WEEK 4 EOC: New App

My Pet Translator

For anyone who has pets, I’m sure you have your moments when you just wish you knew what they were trying to say to you. Sometimes we get mixed up between what our pets are REALLY asking for. Sometimes it’s due to laziness. It’s ok. You’re not the first and I’m sure you won’t be the last but now there’s a new app called My Pet Translator that can help. You can register your pet on this app by filling out basic information about what kind of pet you have and what type/breed. The app will then download a voice activation whenever your pet speaks into the device. If you add a chip to your pets’ collar (or whatever best suits your pet) it can also track your pet in case it gets lost/disappears as long as the chip is registered on the profile. It will calculate where your pet derives from and produce your specific pets’ language. You will better tell whether your pet is sick, if you have fed it too much or not enough, or if they just want to go for a walk. For dogs specifically, it’s also a great indication of danger if you know what they are saying when they growl in the middle of the night. Sometimes we’re too tired and just think that they are barking or growling for nothing. It’s a fun and resourceful app where you can even post fun things with your pets and connect with others on the app. My Pet Translator has a connecting app called The Wild (no registration needed for obvious reasons) where it can translate all other animals such as elephants, tigers, lions, bears, penguins, monkeys, etc. We’ve always had all these different language translators for people in different countries. It’s about time we’re able to understand other breeds we live with.

WEEK 3 EOC: My Demographic

Millenials (or Generation Y)

Millenials are known to be people who were born between 1977 and 2000. We are the generation that are fluent and comfortable with digital technology and it seems to be our way of life. "The Millennials were the first generation to grow up in a world filled with computers, cellphones, satellite TV, iPods, and online social networks" (p. 72). Our brains are just so accustomed that more times than not, we feel, although materialistic, we would (for the lack of a better term) die without these products. We tend to lose focus on what really matters. We use any moment in time to be online or on the phone even if there's no activity. During no activity, we could be spending quality time with friends and family or reading a book or watching a movie. We could be going on a little adventure or taking a walk even if it's just down the street. It has quickly become a pretty bad habit and as they say, "old habits die hard". A Yahoo executive states, "All generations are comfortable with technology, but this is the generation that's been formed by technology," for them, "it's not something separate. It's just something they do" (p. 72). We've been conditioned in all things technology and technology continues to grow and expand which grabs our attention with ease. To capture the millennials, anything online is a plus. For example the Barack Obama campaign."The campaign's mastery of cutting-edge social media, such as the my.barackobama.com web site, was optimized for Millennial appeal" where Obama was able to include "tagging, discussion boards, photo uploads and other interactive elements" (p. 72) and "It created a campaign specifically designed by and for today's tech-happy Millennial generation, using the communication tools young people rely on and trust" (p.72).

WEEK 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

Better World Books is a company that knows a thing or two about what it means to give back. It turns out that for every book that is purchased from their website, they donate to either Books for Africa, which is their longtime literacy partner or Feed the Children who have continuously found good homes for books. BWB started this charitable mission back in August, 2011. At the top of their website, it notes that they have (so far) "donated over 18M books, have raised over $22M for literacy and libraries and have recycled/reused over 210M books." Better World Books also work with the two other non-profit literacy organizations; National Center for Families Learning and Room to Read. BWB also provides literacy grants where non-profit groups or libraries write up what they will do with their grant (down to the dollar) and then they will fund the projects that they think will be the most successful pursuing. As far as the recycling, if BWB is unable to find a home they refuse to just throw it away, hence why it is recycled or reused. They have reclaimed more than 900,000 pounds of metal shelving from libraries across the United States. To help reduce carbon and support the move to a low carbon economy, BWB states “every order at BetterWorldBooks.com has the option to be shipped carbon balanced for just a few cents extra. So far, we have reached 44,000 tons of carbon offsets.” Better World Books is one of many companies that are doing such amazing things by giving back to the community. They’ve been around for a few years showing major progress and success in the world of charity and from the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like they’re slowing down anytime soon. They’ve got big plans and with the support of books that are being bought, they will continue to power through.

WEEK 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

Playstation 4 - Cash Cow

I believe the PS4 is a cash cow for the simple fact that it's the latest version and has many updates (as most consoles do when coming out with a new version). In an article about the console on www.extremetech.com by Grant Brunner, just last year "from July to September PS4 sold 4 million units". It was believed to be one of the most anticipated consoles coming out apparently people felt the need to have it. Grant continued "PS4 is the lead platform this generation" and that "PS4 is more powerful and more popular."

