March 16 Assignment - LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social networking website for professional people.  It is designed to allow professionals to develop a list of contacts with people that they have some professional connection.  You can upload your resume or design a profile that provides details on your professional experience and accomplishments and professional affiliations.     Your connections can be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities.  Recruiters and employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates based on the credentials you have listed.    You can follow specific companies and receive notifications of job opportunities.

You build your LinkedIn network by first establishing  direct connections.   These are people who you know, have worked with, or have some direct professional affiliation.  The second tier of contacts is referred to as second-degree connections.  These are people that you became affiliated with through your direct connections.  Third degree connections are connections you have been introduced to through your second-degree connections.  

The 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd degree connection system where contact with any professional requires either an existing relationship, or the intervention of a contact of theirs, is designed to build trust among LinkedIn users.

LinkedIn, through an application,  allows members to display blog postings with their LinkedIn profile.  There is also a mobile version of the site that I use often.   The mobile version of the site is more limited in its features. 

There are groups on LinkedIn that you can join where discussions on specific topics take place.  Groups are   moderated by the group owners and managers. Groups offer the ability to reach a wide audience of people with similar interests.  Groups also keep their members informed through emails of the most talked about discussions within your professional circles.  Groups can be private, accessible to members only or open.  You have to request to join a private group and you will be notified when your request has been approved.   The graphic below shows the group that I belong to.  It also shows a pending approval for a group I would like to join. 

LinkedIn allows members to research companies with which they may be interested in working.   You can also apply online using the “Apply with LinkedIn” button.

One thing I really like about LinkedIn is receiving job postings.  These job postings are sent to my  email account and are based on the skills and job experience that I listed on my profile.   Here is an example of a list of jobs I received in my email inbox this week: 

LinkedIn allows users to endorse each others' skills. This feature also allows users to efficiently provide commentary on other users profiles so that network building is encouraged.  The graphic below shows an endorsement of one of my contacts: 

I use LinkedIn but not often.   I do tend to participate in the groups that I have joined but don’t really work hard enough at the networking component of LinkedIn.    I like the system but find it a bit intimidating.    I think that for professional people it is essential that you participate and stay active on LinkedIn.  

March 16 Assignment - Mobile Devices in Business

Many businesses are replacing desktop PCs with laptops, tablets, and smartphones.  These mobile devices are contributing to improved efficiency and productivity. Although the use of mobile devices in business is not new, the sheer number of devices being used and the fact that the mobile devices are often owned by employees has changed the technology landscape for businesses.  There is an emerging trend called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) meaning that employees use their own smartphones or tablets to conduct company business and access company email and databases.   

The chart below shows the type of business activities in which employees are using their personal mobile devices.

Smartphones and tablets are also changing where employees work.   Still most commonly used at the desk or at home, employees also use these devices at work away from the desk, in remote locations, or in transit. Mobile workers will continue to increase the percentage of time these devices are used as technology advances at both the device and corporate enterprise level enable greater functionality. 

The rapid spread of mobile devices being used by employees has provided businesses with advances in productivity and customer service, but these advances come with many challenges, particularly for IT Departments because these devices typically operate outside of corporate IT architecture.  Whatever their potential value, mobile devices  pose a significant security risk. They are easy to accidentally misplace.  If lost or stolen, smart phones and tablets could be used to gain unauthorized access to corporate databases to steal data.

The flexibility and freedom to get business done anywhere, anytime, makes it much harder to maintain the security and control of corporate data when employees are accessing and storing business information on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops.   The constant innovation of mobile devices makes it hard for businesses to stay in front of this technology.

This challenge has given rise to solutions called Mobile Device Management and Mobile Application Management software platforms.    Mobile Device Management software enables an organization to track, secure, remotely update, and essentially manage mobile devices across all operating systems such as Mac/IOS, Android, and Blackberry.  The recent launch of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 offer a new generation of devices that are all Windows powered for work.  Mobile Application Management is more directed toward managing the applications on mobile devices.   

Organizations need mobile device protection across a full spectrum of functions: 

• Support of operating systems 
• Set up of all devices with ease and simplicity
• Distribution of software patches, fixes, and updates  
• Scan for malware
• Enforce security policies 
• Locate devices, wipe their data, and deactivate them
• Provide encryption of corporate data stored on the device  

Not all companies use mobile device management software at this time.   According to Gartner, Inc., a marketing research firm, in 2012 only 1/3 of 300 companies surveyed had any security policies in effect or had implemented software systems to address the security issues associated with mobile device management.   According to Gartner, however, 65% of companies will adopt these technologies over the next five years.  An important consideration is that Mobile Device Management and Mobile Applications Management systems must be able to support divergent regulations or policies wherever a company operates from state-to-state or internationally. 

The use of mobile devices in the business realm is very exciting and provides opportunities for companies to increase the effectiveness of their employees and increase efficiencies within their organizations.  Also, this trend provides significant business opportunities to smartphone manufacturers and developers of Mobile Device Management and Mobile Applications Management software solutions.    As long as companies mitigate the security risks associated with the use of mobile devices, I think this technology is a very effective tool for business.   I absolutely wish I had it when I was working,  traveling, and making client presentations! 

