John Sklut
Wiki Article #1
Steve Jobs Changed Listening, He Changed The World by John Sklut
It is the aspiration of many to leave this earth having changed something; change the way people work out, change the way people entertain, change the way people drive, change the way teachers educate, even change the way they raise their children. Steve Job’s changed all of that and much more by changing the way people listen.
The 20th century was one of great change and development. Wars, Depression, poverty margins erupting, and stabilizing again, the Internet was introduced to the world. Steve Jobs was able to work with his company Macintosh to combine the best of the internet and the entertainment industry. He changed the way people drove in their cars, he motivated people to get off their couches and go work out. He was even able to revolutionize the way children are raised and educated as young children. Even more, he went on as a pioneer who could help performers have a complete show right in their from pockets (Boilen, 2011).
Macintosh came out the iPod on October 23, 2001 (APPLE). This product forever changed the music industry. From the iPod came an online source for music interface, iTunes. From iTunes musicians all over the world, at any stage could be discovered and heard. This product quickly became the focus of pop culture and is now one of the most used brands of telephones, music devices and teaching tools.
iTunes was introduces to the public in April 2003 (APPLE). Pirating musis sites like Napster, Kazaa, and Limewire, were robbing the music industry of millions, if not billions of dollars. Jobs was the first to speak with labels and producers and artists to convince them to sign with Apple and iTunes as a path to better sales and a successful future to their careers (Newman, 2011). Jobs negotiated with the sources to ensure that their privacy and products were protected. The worry was that once a song was downloaded, could it be shared, distorted, changed in any way (Blau, 2011). Most names accepted Jobs’ proposal with little fight. Even the Beatles eventually came around to the idea. Some to this day are not comfortable with that platform of sales. Garth Brooks and AC/DC refrain from becoming a part of the program (Newman, 2011). Much of it has to do with the price of the good. For $.99 a song is purchased on iTunes. They were not so easily convinced (Newman, 2011).
iTunes, paired with the iPod have changed the world. Now anyone with an iPod can download music almost immediately on their computer and be listening to that song in less than 10 minutes. If iPhone users desire some tunes, they can find it, and download it onto their phone from iTunes (Boilen, 2011).
The iTrip connected to your car’s radio system. As car technologies advanced, ports were put in for audio cables and even USB plug-ins. If the radio would not get the job done, an iPod would. Getting music was easy. iTunes made CD sales plummet . in 2008 iTunes beat out WalMart as the top music retailer. Now iTunes outsells both WalMart and BestBuy combined (McLean, 2010). In 2007 iTunes controlled 12.7% of the United States Music Market. That has more than doubled since. In 2010 the share was 26.7%, a very aggressive shift to say the least (McLean 2010). This type of market share has never been seen before Apple products hit the market. With out the iPod iTunes would never have gotten off of the ground as quickly as it did.
The functionality of the iPod lends itself to many uses. Not only in the car, but now with functions like Nike+ you can start to work out with your iPod too. The Nike+ will track you exercise, count calories burned, records time and distance of running, and much more (APPLE). This movement has mobilized millions of people in their day-to-day lives to become more active and exercise. Sports teams now track progress with this system in order to produce better athletes. If someone is not connected to Nike+, there is the activity that started it all; running and listening to music.
Educators have fond that the iPod of a great tool to use in the classroom. Many teachers now use all of the features of the iPad to use to teach their students in everyday classroom exercises (Bonnington, 2012). Not only can it be used for exercises but also as literal, physical textbooks. The iPad becomes the student’s best friend when coupled with the proper bookshelf. Many of the textbooks now sold to middle schools, high schools and ever colleges are sold electronically. Their prices are competitive, and can even rival used book prices at the same time. Teachers can even teach class by hooking up their iPads to the television screens and make class more interactive with their students. There are even people saying that the iPad may be “less daunting to students” (Marita Scarfi). She mentions that not being able to see that the book is 800 pages, and not feeling the 15 pounds of the pages bound together, is much more manageable. Electronic books have had less success recently compared to the educational application on sale at the iTunes App Store. There may be a bright future for the textbooks. The financial aspect of buying electronic books as a resource becomes very compelling for schools with the ability to invest the capital. Once a school purchases the $500 iPad, the books themselves can never decay (Bonnington, 2012). Their depreciating value is not seen, much like the intimidating size and weight of physical textbooks (Bonnington, 2012). Children and teenagers, even college students, will not be able to be book taught for much longer.
Some people believe that the creation of iTunes and the iPod ruined the idea of albums. The music scene has come a long way since vinyl albums and eight-track players. Take a glance at the last 20 years. CDs are virtually obsolete. Music is now digital. To those who say that iTunes made the CD and Album obsolete, they have to look at the bigger picture (Blau, 2011). Did they make it obsolete, or did they universalize it? Now anyone can buy almost any album or song by any artist at any time. They do not have to go to the record store. They can pull it up on their iTunes music player.
