Internet Entrepreneurship

Glancee: Genius or Just Plain Creepy?

Mamolj1 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:08:19 +0000

With the creation of Facebook and its never-ending changes that allow us to find even more information on people, it is hard to believe that it could get even easier. Well, believe it, because it has. The new app,Glancee, according to Techcrunch.com, is a new app available to iOS and Android. What is the purpose? To find people within 100 yards, one, two, or ten miles of you who have similar interests and things in common. The main goal of Glancee was to, “match interests while minimizing the stalker feel.” Though some people say they’ve come close to it, I’m not so convinced.

How Glancee Works:

When you log into your Glancee account, profile pictures of the people near you pop up, and the more similarities you share with random people, the higher they are on your news tab. There is even a tab which allows you to chat or call anyone you want.

Though it could be quite useful in the professional world with companies targeting specific consumers based on their interests and likes (which is in the future plans of the business), I fail to see how it could really be useful for the average person. The app JoinMingle is focused primarily on professional networking, whereas Glancee is solely for the average person. This allows an enormous amount of your personal information to be found by any random person who is in the vicinity. As time goes on, the ability to gain information on strangers is getting easier and easier. It is a highly debated topic as to if this invasion of privacy is good or bad. Though there is no right answer, I’m not sure having this much information at the tips of any person’s fingertips is a good idea.

Glancee: Genius or Just Plain Creepy? is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

More on Uncrate.com

KernJD1 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:52:53 +0000

After digging around Uncrate a little more, there were a couple neat features I found -

Uncrate followers have the ability to create their own Uncrate.com page to add products they’re interested in. I believe this is extremely helpful for frequent followers because many of the products on Uncrate are expensive, so this allows them to save products and buy them later when they’ve made it big.

I know this feature would be extremely beneficial to me. There are many times I see a product I want to buy but can’t afford it. If a product has a save button, I believe the chances of me going back to buy that product increase significantly; otherwise, I might forget all about it.

Another feature I liked on Uncrate.com was the VIDEOS tab. This tab is linked to another site called Devour.com, which sifts through the videos on YouTube to pick out the best ones.

I’ve been to Devour before, but I didn’t know it was connected to Uncrate. I thought this was very interesting. When you’re done looking at Uncrate, move on over to Devour to check out the latest and greatest videos.

More on Uncrate.com is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Pandora…for Food

seitersk1 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:48:35 +0000

I love food. As I prepare for a career in the food industry, I am fascinated by the internet’s influence on the eating experience. So naturally, a fair number of my blog posts this semester will revolve around culinary internet entrepreneurship.

Earlier this month, TechCrunch published this article about Foodspotting, which now aims to become “The
Pandora of Food”. According to Crunch Base: “Foodspotting is an angel-funded startup that enables people to stumble
upon good things in the world around them. The Foodspotting website and mobile apps make it easy to find and share food recommendations: Instead of reading and writing restaurant reviews, you can share photos of specific foods you
recommend and see what’s good around you wherever you.”

I created a Foodspotting account today, to see what the fuss was about. The site asked me questions about my favorite dishes and restaurants, and I spent a few minutes looking through restaurants in my home town. A few of my favorite “business lunch” spots had a dish or two reviewed, but the listings were far from extensive. Thinking that touristy locations might have more coverage, I investigated some of my favorite restaurants on Cape Cod.

As a food-entrepreneur-to-be, I think Foodspotting is a prime example of how the web transforms eating. Today, we all go to a restaurant, pore over the menu, and stress out over whether our selection will be “good” or not. Foodspotting is the simple, mobile-based solution. Recommendations from friends and other authorities can help guide users to restaurants and dishes they will love.

The main lesson I take from Foodspotting?

The Power of Discovery…Foodspotting enables consumers to find new things. This is clearly a huge trend in our world, from Pinterest to Pandora and beyond. The incredible increase in “foodie blogging” is also part of this
discovery trend.

