E-Shopping Benefits

In today’s world, businesses have made it easier for consumers around the world to reach their products through the use of e-marketing. Not only does e-marketing benefit businesses but it also benefits consumers in a big way. Through the use of the internet people are able to view advertisements for new products, view price comparisons between stores, and read customer reviews. All of these examples help people save more time, money, and energy than ever before.

For example if I need to buy a gift for a friend’s wedding but don’t have time to drive to all of the stores the couple is registered at, I can simply go to the store’s website instead. If the store has a wedding registry there will be a link on the store website to look up either the bride or groom by last name, city, and state. By going to the store’s website alone I can save hours of my life that I would have spent driving around the city in traffic. Using the online registry also allows me to view what items my friends would like, how much each of them cost, what items have already been purchased, and in what stores the items are available.  Another great option that websites offer is purchasing gifts online and having them delivered to the couple’s address, your own home, or store pickup.  

From this example I could save money on gas by not having to leave my home, and save money on the gift itself by choosing the item that best fits my price range. I can save time by searching for the gift at my leisure and not having to worry about store hours. Overall, I think most people would like any opportunity to save and I personally prefer to conserve my gas because gas prices keep rising.  

Sources

http://analogik.com/articles/231/e-marketing

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regHome.asp

http://www.businessihub.com/e-marketing-the-right-way-to-display-your-product/

Can Social Networking Sites Affect Your Wellbeing?

When most people think of a social networking website, the first one that comes to mind is Facebook. This might be because Facebook has over 500 million active users or the movie The Social Network which is a chronicle of the founding of Facebook. Personally all of my closest friends and myself have a Facebook account and I strongly believe that it can affect a person’s emotional health. From my personal opinion and experiences, I have learned that people wear a “mask” on sites like Facebook and Myspace. What I mean by “mask” is that, people will only let you see what they want you to see and you should never be fooled by this “mask.” The photos people put up are often a signature smile in a flattering pose or with a majestic background. You will rarely see pictures of people looking angry or sad and that’s for a reason. No one wants the world to think their “crazy” or an “emotional mess.”

This leads me to my point, that social networking sites can affect your emotions. Although no one ever really shares their whole life’s story with the public, sharing only the good aspects of one’s life can make others feel inadequate or depressed. Have you ever looked at a friend’s profile to learn they have traveled the world, have a great job, and their life looks perfect? Well, it has happened to me and all I can think about is how these people are my same age and that they have already done so much with their life, and what have I done with mine. I know I shouldn’t compare myself to my friends but sorry to say it EVERYONE does it at one point or another.  More ways these sites affect people are as simple as a comment, deleting friends, sending invitations, sending personal messages, and posting a picture. Leaving a comment can be taken several different ways but the worst for most people is when a person doesn’t respond because that is a reply on its own. Not responding to a message or comment leaves the sender in the position to assume the reason why the recipient never wrote back, often leaving people feeling neglected or as if they are being avoided. Deleting a person you don’t talk to is perfectly fine but sometimes the person who was deleted feels hurt because they don’t understand why. Posting pictures can also have a dramatic role in friendships ending, losing jobs, and ruining a person’s image. All these examples I have just given can affect people to some degree.

Although I have only pointed out ways in which sites can be detrimental to a person’s health it can also help people feel connected to others. Overall a person’s state of mind will determine if a simple message, picture, or comment will affect them or not. So just remember the “mask’ that people wear is like seeing only the tip of an iceberg, there is still so much more under the water that you don’t see.

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

http://www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com/

http://naturalbias.com/is-facebook-bad-for-your-health/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2167947/can_being_on_facebook_hurt_your_career.html

Electronic Payments: It’s fast, but is it safe?

In today’s world people want everything fast. They want to finish school fast, they want to move out fast, they want to have a high paying job fast, and so forth. Unfortunately or fortunately for most people that’s not how life works. Certain things in life take time for a reason. When you go to a doctor, wouldn’t you hope that they went through years of schooling and training before mastering their field? If I found out my doctor took only a few tests and got a certificate, I would run the other way as fast as humanly possible. I believe it’s no different with technology.

Cell phones and computers have all taken years to become as useful as they are today but there are some aspects of this technology that aren’t completely fool proof just yet, such as electronic payments. Although we believe some websites to be a 100% secure, they never truly are. There’s always going to be people out in the world that are willing to take your personal information if it will benefit them in some way or another. Hackers for example commit cyber crimes all the time because they can hide behind a computer screen without leaving a single trace of their identity. These hackers are constantly looking for holes in companies’ software to take advantage of the situation and steal whatever they can. 

I personally prefer to pay cash when making payments but I have succumb to making electronic payments for credit cards, SunPass, and buying gifts online. The main reason why I gave in to electronic payments is for the same reason most people do it’s fast and easy, but it’s always in the back of my mind that anyone could steal my identity and I might not know it. As a result I constantly ask myself “how can I get all my information off the internet? “ Unfortunately people can steal your personal information even if you haven’t made an electronic payment. For example during my years studying at my university I have received 2 letters in the mail informing me that my personal information might have been stolen by a hacker and that I need to put a fraud alert on all my personal accounts and check my credit reports.  

In conclusion, technology dealing with electronic payments, in my opinion is not as secure or trustworthy as business like us to believe.  May be in the future securing personal information while making payments will be better, but there will always be someone out there looking for new ways to steal your information. 

Sources:

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2010/06/02/48763/At-least-31-of-companies-have-been-hacked.htm 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2774477.stm 

https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/11436-The-Real-Business-Impact-of-Being-Hacked.html 

http://business2press.com/2011/02/07/nasdaq-directors-desk-computer-systems-hacked-confirmed/