Back when I was a newbie in the IT field, near the end of last millennium, I would read every piece of related news I could put my hands on. I was particularly interested in visions of the future. What new technology was being developed? What new concepts were being considered? Where would it lead us?
While installing maybe the hundredth copy of Microsoft Word on a new PC when bringing GCF Bank's first computer network to life, I couldn't help but think: "Man, if this Internet thing ever catches on this could be made so simple! Maybe the software could be somewhere online where we could just use it whenever need be."
As we all now know, the Internet thing did catch on. And so did the concept of dialing in to use the software whenever we needed it.
You may have heard the term "cloud computing." The name was inspired by the symbol often used to represent the Internet on flow charts and diagrams. Simply put, it means hosted services delivered over the Internet.
It can host infrastructure such as Amazon Web Services, platforms like Google Apps or software used as Web-based email services. Yahoo mail or Gmail users have been accessing the cloud without even knowing it.
A cloud can be private or public. A private cloud is a proprietary data center that supplies hosted services to a restricted number of people. A public cloud will sell services to anyone online. It's sold on demand, you usually pay by the minute, hour or space required.
Benefits in the business world are vast. The software is managed and maintained by the host. It removes the workload from the IT staff in an age where weekly security updates are the norm. By paying a provider only for what you use, capital expenditures on hardware, software and services are greatly reduced.
The home user doesn't have to be a tech guru to access the resource. No compatibility issues with older applications as when installing new software. Your data lives online, it's available if your hard drive fails. You're not restricted to one PC, your data is accessible through any Internet connection.
Yet those advantages bring with them additional risk. Those clouds can turn dark quickly.
Security issues are a grave concern. Your host is in control not only of the resources, but any private information you may store as well.
Keeping a spreadsheet with your medical records? What about your home or work address, banking information or credit card details? All of that information is ripe for the picking if someone hacks into the host server. Any privacy risk that's inherent with Internet usage applies here as well.
Disgruntled or dishonest employees may sabotage the system, providing insider information to identity thieves or damaging the infrastructure. The data you no longer need to backup could be lost.
A service outage will render your data inaccessible. True, this can happen when managed in-house as well. But if it should, you have a human nearby to communicate status updates.
None of these issues spell the downfall of cloud computing. It's a relatively new concept so engineers are still working a few bugs out of the system. With such great potential, a lot of resources are being spent on assuring its success. Proceed with caution in these early stages.
Social networks are the place to be for those who want to catch up with an old classmate or share their child's antics with relatives near and far. But you may be surprised by just how far beyond that purpose the Web site has grown.
Just last month, film director Kevin Smith suffered an embarrassing situation that would have found most people hanging their head in shame. But not Kevin. Instead, he tweeted about getting kicked off a Southwest Airlines plane for being too fat. Smith tweeted about his experience at 6:52 p.m. By 7:08 p.m., he had a response from the airline, apologizing for the incident. Smith was given a seat on a later flight and a $100 travel voucher for his inconvenience.
You don't have to be a celebrity to get results this way. Companies are now devoting significant resources to social media monitoring. Southwest has more than a million followers on Twitter. Any negative comment will spread quicker than a California wildfire. A prompt response and resolution stops it from becoming a public relations nightmare.
Southwest isn't alone. Many large companies are using sites like Twitter or Facebook to get feedback from consumers. In so doing, they gain a large number of followers. Chances are good that your social comment will be noticed if you use the company's Twitter name in your complaint.
You may not get as quick of a response as did Smith. Sometimes the recipient may need to research the issue before responding.
Look for community, user experience or support in a Twitter profile before directing your comment. The people at the top of the company are less likely to respond.
Customer feedback is merely one way companies are using social media to their advantage.
The marketing potential is tremendous. When you can reach millions of people at virtually no cost, the possibilities are endless. Announce a new product or program. Promote causes.
I'm a Facebook fan of one company that makes excellent use of this media. I see their posts on my home page at least once a week. They sponsor a military support group and offer regular opportunities to get involved. They're currently running a contest where fans nominate their favorite service member to win a getaway vacation for their family. It's also an opportunity to keep their name appearing through frequently posted updates.
They sponsor musical groups. New CD releases and tour dates are posted. There was a contest to win a trip to see the band. They posted recipes at holiday time and safety tips for relevant circumstances.
Fans got a sneak peak at new TV commercials they planned to run. Which would make you more likely to buy our product? Have you seen our commercial yet? What channel did you see it on? They had an instant control group at their fingertips, knowing early on which spot would be more effective and where to place their marketing dollars.
Unless they were promoting a new product, their messages didn't even include a sales pitch. Yet their name was always front and center on my display window.
Yes, the marketing potential is tremendous. This year, Black Friday shoppers didn't have to wait for the ads to plot their shopping strategy. Exclusive deals were announced on Facebook.
A host of large companies continue to offer special deals and coupons to their online followers. A wise consumer will include Twitter and Facebook in their online research.
Social media offers more than marketing opportunities. The Internet is the first place companies turn when doing a background check on a potential new employee. We've said this before but can't stress it enough: If you're in the job market, conduct routine Web searches for yourself. You may not have posted that picture of college frat drinking games, but your housemate may have. Better you find them first and have them removed before they can damage your chance of being hired.
William Shakespeare wrote "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players." Little did he know how true those words would ring 400 years later.
The severe winter weather in the Northeast has eaten into state and local funding with the clearing of roads providing a large, unbudgeted expense to taxpayers. Business and Government offices lost productivity as offices were closed by historic snowfalls. Although technology allows some to telecommute, many workers are only paid when on-site. On the other hand, those public and private snowplows got a workout and earned more than a few dollars this winter. New jobless claims continue with a higher 4-week moving average of 473,750 compared to the last week in January when they were 456,250. Roads weren't the only mode of transportation affected as air-traffic and train routes were cancelled and delayed.
The economy has had wide-ranging effects. The most obscure one I heard this week was the reduced number of shark attacks in the United States last year. The guess of experts is that fewer people could afford to travel to the beaches, reducing the number of potential shark attacks. Apparently, being forced to stay at home has some benefits!
Are you confused by the array of hardware and software options available? In the market for a new gadget? Find unbiased reviews, prices, software downloads and tech news here.
More than an electronics shopping site, newegg.com offers consumer reviews, detailed specs and how-to advice.
Tip of the Week
You keep your operating system and anti-virus software updated to assure the latest security patches are installed, but you're not quite done yet. Hackers know you're catching on so look to another popular program to compromise. Attacks based on Adobe Reader and Acrobat are on the increase, as they are the most common cross-platform tool to assure user accessibility to various forms and documents. Check for updates on a regular basis. You'll find a link to do so from the product's Help menu.
Quotable
"A dream doesn't become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." - Colin Powell
Today in History
1955 - Claudette Colvin refuses to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks' famous arrest for the same offense.
Flash Fact
It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million listeners. Terrestrial TV took 13 years to reach 50 million viewers. The internet took four years to reach 50 million people. In less than nine months, Facebook added 100 million users. If it were a country, it would be the fourth most populated place in the world. This means it easily beats the likes of Brazil, Russia and Japan in terms of size.
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