Steve Jobs and Apple also minimized their competition so that even they have to adapt to the Macintosh software (Boilen, 2011). Now even if you do not use a Macintosh computer, iTunes can run on PC and DELL. Almost every other competitor needs iTunes if someone owns an iPod or some form of Macintosh or Apple product. To this day, Apple products continue to grow (Blau, 2011). The practicality is hard for competition to ignore. The devices became a part of culture. Music is that much of a motivator, a common ground. Once the information was facilitated and sent to the market, the popularity of the product fortunately grew almost exponentially. Because Apple’s competitors could not themselves separate themselves from Apple’s Care, Apple had no choice but to produce more, and become successful.
What if the coin flipped the other way, and ZUNE or some other MP3 system was chosen to take over the pop culture music scene. Would Microsoft have made an electronic record store as successful and streamline their purchasing (Blau, 2011)? Who’s to say what could have happened? Who cares who came out first? The statistics speak for Apple very clearly.
Steve Jobs was not a mechanic, but he made driving easier. He never was instructed on how to train marathon runners, but he insisted they keep working. He was not a professor, but he revolutionized the way the next generations will be taught.
Work Cited
Crabtree, S. (2004, December 21). Does online shopping click with young adults?. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/14413/does-online-shopping-click-young-adults.aspx
LaRode, Ph. D, R. (2001, April). On the negative effects of e-commerce: A sociocognitive exploration of unregulated on-line buying . Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol6/issue3/larose.html
Raghubir, P. (2008). Monopoly money: The effect of payment coupling and form on spending behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 14(3), 213-225.
Young adults face unique money issues. (2012, April 2). Retrieved from http://fsp.bc.edu/young-adults-face-unique-money-issues/
Young, D. K. (2012, March 08). Net compulsions. Retrieved from http://www.netaddiction.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87:compulsions&catid=42:recovery-resources&Itemid=85
Wiki Article #2
E Commerce: How Youth and New Generations will Struggle Like Never Before by John Sklut
When shopping in a mall, a person sees everything that they will buy first hand. There is a transaction, and then they may acquire the goods legally. The money changes hands physically to another person (even handing over a credit card, or sliding), money is transferred and the person can successfully record the money lost. What happens if someone does not need to swipe their card, or take out their cash to make a purchase. Further more, what if that person did not even have to leave their couch? Electronic Commerce, or E Commerce has completely changed the face of shopping (“Young Adults Face”, 2012).
With the ease of online shopping, comes the huge responsibility of tracking finances. For a generation with less financial stability than their parents, this is a difficult order. On top of financial recklessness, the generations born in the 1990’s and now in the new millennium have more socioeconomic problems than any other generation (Raghubir, 2008). These problems all come together to make a diabolical mixture setting this generation up for failure.
Starting at the beginning, the Internet brought the world together. Limitless information, opportunity to communicate across the seas, and oceans was opened up to anyone with a phone line (Crabtree, 2004). Now the advancements in the Internet have put limitless information in people’s pockets(“Young Adults Face”, 2012) . The Internet has connected buyer and seller. Buyers can now advertise to every person on the Internet, looking at their products, sites, anywhere they want. Finding anything in the world and buying it is only as complicated as finding the advertising for the item (Crabtree, 2004). From face wash to bullet casings, it is on the internet and able to be ordered from a computer (“Young Adults Face”, 2012).
The main problem with ecommerce stems from its simplicity. Combined with a generation filled with financial unawareness and social status looming, this combination makes financial struggles even harder to cope with. Since the Great Depression, the baby boomers have started to save more consciously (Raghubir, 2008). Generation X & Y have yet to be so scared by an event to slow down their spending and speed up their savings. If it is easy to spend the money, then no money is saved. It was the same concept when credit and debit were not an issue, however now that there is plastic money and a carefree way to spend it, young adults are on track to lose more than just good credit (LaRose, Ph. D, 2001). They could lose everything if they do not prepare.
Priya Raghubir, Professor at the Stern School of Business at NYU said “When it doesn’t feel like money, people don’t treat it like money”. In her piece “Monopoly Money: The Effect of Payment Coupling and Form on Spending Behavior”, Raghubir mentions that when credit or debit cards are used, people spend more than they would have with cash (Raghubir, 2008). When cash payment is tendered, there is a pain of sorts that occurs when the transaction happens and you can see there is less in your pocket. Further more, when people feel the pain of paying with a credit card, they simply buy more to compensate for that pain. Raghubir also mentions that mental retention of cash purchases is much higher than those of credit or debit. People simply do not remember where they used their credit cards. People in that situation tend to spend even more, not noticing the affects of their spending habits (Raghubir, 2008).
