Mobile Commerce

In recent years the internet has enabled users to conduct transactions anywhere at anytime, however nowadays people want and expect more. Consumers expect to be able to conduct transactions using almost any device with reliability, ease of use and in a timely manner. Mobile is the ability to be on the move and are any applications that can be used when on the move including PDA's, laptops, and mobile phone. Mobile commerce is the use of the internet for purchasing goods and services and also for transmitting messages using wireless mobile devices. This is enabled through mobile computing which allows phones, laptops, PDA's etc to access digital information on the internet from any location. Mobile commerce has become increasingly popular and one of the new ways in which people are communicating in todays world. Wireless technology including infrared, bluetooth, and wifi allow people to connect to the internet without the need to connect the device to an ethernet cable. Due to the ever increasing number of mobile phones in society today, mobile commerce is growing bigger and bigger. An additional aspect that is helping increase mobile commerce is the increase of WiFi hotspots in cities across the world, for example, hotspots available in Starbucks Cafes. The numbers participating in mobile commerce today are relatively small, however in the next few years with the increase of WiFi hotspots and city-wide hotspots on the rise, mobile commerce is the business to be in.

I will now embed a You Tube Video.

Presentation styles - Powerpoint is not your only choice

Up until now I have written seven blogs and for my eighth I didn't know what to blog about ( I believe the condition is known as blogger's block). In the end I decided to discuss new ways of presenting assignments for college assessments. It was only this year, in my final year of college, that I found out that there were different ways to present assignments not using the Microsoft Powerpoint platform. My class and I are studying E-Business and our continual assessment was based on marketing an educational information and communication technology company. The CEO of the company presented the company to the class in the medium of Prezi which is known as a zooming presentation editor. This is a very intuitive way of presenting and will stand out in a lecture where other students are using Microsoft Powerpoint. The other medium is called Pecha Kucha. This platform uses twenty slides each lasting twenty seconds. It is a fantastic platform lasting six minutes and fourth seconds per presentation so the presenters get straight to the point. I have used both Prezi and Pecha kucha and they are very user friendly. I would recommend both platforms to every student.

While browsing the internet I found a website which allowed me to write any text and then read it upside and backwards so I said I would give it a go. It is definitely something with a difference and quite unusual. Below you can see the results:

:sʇlnsǝɹ ǝɥʇ ǝǝs uɐɔ noʎ ʍolǝq ˙lɐnsnun ǝʇınb puɐ ǝɔuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ɥʇıʍ ƃuıɥʇǝɯos ʎlǝʇıuıɟǝp sı ʇı ˙oƃ ɐ ʇı ǝʌıƃ plnoʍ ı pıɐs ı os spɹɐʍʞɔɐq puɐ ǝpısdn ʇı pɐǝɹ uǝɥʇ puɐ ʇxǝʇ ʎuɐ ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ǝɯ pǝʍollɐ ɥɔıɥʍ ǝʇısqǝʍ ɐ punoɟ ı ʇǝuɹǝʇuı ǝɥʇ ƃuısʍoɹq ǝlıɥʍ