Mobile - Star

Mr. Peter Benson touched on the topic of the rise of mobile gaming in his article from www.sidelineapp.com. He mentioned how it's not all about pushing the limits and that sometimes simplicity is endearing to customers. "Due to mobile games' convenience and accessibility, they will likely continue to dominate the gaming market." It's also being speculated that because of the rise of mobile gaming, that it will set off another video game crash.

Wii-U - Dog

From day one, I personally believed that this concole wasn't going to go very far. Nintendo has been pretty wishy washy with their games most of which were hardly ever that great. You may have a few people around the world who enjoy it or could tolerate it, but apparently it just isn't enough to have made it as big as expected. On www.forbes.com, Louis Bedigian noted that Nintendo released the 3DS with no good games and a high price of $249.99. Because of that, they were forced to cut the price well ahead of schedule. "The company lost its cash cow - the handheld market - and saw its market cap drop down 50% in the following months." Based on that, they were desperate to come out with something new, the Wii-U. Unfortunately, it was the downfall of Nintendo. They continued to attempt to come out with games and each not all that successful. The sales were well under 1 million in North America, Japan and Europe. "Most consumers don't care about that series." (referencing the Pikmin brand)

Virtual Reality - Question Mark

Richard Wordsworth made his point on www.ign.com where "while playing, gamers can walk, run, sidestep, jump and crouch - the complete first-person athlete's repertoire." It seems all great and we all know that it's been one thing the world has been waiting on but one thing I know for sure that's on everyone's mind.....how much is it going to cost? Specifically, as of now, we're dealing with Omni, Rift and the PrioVR sensor rig and all that has been estimated to be over $1k. Of course, that's just right now and being that Sony recently just came out with a VR headset as well, Rift will most likely have to drop the price or "the VR set-ups will have to start doing more than just letting us romp around in video games. So who really knows about where virtual reality games will really lead us. Will it in fact be a big hit or will it just become another anticipated model turned disappointment?

WEEK 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

"Imagine a retailer with service so good its customers wish it would take over the Internal Revenue Service or start up an airline."

I got married December 2015. It was a civil ceremony but I still wanted to look my best. I had been going around looking for a nice dress and shoes like a chicken with my head cut off. It was a tremendous amount of adventuring. A couple of stores weren't all that great (and neither was the service) BUT before giving up for the day, we tried JCPenney. Before I could even say anything, I was greeted with the warmest smile and politely asked "How are you today?" where I responded and then was asked, "Is there anything I could help you with today?" I informed them of what I was looking for and to be more specific claimed that it was in fact for a special event, my wedding. I let them know that it was a civil ceremony so I didn't want my dress to look too "PROM-Y". I was physically directed to their dress section. Being that there were many, they mentioned which types of dresses were where to broaden my choices. The employee then said, "If there is anything you need, feel free to let me or my co-worker at the register know. After a little while, it felt hopeless until.....I had finally found it. It seemed to have been the last one and it was TOO BIG! I went to the register to ask if they happened to have anymore and instead of just telling me "No", she actually walked out from behind the register and said, “We can go take a look”. She initiated small talk and got to know about me and what I was shopping for. She went through multiple racks of dresses. She explained that sometimes customers will pick up items and then place them where they don't belong because they don't want to have to go back to the location that it was originally placed. Luckily, there were actually 4 other dresses! I couldn't stop thanking her for her time. They had my size and once my mother and I had checked out she wished me the best of luck and a congratulations to getting married.

WEEK 1 EOC: My Voice

I am not a filmmaker but instead an ASPIRING filmmaker. My mother has always told me I had a keen eye and a fast paced mind. Before she said any of that to me, I’ve always enjoyed watching movies and television. I could catch something even if I hadn’t seen it from the beginning and understand pretty much everything that was going on. Sometimes I catch where there would be a lack in continuity and I tend to pick up on things quite quickly especially when it pertains to problem solving such as criminal/police activity. I love that with shows such as Criminal Minds or CSI I could be a part of their journey to figure out what happened and why. I want to be a part of that world where I can make an audience think, be happy, sad or frustrated yet root for the person they never thought would deserve such a praise in success. I want to be that filmmaker that catches every emotion possible. I want my audience to feel included and also feel like they are in the same realm of a policeman, a bully, a parent, a teacher and have them understand the intent (whether good or bad) about someone. It would be a great opportunity to become a great filmmaker and use that power to help spread stories of those untold, forgotten and discriminated against in the hopes that one day everyone will have a better understanding of people as a whole. Of course, there would still be action and comedy that people love so dearly but there are other stories that go beyond our lifetime or perception that need to be addressed and it could possibly change the world as we know it. I will NOT be afraid to be a part of a truth that others fail or refuse to produce to the world. It’s a position that I can and will stand by any decision I make.