The problem of E commerce is in the laps of the young adults ages 16 to 35. These generations are very trusting of the internet and the capabilities of purchasing on the web. Going right to the store in underwear makes a lot of sense with a hectic college lifestyle or the hustle of a big city with a new job. Many people are looking to cut corners. But with the ease of online spending and the complexities of the credit and debit payment systems, these generations might not have much control at all over their finances. Many do not realize the problems they have with spending because they do not see the tangible money leaving their wallets. They only sign their name or punch their digits so they can attain what ever good it is they desire. Spending for young adults is a large problem, especially with plastic. Credit card companies thrive when young adults gain their cards and begin use with out any type of plan of action of how they will pay off this debt. Many do not know what they will do or how to control their spending. They simply spend because spending is simple (LaRose, Ph. D, 2001).
With this problem of easy spending, there must be a solution. Of course there is, but with a problem this big, the solution is also a big undertaking. It involves knowing specific finances inside and out. Many people think they can take on this effort, but many fail because they are not ready for the responsibility. One of the largest and hardest steps is education (Young, 2012). The person must understand how their credit card works. They must know how everything is linked together, from the hours worked on the clock or on salary, to the interest paid to the credit card company. Many people overlook these simple steps but these calculations could save hundreds and thousands of dollars (Crabtree, 2004).
Another step is preparation. No one can go through life never needing to purchase anything. In order to make a purchase, planning must be present. People need to know what they are going to buy, how much it will cost, where they will get it and how they will pay for it, before they get to the store. If they lose site of the end goal, they might get side tracked and begin purchasing other good they did not originally plan to purchase (Crabtree, 2004). This type of impulse buying can get adolescence and young adults into a lot of trouble. Once a mind is made up, do not change it once at the place of purchase (Young, 2012).
A largely overlooked step in online purchasing is the extra-accrued costs of the transaction. How much will this product or service cost to ship? How much will postage be? Is there any international or domestic taxes that were over looked? These additional costs are often unseen to new online buyers.
The history of the Internet is not very old. Many people remember life without the web. The generations going through this shift do not have much time to change their ways before falling into debt. Online purchasing has opened up so many doors for people with everyday normal needs that can be answered by a deliveryman (“Young Adults Face”, 2012).
With the introduction of E commerce to the masses, people have forgotten that for any transaction, payment must be presented. The ability for the youth of the world to spend impulsively must change (Young, 2012). The Internet can be a powerful tool, or a harmful weapon, even if people use it on themselves. It is important to understand that the spending done online is dangerous. The young adults growing up through the 21st Century must remember what money is valued at, even if there is no cash in their wallets. Credit and debit cards are not going away, they are evolving and becoming even more relevant (“Young Adults Face”, 2012). The youth of the world need to know how to control that spending so that their financial futures are safe.
Work Cited
Crabtree, S. (2004, December 21). Does online shopping click with young adults?. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/14413/does-online-shopping-click-young-adults.aspx
LaRode, Ph. D, R. (2001, April). On the negative effects of e-commerce: A sociocognitive exploration of unregulated on-line buying . Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol6/issue3/larose.html
Raghubir, P. (2008). Monopoly money: The effect of payment coupling and form on spending behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 14(3), 213-225.
Young adults face unique money issues. (2012, April 2). Retrieved from http://fsp.bc.edu/young-adults-face-unique-money-issues/
Young, D. K. (2012, March 08). Net compulsions. Retrieved from http://www.netaddiction.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87:compulsions&catid=42:recovery-resources&Itemid=85
Wiki Entry #3
Social Commerce Changing the world by John Sklut
Social Media gathered millions of people and put them in the same place, one database, for all to see, use and abuse. For marketers and businesses everywhere, what place would be better to show off your best products? Customers can get a better idea of what they are buying when the talk to each other and share their experiences. Social Commerce has helped progressed the entire buying process. The future of social commerce will be stream lining this process of consumer to producer. Social Commerce has made huge advancements in the last decade. It will no doubt flourish in years to come (Marsden). Finally Social Commerce is only a few steps away from shutting down retail stores.
In 2011 Bankinter Foundation for Innovation covered the six C’s of E Commerce. These focus on how people should market their products successfully online, and also what to look for. Content is the first of the six. It includes engaging the customer and other stakeholders through the Internet and web. Community refers to the idea of making the audience see themselves in a community of people working towards the same objective and building stable relationships (Bankinter). An example of how community is utilized is in online chat rooms, email programs and so on. Commerce is the ability to complete the purchasing cycle on the web. This usually occurs when online retailers, banks, even insurance companies, or airports, can complete a transaction and their customer can receive their products or proof of purchase immediately after the purchase. Context is pretty straightforward. Context refers to the ability for corporations and other people to see the data that you are producing on your computer, mobile phone or electronic device. Things like facebook group invites, or Fourquare are good examples of how you can check in (Bankinter). Connection and conversation are similar but both separately important. Connection is the definition of a relationship. Connection from the real world to the social network is what we look at in this C. Conversation is the step after connection. You are now available to communicate with everyone you have connected with(Bankinter).
