Week 1 - Update

The 2013 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies by Gartner is an interesting graph. It reminds you that change is the only constant and you have to keep an eye on the emerging technologies and how they will affect your business. I am currently working on Content Analytics and Gesture Control technologies for my Digital Signage product, so it was insightful for me. Good to know that Content Analytics will see some decline before it becomes mainstream.

The Forbes article on 'Secrets of Engaging Customers In Online Communities' reminds you that sometimes old-fashioned rules of transparency and engagement apply to latest trends as well. You have to keep doing the basics right, having a great online strategy is not enough.

The video 'The Web and TV, a sibling rivalry', Peter Hirshberg was entertaining and informative. He gives an interesting historical perspective on the internet and television and the interplay between the two.

Week 1

Goals for this week

This week I would like to familiarize myself with the course material and setup my blog and twitter accounts. I would like to read the first 50 pages from the text "Business Model Generation". I seems to be a good book and I have been wanting to read it since I bought it. I have already started reading the article "Made to Engage" - honestly it was a little slow for me. I will probably skim the rest of the article and move to the Forbes article on consumer engagement.

Twitter

I did not use Twitter before. I just setup my account and started following Microsoft, my chosen company.
I found that the "Mastering Twitter in 10 Minutes or Less" link does not work. I found this useful video instead: How to Use Twitter (Tweet, Retweet, Direct Messages, Lists) 

I started following 5 users and straightaway realized that I need a way to organize the large number of tweets. I learnt how to create a Twitter list for x501 course and added Microsoft (my target company) to it.

Business Model Generation

I finished reading the first 50 pages of this book and learnt about the Business Model Canvas. I think it is a great tool to evaluate a new business or a new venture in your existing business/work. It forces you to think about all aspects of the new venture or business. I am already brimming with ideas on how I can use it at my current job. I am planning to use the canvas to evaluate a new sub-product we are launching. It will help in identifying the areas of the business (Eg: customer service) that may be incompatible with the needs of the new product. In such cases I will have to work with the customer service department to see if they can accommodate the needs of this new product.

x501 Introductory post

A little bit about me...

I work as a Software Development Manager for Bally Technologies. My company provides games and systems for the casino industry. I work on a digital signage software product for casinos. I live and work in Las Vegas, NV. I moved to USA in August 2010 from India where I worked for the same company.

My expectations from this course...

I am excited about this course. Although I am a technocrat by profession, I am not fully into social media or marketing. I have used Blogger and AdSense before. I am keen on learning how to incorporate digital marketing strategy for your product or service offering. I would like to learn from case-studies and real world examples.

I think this course has an innovate grading system and is very flexible. It was a great idea to use a learning journal to grade as each person may tailor to course to his/her needs.