Blog days are over...

I must admit, when we were asked to start blogging in our e-business class, I cringed a little inside.  I never liked the idea of an online journal for everyone to read.  I feel that a blog is just a platform for people to vent.  It is a little embarrassing having all your thoughts and feelings out there for everyone to read.  Although, on the other hand, it is kind of interesting to read the blog posts of my friends and classmates, to see what their opinion is on certain matters.

This year especially, I have become brainwashed into continuously thinking of ways a company can market themselves and its goods or services offered.  I suppose some companies could use the blogging world to spread their awareness, as it is cheap, easy, and search-engine friendly.  However, with competition of big players such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, can a blog really compete?

Funny story about my blogging experience.... The other day while I was writing my blog about the online adult industry, I figured I would google the term to try and get some images to spruce up my blog.  To my utter disbelief, an image of a very good friend and classmate popped up.  Immediately I burst out laughing and called all the girls over to see my new discovery.  Was our dear friend pursuing a secret life in the porn industry?!?!  I soon realised that the image simply came up because she had a blog title under the same words.  Still, made me laugh.

For our assignment, we had to write three blog posts on any topic of our choice.  This proved to be the hardest, as I mulled over what would be something interesting to talk about.  With all the college stress on my mind, all I wanted to do was bitch and moan about all the assignments I had and the stress I was under. I'm sure noone wants to hear a fourth year complain about how tough it is. 

I think after all of this, my blogging days are over and I won't be an avid blogger.  If I need to get my stress out I will stick to the traditional journal and pen, at least that way the whole world can read it!!  This brings Florence and the Machines "Dog Days are Over" to mind.. simply change the word 'dog' to 'blog'.

 

Anywho, thanks to everyone who came to check out my blog (or no thanks, as now I'm cringing even more).  Toodaloo :) 

Online Adult Industry

Okay not gonna lie.... only a BIT embarrassing writing about the porn industry as a college assignment.  But, all of that aside, you can't fight the fact that there is no business like porn business.  The statistics are just mind blowing and the adult industry can be found in several different forms.  From the outdated magazines and 1800 numbers, to the more recent videos and movies (mainly viewed via the internet), people have numerous avenues to get their 'fix'.  Some of these porn sites have reported as many as 50 million hits, and this only seem to be growing more and more.  It is no wonder consumers have turned to the internet to view the porn of their choice, as it is very discrete and doesn't involve the embarrassment and cringyness of going into the local video store or petrol station to purchase a video or magazine.

Cybersex consumers can generally be put into three categories:

• Recreational
• These viewers only visit sites a couple hours per week and do not let it threaten their interpersonal relationships.
• Sexually compulsive
• This includes individuals with sexual problems and use cybersex as a convenient, discrete, and cheap way to overcome them.
• At-Risk
• These users find cybersex an effective and efficient way to deal with their stress, depression and anxiety.  They find an increasing desire to spend more and more time online.  They lie to cover their extent of their online activities and let it take over their lives by giving them back aches, migraines, sleep deprivation and neglecting of personal hygiene.

The online adult industry has quickly become the increasing cause of divorces and splitting up families.  Regular cybersex consumers have been easily allured and has led to them seeking to fulfill their lust.  It has led to violence towards woman and children and men soon become seeking sensuality without love.

No one can deny that 'sex sells'.  Pornography is a $10 billion business, and only seems to be growing more. Below is a table I found on Forbes.com 

The Business Of Smut: What Is It Worth?

Adult Video $500 million to $1.8 billion Internet $1 billion Pay-Per-View $128 million Magazines $1 billion Total $2.6 billion to $3.9 billion

"Love that dirty water..."

My favourite place in the world?...Boston.  I love the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere, the people, the sports teams, the accent, the hustle and bustle, all of it.   I was born in "Beantown" and raised in a suburb outside the city. There is always a vibrant atmosphere in the city, whether it be in Boston Commons, similar to that of New Yorks Central Park, Fanuiel Hall, the Italian North End, or Harvard Square.  Since I have moved to Ireland for college, I have only been home during the summers.  These summers have included me regularly driving or taking the boat or train into the city.    

