World Networks and Data

Here is a cool data visualization article on the people of the world and where they are all located!
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678927/a-map-of-where-all-7-billion-humans-are-cramming-together

"It’s just another reminder that while we fret about things like suburban sprawl, congestion, and pollution, solutions to these problems can’t just be focused on the West. Most of the people are on the other side of the world." 


It's always interesting to see data sprawled out on maps.

VISUAL RESUME!

Link to PDF: https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/MIS%20496a/Visual%20Resume.pdf?w=1a78903e

Network Analysis and Digital/Infographic Resume

How Social Networks and Analysis increase Brain Activity:http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/2011/11/17/social-networks-matter/

Another subject we talked about this week are Infographic digital resumes.  I have posted before how much I love Infographics because it organizes data in a beautiful, interesting, and easily understandable way! 

My idea for my infographic resume is to make it look like a magazine cover! But I cannot show you a picture until it is fully complete.

But this Facebook App actually made an infographic resume for me, check it out! 

PopTech Data Viz App

PopTech, with the help of Jana and the UN Global Pulse have created one of the best IPad data visualization app.

The app collects news on a timeline, even your personal information.
It shows the networks of the events on the timelines and how events are connected from one to the next, if there is a connection.
Than the information is also put into a global map of data (infographic) on how the world is re-balancing.  It shows how the world is connecting in ways it never has before.

The post below shows some pictures, but the only way I can write a better post about it through actually using the app.  It is very interesting though and will only progress in time.    

GOOD.is post: http://www.good.is/post/see-the-world-rebalancing-with-poptech-s-data-viz-app/

post campaign report

After a week of tests we began working on our post campaign report!

It's nice to finally wrap up the project and see everything coming together!

I've learned a lot and I am so glad everything is starting to make sense!

Good.is The Data Issue

Since we are starting to transition into Data analysis and networks, I wanted to share this online magazine that I am actually quite obsessed with.  I look at it frequently because it covers all relevant topics of the world (business, culture, education, politics, design, etc.) but reports on all things "GOOD".  They publish a quarterly hard copy of the magazine and Fall 2011 is the Data issue.
The magazine has a lot of infographics, networks, etc. on data they have accumlated for their articles.  I would share it on the blog but since it is a hard copy it is a little hard, so here is the website of all their infographics: http://www.good.is/infographics .  It is quite interesting.
Also, here is the online magazine of the data issue:http://www.good.is/the-data-issue/

Enjoy!

Crowdsourcing/Open Source- the new networks

Networking is widely known as connected and communicating with people to create relationships.  Now networking has transformed with crowdsourcing and open source networks.  People do not need to create relationships face to face, but through online platforms.  Although it does take out the "human" interaction aspect of things, this does allow for conversations to be start globally.  As a potential MIS major this is mainly what I want to be more involved with, the areas of cloud computing, crowdsourcing, and open sources.  I think this will change the way we interact, communicate, and most importantly learn.  It let's people read from other's taking away the barriers of emails.  It gives people across the globe access to ideas and relationships they would never have.

Half Way Done with the Semester

We are about half way done with the semester!
Our Google Adwords project is almost completed and now we are starting to look at networks.
I think this part of class is going to be very interested.
I like looking at data in an informational graphic way, aka Infographics.
I like the visualization and all the data behind the story.
Here is one of my favorite places for infographics http://www.good.is/infographics
Mashable also has a myraid of them: http://mashable.com/follow/topics/mashable-infographics/

I cannot wait to start working with these more!

QR Codes

It's funny that QR codes are becoming so widely used now, when Blackberry has been using them forever.  Blackberry's BBM messenger gives each user a personal QR code so that people can scan and add the person to their message list directly.
After looking through this website of fun ways QR codes are being used, http://www.joelbuckland.com/2010/10/30-interesting-ways-qr-codes-are-being-used/, it seems that they are mainly used in Asian countries.  You will see QR codes along with letter characters of some sort.  Which makes sense since Asia is always technologically advanced compared to the US.   This one is my favorite.  It is a QR code in the form of grafitti with a logo in the middle.  This is something that would catch my attention and show the real creativity of an artist.
I'm planning to use QR codes in this Scavenger Hunt i'm planning for my internship.  Teams will have to scan a QR code at 4-5 locations to get a hint to where items are located.  I'm very excited because QR codes are very mysterious but also a fun guessing game like we had to do to find our homework assignment #3!