˙ʇuǝpnʇs ʎɹǝʌǝ oʇ sɯɹoɟʇɐld ɥʇoq puǝɯɯoɔǝɹ plnoʍ ı ˙ʎlpuǝıɹɟ ɹǝsn ʎɹǝʌ ǝɹɐ ʎǝɥʇ puɐ ɐɥɔnʞ ɐɥɔǝd puɐ ızǝɹd ɥʇoq pǝsn ǝʌɐɥ ı ˙ʇuıod ǝɥʇ oʇ ʇɥƃıɐɹʇs ʇǝƃ sɹǝʇuǝsǝɹd ǝɥʇ os uoıʇɐʇuǝsǝɹd ɹǝd spuoɔǝs ɥʇɹnoɟ puɐ sǝʇnuıɯ xıs ƃuıʇsɐl ɯɹoɟʇɐld ɔıʇsɐʇuɐɟ ɐ sı ʇı ˙spuoɔǝs ʎʇuǝʍʇ ƃuıʇsɐl ɥɔɐǝ sǝpıls ʎʇuǝʍʇ sǝsn ɯɹoɟʇɐld sıɥʇ ˙ɐɥɔnʞ ɐɥɔǝd pǝllɐɔ sı ɯnıpǝɯ ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ ˙ʇuıodɹǝʍod ʇɟosoɹɔıɯ ƃuısn ǝɹɐ sʇuǝpnʇs ɹǝɥʇo ǝɹǝɥʍ ǝɹnʇɔǝl ɐ uı ʇno puɐʇs llıʍ puɐ ƃuıʇuǝsǝɹd ɟo ʎɐʍ ǝʌıʇınʇuı ʎɹǝʌ ɐ sı sıɥʇ ˙ɹoʇıpǝ uoıʇɐʇuǝsǝɹd ƃuıɯooz ɐ sɐ uʍouʞ sı ɥɔıɥʍ ızǝɹd ɟo ɯnıpǝɯ ǝɥʇ uı ssɐlɔ ǝɥʇ oʇ ʎuɐdɯoɔ ǝɥʇ pǝʇuǝsǝɹd ʎuɐdɯoɔ ǝɥʇ ɟo oǝɔ ǝɥʇ ˙ʎuɐdɯoɔ ʎƃolouɥɔǝʇ uoıʇɐɔıunɯɯoɔ puɐ uoıʇɐɯɹoɟuı lɐuoıʇɐɔnpǝ uɐ ƃuıʇǝʞɹɐɯ uo pǝsɐq sɐʍ ʇuǝɯssǝssɐ lɐnuıʇuoɔ ɹno puɐ ssǝuısnq-ǝ ƃuıʎpnʇs ǝɹɐ ı puɐ ssɐlɔ ʎɯ ˙ɯɹoɟʇɐld ʇuıodɹǝʍod ʇɟosoɹɔıɯ ǝɥʇ ƃuısn ʇou sʇuǝɯuƃıssɐ ʇuǝsǝɹd oʇ sʎɐʍ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ǝɹǝʍ ǝɹǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ ʇno punoɟ ı ʇɐɥʇ 'ǝƃǝlloɔ ɟo ɹɐǝʎ lɐuıɟ ʎɯ uı 'ɹɐǝʎ sıɥʇ ʎluo sɐʍ ʇı ˙sʇuǝɯssǝssɐ ǝƃǝlloɔ ɹoɟ sʇuǝɯuƃıssɐ ƃuıʇuǝsǝɹd ɟo sʎɐʍ ʍǝu ssnɔsıp oʇ pǝpıɔǝp ı puǝ ǝɥʇ uı ˙(ʞɔolq s,ɹǝƃƃolq sɐ uʍouʞ sı uoıʇıpuoɔ ǝɥʇ ǝʌǝılǝq ı ) ʇnoqɐ ƃolq oʇ ʇɐɥʍ ʍouʞ ʇ,upıp ı ɥʇɥƃıǝ ʎɯ ɹoɟ puɐ sƃolq uǝʌǝs uǝʇʇıɹʍ ǝʌɐɥ ı ʍou lıʇun dn


http://prezi.com/

http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

http://personalweb.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=personalweb&cdn=compute&tm=5&f=00&tt=13&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.revfad.com/flip.html

The Online Adult Industry

The sex industry is estimated at up to $57 billion worldwide and $12 billion in the US. The sex industry is one of the leading industries in the world. Much attention has been brought to the adult industry recently due to the increasing activity online. Some facts in the online adult industry follow:

• 25% of total daily search engine requests are porn-related
• 8% of total e-mails are porn related
• 12% of total websites are pornographic
• Visits to pornographic sites have doubled between 2001 and 2005
• Worldwide visitors to pornographic web sites - 72 million annually

People visiting these sites generally fall into three cybersex user categories, recreational, sexually compulsive, and at-risk. The recreational user visits the sites a couple of hours per week for sexual entertainment but eventually experiences boredom and stops, however, this does not threaten their interpersonal relationships. The sexually compulsive user includes individuals with sexual problems. They see cybersex as a convenient, discrete and inexpensive way to overcome their issues and this can become out of control and initial problems can worsen. The at-risk group see cybersex as an effective way to deal with issues such as stress, depression, anxiety and may experience a sense of well being while online, a feeling of being unable to stop and a desire to spend more and more time online.
There is an argument stating that sex shaped the internet as it exists today and that the World Wide Web would not have grown so quickly if not for the online adult industry, however there is also controversy as to the future of the online adult industry and whether or not it should be banned. This topic has been debated for quite some time now. In my opinion, I think people should have the choice to view online adult sites. Now the question stands, should the sites be regulated more efficiently and effectively?

Is there a place for Religion in modern society

Is there a place for Religion in modern society? This is a very controversial topic that it is very debatable. In recent years the number of mass goers has decreased dramatically, however in the recessionary times we are living in at present, the numbers attending mass has increased substantially. So this prompts another question, do we only use religion when we are in need of spiritual help or guidance and forget about it the rest of the time? This is also evident around Christmas time when churches are full to capacity, but every other Sunday in the year people do not attend mass. Years ago, Religion played a much bigger role in the life of Irish people, many nuns and priests were teachers and the religious order had a certain influence on the running of the state. The religious order built and ran schools all over Ireland and therefore had a huge influence on everyone.