My favourite part of being from Boston is going to Fenway Park in the summer to support the Red Sox.  People cheering and chanting, singing and dancing, the atmosphere is tangible.  You can't go to Fenway without having a very overly priced beer and a 'Fenway Frank'.  Here you can find people screaming 'Yankees Suck!!', regardless of who the Sox are playing, and singing Neil Diamonds 'Sweet Caroline' on the top of their lungs.  Bostonians have such pride for their city and its sports teams. Apart from 2004, the Red Sox had not won the World Series since 1918.  They had suffered from the longest drought in baseball history, known as "The Curse of the Bambino".  After their win in 1918, the Sox sold Babe Ruth to rival team New York Yankees.  This triggered the 86 year losing streak.  Throughout all of this, Sox fans stuck by their team and still had more pride and spirit than that of the winning teams.  In 2004, when the curse was broken, there was pandamonium.  It was like nothing I've ever seen before, people everywhere were celebrating and rejoicing. 

Here is a little quote on Bostonians...

"We don't pronounce our R's. We call garbage cans barrels, liquor stores packies, a water fountain a bubbla, turn signals blinkas and milkshakes frappes. We root for a team that loses more than it wins and Ted Williams is the greatest hitter. To us, any place West of Route 128 is the boonies and the Cape is a little piece of Heaven down here on Earth. We yell, "YANKEES SUCK!" when the Red Sox are playing the Tigers. We are Bostonians and wicked proud of it!"

GO SOX!!!!

Mobile Commerce: Smartphones

There are not many places you can go these days without hearing people talk about smartphones and their latest 'apps'.

My first couple weeks into fourth year, all any lecturer talked about was 'apps, apps, the new I phone, and more apps'.  It got to the point that I was convinced that Apple was sponsoring Dundalk IT.

Unfortunately, I am still behind on the times and not as technology advanced as some of my friends and peers.  It is like a little war for who has the best smartphone between my friends.  All they talk about is "Oh do you have that app?" or "Can you pick up the WiFi here?".  They are always the first to hear the latest news from their Facebook app or the first aware that classes have been cancelled by getting their e-mails straight to their phones.  I fell like I am stuck in the stone age when I whip out my laptop to check the same stuff as them!

I get laughed at when I ask someone to Bluetooth me a picture and am told I need to get a BlackBerry so I can BBM or Ping with them.  Its suddenly not as good to simply text someone anymore.

Now that the college has its WiFi set up in some parts of the college (finally, only over 3 months too late) everyone is surfing the web in-between classes, while I sit there twiddling my thumbs.

There is an app out there to help people do just about anything.  From helping them find their car in a crowded car park, to replying to a text with voice detection when driving, to play some fun games, or simply allowing people to visit their favourite social networking site.

As mobile commerce advances from infrared to bluetooth, from voice communication to video communication, one must wonder what will they think of next?

I found a video on YouTube which basically sums up what anyone can see when simply walking down the street.

Digital Marketing

As a fourth year studying marketing, I have learnt the fundamentals and building blocks of marketing. 

In class, we were asked to draw a pie chart breaking up the channels companies use to market their brands.  The channels include television, internet, newspapers, radio, billboards, mass marketing (such as mail shots) and phone.  We were then asked to split up the chart depending on the amount of hours per week we use each source. Below is an example of the chart I drew up in class.

 

I usually spend about 25 hours per week using availing of the internet.  However, I'd say I have used the internet a lot more the past couple of weeks due to all these college assignments, as seen in the large increase of my internet bill!!  This just proves how imporatant the internet is to the marketing of any business.

The internet is increasingly becoming the best way for companies to market their products to their target market. Some companies extend their product range online, while others narrow it.  No matter what the size of the company, the internet is a vital tool to use.  Whether it be through a website or social networking platform, every business needs a presence on the internet.  Below is a video showing some statistics on online marketing. 

Somebody press the pause button please...

