End of the Semester at UT

Well, my zero years are over for classes at UT. Now comes the double digits, 2010, 2011, you get the point. It is always amazing what I have learned over the course of the semester in the more technical software classes or classes like I had this semester - blogs, podcasting, and vodcasting. I definitely will be using them in the future to enhance some of my social networking "stuff" and hopefully even in my job on the UT IT HelpDesk (I hope to do a Blog). Anyway, I just want to make a New Years resolution for the double digit years, to go back and keep using the stuff I have learned in the zero years. I need to get back in Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop and keep a handle on this podcating and blogging "stuff."

Wishing every one a great Holiday and hope to see everyone back for the double digit years!

*T*

Social Networking and Business

I found a great article on social networking and business. It is about what a Harvard Business professor found when he researched what people actually do on Facebook and also the stats of Myspace. Using these findings, the professor advises businesses how to market. Harvard Business Professor Mikolag Jan Piskorski spent years researching the social networking sites. He found that there are gender differences, site differences (such as Facebook vs Twitter), as well as other surprising findings. It seems that Piskorski researched the web logs on what people do on these sites (i.e. Facebook, Myspace) and found that what most people are drawn to is pictures and profiles (70%). He believes that people post pictures to show they are having fun and that way don’t have to boast that they are. People view because it is a way to look into someone’s live without really prying into really private information. Even in photo viewing there is gender differences. Piskorski stated that mostly men look at women they don’t know, followed by women they know. Women on the other hand look at other women they know.

When looking at a more text based SN site, like the new kid Twitter, Piskorski also found gender differences. He states, “Women actually say things, guys give references to other things.” In addition to all these findings, he also found that even though people are saying that “No one uses MySpace,” that after analyzing the database of 100,000 Myspace users that smaller populated cities and communities in the south participate in Myspace. Hotspots for Myspace seem to be places like Fort Worth but not Dallas, Tampa but not Miami, and “Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Florida.” Laura Lake reported some fascinating statistics about Facebook. She stated that from September 2008 to February 2009 the number of Facebook users between the ages of 35 and 44 increased 51%, between ages 45-54 by 47%, and ages 26-34 increased 26%. The data shows that Facebook users are not just for the high-schoolers and college goers, in fact there are 140 million Facebook users out of college.

So what does all this data show and mean to businesses? Can and how do businesses market on these SN sites when there are differences in gender and other ways they communicate? Probably the best conclusion that was found is through the man who has looked at the difference extensively. Harvard Professor Mikolag Jan Piskorski states that these types are not to be thought of like other social media sites, where people just click through to a business site. He believes it does not work that way. He advises business to develop a “social strategy” that involves fulfilling social needs. This is what has made the SN sites so popular from the beginning. The SN fulfilled the need that the offline world did not meet – this is where the strategy begins. His words in a concise phrase are, “…come to the table and say, Here is a product that I designed for you that is going to make you all better friends” and make your product more social.

Look at all the Wireless Mice!

Buyer beware at the wireless mouse market! Take a look at this page: http://www.bizrate.com/pointing-devices/products__keyword--wireless+mouse__sort--7.html As you can see, there are a lot of wireless mice out there. I was thinking about purchasing a wireless mouse for my work desk, but I don't have much money to spare so some of the sales for Black Friday looked pretty good. Since I have used this site in the past and it worked out fairly well, I thought I would try it again to make sure I don't get a low quality mouse. You can sort on ratings, or price, and also look at the shipping by putting in your zip code. Although I like using this site for ratings, I don't like some of the companies they have to order from so you may want to check out nextag: http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buyer/OutPDir.jsp?nxtg=2d170a280512-9FB424F89DB7D0B1&search=wireless+mouse&psort=10&node=300245. I like this because you can also sort on other factors and the stores it brings up to buy from are more familiar (Office Max, Newegg, etc.). I guess my point is this: If you see an ad for this shopping season for a cheap wireless mouse, check out the ratings first and the prices on line before you bite. You may save your self some frustration.

Blogging Classes & Books

Blogging classes and books can be so helpful. My class in blogging, podcasting and vodcasting had an assignment this week on enhancing your blog. I had no idea you could do so many things to your blog that could potentially make you money! With AdSense ads and Amazon banners for people to search and shop, you have income potential! Wow.

