Web Technology: Refrigerators + TVs + Internet = ONE

Some predict the web will soon be integrated in just about everything. The web is such an undervalued tool that many companies overlook. The WEb is the SLEEPER to success in any industry. But why not? The web is fast, efficient, cheap, and scalable. Companies should be begging to use the tools of the web. I am not kidding. In fact, I recently read about how the internet is "ubiquitous" and "amorphous." For more info, click here.

In fact, a concept called "community marketing" is now seen as a credible tool to help companies gain the competitive edge. For more on community marketing, visit this site: Web Strategy by Jeremiah . The benefits of community marketing are clearly listed...be sure to visit the site!

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In addition, to community marketing, the WEB is slowly started to creap into our everyday appliances. Soon, the common electric socket will serve as your home's connection to broadband with a new chip developed by Matsushita -- which means the end of all the ethernet cables and wireless (home) networks. This technology is not new, and in fact this unique broadband service is currently in use by several US companies. Matsushita's (MC) system delivers fast-speed broadband information at up to 170 megabits per second, which is faster than ethernet.

Here is how to use it:

1. Attach a special device made by Matsushita to a 110/120 volt regular home socket
2. Plug your TV and other gadgets into the socket for instant connection to broadband

VERY SIMPLE! However, my question is how much will the adapters be? But, wouldn't it be nice to have your refrigerator or TV hook up to the internet. Hmm, just the thought of watching sports and checking my mail at the same time is HEAVEN!

But, there are some other features that this "socket" can provide, that I foresee is the future! Close your eyes, and image this:

You are in the office and remember "Oh, I need to get a few things from the grocery store. But, what did I need to get?" Well, with your network-connected refrigerator you can connect through a mobile phone or latpop and check what you have in your refrigerator and what you need. Doesn't this sound like a dream-come true?

Or if this doesnt sound good, you can turn of and on all gadgets in your home with a simple switch that is connected to the network. For example, you are outside and say to yourself "Did I turn on the washer?" Instead of going inside your home, checking the washer, and risk getting distracted from cleaning the yard, you can turn it on with a simple flip of the switch. Hm...now can you imagine what the feature would be like?

I dont know about you, but have you ever watched an episode of the "Jetsons" and wondered, "When will we ever have technology like them?" Yes, I know its a long stretch, but we are getting closer. But, the only way we can get there is with the WEB as our tool!

Best Business Practices: Ethics

Today's theme is "Business Ethics"

The study of ethics helps us study the goodness in human action or the good life. As a "normative" field of study, it helps us study how we "ought" to act. Applying this to business, we find that ethics helps decipher the ethical and unethical decisions business make everyday. Interestingly, the decisions made by business affect not only themselves, but employees, customers, prospects, and the community. So establishing moral standards for a company, and even on an individual basis, is essential for leading the good life or in this case a good business.

What are Moral Standards?

1. Moral standards concern behavior that is of serious consequence to human welfare, that can profoundly injure or benefit people
2. Moral standards take priority over other standards, including self interest
3. The soundness of moral standards depends on the adequecy of the reasons that support or justify them

Establishing a "Code for Moral Standards" is a great way to keep a business and all of its compenents working towards a common goal. Integrating the standards on both a company-wide and invidual basis will ensure success, maybe not immediately, but in the long run.

In addition, I would like to introduce the ...

Eight Rules for Ethical Thinking in Business:

• Rule Number 1: Consider other people's well-being, including the well-being of nonparticipants
• Make contributions where it is reasonable to do so and avoid consequences that are harmful to others
• Rule Number 2: Think as a member of the buisness community and not as an isolated individual
• Respect for contracts, paying one's debts, and selling decent products at a resonable price are not only to one's own advantage; they are necessary for the very existence of the business community (leading a good life, good business, and good community)
• Rule Number 3: Obey, but do not depend solely on the law
• Business and business people ought to obey the law. But what needs to be added is that ethical thinking is not limited to legal obedience. "Law is the floor of moral conduct."
  
• Rule Number 4: Think of yourself--and your company--as part of society
• Business people and businesses are citizens in society. It exists and thrives because it services and does not harm society. Thus, business is subject to the same ethical rules as everyone else.
  