Perhaps the future of food innovation won’t be in products or services, but in smart, new ways to discover them.

Pandora…for Food is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Examples of the Internet in the 2012 Election

WheelerAA1 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:44:24 +0000

The Internet has become a fantastic resource for following the presidential race. Websites such as usatoday.com offer unique features to help keep the well-informed readers up to date and gives the not-so-well-informed readers applications and summaries to get them plugged in. There are blogs for all the latest debates and descriptive tables to keep track of the primaries and the running total of delegates per state. They even have a quiz for those who are not familiar with the candidates. You answer multiple choice questions regarding how you would solve several top issues of today and rank their importance to you. The program will then automatically match you up with the candidate holding the most similar perspectives. I also found on 270towin.com an interactive map with all of the states and number of delegates per each. You can decide for yourself which party each state will vote for. And to help you decide, there is a table displayed for the voting history of each chosen state. When the last few states are undecided, the map will tally the number of delegates needed to win the election and all of the possible outcomes for each party to win. Once you finish predicting the total outcome of the election, you can share the map you created on any social media site. The election opens up a whole new door for Internet entrepreneurs that is not always there to take advantage of. It is clear with all of the new applications for keeping tabs on the presidential election that entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity. And one things is for sure, if you’re a candidate, now more than ever you want them on your side.

Examples of the Internet in the 2012 Election is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Netflix Gone Wild: Why Netflix Will Be Sold Very Soon

Rocky Cersosimo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:46:07 +0000

Some time ago Netflix, a very successful company, made arguably the worst decision possible for their company. What was the decision? They raised their prices without consulting or even notifying their customers first! The low priced cost and quick delivery was an awesome ploy for business in the movie and game rental market and Netflix was at the top. In July they decided to double their prices and lead to a humongous drop in their stock prices and lost over 40% of their customers.

Netflix since then has apologized and lowered their prices to even below the normal line they had when they first stepped onto the scene as the number one movie rental site. They had it going on, but seemingly destroyed themselves with one majorly detrimental decision. Though Netflix has seen some of their customers return in recent months, it is still very far behind from where they were when they were number 1 back before the turn of events in July. I feel that Netflix will never make a come back from this and eventually will be sold within the year. The only way they will survive is to come up with something innovative for their rental business; however, with many other companies arising in the online rental and streaming market, I have a feeling that Netflix is going to be set up for failure in the near future.

Netflix Gone Wild: Why Netflix Will Be Sold Very Soon is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Facebook IPO: Going Public

Rocky Cersosimo — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:35:25 +0000

Last week, Facebook and current CEO and creator Mark Zuckerberg made it official along with the SEC to have Facebook stocks be sold to the public. Though this maybe the most anticipated IPO (initial public offering) in the history of the stock market, there is a lot of speculation of how this will affect Facebook. The stocks will most likely not be available to the public until May, but the $5 billion has been raised to allow Facebook to put their stocks up for purchasing.

Facebook already has huge popularity and has been one of the most successful businesses of the 21st century, so why the change? Mark Zuckerberg answers that question with this:

“There is a huge need and a huge opportunity to get everyone in the world connected, to give everyone a voice and to help transform society for the future,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, in a letter that accompanied the filing. “The scale of the technology and infrastructure that must be built is unprecedented, and we believe this is the most important problem we can focus on.”

Facebook already has 800 million users across the world (that is about 1/7 of the world’s population) and Zuckerberg wants to expand even more! The big issue with Facebook going public will be that advertising is going to be the main money maker for Facebook now. That means Facebook is going to have a more YouTube-ish look to it. This may not seem like a problem to us here in the US, but that is because most users of Facebook in America have personal computers, laptops or tablets; but, across the world the majority of users have mobile devices and advertising on mobile devices is much harder to accomplish and still have that social media effectiveness of Facebook that they have always had.

With that said, I personally see this as a very mature move for Facebook to go public. It is the right move for them, but it might have happened a little too late with the current stock market. Time will only tell how effective this move will be for the current leader of the Social Media Market.

