Saturday, July 18, 2009

SPD4290 Remember MJ – YouTube

You may search video clips of Michael Jackson(MJ) through YouTube, and you may broadcast your MJ videos on YouTube too.

Through YouTube, fans of MJ upload MJ’s videos and share with everyone in the world. So we can review MJ anytime, anywhere. Everyone knows YouTube is a video sharing website, and we can upload and share videos. Individual can register and upload your video, including movie clips, TV clips, amateur content like video blogging, short original videos. Therefore which contains a wide range of user-generated video content. Moreover, media corporations including CBS, the BBC, UMG and other organizations offer some of their material via the site, as part of the YouTube partnership program.

Moreover, marketers may through YouTube to promote products or services, since as you know, YouTube have a function of viral marketing and everyone in the world can aware the promotion message. Thus, YouTube not only provide leisure to us, but also other informations.

If you miss MJ, just click into YouTube.



YouTube 2009, Wikipedia [Online], Available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
[10th July, 2009]

SPD 4290 Definition of Social Networking

Social Networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, it is most popular online. Everyone know that internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users, to gather first hand information or experiences about a medical condition, develop friendships, find vacation spots or to start a professional relationship.

Websites are commonly used as Online Social Networking. These websites are known as social sites. Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Many of these online community members share a common interest such as hobbies, religion, or politics. Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the profile pages of other members and possibly even contacting them.

Moreover, Internet gives individuals from all around the world access to social networking sites, therefore, although you are in Hong Kong, you could develop an online friendship with someone in Japan. Not only will you make new friends, but you just might learn a thing or two about new cultures or new languages and learning is always a good thing.

Actually, the websites without a main focus are often referred to as "Traditional" social networking websites and usually have open memberships. This means that anyone can become a member, once you are inside this online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.

What is Social Networking [Online], Available: http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/ [22th June,2009]

Friday, July 17, 2009

SPD4290 What is Social Networking?

Social Networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, it is most popular online. Everyone know that internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users, to gather first hand information or experiences about a medical condition, develop friendships, find vacation spots or to start a professional relationship.

Websites are commonly used as online social networking. These websites are known as social sites. Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Many of these online community members share a common interest such as hobbies, religion, or politics. Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the profile pages of other members and possibly even contacting them.

Moreover, Internet gives individuals from all around the world access to social networking sites, therefore, although you are in Hong Kong, you could develop an online friendship with someone in Japan. Not only will you make new friends, but you just might learn a thing or two about new cultures or new languages and learning is always a good thing.

Actually, the websites without a main focus are often referred to as "traditional" social networking websites and usually have open memberships. This means that anyone can become a member, once you are inside this online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.

What is Social Networking [Online], Available: http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/ [22th June,2009]

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

SPD4290 Recommend 3 excellent Social Networking Sites

Nowaday, some of the social networking sites attract millions of people that exchange and share information among themselves. The main social networking sites allow the users to construct a profile with photos and other resources, associate a list of friends and offer a variety of ways for users interaction, such as instant messaging and comments section. As there are so many networking, we here sort out 3 excellent social networking sites that we think is excellent:







MySpace is a popular social networking website that offers personalized profiles, photos, blogs, groups, music and videos for teenagers and adults.In the comments section of friend's page, the users may leave comments for all viewers to read. MySpace allows users to get used to their profiles pages with images, flash, music and videos.








Orkut is a social networking service which is run by Google. The service states that it was designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships.In the scrapbook section the users can post comments for their friends including images, music and videos.






Hi5 is a social networking site with cool features including flash player for audio and video files.The users create an online profile in order to show information such as interests and upload their photos where the friends can post comments. Hi5 also allows the users post images and comments in the friend's pages.

SPD4290 Application of Social Networking in Hong Kong – 4

Hong Kong Based Social network website “Whahoobi” have been provide us some new function which may replicate and perhaps exceed the successes of Facebook or Myspace.

“Whahoobi” fuses features from existing web portals like forums. Moreover, the new application is the web can take music for instance, instruments such as electronic keyboards can, via a USB connection, link up with “Whahoobi” and user can literally play on the internet directly and share their work with peers.

With this enhanced level of user interaction and involvement, “Whahoobi” departs from other social-network sites by providing users with a platform to develop and nurture their talents.

Besides showing off and stroking one’s ego, ‘’Whahoobi” platform also allows users to construct applications that they need for their interest groups and hobbies, thus there is an important practical and functional dimension to the platform.

Here show the case that the electronic keyboard enthusiasts want to feature a music synthesizer on “Whahoobi’s” electronic keyboard interest group, the company can created with simple programming and construct a programming for their interest group.

