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How new technology rewiring our "BRAINS"?

Fractured thinking might be on the rise in our digitally interconnected world of multitaskers. The old adages about all things being in balance and too much of a good thing applies to our brave new world of information overload. Our attention spans as well as the very way we think is being affected - and continues to be affected even after we turn off the computer or smartphone.

By spending so a lot time with e-mail, chat, text messaging, and other forms of communication where information is presented in short bursts but there is so a lot incoming information continuously, we are in fact training our brains to value the superficial and losing the capacity to concentrate and think deeper. Research study after research study shows that despite what people imagine about themselves, human beings grow to be worse cognitively after a life full of instantaneous communications.

Juggling the constant influx of information undermines our capability to pay attention. Bursts of information play into a primitive impulse of our human psychology to immediately respond to threats and opportunities. It echoes our distant past when we were defenseless creatures continuously searching for food while simultaneously searching out for hunters that would eat us.

This sort of simulation provokes a particular type of excitement to which our brains, addled by dopamine as well as adrenaline, become easily addicted. Yet despite the stress that all this excitement produces, we feel bored in its absence.

Thus starts a pernicious cycle whereby we find it harder and harder to concentrate while in effect desiring ever more the fact that we cannot concentrate!

Technology is literally rewiring our brains, because even after people give up all their computers and smartphones it's very tough to reset our brains. Still think you're a multitasker?

How gadgets are rewiring our brains and our behavior

I think the New York Times article on “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price” is a bit overblown. Are we really that addicted to technology?
On average we consume 12 hours of media a day and we surf 40 websites daily.
I have to admit, when I got an iPhone I became more attached to technology — at times, I slept with it in my bed (and from what I hear is not all that uncommon).
The New York Times reports:

“The technology is rewiring our brains,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists. She and other researchers compare the lure of digital stimulation less to that of drugs and alcohol than to food and sex, which are essential but counterproductive in excess.

So fine, I did get side tracked yesterday while I was surfing the Internet and was late to a brunch. Maybe technology is so habitual that we are unaware of how much we depend on it. I must admit when I didn’t have a smart phone or Internet for 2 weeks, time went by more slowly and I read paperback books.
Now if you are wondering if you spend an unhealthy amount of time on the Internet, you might want to take a self assessment. No doubt, access to the Internet widens the range of temptations — so much so, scientists are finding that people who have a gambling problem also have a “problematic Internet” behavior.
Technology is a utility and we depend on it, so of course, it is changing our habits and our brains.
The NY Times also reports that experts think that this media overload makes us “impulsive, forgetful, and  even more narcissistic.” Oh, and I just thought that was just a part of living in New York.

Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)

It is a company's outsourcing of computer or Internet related work, such as programming, to other companies. It is used in reference to Business Process Outsourcing or BPO, which is the outsourcing of the work that does not require much of technical skills.

Advantages of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)

1. Focus On Core Activities 

In rapid growth periods, the back-office operations of a company will expand also. This expansion may start to consume resources (human and financial) at the expense of the core activities that have made your company successful. Outsourcing those activities will allow refocusing on those business activities that are important without sacrificing quality or service in the back-office.
Example: A company lands a large contract that will significantly increase the volume of purchasing in a very short period of time; Outsource purchasing.

2. Cost And Efficiency Savings

Back-office functions that are complicated in nature, but the size of your company is preventing you from performing it at a consistent and reasonable cost, is another advantage of outsourcing.
Example: A small doctor’s office that wants to accept a variety of insurance plans. One part-time person could not keep up with all the different providers and rules. Outsource to a firm specializing in medical billing.

3. Reduced Overhead

Overhead costs of performing a particular back-office function are extremely high. Consider outsourcing those functions which can be moved easily.
Example: Growth has resulted in an increased need for office space. The current location is very expensive and there is no room to expand. Outsource some simple operations in order to reduce the need for office space. For example, outbound telemarketing or data entry.

4. Operational Control

Operations whose costs are running out of control must be considered for outsourcing. Departments that may have evolved over time into uncontrolled and poorly managed areas are prime motivators for outsourcing. In addition, an outsourcing company can bring better management skills to your company than what would otherwise be available.
Example: An information technology department that has too many projects, not enough people and a budget that far exceeds their contribution to the organization. A contracted outsourcing agreement will force management to prioritize their requests and bring control back to that area.

5. Staffing Flexibility

Outsourcing will allow operations that have seasonal or cyclical demands to bring in additional resources when you need them and release them when you’re done.
Example: An accounting department that is short-handed during tax season and auditing periods. Outsourcing these functions can provide the additional resources for a fixed period of time at a consistent cost.

6. Continuity & Risk Management

Periods of high employee turnover will add uncertainty and inconsistency to the operations. Outsourcing will provided a level of continuity to the company while reducing the risk that a substandard level of operation would bring to the company.
Example: The human resource manager is on an extended medical leave and the two administrative assistants leave for new jobs in a very short period of time. Outsourcing the human resource function would reduce the risk and allow the company to keep operating.

7. Develop Internal Staff

A large project needs to be undertaken that requires skills that your staff does not possess. On-site outsourcing of the project will bring people with the skills you need into your company. Your people can work alongside of them to acquire the new skill set.
Example: A company needs to embark on a replacement/upgrade project on a variety of custom built equipment. Your engineers do not have the skills required to design new and upgraded equipment. Outsourcing this project and requiring the outsourced engineers to work on-site will allow your engineers to acquire a new skill set.