Google Adwords Campaign Update

After a crazy week of uncertainty do to some chances at the Skin Cancer Institute, our campaign is finally up and running.  Our campaign began September 28, so as of right now a little over 24 hours. At first I felt worried because I wasn't seen any results.  I did see some changes in Google Analytics however.  But this afternoon, on the 29th I saw we got 2 clicks!  That was after moving the budget from $5 a day to $6 a day.  After seeing an increase I decided to move up to $6.50.  I am also thinking about going up to $7 just for the weekend to really hit the walk they have on Saturday.
But I did see a change in Analytics.  Overall referring sites have dramatically increased from Google! That means are adwords are working and its really engaging people!  Also, the bounce rates seems to be going down and website traffic has gone up a lot.

My focus is the registration adgroup.  The bounce rate on analytics has gone and more people are clicking on the site from adwords.  Overall with just about 24 hours of being live, the campaign has changed and his progressing!  This is very exciting to start seeing some changes.

The mystery behind "Monetizing Social Media"

How does a website generate profit?  One basic idea is ads, but in class we learned it goes more than that.  It's providing services and products to the worldwide web and hoping that they buy into it.
As I do my daily research of whats new and "good" in the world with technology, I stumble upon this...http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/the-hidden-cost-of-free-problems-with-the-personal-data-economy.html .  All within in 10 min of leaving class I find an article that I wasn't even searching for relating to costs of the open web!

We think things are free, but we are paying by giving out our information! The mass web collect our data and see how they can use the user, as a target.  That being advertisements, emails, anything to get the products and services of their clients to the right market (customers).  We can hope that businesses only gather our data to be able to sell what the provide, and not turn into mass hackers that steal identities and priceless information.

This idea was not brought up in class because this is an abstract thought that I don't think any of us really tapped into.  Our personal information is worth a lot! It is our lives, which is turned into a marketing ploy and plan for companies to use as their model on who to sell to.

But today's class was still very interesting.  It shows more on how technology, business, databases, and profits all connect which is MIS!

Here's a Thought... Google vs. Yahoo vs. AOL

We can say that Yahoo and AOL failed because of their lack of keeping up with the market. But what makes Google so special?  I think the fact that they focused on innovating their search engine, apps, google chrome, and their Docs database really helped them.

Yahoo and AOL have the common theme on focusing their personal website on news  and other extensions, while Google grabbed news from other sources.

Why do you think Yahoo and Aol struggle while Google is overpowering them?

social media is changing my life!

Since before this class I've always been interested in social media.  But upon discovering resources last year  here at the university and with previous internships. Most of my blog posts have had themes, and thats social media for social good, or social ventures or social entrepreneurship.  Because that is what I realized is why I want to major in social media.  Along those lines, this past weekend I attended a Global Brigades leadership conference.  Global Brigades is a NGO that empowers students to volunteer abroad and to continue with the mission of sustainable development outside of that week long mission.  I've been the Fundraising Chair for Global Water Brigades Arizona for a year now.  I've tried to use social media tactics to try and market GWB Arizona, spread the word about our mission, and also see if anyone is interested to take part or contribute.
I've used Facebook, DoSomething.org, Crowdrise, Jumo, Empowered, etc.  I've leveraged creating social media pages on different types of fundraising tools to give people any chance to stumble on it.   These websites allows social entrepreneurs to utilize social media in order to enhance their vision.  Crowdrise for example allows users to make a profile and fundraise through their sight from other users on the sights or other people you know.  Social media is a game changer but now instead of helping big companies become more popular, it is giving small companies a voice too.