Beyond electronic musical instruments, the platform and its applications are applicable to other electronic products like household appliances. These increase the popular of the web.

Here is the web site of "Whahoobi":
http://us01.whahoobi.com/

Movie about the applicaiont of "Whahoobi":

SPD4290 Application of Social Networking in Hong Kong – 3


Today, I am boring in the office and surfing around the internet, I have found an application is quite interesting and want to share with all of you.

Have you even lonely in the mid-night? In Hong Kong, quite difficult to find a partner no matter you are handsome or boyish, the application “Yahoo! Personals” in Yahoo helps most of the boys and girls to find their partners.

Here are the linking:
http://hk.personals.yahoo.com/

The application is quite user friendly, you just needed to have a registry account and fulfills the payment. After the procedure, you can enjoy the time you find “the one” you are interesting with. Most of the people on the site will enclose their photo and the detail of themselves (Like: Habit, life style etc). If there is a person you feel interest, you can sent a private Email to them to well-known each other. Most of the step inside has significant icons; therefore it may suit most of the range people to trial.

I can say Yahoo Personals can increase the social networking of your life. As other than Romanic Partners, you can also find for Panpal or friends. You can get a lot of fun in there.

Here are the advices about Yahoo Personals, you may find something useful for making your personal detail.




Reference Link:

SPD4290 Application of Social Networking in Hong Kong - 2

Social network also connect people in different territory at a very low cost, just the cost of setting up a website, or putting online advertising banners. Using social network allows business to expand their contact base, especially in Hong Kong, where we are full of competitions, no matter for customers, expertise and resources.

Marketers in Hong Kong can make good use of different social networking platforms, such as discussion forums, facebook to act as a customer relationship management tool. Since social network connect people from different countries, updating your company news can reach and keep in touch with contacts around the world.

A very good example of expanding company contact base is to set up account in facebook. Some hotels in Hong Kong set up the facebook account and invite people to join so that customers learn the updated news of the hotel and the hotel is having an extra channel to communicate with their customers.


SPD4290 Recommendation for using social networking

We cannot say online marketing or social networking is absolutely a good tool or not, but we think we need to take its advantages and try to avoid some foreseeable bad circumstances. For personal use, we can easily communicate with different people through networking, and shorten the distance between people. However, we must try to follow some self disciplines in order not to bring out negative impact to our social life. There are researches saying people are losing much of their privacy in the internet world, strangers can easily get all of your information through your personal website, or using “human flesh searching 人肉搜索”. We believe we must make good control of our own personal information and never disclose important information to other network users, so that we can have a positive and interactive online platform for communications.

For business purpose, without doubt, it is a very effective way to promote your own goods and services to all over the world, in a relatively low cost. However, we believe it is just an extra way as a marketing tool, the most important thing for marketers to emphasize should be their product and services’ quality. This is the time of quality, even if you have a strong marketing team and build up a strong online network to establish large customer scale, if your core products and services are not good, customers will neglect you marketing efforts but unwilling to purchase your products.

To conclude, generally, social networking is a beneficial tool. There are still rooms for exploring this channel, yet we believe there are certain advantages and disadvantages of this platform. We should try to maximize the benefits it bring to us and prevent getting loss or causing damages to the others.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-08/27/content_6975306.htm

SPD4290 Application of Social Networking in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a place full of competition. To run profitable business and maintain good customer relationship, companies may need to use a lot of money to establish some large scale marketing campaigns, or running some loyal customer programmes for keeping their business and gain fame. However, by establishing effective social networking, we can build up awareness, promote your products and services globally – not only in Hong Kong, but across the boundaries.

An example is the British Council in Hong Kong has created an interactive zone in the application of “Second Life”, which hits million of people worldwide. Their students and some independent English learners can meet in the British Council island in the application for language learning. Both parties benefit as students can improve their English skills through meeting new friends, while the Council can establish their brand name to the world with little cost.

Also, many companies set up account in Yahoo Hong Kong, so that they can promote their products at Yahoo Bidding, This is similar to companies set up account and post articles at famous local discussion forum to sell their products. The platform provides companies to increase business opportunity and increase awareness throughout the community. But it does not serve purpose of communicating with potential and existing customers.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/hongkong-english-secondlife.htm

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

SPD4290 Discussion Forum

An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site. It is the modern equivalent of a traditional bulletin board, and a technological evolution of the dialup bulletin board system. From a technological standpoint, forums or boards are web applications managing user-generated content.