Facebook IPO: Going Public is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Starbucks keeping up with Mobile Technology

harringtonma1 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Is mobile technology important for a coffee shop? Absolutely! Starbucks has increased sales by 10% since using mobile technology. They have realized the importance of being the first to use this type of technology on coffee cups, because it intrigues consumers and makes them want more! Check out this video about the NEW Starbucks Cup Magic for Valentines Day and see how Starbucks is keeping up with mobile technology!

Starbucks keeping up with Mobile Technology is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Check out Cypher’s Tree Farm and the new Facebook Page!

CypherRT1 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:31:26 +0000

Why a Christmas Tree Farm would ever want a Facebook Page? After launching and taking time to develop the Cypher’s Tree Farm Facebook page we found out why. We have had random people in the Butler area like our page and say they have been to the Tree Farm and loved the experience. It is perfect, because we focus on the ‘experience.’ Cypher’s Tree Farm is not only about having a good time with your family, but understanding and even teaching that ‘Jesus is the reason for the season.’ Our Facebook page has grown exponentially. We have about 130 likes and have had many people post on our wall and like our pictures which show what our family is all about. We have even had customers post pictures of their family with their tree! To be honest at first i was hesitant as to the point of this Facebook Page. I truly believe this page helps the family business tremendously. It is so important to provide a way of interaction. An interaction not only between customers, but the customers and employees. All in all, if you have a running business or are even in the start-up page create a Facebook Page, it’s free! Utilize the internet and our resources we have available for us today!

Here’s the link to the Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cyphers-Tree-Farm

Check out Cypher’s Tree Farm and the new Facebook Page! is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Grove City Lacrosse Expands to New Heights Using Web Design

CypherRT1 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:14:42 +0000

Grove City Lacrosse has recently expanded in hopes to eventually become a Varsity Sport and play in the NCAA. Currently, GCC Lax plays in the MCLA and plays Division 1 schools such as Pitt and Dayton. Lacrosse is a sport that has recently taken off, so even huge schools have yet to make lacrosse a varsity sport. Without a doubt, the competition is there. It’s been cool to be a part of this growth. One crucial way that GCC lax is moving in the right direction is by using the internet. www.grovecitylacrosse.com has recently been re-designed and worked on by Brandon Jones and the Guava Box team. By focusing on internet use the team hopes to get their name out there. The new website is very complete and well thought out. It has history, rosters, recruiting information, contact, donation, and even a product store. www.grovecitylacrosse.com has been an incredible resource for not only all the parents of the team players, but also any fans, and new recruits that are looking into playing in future years. This is just one example of how internet can be used to advertise and expand any team, project, product, or business. This upcoming generation revolves around the internet in so many ways. It is important to put in the time and work to properly use the internet. A well thought out and well designed website can tell a million words in 30 seconds. Never underestimate the power of our internet resource and its abilities!

Grove City Lacrosse Expands to New Heights Using Web Design is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College

Kickstarter – “A New Way to Fund and Follow Creativity”

harringtonma1 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:59:34 +0000

Do you have a new idea, but cannot find the funds? Kickstarter is a easy way to find funds and also create awareness about your idea. Here are a few things about Kickstarter that make it unique:

Being the world’s largest funding platform, thousands of people have pledged millions of dollars to all the project enclude groups of: music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative field.
Kickstarter is unlike other funding companies, because it is not about investment or lending. Every project creator keeps 100% of the ownership of his/her idea. Instead of giving ownership, they offer products or experience that is unique to that specific project.
Every Kickstarter project must reach it’s funding goal in a timely manner, or no money will change hands
All the projects on Kickstarter are uniquely created by different individuals.

Check out Kickstarter to find out more information about funding.

Kickstarter – “A New Way to Fund and Follow Creativity” is a post from Internet Entrepreneurship - Class Blog of ENTR 409 at Grove City College