A New Approach

This week has been filled with finding so many new resources having to do with social media.  For some reason that I didn't intend it to be, all my social media accounts had different posts on what I was finding.  Facebook I posted about women in technology and twitter I posted on social good and innovation.

If you look at our MIS 496a Facebook group you will see the two women in technology articles, website, and videos I posted.  I found these just by browsing through Google's student section.  I was so happy to find this though!  So many women are trying to fight to get more women involved in the field, and here we are doing the same in class!  There is a women in technology conference, inspired by a Grace Hopper, that I hope to attend one day.

Besides from this business MIS class, I'm also taking a Entrepreneurship and Innovation 200 class.  I knew that both classes would some how intertwine on the business end, but never did I think it would in so many ways!  Most innovations occur because of advancements in technology.  I thought it was really interesting that the intro videos and articles that I've had to read for innovation, also applies to what we are learning in MIS class.

Which leads me to my interest in Social Media for Social Good.  I think I posted in my previous blog my interests in this class because of NGO's and social entrepreneurship.  My evolution last year as a student came in steps.  First I became interested in MIS because I knew that I was already familiar with it through my previous internships by working with databases and so on.  But then, I realized that it is also mainly used in social media and e-commerce which is something that I was really interested before I even heard about MIS.  So after a great volunteer trip I had over spring break I became really interested in working with NGO's so started doing an informal internship with Global Brigades.  Through more research over the summer I found that most NGO's today are using social media and networking to enhance their businesses through this new coined term "social entrepreneurship."  After I learned about the many companies doing this today and how they are taking an approach on bettering the world through advanced technology mediums, I realized I found what I really want to do.  I want to use social media and technology to close the gap in helping NGO's prosper.  Something along those lines.

Twitter has especially helped me find companies and other people who share my interests in technology for bettering the world.  Mashable has a whole page dedicated to "Social Good" http://mashable.com/social-good/ .  And to add more on how awesome Mashable is, the host a Social Good Summit in partnership with UN foundation.  They have keynote speakers all day talking about what their company does or how they have done their part in social entrepreneurship and social good.  One day I will attend that conference, but in the mean time, I'll be watching it on livestream.  You should too!

How Social Media is Affecting Job Searching

For those of you who are not following Mashable on Twitter, do so now!  They post interesting topics and also all of which are very relevant to our class.  This article I found through Mashable, "How Businesses Use Social Media Through Recruiting"  http://mashable.com/2011/08/28/social-media-recruiting-infographic/, is want I want to share since I feel it ties in with the article we read last week.

A lot of people in class posted that companies are now creating and using social networking sites as a way to communicate with each other in a safe atmosphere.  These portals are becoming popular because it is a place for the coworkers to share their ideas with each other, without having to crowd email boxes.

This article shows statistics of how companies are using social networking sites: Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook.  They utilize these tools to recruit employees or judge them before a hiring process.  The use of social media in a job searching process is up 6% from 2010, and you can expect these numbers to go up drastically over the next 5 years.  

These sites give employers a better sense of who a potential candidate is like.  It goes beyond a resume and cover letter to know whether you want this person to be a part of your company or not.  It shows how the world is expanding with the use of technologies.  Pretty soon, and I know some companies already do this, interviews will be through a webcam and possibly even jobs.  It might be scary to think that human to human interaction will be limited with social media advancements   

MIS 496 A

Today was my first day and first MIS class!  I am so excited especially because it is a class on Social Media/Networking and working with analytics.  MIS' connection with social media is what drew me to choosing this is a major.  Even better, our first project is to work with a non-profit or company of choice and do an adword campaign for them.  I eventually want to work for a ngo or some sort of social entrepreneurship company using my knowledge of social networks and marketing.  So this is the ideal class for me in creating my path for my future career.

There was a lot of information for the first day, but I feel like this class is going to be very fun.  I love how interactive it is going to be.  I'm glad it won't be a dull lecture class and Professor Ram seems to really want to engage with us.  Needless to say this is the class i'm most looking forward to excelling in this semester.