GoAnimate

March 9 Assignment - Blog 4 - Advanced Search Techniques

I was not aware until I read this chapter that there is a vehicle for performing advanced searches on search engines.   Although most of my searches are fairly simple, I have had occasions when I've asked a question or needed more thorough information on a topic and have felt frustrated that I knew it was out there on the Web somewhere but I just didn't know how to get it.   This section of Chapter 3 was very helpful to me.   I learned that more detailed or complex searches require a better understanding of formulating the search query.  Search engines provide tips and shortcuts for advanced search.   One tip is the use of  Boolean operator.  As I understand their use, Boolean operators are inserted into a search query to tell the search engine what keywords to look for and what keywords to exclude.    Not all search engines handle Boolean operators in the same way so you must review a search engine's 'Help' page to understand how that particular search engine uses Boolean operators.    I found a tutorial through a Google search on Boolean operators that was very helpful to me.   The link is as follows:
http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp.   Since I use Google most often, I found the Google search tips and shortcuts.   That link is:  http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=136861

The "And" operator means a keyword must be found in the search results.  The "Or" operator is used to search an "either/or" situation.   Using the "or" operator in between words specifies that either of those keywords should be used.  To exclude a keyword from a search, some search engines require you to use the "Not" operator before the excluded keyword. A search engine usually offers an advanced search form to be used to create a complex query.

I had trouble performing an advanced search on Bing.  I entered the exact query shown in the text to begin the search process.  Bing displayed the number of results but did not offer an advanced tab.   I tried clicking on other tabs but could not find an advanced search button anywhere.   Maybe someone who had success with this could tell me where to look.

I had better luck on Google.  I used the same search query and the query resulted in results that were displayed.   On the right hand side of the page, there was an options button and once clicked on, it offered an advanced search option.

Then I went ahead with the advanced search and this is what I found:

I've run out of room!   There is so much more I'd like to learn about advanced search and I'm going to experiment and blog.   I hope you'll follow my blog and give me feedback!

March 9 assignment - Blog 3 - Search Tools

Internet search tools exist in the form of directories, search engines, and metasearch engines.   Prior to our reading assignment, I wasn't aware that there were directories or metasearch engines so it was very interesting to learn about these topics.   

Directories are human-compiled, hierarchical list of Web pages organized by category.  As defined in the Ultralingua Dictionary app, hierarchical means that content is classified according to various criteria in successive levels or layers.    Directories can be a useful way to organize web-based information for easy access by browsing from a general category and refining your search to a more specific category.   The process of searching directories is called "drilling down."  When drilling down in a directory, you leave "breadcrumb trails" that allow you to move back and forth between pages you were at before.   I used DMOZ Open Directory Project and used a search query of "Facebook Marketing for Business."    The results are shown below: 

 DMOZ Open Directory Project Query

The benefit of using a directory is that human editors categorize the information in a logical manner making the search process easier.   The disadvantage to this approach is the time in which is takes the editors of these directories to analyze what pages to include and then do the work to add them to the directory. 

There are several search engines available to perform Internet searches.  These include Google, Ask.com, Bing, Alta Vista, Gigablast, and Yahoo!  There are specialty search engines such as Bizrate (for business), Technorati (for blog lists), and Fact Monster (for children).  Search engines function entirely without human intervention in gathering and indexing the web sites.  Search engines use software called spiders, Bot (short for robot) or web crawlers that browse the web searching for web sites to add to their indexes. Spiders and Bots automatically add URL's and information about web pages to their searchable indexes.   The information that a Web crawler will typically collect to create their indexes are page title, URL, meta tag keywords, occurrence of key words - meaning the frequency of use and where they appear on the page, full-text searching which examines all of the words on the Web page, internal links within the Web page to other pages on the web site, and the number and relevancy of other Web pages that link to that page.  

Web crawlers store information on a database on one or more servers creating an searchable index.  Web crawlers continually search the Web to add updates and new web sites to their indexes.  Web crawlers are used only to gather and update web site indexes.  When you perform a search using the search text box in a search engine, you are not interacting with the web crawler, simply the results of the web crawler that are stored in the index.  

Most search engines will allow advertisers to pay a fee to more prominently display their web sites.   This is called paid placement.  When performing a search on the Web, you enter the keyword or words into the search engine's search text box.  The search engine then takes the query and looks for those keywords in their index.   Once the search engine has found relevant matches to the keywords, it assembles a list of web pages and displays them in a specific order.   Each search engine uses its own formula or algorithm to determine which pages to display and in what order.   The most relevant pages are presented at the top of the list.   Shown below are two searches I performed for Maltese.  One was on Google and the other on Yahoo!    You can see from the results that different pages were presented by each search engine to the exact search keyword.

A metasearch engine is a special type of search tool that generates search results from several search engines by submitting the search to several search engines then combining and displaying the results.  