Early Internet forums could be described as a web version of a newsgroup or electronic mailing list (many of which were commonly called Usenet); allowing people to post messages and comment on other messages. Later developments emulated the different newsgroups or individual lists, providing more than one forum, dedicated to a particular topic.

Internet forums are prevalent in several developed countries. In terms of countable posts, Japan is far in the lead with over two million posts per day on their largest forum, 2channel. China also has many millions of posts on forums such as Tianya Club. The United States does not have any one large forum, but instead several hundred thousand smaller forums, the largest of which are Gaia Online, IGN and GameFAQs. China, the Netherlands, and France are also home to hundreds of independent forums.

Forums perform a function similar to that of dial-up bulletin board systems and Usenet networks that were common from the late 1970s to the 1990s. Early web-based forums date back as far as 1996. A sense of virtual community often develops around forums that have regular users. Technology, computer games and/or video games, sports, music, fashion, religion, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of topics. Internet slang and image macros popular across the Internet are abundant and widely used in Internet forums.


In Hong Kong, Discussion forum such as “Uwants forum” and “Disscussion.com” are very popular. These forums create a good platform for people to post questions about various kinds of interests; such trend will be developed and used widely in Hong Kong as well as the world.

Internet Forum 2009, Wikipedia [Online]

Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussion_forum [14 July 2009].


Monday, July 13, 2009

SPD4290 Online Radio - New trend in today society

Have you ever listened Online Radio via Internet? You should better try once. I had tried it and felt very impressive. Now a day, Online Radio becomes a trend and popular platform / social networking in today society. The main benefit of online channels is that it can provide pre-recorded radio programs via Internet. Listeners can choose the desired radio program from the archive. General radio programs are including Radio, Drama, Music Shows, Entertainment, Talk Shows, Educational Programs and Informative Programs. Here is one of the examples: Open Radio Hong Kong (ORHK) is a non-profit Internet radio station established in November 2005 to deliver net radio and podcast programs. It provides a variety kind of program such as entertainment, culture, technology, life, and so on. It also provides open platform for free expression of views.

ORHK deliver program in Internet. It not only provides live stream net cast in weekdays, but also provides audio program archive download and podcast subscription. Also they are welcome the audiences to join into this social networking to produce net radio program together. All the members can share their creative and experience in order to taking part in the program. It is really success to draw audience’s attention. I believe that this kind of interactive can reinforce the quality of the program and draw awareness of the audience.

SPD4290 Facebook VS MySpace



Both Facebook and MySpace are soical networking tool, however, what is the different or similar between them? Let see below, we might found out the answers.

1/Friends
A major difference between facebook and MySpace is that the friends you add via facebook usually are your REAL friends and you always share things with them while erveryone in MySpace is trying to have the most friends.
However, Facebook is a good way to contact people for who you dont know their contact details but you know them (eg: old classmates at college). People like to send a message via Facebook rather than MySpace due to there is less SPAM message in Facebook.
2/ Applications
You can add and remove applications at Facebook while MySpace lets you do whatever you want with the pages. Actually, their function in here is quite similar.

SPD4290 Price.com.hk

Nowadays, Internet has become very popular for people to search information that they are looking for. People can search the price of different electronic products from the Internet easily. Price.com is a good website that for people to find the information that they want. Electronic products which including:

Mobile phones
Games
Portable digital products
Home digital audio
Computer components
Household electrical appliances

It provides a good place for people to give price information of various kinds of electronic products. People are always looking for the lowest price in different retail shops. Use mobile phone as an example, people will seek for any special accessories or free gifts such as the free memory cards, extra batteries as well as screen-protector.

In order to show the most updated price of the products, the website will place the most hottest products at the main page of each product categories, therefore, people can know what are the hottest items that in the market. It will help them to save time to search the information for reference if they have never bought this kind of products before. This platform creates a social networking between the price providers and the price seekers, it is very impressiove to the users and I think it will be deveploped much more better soon.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

SPD4290 What you need for Online Marketing to be successful?

There are some important points to consider before you get into the stratedies of online marketing:

1. Communication. An important part of online marketing is how you respond to your customer's email. You don't want to lose potential customer after you've made the effort to have them visit your website and then contact you for more information. E-mail is a very effective and cost efficient way for you to generate more sales. The key to this effectiveness is ' consistency'. You need to be consistent in your response to your customers. You'll also want to make sure that tone of your e-mail corresponds with the tone you've set in your website content.

2. Human Resources. If you're going to succeed online you need to have enough people working with you. Efficicent websites incorporate a personal touch with a fast response time to customers. Your goal is to turn the visitors to your website into customers. The standard time for a return e-mail is from 48 to 72 hours. If you wait any longer to e-mail back you risk losing the customer. This means that if you don't have the man power to return e-mail in two to three days you need to take another look at your marketing strategy.