Where in the world is the time going these days?! It baffles me that I am at the end of my first semester of my fourth year in college.  It feels like only yesterday that I moved to Ireland for college, and now it is nearly over!  This semester itself feels like it went in the blink of an eye.

Back in September we were given most of our assignments that would be due at the end of the semester and then someone clicked their fingers and it is suddenly the end of November.  Now I'm up to my eyeballs in assignments and presentations and websites and reading, the list goes on and on.  If I was in any way smart I would have done the projects as I was assigned them, but no, typical Shannon leaves them to last possible minute and now is drowning in all her the work.

As if the stress of all this studying and assignments isn't enough, I have to worry about what in God's name I am going to do with my life after college.  I don't know if I want to live in Ireland (especially with the crumbling economy), but I don't want leave behind all the friends I have made throughout the past 3 years.

I wish someone would just press the pause button so all of this will slow down.  I don't feel like I am ready for this all to end and to enter the real world.  I want to go back to an easier, less stress ful time... ERASMUS!  Or even first or second year, when our biggest worry was 'will we go to Silence or Amber??'

I do, however, miss all my friends from home and can't wait to see them all come next June.  It scares me though that they are already out in that real world and working real jobs, and I'm still just in college.  I took a year out after high school before I decided to come to Ireland for college, so they have already graduated.  Meg now runs her own interior design company and is doing brilliantly, Sammy is one step away from being CEO of her familys company, Zildjian, Ally is working at some big accounting firm, and JoJo is in the process of becoming a high school teacher.  And so that just leaves me, who even though I'm about to finish a Marketing degree, am still unsure of what I am doing with my life.  I want to travel and see more of the world before a settle down into a proper job, but the time is ticking and I am definitely not getting any younger.


And as if its not bad enough, I am constantly reminded of how thing aren't how they used to be and there is not so many jobs out there.  I guess I should stop stressing about all of that and worry about what is already on my plate, and that is getting out of fourth year a) alive and b) with a decent mark!!

The Importance of Web Standards and Accessibility

Last week in E-Business we had the blind lecturer Roisin come in and show us exactly how important it is for websites to follow standards in order for it to be accessible for all types of users. 

Roisin showed us how exactly she browses the web using a software programme called "SHARK".  This programme  allowed her to hear exactly what was being said on the web page, given of coarse there is alternative text used on everything.  We asked her to try and book a flight for Germany using the Ryan Air website, which she could easily due in a mere few minutes, thanks to the websites clean code.  It was very hard for us to understand exactly what was being read out due to the fast speed, but she thought it was rather slow, and would usually have it on a higher speed.

As I am in the midst of making my own website, I was sure to abide by all web standards.  I would hate the fact that someone wouldn't be able to easily navigate through my own web site just because I did not follow the standards to make it more accessible. 

After seeing how vital it is for the html code to be clean for not only the visually impaired, but for those with hearing problems as well as people with learning or cognitive problems, I now know I must abide by the following:

• Provide text alternatives for all visual information 
• Keep pages clear, concise and scannable 
• Use meaningful link text
• Ensure movements on screen can be turned off
• Provide captioning/text transcript for audio/video
• Careful use of colour; good colour contrast
• Stick to web standards

All I have to say is fair play to Roisin, she is truly a role model for all people.  Not only is she suffering from visual impairment, but she is a computers lecturer.  Many people with full use of their eyesight would not be able to do the job she does.

So what is NAMA?

I'm going to be completely honest, I have no idea what in the world NAMA is.  At first I was silly enough to think it was a country, but soon learned it was something related to the financial crisis. Snore ZzZz.... I know I have heard it all over the news and radio, but usually mentally tune out whenever anything about the depressing recession comes up.  I Googled it to see if I could at least get a definition so I could have something to write about for the purpose of this blog post.  From my research, I learn it is the National Asset Management Agency and was created in reaction to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the property bubble.  Not exactly my favourite topic of conversation....  


After reading some more I quickly got bored with all the facts and figures, and still had no idea what exactly NAMA is.  I am really sick of hearing all of this about the recession, and cannot wait until it is over and done with.  I must say I like the decrease in prices everywhere, but it's not worth all the depression and unemployment.  Hopefully it will be over soon, and if not I will be out of Ireland once I get my degree anyways!