Facebook Privacy Settings and Making Group Lists

Facebook is an extremely popular social network site that has millions of users all across the world. With this much traffic, it is wise to pay close attention to privacy settings to protect your personal information. Recently I read an article posted by a fellow student in class where I discovered how to establish friend list groups that work perfectly to apply privacy settings to several people at one time. Since then I have been telling and showing several people. Through this vodcast, I hope to establish why it is so important to be concerned with privacy on Facebook, and also show you how to create groups to be able to protect your information easier. You can check out my Vodcast on this subject at http://thagedorn.podbean.com/

Skype

Skype has been around for about five years. Skype allows people with a pc, Internet, microphone and speakers to make free calls to other Skype users and you can also pay a nominal fee to use Skype to talk to someone on a land line. With a webcam, video calls are also free. Additional features of Skype include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing. Oprah has used it for both nationally and international interviews on her show.

Skype was bought by Ebay in 2005, but it did sell 65% just in the last two months. It is the largest international phone call provider in the world. Skype revenues are expected to double to $1 billion by 2011. In 2008, international calls shot up by 40% compared to 2007, with 25 billion Skype to Skype free internet calls and another 8 billion paid minutes that come from Skype to land line phones. From Telegeography’s research, International call volume (of all calls) have jumped from 71.7 billion in 1997, to 343 billion in 2007. Because of Skype, profits were significantly reduced.

Skype has allowed me to keep in touch with my nieces in Texas and my cousin in London. Check it out some time! www.skype.com

Please check out my latest podcast about Skype: T's Techspot - Skype!

What do you think IT means?

What exactly is Information Technology? What does this area include? Check out the following links and see what you think. It seems that IT is a very broad term that encompasses so many different areas.

TechTerms.com

Answers.com

MSN Encarta

Wikipedia

University of Toledo IT Department

The University of UT IT Department has several groups within that serve specific functions. Some groups have groups within also. Below is a brief list with some descriptions, or a link to more information.

Clinical Informatics -

Clinical Integration - Supports Clinical Portal, Care Manager and other clinical software.

Clinical Business - Supports clinical software that is billing or business related.

Clinical Support - Supports clinical areas for example radiology, pathology, etc that have need for onsite support.

Hospital Client Services -
Hospital Technicians - Serves hospital IT technician needs

Help Desk -First tier support; submit cases from calls and email for IT problems. Tries to resolve but what is not resolved passed to a more specific technician

Client Services (CS) -

Main Campus (MC) CS - Serves Main Campus IT technician needs

Health Science (HSC) CS - Serves HSC IT technician needs (except hospital)

Network Services - More information at this link: Network Services

Enterprise Apps - More information at this link: Enterprise Apps

Academic Computing - More information at this link: Academic Computing

College Computing -

Arts & Science

Business

Education

Engineering

HSHS

Law

Medicine

Nursing

Pharmacy

IT Helpdesk at University of Toledo

The IT HelpDesk at the University of Toledo is where students, faculty and staff go for all IT problems. Whether it is by phone (419-530-2400), email (ITHelpDesk@utoledo.edu) or submission of a case online (support.utoledo.edu), they are there to serve the university. In addition to the support by this group via the communications listed, there is also a FAQ that can be very helpful: UT IT FAQ.

UT CMPT 1700 class?

Why did I take CMPT 1700 class (Podcasting, Vodcasting and Blogging) at UT? I took this class to learn more about these tools. I have an interest to effectively make use of them in social networking and possible groups I belong to. I would like to know what they are and how most people use them, how to use them effectively and how and where to use them so that you get the most out of them.

Journey Ed

In the name of helping out IT students with finding legitimate sites with lower cost software, I would also recommend Journey Ed. Another plus for this site is that sometimes a University (for example University of Toledo) will let you purchase Journey Ed gift cards through the bookstore and let you use them online to purchase software. What is nice about this added bonus is that some universities allow you to use scholarship or student loan money in the student bookstore to purchase supplies. This is a definite plus!

Academic Superstore

Academic Superstore is another site where students are able to find software at a reduced price. Sometimes the packages are up to 80% off! Check it out frequently and subscribe to their email advertisements if you want to see their latest specials.

www.academicsuperstore.com/

Microsoft Office 2007 for Students - Cheap!

Microsoft is running an offer especially for college students called The Ultimate Steal. For a limited time, students can obtain a copy of Microsoft 2007 Ultimate Edition for only $59.95. To qualify for this offer, you must be enrolled as a US educational institution and have a valid e-mail address that ends in the edu domain. Considering this package is available at retail for around $500, this is a fantastic deal for students. So check it out and save some $$$ today!

Even though you can download the software from the Web site, you should also consider purchasing (for an additional fee) the software on DVD. This will make reinstalling the software much easier in the future in case you have a problem (such as your hard drive fails).