3. Products people want to buy online. Before you start marketing online you need to be sure that you have a product or service that people want to buy. Customers need to find a value in what you're selling. There are two motivating factors when it comes to selling online: cost and convenience. Ask yourself if customers will find it easier to buy online than finding a local store. it is cheaper for them to buy this from you online??

Online Marketing [online], Available :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16273858/Online-marketing [12th July 2009]

SPD4290 The negative effect of social networking

One of the main disadvantages is the cost of using the networks service. As previously mentioned, online dating websites are the best type of social network to join,
especially if you are looking for a romantic partner. Unfortunately, unlike most traditional networking sites, most dating sites require a paid membership. To many this membership is worth the cost, but overtime it could get quite expensive and you are not guaranteed any results

Besides, identity theft and fraud are two bothersome concerns that have come out of social networking sites. The e-mail address, name, location, age, and many others are personal information that users give out, and others can use them in performing illegal activities. There are also people who pretend to be somebody else and convince you that they are in for a business deal. But, the truth is they are there to rob you out of your money.

Cases of online harassment and stalking have also been a concern. People who have issues with you or for whatever reason just can search on your name and stalk or harass you. In order to address this, users are allowed to report or block users that go out of bounds.

Social Isolation, loneliness, and depression are all interrelated. Studies have shown that the more time spent on the Internet leads to social isolation and loneliness, which in turn leads to depression. Even though online communities and instant messaging allows a person to stay connected with their friends and family as well as expanding their social network, the more time spent socializing online is time spent away socializing in the real world.

Social Networking Tips-Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Networking-Sites [Online], Avaliable

http://hubpages.com/hub/Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Networking-Sites [ 12th July 2009]

SPD4290 The postive impact of social networking

More than anything else, social sites provide better ways to keep in touch with our classmates, friends and family. Even though we are from them, you and these people both have easy access to how each other is doing, as you can send messages as well as upload photos and videos.

Creating your network of contacts goes beyond geographical and cultural differences as you get to know and meet people who share your interests from almost all sides of world. Procuring information on a specific subject is faster and easier, for you can ask your network of friends to provide you with links to websites that can best provide you with that information. Or, they can provide the information themselves, especially if they are experts of that particular subject or field.

This one is tricky, but I choose to include it on the affirmative side. Online business people use these social services as tools to promote their websites, products and services basically because of the overwhelmingly significant number of people that they have brought together to form communities. Internet marketers cannot be faulted for seeing these sites as good venues to do some aspects of their Internet marketing efforts.

Business decision makers are now preferring communication channels that are two-way dialogs, channels that resemble social networking applications. This is a great way for businesses to advertise their product. It is also a way that has proved to be more effective than the previous “word of mouth” influence.

Social networking allows us to identify and connect with friends and strangers while on the go. Such computer mediated communication also allows us to reconnect with friends from the past whom we may have lost contact with.

LinkedIn is a SNS (social networking site) particularly used by jobseekers. It is a tool used to link users to people they may have worked with in the past through various jobs or institutions. Users also have the opportunity to link to certain companies they aspire to work with.

Social network services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted on sites such as MySpace and Facebook has been used by police, probation, and university officials to prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court

Facebook is increasingly being used by school administrations and law enforcement agencies as a source of evidence against student users.

Social Networking Tips - Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Networking-Sites [Online], Avaliable
http://hubpages.com/hub/Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Networking-Sites [ 12th July 2009]

Friday, July 10, 2009

SPD4290 Social Networking - Trend in Hong Kong

Social networks are global affairs and the geographic focus varies greatly between different social networks. There are some survey to show why certain social networks have reached popularity in certain countries and not in others.

For example, recently the most popular one is Facebook, it also be a online marketing tool. The trend of “Laughing哥”, is created by the fans in Facebook. In the world of Facebook, you can share your lifestyle, photos, make friends and build community. Or, if you want to compare the price of a mobile, we click to Price.com.hk.

“Hitwise Releases Asia Pacific Social Networking Report 2008” indicated the top 5 social network in Hong Kong is:
1) Facebook
2) Xanga
3) UWants
4) Window Live Spaces
5) Friendster
We also mention and discuss platforms of social networking in Hong Kong in our blog.

Pingdom(12th August, 2008) “Social network popularity around the world”, Royal Pingdom [Online], Available:
http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/08/12/social-network-popularity-around-the-world/ [10th July, 2009]

Hitwise Releases Asia Pacific Social Networking Report 2008, hitwise [Online], Availabel:
http://sg.hitwise.com/press-center/hitwiseHS2004/au-socialnetworkingreport-02292008.php
[10th July, 2009]

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

SPD4290 e-Learning and Social Networking

Student engagement with digital learning resources and online social networking are strong forces in education today.