Only a select few are producers, everyone is a consumer. In that sense it is not smart to ignore social commerce. It gives consumers the chance to see what other people are saying about the products they are interested in purchasing. Before Social Commerce is was hard to read honest reviews (Marsden). People had no idea what they were getting into exactly. Even with social commerce and the feedback system, consumers can run into confusing problems (Marsden). At least with social commerce people can become better informed, and know about their options.
Social Commerce has come a long way since the internet has begun. Before this people had less of a good idea about their products and services. Now if you look online, every site can give you an opinion, a brief look into what is to come for you and your family if you are to buy this product (Beisel). That is something never thought of before the internet. The next step is streamlining the purchase process. If social media and social commerce can come together with the proper purchasing technologies and different delivery services, it will change the face of buying forever. If someone can order a TV online, and have it dropped off to their house that day, there is little reason for retail stores to have salesmen. If Social Commerce becomes to accurate and successful an entire industry could be out of a job (Beisel).
Work Cited
Foundacion de la Innovacion Bankinter, 17, 2012
(The Beginnings of) Social Commerce, Dec. 6, 2005, David Beisel
Simple Definition of Social Commerce (with Word Cloud & Definitive Definition List) Updated Jan 2011, by Paul Marsden
Wiki Entry #2
David & Ahl You Need To Know About Creative Computing by John Sklut
When someone mentions "Revolution"and "history" in the same sentence, one would expect "French" or "American" to precede them. However in the History of the Digital Age, a Revolution is exactly what every living generation has been dealing with every single day. The personal computer revolution has had many steps and, because of the nature of technology, virtually exponential improvement and growth. In the 1970's when minicomputers were becoming more accessible, how were their owners going to keep up with the changing times? Further more, how would information get to the target audience? David H. Ahl had a solution for this problem.
David Ahl had been working in electrical engineering years before he graduated from Cornell University with a degree for the field. By seventh grade he had his own radio repair business. He entered Cornell University in 1956. Instead of dropping out when his grades sank. The five year program Cornell used gave him a more in-depth look at liberal arts and humanities. This program was discontinued, however Ahl mentions "it gave us a much broader perspective on the role of engineering in the world that we would have had otherwise." He mentions that "Far too few graduates nowadays have a good understanding of their roles in the greater scheme of things."
Instead of finding a career immediately after graduation, Ahl decided to attend Carnegie-Mellon University in 1961(Anderson). He entered the Graduate School of Industrial Administration. His program took him through the quantitative approach to management. This is where he first began to work with computers and apply his electrical engineering logic to the programming power of linear programming, queuing theory, and many more technical areas of computer management and programming (Anderson).
Ahl lands a job working with PDP-8, a software group (Jones). His main objective was to market and distribute computers to educational institutions. As the prices of computers began to drop, their demand grew. Now Ahl had an audience that needed more knowledge, and he was the person to inform them (Anderson).
At first Ahl was gathering outside sources and packaging them for his customers. He had very little time to corner this market, and writing his own programs for PDP-8, putting together his own books, would have taken too long for his audience. He began to distribute Edu, a newsletter. Starting at 300 copies with his first print, he saw circulation mount 20,000 subscribers in the first 18 months (Anderson).
Ahl composed a series of pamphlets that covered different computer programming topics. With new popularity in the programming world, he began speaking at educational conferences and writing for many articles for educational magazines like "The Mathematics Teacher" and "The Science Teacher".
Ahl left the PDP-8 group. Due to budget constraints of the times, he was cut. This is when he started laying the foundation for his next major publication, Ceative Computing. He was not finished educating the people that needed him. He printed off 600 issues and distributed them to his subscribers. Instead of pocketing his prophets, he splits the money and reinvests it into more copies.
The 8000 copies were printed on October 31, 1974 (Anderson). He used these as promotional items. Ahl realized that he was not advertising his product enough. However these distribution tactics proved to be effective. After their first year the magazine was making money. By 1978, one out of every three educators had a copy, if not a subscription, to Creative Computing. Two of every three hobbyists were also familiar with this popular magazine.
In 1980 Creative Computing moved into a 25,000-square foot building (Anderson). Their goal is "to be the very best general computer magazine in the world." They focus on honesty, thorough reviews of the hardware and the software. From the beginning, Ahl chose to be an educator and Creative Computing was very well received from every one of his pupils.
Work Cited
Dave tells Ahl - the history of Creative Computing by John J. Anderson
Further Thought (2010) by Dave Ahl
Notes on the History of the DEC PDP-8 by Douglas W. Jones