• Rule Number 5: Obey moral rules
• This is the most obvious and unavoidable rule of ethical thinking. Moral rules are the heart of ethics, and there can be no ethics--and no business--without them.
• Rule Number 6: Think objectively
• The rules apply equally to everyone, and being able to be "disinterested"--to think for a moment from other people's perspective--is essential. Why? b/c business affects everyone (from employees to innocent bystanders)
• Rule Number 7: Ask the question "What sort of person would do such a thing?"
• Our word "ethics" comes from the Greek word "ethos" meaning "character." Accordingly, ethics is not just obedience to rules so much as it is concern for your personal (and company) character--your reputation and good name. Business ethics is "being able to look at your face in the mirror in the morning."
• Rule Number 8: Respect the customs of others, but not at the expense of your own ethics
• In general, one should follow the customers and ethics of the community. But depending on the severity and moral standard, one should look to their own moral principles to take priority.
  

Business ethics is also being able to practice the...

"The Three C's of Business Ethics"

1. Compliance: the need for compliance with the rules, including the laws of land, the principles of morality, the customers and expectations of the community, the policies of the company, and such general concers as fairness
2. Contributions: the contributions of business can make to society, through the value and quality of one's products or services, by way of the jobs one provides for workers, through prosperity, and uselfulness of one's activities to the surrounding community
3. Consequences: the consequences of business activity, both inside and oustide the company, both intended and unintended, including the reputation of one's own company and industry

What have I learned? Thinking ethically...

• is essential in creating a strategic plan
• helps create products/services that satisfy the needs of customers without hurting the surrounding community
• builds long term relationships with customers, which will lead to repeat business
• requires the consideration for the well-being of others and respect for oneself and one's character (individually and as a whole business)

Just remember... unethical thinking isn't just "bad business;" it is an invitation to disaster in business! There is nothing unethical about making money, but money is not the currency of ethical thinking in business.

Blogs: Why Google Loves Weblogs

Why Google Loves Weblogs?

Reason One: Google Loves the Links in Weblogs

A match made in heaven! Google loves links, and weblogs are all about links! Every time a blogger links to a website, its Google rank increases. If enough bloggers pile onto that link, it can start to have a significant impact on a sites' Google rank. But links by themselves aren't enough to give Weblogs their influence on Google. That comes from a more recent tweak in the Google search engine:

Reason Two: Google loves Fresh Content
Google frequently updated sites much more often on their index. The primary reason for this was to increase Google's access to articles from news sites, like CNN and the New York Times. Google even added a "News" section at the top of its search results, to present "news stories relevant to users' queries". [2]

But Google didn't stop there. Its "insatiable appetite for fresh content spilled over to any frequently updated websites, including Weblogs." If Google noticed a page updating frequently, it started visiting that page much more frequently so it could suck the latest content into its database of over 3 billion documents. As they put it in their latest press release, "Google refreshes millions of web pages every day to ensure that Google users have access to the most current information."

Putting it Together: Google loves Weblogs
Weblogs are perfect for Google: frequently updated websites are full of links. It's no wonder that Google loves Weblogs so much. Of course, if that's the case, why doesn't every Google search land the searcher on a blog? That question underscores a crucial point about weblogs and Google: weblogs are the voters in this political system. In other words, weblogs don't get elected by Google... but the sites they voted for do.

So even if you never visit a blog, you're being influenced by them. The collective votes of the weblog community are determing what sites you see on Google, the world's largest search engine.

The Google Power of weblogs will only grow with time. As weblogs get more traffic, their votes will count for more: Google weights fresh votes more than older votes. Blog search engines like Daypop and blogdex are spreading links more quickly. As weblogs get more traffic, their votes will count for more. Not only do their votes count for more as they each get more traffic, but the heavy cross-linking magnifies the impact of this collective voting machine. This greatly magnifies the Google Power of weblogs.

Weblogs: They ain't no Fad
Even if you've never heard of weblogs, they're having a powerful impact on your web searches every day. So to answer the New York Times, are weblogs just a fad? Anything that can potentially influence over a billion web searches every week sounds like more than a fad to me.

*google news*

What does everyone think? Are weblogs a fad?