purchase items. I am wondering how many of them do.

    I learned a great deal from this week's readings. We covered a social media form that was foreign to me so it was nice to learn about LBS's. I would rate this week's readings a 9/10 since I learned a lot. How many people in mi621 see benefits to using LBS services?

Web 2.0 is all Powerful

Chapter 5 of Shel Israel's Twitterville deals with how customers can now have a major impact on the marketing strategies used by companies thanks to Web 2.0 tools like Twitter. Back in the day Companies conducted their marketing divisions without really listening to customers. I am not going to say that customers had no say but compared to now, we can say that customers were neglected. Israel takes note of how Best Buy believes customers control their destiny. I feel like in recent history, many companies have forgotten that customers are the factor that thrives their business. If companies still don't realize this, Twitter is here to remind them. Pepsi and Moltron had to learn the hard way that if they disappoint their customers, there will be a public out lash which will hurt business. Companies will be forced to have to solve the problem so they can get back into good graces with their customers. Social media allows companies to get feedback from their customers. This feedback teaches companies about their customers and how to or not to market to them. We live in a social world where people constantly talk. Word of mouth can be more effective than direct marketing. If companies can effectively use Twitter to get customers to talk about their products, then they will be able to cover all bases. They will be able to reach the same market with their direct advertising and they will reach an even greater number of people through social media and then they will get people to talk amongst themselves. A price cannot be put on multitudes of people talking about your product and telling all of their friends. When people talk through Web 2.0 about products, it is really powerful. People being able to share thoughts, pictures, and videos is an entire new revolution that is changing the way business will be done forever. I wonder if tools like Twitter will in the future 100% influence the marketing of products? I liked this chapter of Twitterville but I feel like at this point in the course, the material is starting to get really repetitive. This was a good read but I can only give it a 6/10.

    

Old Article and Source but worth a read. It shows the scope of how many companies are engaging in social media.

 

 

    

How Dell should improve their online communities

    Dell has tested the waters of User Innovation Communities (UIC's), which serve the same purpose as Communispace's online communities. These communities allow users to aid Dell in research and development and to interact with users. When companies effectively use UIC's, they use crowdsourcing to gain great insight into the minds of customers. Dell did not effectively use their UIC so confusion occurred. They wanted to use their UIC to go with Michael Dell's vision of listening to customers to guide innovation. Dell didn't know how to manage their UIC so there were inefficiencies.

    Dell had trouble understanding that they must take UIC customers very seriously. They also struggled with the multitudes of ideas which ended up crowding out good ideas. Ideas often came from individual problems that users faced and therefore the customers made the ideas too vague for Dell to actually implement. More detailed responses to problems that more than one person faced would have made it easier for Dell to understand how to integrate some of these ideas. Users made it difficult for Dell to see good ideas by posting too many ideas that Dell wasn't interested in addressing and posting duplicate ideas. Ideas get split because users are too lazy to do searches, so they often keep posting the same ideas. The same ideas being posted separates the voting for that particular idea. I can relate to this because when I go on a message board, I find it much easier to make a new post than to search the forums for someone who had a similar question or comment. Dell didn't share all of their processes for implanting ideas with the users because Dell didn't want competitors to find out what they were attempting to do.

    Dell made the mistake of not focusing solely on keeping the community happy. A community is not going to work if you tell the users that you're listening but do not demonstrate that to them. Dell did not know how to understand the ideas, pick out the good ones, protect them from competitors, and chiefly to keep the UIC users happy. Insuring the UIC users are happy is more important than keeping regular Dell customers happy because the community users have more of a voice. These challenges demonstrate that running a UIC can be difficult. Maybe Dell would have benefited from letting experts like Communispace run their community instead of trying to implant it internally when they obviously lacked knowledge.

    The writers of the Dell case posed some excellent ideas that I believe will help Dell turn around their community and insure that the users know how to give Dell what Dell wants and to be happy with continuing to contribute. Dell has to be less vague and needs to tell users what they expect. "Defining a clear process that defines for users how to identify and describe ideas," is an excellent idea that will eliminate ambiguity between the users and Dell. Concocting a user tool kit is an excellent idea. The toolkit will educate participants so they know actually what the purpose of the community is and how they can be valuable participants. This will inspire the community members to post good ideas in the right fashion because if people are spending their time in the community, they want to be heard. Engaging the lead users is another excellent idea. The users that are the most active are valuable users and Dell should pay special attention to them. If these users are neglected they will probably flame the community, tell people about how mad they are, and tweet negatively about Dell. Making sure these users are happy can only be beneficial to the UIC and Dell's marketing. Dell must also listen to the popular ideas. If an idea gets more votes than every other idea. Dell cannot ignore that idea because they do not like it. They must attempt to integrate it because of the popularity. If Dell neglects the most popular ideas than what is the point of listening at all? This behavior shows customers that Dell might be listening but if they are the ideas are going in one ear and out the other. I believe if Dell listens to these ideas presented in the case, they should see greater success with their UIC and better ideas shared between users and Dell. I liked reading this case and I would rate it a 9/10. Is it worth it for companies to build their own communities and have to go through trial and error or should companies rely on a third party that knows what they are doing?

Communispace’s futuristic marketing

    Commmunispace "was the market leader in creating and managing private, brand-focused online communities for major corporate clients." They developed a new way to successfully market products by taking advantage of Web 2.0. Communispace understood that Web 2.0 is an excellent tool to reach the customer since the customer is always accessible online. Reaching out to the customer online can make listening to customers much easier. Web 2.0 also makes WOM advertising more effective because customers can talk with one another and share ideas regarding a product. Communispace builds online communities for clients and these communities are where they inspire discussion and feedback on their client's products. These communities are more effective than focus groups or surveys because, "communities provide a continuous flow of information, not a snapshot in time."

