http://hacialla.blogspot.com/

Google vs. Apple

This is a very interesting article that I found in the Wall Street Journal about a conflict Apple has with other companies. More specifically, Google is protesting about the new rules for the iphone and iPad programmers. They claim that with these changes they are preventing application developers from using their advertising technology. This example raises an important issue that affects the online business community, competition. The Internet has made the world smaller. People have access to all sorts of products and services from almost every country. Barriers to competition affect consumers in the long run. Competition is what drives the prices down and therefore shouldn't be manipulated.

Read the article!!!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704575304575296702116945806.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Tweeting from space!

Social networks are a great way of getting people around the world together. Internet users have many options when it comes to social networks of many kinds. One of the most popular nowadays is Twitter. Almost every business and public figure have one to communicate with customers and fans. It is a great way of getting ideas out there and expressing ourselves freely. Whether its a business letting customers know about new services or products, or an artist informing fans about new shows, this innovative social network is becoming bigger every day. People are getting connected in ways that had never been thought of. The meaning of community is changing greatly with time. The world is getting smaller and smaller with all these technological changes.

A market research firm called Pear Analytics (from San Antonio) analyzed 2,000 tweets (originating from the US and in English) over a 2-week period in August 2009 from 11:00a to 5:00p (CST) and separated them into six categories. The following is a list of the categories and the percentage each represents of the 2,000 tweets.

"Pointless babble"– 41%
Conversational – 38%
Pass-along value – 9%
Self-promotion – 6%
Spam – 4%
News – 4%

What do you think of these percentages?

This is a great video I found in CNN about an astronaut that posts in Twitter pictures of Earth taken from space! Check it out!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2010/06/02/lustout.japan.tweeting.astro.cnn

sources:

http://www.cnn.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

Shop & Surf!!!! In the Air!!!!

The Internet is now available in some flights. People can stay connected to the world while they are in the air. Different airlines now offer this service to passengers. Using a laptop or a mobile device, one can surf the web. This means that companies have more reasons to advertise online and inside the planes as well. E marketing is having more and more importance with time. This is another opportunity for companies to offer their products online. This is another important market segment

An example is the Skymall magazine that some American Airlines have in flights. When you spend $100 at, you receive a $12.95 instant rebate toward your Gogo Wi-fi purchase.

Check this site out so you can see how this works for yourself:

www.skymall.com/aagogo

Marketplace vs. Marketspace

In e-commerce, the marketplace is created. Whatever product/service you are looking for can be obtained almost everywhere and anytime. In traditional commerce, the marketplace is visited physically. Thanks to e- commerce people can shop everywhere!

To us international students, being able to look for airplane tickets online is great! We have the chance to buy a ticket from home and have access to different options/prices to choose from. However, as in the article below, we have to be careful!

Check out this article on CNN about buying airplane tickets online!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/06/flight.insurance.mistake/index.html?iref=allsearch