March 9 Assignment - Blog 2 - Evaluating the Search Results

Since anyone can post information to the Web, it is important to be able to assess the credibility of the results you receive from a search.  To determine the credibility of the of the results you receive from a search, there are four specific areas of the site which should be evaluated.   These are:  Authority, Objectivity, Scope and Quality, Design and Functionality.   To assess "authority" you must determine the quality of the information being presented.  You should find out who sponsors the web site, who wrote the page content, if possible, and whether they have the requisite expertise to represent themselves as an authority on the topic.  The highest quality information comes from a primary source document, item or other data that provides first hand information about the subject matter.   For example, a primary source can be a scholar writing about a subject matter he/she is an expert in.   One word of caution, however, when you are searching educational pages, you must be aware that some of the documents can be written by students and not necessarily scholars.   This is where it is very important to know who wrote the document.  

Objectivity of the web site is important as well.   You must determine whether there is any bias in the web site content or whether it is written to sell you a product or service.  One way to determine the objectivity is to look on the web site for links with reputable domain names that link to Web sites with related information.  

Scope and quality of the web site is important as well.   The content of the site should be accurate and up-to-date.   You can search other web sites that present similar information to gain a better understanding of the topic as a way to determine the accuracy of the information being presented by the site.  You can do this by comparing the information between the sites to see whether there is consistency and whether any of the sites are produced by a recognized authority.  I think that being proficient in multiple search engines would help with this process.  

Design and functionality is also a big tip as to the credibility of the web site.   If the site contains many spelling errors or has links that are no longer functional, it's likely that the site is not a high-quality site.  You should look for a site that looks professional and where all links are working properly.

Also, you should consider how you were led to the site.  Below is an example of an inbound email leading me to a site that offers home based work opportunities.   I'm always suspicious of these!!

Here is the site this email link led me to: 

In summary, if you want to use information that you gather from Internet sources, it is essential that you evaluate the quality of the content of the web sites that you access for information.   In the example posted above, you cannot determine who is the author of the site or what the product or service the site is offering.   Once I entered my email, this is where the link took me: 

This is a site for a home-based business where you can teach people how to get their cell phone service for free!    Unlikely!    This is an example of how important it is to know the authority of the site. 

March 9 Assignment - Blog 1 - The Search Process

The search process allows a person to access the vast amount of information contained on the Web.  There are many search tools available such as Google, Yahoo, Stumble-Upon, Bing, Blinx, Ask.com, and Yippy.   I am most familiar with Google, Yahoo, Stumble-Upon.  My preferred search engine is Google though through the Chapter 3 reading and exercises, I have become more familiar with Bing and like it.   I have had trouble with Bing with advanced searches but  I'll share my experiences with that in another post!     One point made in the Chapter reading emphasized the importance of becoming familiar with multiple search engines to understand their specific strengths.  This is a practice that I will have to adopt as currently I default to Google for search activity.    I would like to become more familiar with the other search options. 

To perform a search, you must develop a search query.  The search query defines what you're looking for and must include at least one keyword.  The keyword or keywords should be specific terms or words versus general terms.   The more precise your search query, the better search results you will receive.    Search keywords are entered into the search engine's search text box.  For an exact search of a specific topic, the use of quotation marks is used.   There are several types of searches you can do:  Targeted searches which seek specific information, open-ended which seek a broader search result using a simple keyword (often used in scholarly research) and a natural language search.  The natural language search is a query in the form of a statement or question.  Shown below is a natural language search using the search engine Yippy. 

Most people look at the first 10-20 results then enter another search.  This is because millions of results can be displayed with a single search.  

Twitter Account Assignment

I have established a twitter account under my name in which I am following people who have an interest in social media marketing for business.   Many of the tweets I receive are from the people with blogs I follow.   This twitter account is under my name so in addition to social media tweets, I also receive tweets and follow individuals who have similar interests to mine.   I enjoy Twitter the most at night when I sit down to read.  I love to look at my Twitter feed to catch up on all of the news and see what tweets I've received from people with a social media marketing background.    My Twitter page is shown below: 

 

In addition,  I have developed a Twitter account for the not-for-profit organization that I work with.  I am responsible for managing the content of the tweets and developing a network of followers.  I began this Twitter account recently.    This account is shown below: 

I find it much more difficult on Twitter to establish followers.  I realize that I must tweet more using hashtags to attract individuals with an interest in breast cancer support organizations as well as dragon boat festivals, which is our primary fundraiser for the organization. 

Symbaloo Assignment

Prior to this class I had heard of Symbaloo and looked at it to possibly use it but at that time, I couldn't fully visualize how I would use it.    Now that I have implemented it, I love it!    It is a very efficient way to get to the web sites that I use most frequently.    I can envision at some point having several web mixes devoted to subjects because I'm already nearly out of tiles on my home web mix.    This is my Symbaloo page:

I've tried to group the tiles by subject.   For instance, I've grouped the social media tiles together.  I also have a corner for all of my banking.  Directly under the Google search area, I have any tile related to Google.  News tiles are in another corner and then I've grouped entertainment tiles.  

I love using Symbaloo.   The one thing that I cannot figure out is whether you can access individual bookmarks that are in a bookmark folder on my laptop.