What will cell phones do next?

(Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition Debuted; mobiledia.com)

The new word to describe cell phones: MoSoSo (Mobile Social Networking Software). People are obviously not using phones just to talk and text. They are sending photos, using GPS to meet up with other people, and many other uses. The most interesting is connecting to campus safety to make sure you will get back home safely. I think some of the new tools can be very useful in phones, however there are concerns with the results of these tools. A couple are self-absorption and the threat of hackers.

Personally, I think there is a bigger issue which we have discussed in the past, and thats the lack of face to face communication. Although this is the direction of technology and seems to be non stop, I think there needs to be a balance between technology and face to face communication. In terms of phones, I don't know where you should draw the line. Being on your phone constantly seems like it can be a distraction, so how much is too much?

10 Myths of Networking

I was opening up the web to check my e-mail, and an article popped up on yahoo about the top 10 myths of networking. I started looking through it and thought it was interesting. These myths are...

1. Networking means meeting as many people as you can.
2. Networking means telling people about your business whenever you get a chance.
3. Networking is hard work.
4. Networking should start when you're job-hunting.
5. Networking is for schmoozers.
6. Networking is only for entrepreneurs.
7. Networking is a waste of time.
8. Networking is expensive.
9. Networking is phony.
10. Networking is a thing of the past.

If you're interested, check out the link above to see more about the myths and what the truths are about networking today.

It's more truthful than you think!

A big question is how truthful are people being on their blogs. Are they truly representing themselves? Is this person putting their truthful opinions about this product? According to the article "How will Facebook change politics," political messages used to talk down to people. Now, people are blogging about politics. I think this goes for anything, not just politics. When companies used to sell products, some of the main ways they found out how they were doing were by sales and if a person decided to give feedback about the products. Not much to go on!!!

However, today you can blog about whatever you want. Blogs were started as a way for a person to put down their thoughts about absolutely anything. I think people are more likely to write what they think than make up something, even though there are those who do make everything up. In the example of companies, they can check out these blogs or even have their own blogs for people to put comments on how they are doing or how they like their products. It's easier and faster, so why not?

"Are political blogs a social network in themselves? I would say so (Sunny)." I think any kind of network that allows people to write comments about their opinions is a social network to some extent. I mean we are writing blog posts because we have to for a class, but wouldn't you say you are putting your truthful opinions into what you are writing?

My Blog Resume?

So apparently your blog is a new way for companies to look at a person for a potential job. Is this a good thing? I think right now it looks like it could be, but then again when you started a Facebook account, you probably never thought it could be used against you when job searching. I'm guessing the same could be for blogs, however, blogs could be helpful at the same time. I think it's similar to social networks in that you need to be careful in what you put out there, but at the same time, your thoughts could get you notice.

According to nytimes.com and monster, there is a list of 10 simple rules when looking for employees, some of which include the person's attitude, sense of humor, and someone who you can change in terms of skills. It is hard to find a person that can be changed in terms of personality, but you can train them in certain skills. You could easily see someone's attitude or sense of humor by looking at their blog and getting a feel for what they think about certain topics. Blogging is a new way to compete with people who are searching for the same type of job.

Social News Meets Business

Social News websites are starting to pop up in the internet. These sites are a way to pick out important news and see people's opinions and other comments on the issue. According to the article 'A Beginer's Guide to Social News Websites,' "these social media channels will give you a platform to showcase your content and website to a large audience." It takes topics that get the most attention. A popular example of this is Digg.

(Digg.com: What is Digg? Take a Quick Tour!)

I think these sites can be helpful towards businesses. First, blogs in general are very random and not very organized. By having this kind of site that limits what it brought in, could make it more organized. Second, it picks important topics or products, especially things that get some attention. This could be helpful to businesses because they can go to a specific cite and get more reliable information and opinions on something that can relate to them.

Digg is one example of a site that does this and as the photo shows above, you can pick and choose what kind of information you want to look for.

Virtual Teams are the way to go...

It seems virtual teams are how today's company's are running. It makes it easier to communicate with others without having to be in the same place. There are many positives to doing this, in that people don't need to leave their families or do extensive traveling. However, I still find there is an issue that is important to consider. First, you are not getting the same face to face communication with the people you are working with. In a way, you are sometimes working with a faceless person. I think this virtual teams are crucial fore businesses today to help get things done at a faster pace, but I still think in some ways communication is becoming less important.

According to an article from MIT Sloan, there are 10 rules for helping make virtual teams more productive. Some of these rules even work with this issue, in that when working with a virtual team, you should start with a group of people who know each other. Another is increasing the amount of communication between workers. With these tips I think communication can become as important as it used to be. Who knows what will happen next...

Where should I network?

Facebook? LinkedIn? Ryze?

There are multiple networking sites... but some are more related to social networking, while others are more for business networking. I think there is a different between networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and LinkedIn and Ryze. According to ABC News "social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace... social networking business model(s), while attractive for users, has not yet proven a consistent money maker. (Will the Web Replace the Business Lunch?)" I don't believe the social networking sites will move into the business networking arena. Facebook, for example, let's people add photos and has applications depending on someone's interests. How many people post pictures to do with work or are more likely to have a business application over an application called "Would you rather..." or "Graffiti?"

I also found it interesting to use some of these sites, such as LinkedIn as a way to keep in contact with old business associates and remembering people you have worked with. Whenever I thought of business networks online, I thought mainly of Monster.com, in which you found jobs, rather than keeping in contact with people to make new contacts. I think this is a strong way to keep networking, and also enforces my belief that Facebook and MySpace will have a hard time trying to make its way into a business networking area. How can they move in that direction when even their business applications relate to sport fans and common interests in music?


... If anyone is interested more about online networking, I found a blog all about online networking sites. Some even include LinkedIn, Ryze, and Second Life. There are tips, courses, recommendations, and more.