Reflection

So it is the end of the class and we are ready to take our finals. As I write this, I feel as though it is so much more than that. I know it sounds corny, but this blog seems to have served many different purposes. It was a requirement for our class, but it was another way for me to type down my thoughts that others could read and get a little better idea on who I am.

I know that this is a very superficial way of trying to tell people my story, but it is amazing as to know how many people will be reached by this. Will this blog stop at the end of the course, or will this serve a greater purpose. I was thinking of how the social responsibility of sharing information is key to the success of how we can drive innovation. It may be a thought that was generated by this blog or by someone else, but we can see that the common ground which is the information superhighway is a great asset to us.

I feel as thought this blog will serve as an outlet for me to either vent my frustrations, share my joys and share random thoughts that may inspire. I am not sure if anyone will continue to read my blog, but I hope and encourage those to really continue writing as we are the ones who can drive innovation and we are the ones that can really do something with technology on our side.

This is not my last blog.......

Facebook Experience

So facebook is a great thing, but it can also be extremely awkward. I am going to talk about the good about facebook and then go into my awkward experience. First off facebook has allowed for me to connect with a lot of people that normally would not be fesible, because of the sheer volume of people that you meet in your lifetime. I have also connected with people that I haven't heard from in years and have had great conversations. This is awesome because of the value that I put on relationships, and this gives me another tool to build those relationships.

Now onto my awkward situation. Because of the sheer volume of people you befriend many, but sometimes those "friends" are more like aquaintances. So I befriended someone on facebook. I did not maintain communication via facebook nor any other outlet, but we were still "friends."

Well I later saw this "friend' in person and instead of saying hello or starting a conversation, we just had an awkward stare. What seemed like 1o minutes (really 5 seconds) was very awkward, becasue we were "friends" virtually but not in reality. This just shows the importance of face time that you have with people.

So often we neglect the idea of the human aspect and depend so much on the idea of technology. This technology is something that is a great tool for us, but I have said this time and again, that is cannot replace the tangiblity that one gets with face time. Now it almost seems like a paradox, because some of the face time you get was first intiated by technology, whether it is an email, text, or a message on your wall.

We just have to make sure that we understand the differentiation between reality and things that are tangible and virtual and things that are intangible. This is key to understanding where, business and technology intersect to drive innovation.

Fear?

So the idea of living in fear is crazy. There are so many things around us, and often times we do not even realize that the event occurred until it is too late. The idea of trying to maintain security and maintain sanity is something that needs to be proactive rather than reactive. There are so many tools in place to allow us to be preventative, but nothing is fool proof.

If we spend our lives worrying, we are going to drive ourselves crazy. This is so very true. There are always those people out there that are thinking of new ways to harm, via cyberspace, and everyone is a potential victim.

So the ultimate question has to be asked, "Am I safe?" We can see the trends that many different systems are in place but the reality of it is, is that we are all at risk in one way or another. Let's look at primary schools for example. There are so many different systems in place now to be preventative, based on previous mishaps, but are these systems fool proof? Again the sad reality is that there are still holes, but those holes are becoming smaller and smaller.

If we chose to be ignorant that is probably the worse thing we can do for ourselves. This idea of knowledge is power is just that, we have the knowledge to be preventative and if we just sit on that and do nothing, we cannot blame anyone but ourselves.

Blogging

So during the last class we discuss the idea of blogging and the social responsibility that each person has. We have all heard of the phase, "Knowledge is power." This is so very true as the information that we are putting forth can be taken in so many different perspectives. There was discussion as to the impact that information from blogs can have on an industry and also on an individual.

I want to see both sides of this. As an individual it is up to us to determine whether or not to act on the information given and whether or not to give that information credibility due to the source. We as people want to believe what we hear and so often we are quick to react to information sent without thinking through. So does that mean that the individual is at fault and there is no social responsibility for those that are sending the information?

