8. I feel bad for people who use Second Life

Today, I read about Second Life and virtual education. To be honest, I think that Second Life is used by people that have no real lives. I personally do not know anyone who has tried Second Life but once saw a True Life episode on MTV about it and every person who used it let it completely take over their lives (I know this isn't true of everyone). It kind of reminds of World of Warcraft.

Both articles I read talked about how it can add educational value. The problem is that I don't think that Second Life does that...it cannot replace the classroom and blackboard is a way better tool to have a virtual classroom on. It does not enhance the classroom because you must be familiar with Second Life for that too be true and most students are not. I don't think it is a good recruiting tool either. How many seniors in high school are going to research their college in Second Life as opposed to actually visiting the school or going to the school website.

So what do you guys think: Can Second Life be a valuable tool to help further education?

If anyone is interested in learning further about Second Life and virtual education here are the two articles I read Learning in Second Life: Virtual Education and Virtual World, Real Money in Second Life. Both articles propose advantages of Second Life and education so you may want to give them and look and then decide if you with me or not.

Been Bosssssssssssssin' since 88'.

7. Talking LinkedIn Along with a Funny Side Note Because It's My Birthday

What's good y'all? Today is the Bossssssssss' birthday (I'm 22) and I am currently in the library but I guess I can't complain because Mardi Gras was the best weekend/decision of my life.

I wanna talk about LinkedIn and how you can use it to get a job because it's tough these days. I just read an article by Brian Wallace titled "How to Get the Most out of LinkedIn" and it made me realize that I need to start using LinkedIn more since I am graduating soon and haven't made much of an attempt at finding a job. I created a LinkedIn account for one of my Kogod classes a while ago but have yet to really take advantage of what it has to offer.

LinkedIn is a great tool to expand your business network in the same way that Facebook is a great way to expand your social network. I think soon it will be standard for business majors to include that they have a LinkedIn profile as apart of their resumes. It is also an excellent tool to use for research: information before business meetings, information on interviewers for jobs, and background checks. It can also be used to gain knowledge in your industry by checking out questions that have been posted by other members.

Another reason why I plan on utilizing LinkedIn more is that I think it is here to stay because the fact is that they have 60 million users worldwide. I also believe they will come up with some innovative apps which will help make LinkedIn even more attractive and useful.

On another note, I was checking out an ESPN article earlier tonight about an Oregon WR who just got kicked off the football team by the head coach for making inappropriate posts and status updates, here is an example: "I wish I could block whites as friends as and have blacks LOL, cause apparently I'm misunderstood." I just found this too funny and had to post it...some people are just so dumb.

This is just another example of how you must about what you post in any social network because what you post/how you represent yourself can get you in a lot of trouble. How miserable would it be to be fired for you posted on facebook!

6. Mobile Media to Mardi Gras...GPS, the future?

The Boss had his flight to NO cancelled earlier today but will not let the snow stop him from getting to Mardi Gras. I am currently driving in Georgia right now with 3 other brave souls. I figured it was very appropiate to write my blog post for the week on mobile social networking by writing this via my blackberry(it might get a little choppy).

While on the 18 hour drive to NO I decided to read The Mobile Social: Not ready for Prime Time? By Caroline McCarthy and A Wireless Street Fight by Anita Hamilton. Both articles were about what's supposed to be the next big thing in mobile media: GPS like location based services. These devices are capable of locating who/what is near and around you via your mobile phone and are expected to push mobile social networking.

I, however, do not think that devices such as Yahoo's "proximity alerts" and Hello's Buddy Beacon will be the next big thing in mobile social networking.

Currently, I think there are too many technological, distribution, and most importantly privacy issues facing this relatively new mobile technology. I don't think that most consumers will be comfortable with disclosing their exact location even to most of their friends. I think that knowing the exact location of someone without them directly telling you is a little creepy.

Another concern I have for the success of this new product is that I'm not sure if there is a market for this mobile technology? This is a pretty expensive product and can be substituted by mapquest for the most part minus the proximity alerts. You can only use these location based services if your friends have it too which is another reason this technology will have troubling entering the prime time.

In the end, I think location based services will be another fad and not a revolutionary mobile media tool but I guess only time will tell.

Alrite, its snowing in Alabama right now...not cool. Bosssssssssss OUT.

5. Marketers Need to Catch Up

Just finished watching the super bowl and I couldn't be more satisfied with result (Colts/Manning lose and everyone at Mardi Gras will be going even crazier when I arrive in NO later this week). This week I read 10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Blogging along with Conversational Marketing: Word of Mouse.

I think that corporate blogging and advertising on social media sites are very much the same with corporate blogs being less visible. However, they both encounter the similar problems. With that being said marketers need to adapt. I feel as though most corporate blogs/Facebook fan pages treat their sites purely as press releases and are missing the point completely. They are just following the crowd and making these pages because everyone else is too but with no real direction as to why they are doing so.

In order to connect with consumers in a social setting, marketers need to realize that people need to feel engaged and as though they are communicating/making a connection with a human being and not just become another number apart of the corporation's blog circle/fan page.

I believe that facebook, myspace, and twitter have and will continue to change advertising but I do not believe corporate blogging will have the same effect. I think that creating a following via social media sites is much more feasible than creating a corporate blog because it is easier to get your voice out. I understand you can post links to your blog from these social media sites but lets be serious...no one is going to click on these links.

In the end, marketers and corporations should focus more time and effort into developing their presence on social media sites as opposed to corporate blogs because they present more opportunities to connect with users.

No school tomorrow...think it's time to start another snowball fight! Hope everyone enjoys the day off as much as the Bosssssssssss. Until next time y'all.