Tag: social media

The impact of technology on businesses

Trade has been part of human societies for centuries, and even before the advent of money, people exchanged goods with goods using barter trade method. With the introduction of money, the bartering method was faced out, as people embraced money as a tool for trade. Although the introduction of money eased the way people transacted, the discovery of the internet is perhaps one of the events that have had a profound impact on trade. Because of the power of the internet, one can provide services from remote locations, and receive funds paid via mobile banking apps such as Chase.

The e-business landscape has rapidly developed, and the internet has largely been responsible for this growth. Amazon’s success story can be attributed to the progressive development of the internet technology because when the company started in 1994, as an online marketplace for books, the World Wide Web (WWW) began. As the internet technology further developed, and more people began accessing internet-enabled devices, the population of internet users grew. Online marketplaces became common with companies developing websites to advertise and sell their products. These progressive changes have culminated into the growth of the popularity of the online retail sites, and some businesses are shifting from the brick and motor business setup to selling online.

The social media platforms are playing a significant role in connecting businesses with consumers. Thanks to increased internet penetration. Businesses can advertise their products on platforms such as Facebook to create product awareness, and inform potential customers where they can purchase their products. These platforms, still, provide avenues where sellers can receive feedback from their customers, and also provide information to customers about the products. The close contact between sellers and buyers brought by the social media ensures businesses constantly receive feedback, and work on this information to add value to their services and products.

The doo-to-door delivery is the next frontier of business innovation, and already, businesses are delivering goods directly to consumers. The internet is playing a crucial role in this area because people can place orders on businesses’ websites, and businesses can use deliver using technologies such as drones and robots. Amazon is an example of the companies that are delivering products using drones. Because customers want to experience better services, those involved in developing technology solutions need to come up with new methods that can make it possible for customers to know or track  the status of their deliveries. This is an opportunity that those intending to venture into e-business should consider.

The impact that social media had on the news

Before the internet and the social media came, people relied on the media broadcasting and publishing companies for information. With the introduction of the social media, the way people accessed and consumed news started changing, resulting to the decline in the newspaper readership. The circulation of the sprinted media materials including magazines has reduced since the social media was first introduced during the late 1990s. Should media companies be worried about Facebook and other social media companies? It depends on how one looks at it because there are opportunities and risks for these companies.

The print media is not as popular as it used to be two decades ago because the increase in the number of social media users had led to more people relying on the social sites for information. These sites enable people to freely access information either from the pages of the news companies, or from friends. This has resulted to a situation, in which social media users are constantly up to date with current affairs, and for some people, Facebook and Twitter are ideal sources of information and news. Given the entertainment aspects of the social media, people spend a significant amount of time on social media. This leaves them with limited time to even go through the newspapers.

On the flip side, the social media seems to have brought news companies closer to consumers of information. Three decades ago, it was a challenge to for the media companies to engage with those who consumed their content. The social media has eased how mainstream media companies can interact with their clients given that the social sites allow readers and viewers of the news content to share their thoughts about how news are reported. This feedback is helping businesses in the news industry to improve their news reporting.  Users can follow the news companies by liking the social media pages of these companies.  With the social media, still, media companies can receive live update of information and report it.

On one hand, the social media is killing newspapers and driving down sales, but on the other hand, it is contributing to the growth in the popularity of the news reporting companies. To fully benefit from the social media, the media companies should take advantage of new opportunities that come with these social platforms. For example, they can add ads in between videos to generate extra revenue. This will compensate for the revenue lost due to low viewership or readership of news.    

American Football

No other country has managed to build a strong sports culture like the United States, and for a number of years, the country has dominated the global basketball industry. However, it is the American Football that has remained legendary because it has been part of the American culture for long. Although the sport officially began as a form of sports entertainment in 1920, 1959 was the most important year in the history of the sports because this was the year when the American Football League was formed. Like other sports, American Football has previously been rocked by issues such as racism. However, it has weathered these storms to stand out as a stout mode of entertainment.

NFL has become part of the American entertainment culture with the United States and Canada actively involved in the game. Although the sport is only popular in these countries, the various NFL teams have a history of drafting players from places such as Africa. One of the 2013 Indiana Colts’ draftees, Daniel Adongo came from Kenya. The drafting of the players is an exercise that is conducted every year with some players being selected from colleges. The success of the American Football can be attributed to the fact that it is treated as a professional career.

The NFL as a form of entrainment has far reaching implications on other forms of entertainment. Every league season, media companies cover the games, keeping millions of Americans glued to their TV. Since these companies run ads, they generate a significant amount of revenue through advertisement. Musicians also get to perform during the Super Bowl half-time shows which have been part of the NFL league. Since the shows were introduced in the late 1960s, various artists have performed. The electrifying performance during the half-time show shows the extent to which the American Football has impacted other sectors of the entertainment industry.  

The social media has also been affected by the NFL because people on social media who missed watching the game may want to catch up with news reports about the team that won. Now that media companies can post their content on YouTube, those who want to watch their favorite teams play can search and watch the games on YouTube.

The NFL not only serves an important role as a platform for entertaining the lovers of the American Football but it also represents an American culture of patriotism. The NFL is engrained in the American society as a whole, and it will continue being part of the American society.

Pop culture

The growth of the popularity of the pop culture has been aided by technological advancement because as new technologies emerged, entertainers and musicians have found new ways to create and share content and music. Facebook and other social media platforms, for instance, are growing into useful tools for the artists who want to advertise and share their music. With exposure of more individuals to the pop culture, people have been able to engage in self-evaluation based on the message they hear or the images they watch. Increased exposure to the pop culture has resulted to a situation in which kids and some adults see entertainers as role models.

The people culture has tremendously changed in the last four decades because the content that is considered acceptable today would not have been acceptable in the 1970s. The pop culture has primarily influenced how people view what is moral and what is not moral, and this is particularly seen with LGBT. The issue of the LGBT is one that has always been marred by controversies considering that those who came out publicly as being members of the gay community in the 1960s through to 1980s were attacked. Due to the influence of the popular culture, however, people’s views about homosexuality have changed, and more and more people are becoming tolerant and learning to live with members of the gay community.

Unfortunately, the pop culture has its darker side that should make us all concerned. As a leading producer and exporter of the popular culture, the United States (U.S.) took a back seat as artists made music laced with messages of violence. The rampant violence in Chicago can be attributed to the message portrayed by artists in music. The rap music, borne out of the need to highlight the plight of the American minorities, is doing the opposite of what it was initially intended to do because it ignited and inflamed Black-on-Black violence that still continues to date.

Is it a high time that the government should control the message sent by artists out there? The pop culture, despite its benefits, raises serious issues that require the right interventions. Government censorship is necessary to control the kind of information artists can put in their songs. However, this should be done in a manner that it doesn’t create an impression among the affected that the government is curtailing the freedom of speech.