Monday, November 12, 2007
Telepresence
My Wiki search on the remote meeting solutions that was discussed in the last class- ended me in this article.I would love to believe that the TelePresence would be an interesting thing in collaboration. Imagine a holographic images of your manager- who sits in his Manhatten office talking face to face with you in Chicago!Or your mother talking in your living room-virtually. This "trick" is the new product offering from CISCO and should be around within the next few years. More information is available in their website at cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns669/networking_solutions_solution_segment_home.html
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
eGroupWare
I was looking for an free open source program that had a wiki, shared files, forums, etc. I found eGroupWare. It's a program that you can use in your web browser. It has a demo so you can try it out. It has tons of features that go beyond OnCourse, like a project manager and time sheet. There are some synchronization features with email clients and mobile devices, but be sure to check their site for compatibility.
From a first glance at what's out there, this seems pretty good. I'd like to look some more. I would also like to see what you've found/use.
From a first glance at what's out there, this seems pretty good. I'd like to look some more. I would also like to see what you've found/use.
Complete Web 2.0 Directory
I found this directory of sites offering different capabilities by leveraging Web 2.0 technologies. You can sort the different websites using tags and narrow down to the functionality of your choice.
I was overwhelmed initially by the multitude of websites listed here, but some of them are really useful which I could have had trouble finding if not for this directory.
I was overwhelmed initially by the multitude of websites listed here, but some of them are really useful which I could have had trouble finding if not for this directory.
Monday, November 5, 2007
With Growth Slowing, eBay Gets Innovative
When Meg Whitman took the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in mid-October, she announced that eBay had made more changes in the previous months than in the last three years combined. She wasn't kidding. The 11-year-old auction site's interface had long been a confusing morass of links and menus. No longer. Now the focus is on making the site more appealing to buyers through easier navigation, new ways to browse and more reasons to hang around. The strategy seems to be working: There's a feeling of freshness and fun the site hasn't had in years.
To that end, the number of new buyer tools introduced in the last several months is staggering:
- A downloadable eBay Desktop application allows users to bid and get streaming price updates without opening a web browser.
- Three new widgets can be used on blogs and social networks outside eBay's walls: eBay To Go,GiftBay and eBay Marketplace for Facebook.
- Bid Assistant automatically places bids for a buyer.
- eBay Countdown is an easier (read: more in-your-face) way to keep track of auctions that are just about to close.
- eBay Deal Finder helps you seek out items that will close soon but have no bids entered yet
I found these new features to be pretty interesting and relating well back to the Enterprise 2.0 article for today's class... at least beneath the surface. In a lot of organizations employees are feeling overwhelmed by the way email is being used as a single point of communication and discussion for anything and everything. Likewise, eBay feels its customers want more diverse options in how they can utilize the site. For me, eBay Desktop might be a very good option because it give back control of my web browser. How many times have you been surfing eBay and had multiple windows or tabs open for similar items you may want to bid on? eBay Desktop centralizes your eBay browsing to a single application and brings a focus to your eBay'ing. eBay Countdown would also be useful to keep track of when your active auctions are coming to a close. A number of times I've lost auctions because I forgot about the closing time on them.
Does anyone else know of ways other organizations are using Web 2.0 (or other technologies) to provide their customers and/or employees better ways to interact and navigate content? Surely eBay isn't the only one, but certainly an online business that needed to improve its navigation and access to content.
The four application pillars of enterprise 3.0
The four application pillars of enterprise 3.0 by ZDNet's Phil Wainewright -- JP Rangaswami, CIO at investment bank DrKW, expects today's core enterprise applications will be superceded by four new types of application.
What to expect from Web 3.0
What to expect from Web 3.0 by ZDNet's Phil Wainewright -- Web 2.0 is just a staging post. Web 3.0 is coming, and it's going to recreate our notion of the application as well as upsetting a few applecarts along the way.