Learning is a social network relation: it is a transaction, an exchange between people as one person teaches and another learns; it is a shared experience as colleagues explore a new area together, define terms and create common ground; and it is a common experience as students attend classes and lectures together gaining a similar view of subject areas. A social network approach provides methods and measures to allow examination of what is exchanged, shared,delivered and received among members of a network, and to examine outcomes such asinterpersonal ties, common knowledge, and community. Social network studies provide insight into what kinds of exchanges comprise learning relationships (e.g., learning how to carry out aprocedure, use a new technology, operate within a profession), what balance of learning and production takes place (exposure to new ideas versus completing tasks or assignments), and what balance of people and associations within a network make for a good learning combination .

Social network approaches inform e-learning by demonstrating and legitimizing the creation of network outcomes without face-to-face structures, outcomes that include collaboration, innovation, shared purpose, and above all, learning – by individuals and groups –in learning communities and communities of practice supported through the supposedly leancommunication channels of text-based computer-mediated communication, among participants distributed in time and space.

Caroline Haythornthwaite (2005) Social Network Methods and Measuresfor Examining E-learning, [Online], Available:http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~haythorn/ (10 Jul, 2009)

SPD4290 Do you sign up MySpace?

Do you sign up MySpace?


MySpace is another social networking site, the Worlds largest community. Each member of MySpace submit network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, group, photos, music and videos internationally.


Members can add Friends to their site. Like the facebook, you can meet not only your friends but those of their friends and so on down the line until there are complete networks of friends through the entire world wide web. If you looked hard enough you will eventually find that many people that you have never heard of have the same friends in their list as you have. That is why it is known as a 'network'.

MySpace social networking is an electronic form of this means of communication. Why we say that? It is because people make friends and then go on to make friends with their friends' friends. It is an effective way of building traffic.

One of the tool in MySpace is”MUSIC”. MySpace provide a platform for unsigned musicians can use MySpace to post and sell music using SNOCAP, which has proven popular among MySpace users. Musicians can upload their songs onto MySpace and have access to millions of people on a daily basis.

Moreover, you can ask anybody to join your MySpace friends list, and you can send links and anything you wish to your list of friends: you can even offer them a link to your blog or website. It can enhance anyboby in your MySpace list to get into your account and link your things, share information and comments. This is another network channel to let you keep in touch with your freinds in anywere and make new friends in the virtual world.


Link: http://www.blogging-profit.com/myspace-social-networking.html

Sunday, July 5, 2009

SPD4290 Function of social networking

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in Social Networking, in which users can form new relationships between friends by introducing friends with each other in popular platforms such as Facebook, Myspace & Twitter. In generally, Social networks have an established presence in individuals’ day-to-day lives, serving as a means to maintain constant interaction, reconnect with old acquaintances, provided up-to-the-minute updates via personal profiles and pictures, share links and even network professionally.

However, sometimes the function of Social Networking has transcended its original intent. Some of them are fascinating cases. For examples, a case in New Zealand, policemen actually used Facebook to catch a thief. The tech-savvy cops took the camera images during the thief having a break in a local pub. After that the cops had posted the photos onto Facebook. In less than a day, the thief was outed by social networkers who recognized him.

This is one special and interesting function that we defined. What other uses for Social Networking can we come up with? Needless to say, the very nature of the Web — ever-changing, malleable and unpredictable — opens up a realm of possibilities.

Reported by Deanna Hartley

Friday, July 3, 2009

SPD4290 Online auction business model



Have you ever bougth something via internet? If yes, then what would be your reason to buy things in internet? Because of price? Convenient or product?

Nowadays, forming a social networking in internet becomes more and more popular. The social groups in internet are with different objectives. And one of them is the online acution business.

The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet.. The functionality of buying and selling in an acution format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved.

The strategic advantages of this business model include:

No time constraints.
No geographical constraints.
Intensity of social interactions.
Large number of bidders and sellers.
Network economies.

Online auction selling has attracted millions of laid-off workers, as well as the disabled, parents of young children, retirees, pensioners and others that are unable to find employment in the mainstream workforce. Online auction venue corporations are accused of engaging in discriminatory trade practices that unfairly impact such customers. Presently, the trading practices of online auction venue corporations is not regulated by state or federal agencies.
Online auction business model, Wikipedia, [online], Available:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_auction_business_model (08 Jul, 2009)