Second Life and Skype aint Jesus

Collaborative and distance communication tools like Second Life and Skype are far from perfect.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651500,00.html

http://www.tgdaily.com/security-features/59240-skype-security-flaw-allows-location-tracking

People seem to love communication things like Second Life and Skype but their are so many flaws that go unknown. Most of these would turn casual users away if they knew. That is why I titled this in the way that I did. People think these two tools are perfect but really they are far from it.
The first talks about Second LIfe and how it has not lived up to expectations. "The overall traffic has been disappointing: the site has nearly 8.7 million registered members, but the number of active users is closer to 600,000. One reason for this gap may be that the technology isn't intuitive." The report tells us. They have also been running into legal issues too.


The second article talks about Skype and its fatal flaw of hackers being able to track where you are from calling you without you ever knowing. Skype is even bigger than second life and this whole tracking thing could be fatal because the military uses this application to connect active service men talk to their family, and it could give away their coordinates. Hopefully both of these companies figure out these problems and live up to the full-potential they both have. 

Viral Video Marketing in comparison to Super Bowl

Viral vs. Super Bowl

http://www.businesspundit.com/viral-videos-vs-super-bowl-commercials/

http://www.viralblog.com/viral-cases/five-facts-on-ray-bans-viral-marketing-success/

In this blog post I will be talking about who would win the battle of what is better? Viral Videos or Super
Bowl Commercials. The first article shows that viral videos can actually be just as effective as a Super Bowl ad. The cost thought to make a viral video is much less. Granted Super Bowl commercials reach a much larger audience instantly and results are all but guaranteed.
Viral videos have a greater purpose to companies how do not have the money to invest in a multi-million dollar commercial. Students are also great creators of viral videos.
The second article talks abotu how Ray Ban used virtual marketign to gain great success and a low cost. Both great articles and should be read if you are interetsed in topics like these. 

Foursquare: From King of the playground to Mayor of Chilis

Foursquare: From King of the playground to Mayor of Chilis

https://foursquare.com/

http://blackfin360.com/2010/04/15/6-benefits-of-foursquare/

           

            This week I will be writing on Location Based Programs. Most of you will know about GPS, Yelp or the Facebook check-in process but today I will be talking about my personal favorite, which is Foursquare. Foursquare is an application that pulls your location from the GPS on your phone and lets you know what is going on around you. Like a GPS system it tells you where you are and how far you are from it.  Like a Facebook check-in it updates your friends on your activities and accomplishments. And like Yelp it allows you to give your friends advice on what to do. If you want to find out more click on the link above or of course, Google it.

            In this post I will share some of my thoughts about this service. Foursquare has gotten me free chips and salsa, a free carwash, a free drink, and even more followers on Twitter (I was the mayor of USU for a while). I also had places that were more of an inside joke between me and my friend son foursquare like the location, “VIP Wal-Mart Parking.” It is pretty easy to use and is very user friendly. My mother even, bless her, can use it while she is still figuring out Facebook and blogging. You have the ability to leave reviews on places but they are more like tips then reviews I guess... Little snapshots of what's good or bad about the place. If you are searching for more in-depth info I suggest Yelp. If you are just interested in specials that places offer you can search you area and see what people are offering. I feel like a lot of them are crap stuff that is either free anyway or not a good deal. Chili's is the bomb diggity and to spark interest I wont tell you what they give you but it alone is worth downloading the app for. You can also earn badges for doing certain things or going to specific places. Check this app out it is on both itunes store and android market. The ipad app is nonexistent but word on the street is that will be a while because foursquare is meant to be used on devices that are more mobile. (aka phones)