Thursday, February 25, 2010

Presenting Business Information through Social Media

It is no doubt that today one of the most powerful channels of information are the social networking sites which technically are called social media. They allow one to one interaction as well as communication between many without even setting up a website. In fact they are more effective than websites as they attract hundreds of people from all walks of life.

Social media can be a good platform to present various types of information to the interested people. This includes business information. But going out there and telling that you want to sell something is not a good way to use it. Since the social media is primarily for person to person relationship it is better to build up relationships before promoting a brand. As you get to know the reaction of the people you can slowly start informing about your products or services and how they can help the interested people.

The best way is to start by commenting on the ideas of the people and also answering them if they have a question which relates to your product or service. Replies to such comments and answers can easily attract those people and after a healthy interaction you can simply put forward your proposal. If those on the other end find it acceptable then you can go ahead and complete a deal. You should also know that such social interaction can attract more and more people as these media are networks where millions of people are in touch with one another and your business information can spread to all corners of the world if they can attract a few in the first place.

So get ready to set the ball rolling!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Is Your Kid Safe on The Internet? Some Safety Tips

For parents who worried about the potential dangers in new technology, and are unsure how to help their kids navigate a wireless world safely, there may be comfort in the basic message from a new guide from the Federal Trade Commission: Talk to your kids.

Ultimately, simply addressing these issues with your kids – and emphasizing that the basic rules that guide communications offline are the same ones that should apply to communication online – is what’s important, says Nat Wood, an assistant director in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“The reach of modern communication technology means it can be really hard to step away from a mistake, but the principals of communicating in a civil way are the same online and off,” says Mr. Wood, who worked on the FTC guide, known as Net Cetera. “In a lot of ways, this makes it easier on parents.”

Still, the combination of typical teenage poor judgment with the far reach of today’s technology haunts many parents, who envision their teenagers being harassed by peers, stalked by a sexual predator, or answering questions from a potential boss or college admissions officer about the embarrassing photos they posted to their Facebook page.
Kids' poor judgment

Valerie, a mother in North Dakota who prefers not to use her last name because of privacy concerns, was surprised when her 16-year-old daughter’s cell phone started registering a lot of odd numbers. She went onto Michelle’s MySpace page – available to anyone – and discovered she’d posted her number, and many other private details, along with the message, “I’m bored, text me.”

“I think we fell down on the job by not being more cautious and watching more,” says Valerie, who talked to Michelle and showed her how much personal data came up simply through googling her phone number. “She nearly had a heart attack,” says Valerie. “It was a huge wake-up call when she saw how much was out there about her.”

Michelle and her parents worked together to come up with some acceptable guidelines – don’t share passwords, don’t post questionable photos or sensitive information such as phone numbers or hometown, don’t list your age.

Valerie and her husband also made a rule that the family laptop can’t be taken into the kids’ bedrooms.

That story is a fairly typical one, internet-safety experts say: Kids don’t mean to create problems, but often don’t have the best judgment and don’t think about the potential consequences.

But reacting too harshly – particularly by denying access to technology or using filters – is unlikely to work, and also denies the many positive aspects of new technology to increasingly-connected teenagers, they add.

“Teens whose parents are actively and positively involved in what their children are doing, both online and in the real world, are the ones who engage in less risky behavior online,” says Nancy Willard, executive director of the Center for the Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet.
Cyber-predators not the main threat

She also cautions parents against being too paranoid. The cyber-predator threat that was hyped in much of the past decade is exceedingly rare, she notes. The biggest dangers kids face online are from peers who misuse information or harass others, or from their own poor judgment in posting images that later reach the wrong people.

“The entire conversation with young people has to be focused on ‘What are the potential harmful consequences?’” Ms. Willard says. “It’s not rule-based, it’s consequence-based.”

Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University in Dominguez Hills and author of “Me, MySpace and I,” agrees, and says that a lot of the issues today come from parents who are happy to let their kids be occupied by technology but never actively talk about it with them.

Talking to kids proactively – perhaps using a news story to raise the issue – is key, says Professor Rosen. “They don’t have the best decision-making abilities, and they’re just kids,” he says.

Those approaches are also emphasized in the FTC guide, which provides a glossary of terms and explicit information about cyber-bullying, sexting, file sharing, and other potential sources of problems. The guide also points to the positive elements of kids’ online communication and advises parents to start discussions young and keep communication channels open.

Net Cetera, the guide, “is value-neutral and caters neither to the ‘left’ nor the ‘right,’ but it encourages parents to communicate their own values to their kids,” Jon Leibowitz, the FTC chairman, said Wednesday in releasing the guide. “When parents are up front about their values and how they apply in the online world, kids will make more thoughtful decisions when they face tricky situations.”


Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2009/1216/How-to-keep-your-teen-safe-on-the-Internet

Types of File Sharing

Peer to peer networks

One of the most popular options for file sharing on the Internet are peer-to-peer networks, such as Gnutella, Gnutella2 and eDonkey network.

Users can use software that connects to a peer-to-peer to search for shared files on the computers of other users (I.e., peers) connected to the network. Files of interest can then be downloaded directly from other users on the network.

File sharing networks typically allow the sharing of any type of content that can be distributed digitally (e.g., video, music, software).

BitTorrent

BitTorrent is another type of peer-to-peer network that is most commonly used to share larger files. With BitTorrent large media files are broken down into smaller chunks, which are then transferred to the user (or peer) depending on the fastest possible connection to the missing piece. This is done while the peer is simultaneously uploading the pieces it already has to other peers.

File hosting services

File hosting services are a simple alternative to peer-to-peer software. These are sometimes used together with Internet collaboration tools such as email, forums or any other medium in which links to direct downloads from file hosting services can be embedded.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_sharing