The Future of the Web: Critical Issues in Internet Retailing
Manage Returns to Enhance Loyalty and Profits
The facts that they found about online returns are interesting. For example, the article stated that customers return popular products less than they do infrequently sold items. This poses a problem for the retailers because it is difficult to resell an item that already wasn't selling. One of the ways they mentioned to fix this problem is to provide a higher variety of products. This will ensure that the consumer is getting exactly what they wanted. Another interesting fact that exists in online retailing is that return rates will go down the longer the item is online. This portion of the article also spoke about attracting the right type of customers and identifying the "devil customers". It was interesting to view retailing from an online perspective.
Develop an Optimal Network Structure
The article states that the best structure depends on the company. This will continue to change as retail sales continue to grow. This is a major portion of online retail and needs to be taken seriously by the company. The article gives several examples of different ways to structure based on different types of companies.
It's interesting that each company could do something different in this area and still remain competitive. Taking this seriously will force a company to take an in depth look at their own business and see what way suits them the best.
Deploy Inventory to Profitably Meet Customer Needs
This sections shows how important maintaining a proper account of inventory can effect a business. Once again, it states different ways inventory can be handled and sold. It also gives real life examples from stores like Walgreens which allow a customer to order their prescription online and choose the store closest to them for pick up. This system also allows Walgreens to predict its sales and the staffing needed to fulfill the orders.
The facts that they found about online returns are interesting. For example, the article stated that customers return popular products less than they do infrequently sold items. This poses a problem for the retailers because it is difficult to resell an item that already wasn't selling. One of the ways they mentioned to fix this problem is to provide a higher variety of products. This will ensure that the consumer is getting exactly what they wanted. Another interesting fact that exists in online retailing is that return rates will go down the longer the item is online. This portion of the article also spoke about attracting the right type of customers and identifying the "devil customers". It was interesting to view retailing from an online perspective.
Develop an Optimal Network Structure
The article states that the best structure depends on the company. This will continue to change as retail sales continue to grow. This is a major portion of online retail and needs to be taken seriously by the company. The article gives several examples of different ways to structure based on different types of companies.
It's interesting that each company could do something different in this area and still remain competitive. Taking this seriously will force a company to take an in depth look at their own business and see what way suits them the best.
Deploy Inventory to Profitably Meet Customer Needs
This sections shows how important maintaining a proper account of inventory can effect a business. Once again, it states different ways inventory can be handled and sold. It also gives real life examples from stores like Walgreens which allow a customer to order their prescription online and choose the store closest to them for pick up. This system also allows Walgreens to predict its sales and the staffing needed to fulfill the orders.
The Future of the Web: How secure is the Internet
It's interesting that the protocals used today were built on top of the protocals used 40 years ago. It seems like security would have been implemented better than that due to the amount of use of the internet. In order for companies to continue to adopt new technologies, the internet needs to be more secure. Without some kind of security enforcement on the internet, companies cannot trust the information they put there will be safe. With so many unknown users on the internet, there really needs to be improved secure protocals.
The Future of the Web: Beyond Enterprise 2.0
These are just some main points I picked out of the HBR article for this week:
"Looking ahead to the next year or two, what do you think are some of the most important ways in which the Web — and in particular so-called Web 2.0 technologies — will continue to change the way business is done?"
I like how they speak about the transformation from what the Internet used to mean to business (cost cutting) and what its new use is (collaboration). They also point out potential risks associated with Web 2.0. They use the example of wikipedia and how people can post information on wikipedia that isn't true or accredited.
"One place where we’ve seen Internetbased collaboration work effectively is
open-source software development. Is that an interesting model for how this type of collaboration might play out in other industries?"
It's interesting to think about how many people post on these under their own free will. Nobody is requiring them to share their opinion, but they just want their opinions to be heard. This shows how useful this technology can be for businesses. Instead of business passing out surveys and making consumers feel that they have to fill it out, now forums are available for consumers to give their thoughtful opinions under their own free will. This may lead to more in depth analysis of products.
"Let’s talk a little bit about the process of how the good material — good content, good ideas — can filter up."
It's also interesting how wiki's can force people to be helpful instead of harmful because of editing. The example is used that a person can spend 6 hours editing a current post that can just be changed back to the original in one click.
"What would your advice be to managers about adopting Web 2.0 tools within their organizations?"