"By the year 2000 only 45% of Americans went regularly to church, while two centuries earlier the entire population systemically visited the house of God. By the beginning of the nineteenth century the whole population of Europe went to church but by the early twenty-first century less than 10% did." http://www.buzzle.com/articles/religion-dead-before-end-century.html

I think that the clerical church abuse that has been brought to the eye of the public may have caused church numbers to dwindle in recent times and may have caused people to second guess their beliefs but I don't think this will have a lasting effect. I do believe that religion has a place in modern society however. People may believe in God or many gods but I believe that it is a very comforting thought to have religion as part of your life. It is obvious that religion does not have as big of importance today as opposed to previous decades but I don't believe religion will ever fade away. I think that the lifestyle of having a religion keeps faith in people. I think that by leading a religious lifestyle, be it Catholicism or any other religions, gives people aspirations as to the person they wish to become and where they want to go in life. I believe religion brings people up to be respectful and instills in people the idea of family and friends and therefore creates a bond between communities and this in my eyes will always have a place in modern society.

Social Networks/Media

Social media is the way in which people interact through different media forms, including virtual communities, brand communities, weblog communities and other web communities.

• Virtual communities are groups of people that primarily interact via e-mail, internet social network and instant messaging etc. rather than face to face. Virtual communication has become an additional medium whereby people communicate with people whom they usually know in real life
  
• "A brand community is a specialised, non-geographically bound community based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand". Muniz and O'Guinn (2001, pg.412). An example of a brand community would be Harley Davidson and the Harley owners group
  
• There are 3 different forms of Blogs and they include, Personal, Employee, and Corporate. Blog communities allow individuals to have their own personal voice heard and offer refreshing, unfiltered authentic voice. Blogs also offer communal affiliation and passionate self-expression. One risk to blogs is that "time spent in collaberative environments can appear largely social and not "real work" or "real study". " 2009, Colin Cooney, Dept of Business Studies, DkIT.

Although social networking is possible in person,especially in college, it is more popular online. People from all over the world gather on these networks and share their information/experiences together, e.g. sports, literature or just to strike up a friendships. Social networks are also meeting places for businesses. Social networks exist on the internet and vary from chat rooms to websites. One of the most commonly known social networks include Facebook which has approimately 300 million members worldwide showing the popularity of the network. More and more people are getting involved and signing onto social networks and looks like it is here to stay.

National Assets Management Agency, aka NAMA

The National Asset Management Agency, aka Nama, is basically a debt collection agency. It is one of these things that confuses a lot of people and people don't know whether to back it or not. Nama is known as a bad bank that will take on all the debts from the banks and cleanse the five institution, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, EBS Building Society and Irish Nationwide. During the 'boom' years, Irish people/companies were borrowing money they couldn't afford and the Irish banks were throwing the money at them. Now we are living in recessionary times and the Irish banks are up to their eyes in debt that people cannot pay. The banks never thought of the consequences. Nama will take over the bad debt portfolio's of the banks and in turn hopefully stabilise the financial system. When and if this occurs, the banks will return to 'normal' life and start lending once again. One of the outlooks is that if Nama does not materialise then the banks will be managing debts for years to come as opposed to concentrating on lending to the 'good' customers and Ireland will never pull out of the recession. The cost of these bad debts to Nama don't run in the millions, but have come in at a figure of €90 billion. One of the conspiracies of Nama is that the government will deliberately pay too much for the toxic loans. The banks will then go on relativley healthy dumping the bad debts on the taxpayer.

The government is assuming that the property portfolios have fallen 47% and are estimating that the loans amount to €47 billion give or take, but are paying €7 billion extra. They are paying the extra €7 billion assuming the prices will go up again. They describe this as 'allowing for the long term economic value' of the assets.

Will Nama work or will it fail, only time will tell.

Jedward-mania

John and Edward Grimes have risen to fame, so to speak, on the X-factor show. The 18 year old twins from Ireland are without a doubt causing a hype and controversy across Britain and Ireland, however, one question needs answering, do they deserve all the criticism??

What makes Jedward different to any other young aspiring teenagers to become the next pop stars, they have ambition and confidence, but why are we knocking them. If the twins fail to win the competition and have to return to 'normal' life, how will we feel about them then.? Of late, the public, both in Ireland and Britain have slated the twins for their singing ability but one cannot shy away from the fact that they are not still in the running because everyone dislikes them. People are voting for them and voting in the thousands. In recessionary times, one would wonder why the Irish papers and the Irish people are not delighted that the twins are making such a mark on the British show, but as usual, the Irish always put the Irish down.

In my opinion, it is an absolute disgrace that we, the Irish, cannot be happy for John and Edward and the mark they are making in the world of music and entertainment. Whether the twins win the competition or create a career for themselves in television presenting, we should be happy for the two lads who went after their dreams and support them on the road to their future. Personally, I feel that people are nothing but jealous of the boys from Dublin. While people are going through a tough time at present due to the recession, Jedward are making a future for themselves and people are in my eyes are envious of Jedwards success. Another issue I have are with the papers who are planting these biased stories into the minds of the public. They do not know the lads personally and therefore I don't think they have the right to make personal remarks toward the twins.

For Jedwards sake, I would love to see the Irish stand up for their own, give the support to Jedward that they deserve and weclome them back to Ireland when they return.