    I feel that listening to the customer is a huge competitive advantage. Today we live in a society where most companies don't listen to what their customers want. They feel that they know what the customer wants better than the customer knows themselves. This can be a positive or a negative practice. Nintendo for example always tries to be one step ahead of the customer by predicting what the customer wants. For example Nintendo always makes the customer scratch their heads when they announce a new game or system, but thus far Nintendo's risks have worked out in their favor. In 2003 Nintendo launched The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker which was a new installment in one of their most successful franchises. Nintendo was taking a huge gamble because players were expecting the game to look realistic but Nintendo flipped the switch and decided to make the game look like a cartoon. Many fans were not happy but the game still sold and gamers got over it since the product was still good. Nintendo took an even bigger gamble with the Wii. They decided to not compete directly against Sony and Microsoft and instead to make inferior technology that was more gimmicky. But the gimmick worked and ended up outselling the PlayStation 3 and the X-Box 360. Then there are times when a company goes against what the customer wants and suffers dearly because of it. For example Coke launched a new Coke in 1985 which was a huge marketing bust. Customers were not happy and Coke was forced to return to their original flavor. Coke listened and reverted back which is an example of how successful a company can be when they actually care what the customer thinks. I normally refrain from buying products from companies who think they know what I want and refuse to listen when me and others complain that we want the old thing back. My favorite video game of all time is Socom II USA navy seals which launched on the PlayStation 2 in 2003. Socom was an online shooting game that had a huge following. Socom III came out and was nothing like Socom 2, it was a different game. Users repeatedly complained on message boards for Zipper Interactive to return Socom to how it was but Zipper refused to listen and they brought out a few Socom's since the third installment. Today the entire Socom fan base is gone because Zipper would never listen to their customers and now the former fans play other games like Call of Duty. I see why Coke is the best marketed product in history because of their listening.

    Online communities work well for listening because Communispace keeps the communities small so customers can know one another and therefore they will trust each other and feel comfortable sharing. Communispace does not want communities to be the size of Facebook; they prefer to keep them smaller, more like forums. Customers use these communities because incentives are often provided. Companies make marketing decisions from listening to customers. Take Nabisco's 100 calorie packs as an example. The success of that campaign is due to customer input and execution of what the customers want. I wonder how products would fair in a market where every company cared about what customers want? I enjoyed reading this case and I would give it a 9/10.

Using Social Media in Marketing

 

    I read the Gartner article "How To Establish a Social CRM Strategy" by Michael Maoz and the case study: "Virtusa's Social Media Plan" by Carol Rozwell." Both of these readings raise some unique and rather obvious points regarding how companies should integrate social media technology into their marketing plans.

    Maoz article touches on the importance of adding a social CRM strategy into the mix to help companies establish customer service at its best. Setting up such a system will help companies establish trust with their customers which is pinnacle if a company wishes to maximize profit and consumer satisfaction. Social CRM's show how the world is changing right before our eyes. Technology is becoming a more necessary part of business practices and companies now need to be at the forefront of technology if they wish to be a successful corporation. All of the companies that are at the forefront of technology are the highest grossing companies. Let's use Google and Apple as examples to name a couple. The success of these technology companies is showcased in their stock prices. The insanely high stock prices can be credited to the commitment to staying at the forefront of technology. Google is always coming up with some new way for customers to interact with one another whether it's Gmail or android phones and Apple is always coming out with new hardware for people to interact on like the IPAD. Social CRM technologies are "hybrid solutions that encompass social-software applications." Companies must engage in some of these applications if they want to gain customer trust and to foster an environment of happy stakeholders. This article lays out excellent ideas but it would be better if Maoz was more specific in how to develop the strategy. She is vague and states that companies should carefully lay out a strategy and insure that the customers have a voice. Well duh, I could have said that without writing 6 pages. She does do a great job explaining how CRM's will help companies. She states that CRM's will help firms with every aspect of business. This showcases how big a role technology is playing and will continue to play in the future of business. She states that marketing is the biggest use for CRM's. CRM's will allow customers to have a voice and to be informed about firms and their products. This is a double edged sword in my opinion. Customers will be able to share their ideas with companies. Which is a good thing when the customers are saying positive things. When customers want to speak negative about a company, companies will have to go out of their way to appease these customers and to perform damage control so one disgruntled customer doesn't spread their negative experience to other customers. We see this in how companies on Twitter will now give people incentives if they promise not to tweet negatively about the company.

    Rozwell's case shows how Social Media is an ever increasing segment of marketing departments. A few years back social media wasn't important at all to firms and now every firm is allocating some resources to social media. This shows how important social media is becoming in our global society and how this new trend cannot be ignored or companies will suffer in their profitability and long term growth. Rozwell also states that it is important for companies to know how to properly use social media. Using social media in the wrong way could either deem it pointless or dangerous. That's why she touches on the important to adhering to the social media guidelines. These guidelines will insure that companies and their customers will have a good rapport. For example, employees must exercise decorum when engaging in social media technology because everything they say online represents the firm as a whole. If they say the wrong thing they will not only hurt the firm but they might also find themselves out of a job. This shows how we are all losing our freedoms online. Back in the day we use to be able to say whatever we wanted online but now doing so could cost us getting into a school, getting a job, or loss of a job. This shows how online technologies are becoming paramount and people have to behave online as they would in society.

    Both of these articles were enjoyable reads. I felt like some parts of them touched on some obvious things but I learned a lot. I would rate them both a 9/10. I would recommend reading them.