Those that are sending the information have responsibilities as well to give the most accurate information at that given point in time. This blog for example, I am writing it, but whatever I say here may or may not be true, but it is my responsibility that the information that I am putting down here does not hurt nor disrupt anything. These are my thoughts, but knowing that my thoughts can be a dangerous weapon.

If I were to blog about a retail company and my bad/good experience it may effect someone's perception of that company. Just by putting my own thoughts down. Despite the fact that emotion may play into the way I write, this again is my responsibility. It is amazing how we have evolved and more so how we have become powerful with the click of a mouse.

This all boils down to one thing, RESPONSIBILITY. Not only for those giving the information, but also to those that are interpreting the information read. So please take this blog with a grain of salt if you are going to interpret this wrong.....

How does media work?

We see media around us every single day and we are exposed to it almost every single second in our lives, but what effects does this have on who we process things and how we are really looking at products and services?

The products and services that are being reached out to us seemed to have us desensitized, but what would happen if we just had not media that exposed us to these things, our social norms would not be norms any more and it may cause panic.

So how does this relate to media and why do I care? Media is a tool that is used to reach out to an audience that may not be able to have been reached before. This blog that I am writing, may have not a single person read it, or it may have someone in China read it right after I post it. So this idea of different media outlets directly effects me because of what seems to be changing in technology and how we use it is normal.

The absence of such media would be slowing of the progression of how we are going about our lives. Now does the absence of media mean that we cannot live, absolutely not! Jeff Goldbloom said it best in Jurassic Park ,"Life finds a way." Yes, life does find a way, and that way is media and how we use it to our advantage.

Speed of information is so quick we forget to process it sometimes, but if there is no media, what we have deemed to be normal would not be as such and it is in our human nature to find a way to be productive and evolve. We are in our MBA program to evolve our thinkings and how we innovate the business world. Technology has been a tool for this progression, but we cannot forget how media plays a huge role in this.

Knowledge Management vs. Knowledge Exchange

I was ask the question what differentiates knowledge management vs. knowledge exchange. As I answered and then found that there was a different definition, I still was not convinced. I saw it as a point where I had to really ask myself do I accept the terms that were given in class. Looking back on it, I do agree with the statements that were given, but I believe that the semantics were what were hanging me up.

I found that the idea of knowledge management is the hub of information, but the idea of knowledge exchange cannot happen without knowledge management. This is a bit of a paradox, as we have seen that the idea of knowledge exchange is the place where innovation comes into place and allows us to develop new frontier lines that will give us an advantage. Many things that we have seen as we have progressed in society and in technology that there are things that complement each other and without these things we truly cannot have a competitive advantage if this systems are not there to support each other.

As far as the class goes, I still firmly believe that knowledge management is something that is necessary for knowledge exchange to exist, but the importance of knowledge exchange allows us to set new innovations.

Remember tokens?

So this weekend I was at Dave and Buster's and as I was there I was remembering my childhood and a place called Circus Circus. I remember putting in dollar bills to get tokens so that I can play games. I would play skee-ball and various other games to win tickets so that I can spend those tickets on a worthless prize that I never kept. I must have spent a fortune playing these games all for those tickets. Well I found myself as a 5 year old child again, but this time it was different.

Instead of pumping in dollar bills to get tokens, I had to buy a card which cost 2 dollars and then add "chips" to the card for a monetary amount and then I was off like a little kid playing games. This idea of the card was genius!! With something tangible like tokens you have a sense of how much you are spending, but with the card, you have no idea and you just keep playing until you are done with all your "chips" then you go back for more.

I see all these kids around with cards in their hands and using them as I used to use tokens when I was a kid. They have no idea how much the game cost to play, this is genius by Dave and Buster's as they have gained a competitive advantage on the intangible. To cost of the card to the consumer is way more than the cost to D and B, so they are making a huge margin right there, but the upfront cost and maintenance is minimal compared to what they are bringing in on the charges.

Dave and Buster's has really used technology to their advantage and I have to applaud them. Really innovative.........