The suggestion that the article gave is to look at the current infrastructure. This makes sense to me because there are so many new tools available that a company can use that may be more efficient than what they are currently using.
" Which technologies, specifically, do you think are the low-hanging fruit for corporate executives to consider?"
The interviewees claimed the low cost and low risk methods such as wikis and blogs to test the waters. This lead to the idea that just because the technology is set up, that people are automatically going to use it. This made me think of oncourse and this class. Oncourse has had the capability to have blogs and wikis for almost a year now, and personally, I haven't used this feature until this class. I haven't had any incentive to because my teams could easily meet outside of class.
"So they’ve essentially viewed their core competency as managing their community."
This question came up as the two interviewees were speaking about how there can be boundaries on who uses the technology and how companies use the suggestions given. This basically spoke about a healthy balance between centralization and decentralization. This makes sense because not every decision needs to be commented on by everyone in the organization and not every choice made by management is a good choice every area of the business.
"Looking ahead to the next year or two, what do you think are some of the most important ways in which the Web — and in particular so-called Web 2.0 technologies — will continue to change the way business is done?"
I like how they speak about the transformation from what the Internet used to mean to business (cost cutting) and what its new use is (collaboration). They also point out potential risks associated with Web 2.0. They use the example of wikipedia and how people can post information on wikipedia that isn't true or accredited.
"One place where we’ve seen Internetbased collaboration work effectively is
open-source software development. Is that an interesting model for how this type of collaboration might play out in other industries?"
It's interesting to think about how many people post on these under their own free will. Nobody is requiring them to share their opinion, but they just want their opinions to be heard. This shows how useful this technology can be for businesses. Instead of business passing out surveys and making consumers feel that they have to fill it out, now forums are available for consumers to give their thoughtful opinions under their own free will. This may lead to more in depth analysis of products.
"Let’s talk a little bit about the process of how the good material — good content, good ideas — can filter up."
It's also interesting how wiki's can force people to be helpful instead of harmful because of editing. The example is used that a person can spend 6 hours editing a current post that can just be changed back to the original in one click.
"What would your advice be to managers about adopting Web 2.0 tools within their organizations?"
The suggestion that the article gave is to look at the current infrastructure. This makes sense to me because there are so many new tools available that a company can use that may be more efficient than what they are currently using.
" Which technologies, specifically, do you think are the low-hanging fruit for corporate executives to consider?"
The interviewees claimed the low cost and low risk methods such as wikis and blogs to test the waters. This lead to the idea that just because the technology is set up, that people are automatically going to use it. This made me think of oncourse and this class. Oncourse has had the capability to have blogs and wikis for almost a year now, and personally, I haven't used this feature until this class. I haven't had any incentive to because my teams could easily meet outside of class.
"So they’ve essentially viewed their core competency as managing their community."
This question came up as the two interviewees were speaking about how there can be boundaries on who uses the technology and how companies use the suggestions given. This basically spoke about a healthy balance between centralization and decentralization. This makes sense because not every decision needs to be commented on by everyone in the organization and not every choice made by management is a good choice every area of the business.
Web 2.0 has Corporate America Spinning
This article is a real eye opener. Personally, I never thought about the websites I visit daily (facebook and myspace) in the business sense. I think one of the most interesting parts of the article is the section on new management. It states that, "In the end, the brand is owned not just by the people who create it, but by the people that use it." The idea that customers that use the brand are actually helping to create it is amazing to me. This will create more efficiency when designing new products and checking on the market status of current products.
Web 2.0 will also help with office atmosphere. Instead of having to setup a meeting time, employees can set up a blog and post replies to each other's ideas whenever they have free time. They could also set up a chat room if immediate feedback is necessary and employee's locations are different. Employees now have the opportunity to use their time more efficiently instead of traveling to a mutual destination or rearranging schedules.
Web 2.0 will also help with office atmosphere. Instead of having to setup a meeting time, employees can set up a blog and post replies to each other's ideas whenever they have free time. They could also set up a chat room if immediate feedback is necessary and employee's locations are different. Employees now have the opportunity to use their time more efficiently instead of traveling to a mutual destination or rearranging schedules.
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