Technology fast hmmm...

So last Thursday in E-Commerce, we were asked to think about giving up a piece of technology for 48 hours.  Immediately, without even knowing the rules or conditions, I shunned the idea. Colin told us to choose from:

• Cell Phone
• Internet
• E-Mail
• If we are really hard-core, all three.  

Still, I was not willing to give up anything, as all had a major part in my daily life.  By Monday afternoon we were meant to come to a conclusion on what we would give up; still my decision had still not swayed.  

My phone is literally glued to my right hand, and if it were not for free texts I don't know what I would do, because I would spend a bomb on credit! If I do not nearly instantly reply to a text or even if I miss a phone call, most my friends or my father would assume that I was dead, as I am never without my phone.  Colin asked if I could shut it off right in front of him and asked me to see how long I could keep it off.  I'm not going to lie, by the time I had walked from the classroom to the outside of the college, my phone was back on and I already had a text message waiting for me.  You would think as a text-aholic I would have the fanciest smart phone out there, but no, I am rocking a basic Nokia.  Believe me, I would love to own the latest phone out there, but as much as I love technology, I tend to repel it.  Since the start of this year alone I have gone through about 4 phones, not to mention my current one is only stuck together with the help of some sellotape! Do not even get me started on other pieces of technology I have repelled.  Lets just say in the last two years I am on laptop number 4 (edit: laptop number five as of the start of December!!!), internet dongle number 5, phone number 9, the list goes on...

As for refraining from using the internet, this was also completely out of the question.  Not only do I need it for the mountain of college work we have, I need it for contacting friends and all my family in Boston, and basically to keep me from going crazy from boredom.  If we had half decent channels on our TV in Rockfield I wouldn't rely on the internet as much, but our television is from the Stone Age and the only channel that comes in properly is in Irish.  My year abroad in Germany made me very reliant on the internet especially, because it became my source of communication with friends and family from home and even the friends in Germany with me with Skype and Facebook, my television, my translator, and basically my connection to the outside world since I spoke no German.

I nearly considered giving up access to e-mail for 48 hours, but didn’t find this to be too much of a challenge because e-mail would not be that important to me.  Like the internet, I need my e-mails for college work to stay in contact with lecturers and companies I have been e-mailing as part of one of our assignments. 

So I guess I failed the challenge, but I knew I was doomed from the very start.  I can honestly say I don’t know how people from older generations, such as my parents, survived without the technology there is today.  All I know is that if it weren't for the internet and mobile phones, I don't know how anything would get successfully done or how people would communicate!  It makes me laugh to look at my dad, who has just mastered the art of texting and does not even know where the power button is on any laptop or PC.  

Oh how the times have changed....

Back to reality

So it's my first week back in Dundalk after an amazing year away in Heilbronn, Germany with seven fellow classmates. Words can't even begin to describe how remarkable and life changing the experience was. It taught me so much about myself and I made some lifelong friends from every corner of the world. It really opened my eyes to different cultures and lifestyles. 

With a bottle of German beer costing about 20 cent and a bottle of wine at just over a euro, we were never short of a good time.  By the end of the year the bars and nightclubs in Heilbronn were begging for all the Irish to be gone as we were the wildest crowd of people the town had ever seen.  I have a million and one memories from the Erasmus year and would do it all again in a heartbeat!

Below is a video that captures what an amazing time I had abroad.. and the funny thing is, this is only pictures from the first semester!

Now it's back to reality and into our fourth and final year of college.  I've got a house in Rockfield with five of the girls so I'm sure we will continue the fun.  Yesterday was my birthday so tonight we will celebrate! So far the classes are really good and we have such a handy timetable.  Although our Erasmus year was more of a holiday than it was college, I still learnt a lot on the academic side, which will be of good use this year.  I really need to put my head down now into the books this year and make sure I come out of college with my degree.  But for now I won't worry too much about that, all I am going to worry about is making sure I have a good night tonight. :)