Disadvantages of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)

Case #3:

Questions and Answers:


    1. What is facebook?

                 - Facebook is a social networking website intended to connect friends, family, and business associates. It is the largest of the networking sites. It is a place to communicate with friends and family, to share photographs, play social game, and chat interactively with your buddies. It was founded by 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook users create a profile page that shows their friends and networks information about themselves. The profile typically includes the following: Information, Status, Friends, Friends in Other Networks, Photos, Notes, Groups, and The Wall.



    2. Advantage and disadvantage of facebook?

                   - Advantages of Facebook are the following:
· Allows user search for new and old friends
· Accessible to chosen universities having a high level of security
· Makes it less awkward when communicating with strangers or people you are not        familiar with
· Love attraction - can be used as a dating service system
· Makes it easier to join groups having similar likes and dislikes
· Allows members to check students who are taking the same class, living within the same area, or coming from the same academy

                   - Disadvantages of  Facebook are the following:
· Overcrowding
· Weakening long distance relationship
· Contributes wide-range procrastination
· Rampant addiction
· Stalking is possible
· Acquaintances be labeled as friends



    3. What are the charcteristics of facebook why many people engage in this site?

                  - Characteristics of facebook are the following:

1. Learnability – Facebook is quite easy to adopt for its intended audience, and has a very intuitive and simple user interface.
2. Efficiency – people can also find an application that will suit their more advanced needs.
3. Memorability – it has a consistent layout and graphic design. Facebook rarely pulls any surprises.
4. Error-handling – less errors because of AJAX, users hardly ever see a blank screen with garbage
5. Satisfaction – more people satisfy of its look and applications or features.

    4. Can you use facebook in e-Commerce?How?Why?

                 - Yes, facebook can be use as e-commerce by means of the following:

• Advertising: Businesses use this tab to create adverts that will run on Facebook pages
• Pages: Businesses use Pages to create a presence on Facebook that will let others join your page as a fan
• Connect: Facebook connect lets users seamlessly connect their Facebook account and information to your site.
• Facebook Share: Design a button for your site to make joining your Facebook Page easy for your customers 
• Discussion Boards: Enable your fans to get their ideas out into the open. Discussion boards let you know exactly what your fans and customers think and want.

    5. How facebook important in the society today?

                - Facebook helps our society, humans wants to be social and facebook allow us to be this way, no matter where we are at.
                - Importance of  Facebook in the society are the  following:

By maintaining a profile on these sites, your loved ones, friends and distant relatives don't have to call you everytime just to stay in touch with one another

Several companies are taking advantage of Facebook  to get competent employees. On the other hand, job applicants take advantage of these sites to post their resume and credentials. It's a great tool one can use in order to make a good impression to a company. If you're applying for a computer related job, it would be great to maintain a personal profile.

Emergency
Many people consider these sites as a work of the devil. It could be. However, one must realize that anything can become good or bad depending on the person's intentions. Social networking sites has shaped our world whether we like it or not and it will become an indispensable tool if it's used for good purposes.

Google is a highly successful internet business. Recently they have broaden their scope
with a multitude of new tools. Research Google business model and answer the ff.
questions below. You may add additional information not included in this question.

1. Who are they're competitors?

According to (http://websearch.about.com)Google has attained the ranking of the #1 search engine on the Web, and consistently stayed there. It was invented by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Google face competition from:

SEARCH ENGINE such as Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corporation’s Bing.

E-COMMERCE SITES, such as WebMD (for health queries), Kayak (travel queries), Monster.com (job queries), and Amazon.com and eBay (commerce). They compete with these sites because they are trying to attract users to their web sites to search for product or service information, and some users will navigate directly to those sites rather than go through Google.

SOCIAL NETWORKS, such as Facebook, Yelp, Twitter or Friendster. Some users are relying more on social networks for product or service referrals, rather than seeking information through traditional search engines.

They also compete with the traditional forms of advertising—such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and yellow pages—for ad dollars.


2. How have they used information technology to their advantage?


Google provides the fastest, most accurate results required a new kind of server setup. Whereas most search engines ran off a handful of large servers that often slowed under peak loads, ours employed linked PCs to quickly find each query's answer. The innovation paid off in faster response times, greater scalability and lower costs. It's an idea that others have since copied, while we have continued to refine our back-end technology to make it even more efficient.

Google provides:

* Better and quicker search results
* Advanced search features, including searching for videos and audio content as well as PDF, .doc and .ppt files
* Easy and powerful search administration
* Easy integration into web sites

Google continues to think about ways in which technology can improve upon existing ways of doing business. New areas are explored, ideas prototyped and budding services nurtured to make them more useful to advertisers and publishers. However, no matter how distant Google's business model grows from its origins, the root remains providing useful and relevant information to those who are the most important part of the ecosystem – the millions of individuals around the world who rely on Google search to provide the answers they are seeking.

According to (http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html)
The software behind our search technology conducts a series of simultaneous calculations requiring only a fraction of a second. Traditional search engines rely heavily on how often a word appears on a web page. We use more than 200 signals, including our patented PageRank™ algorithm, to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important. We then conduct hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted. By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, we're able to put the most relevant and reliable results first.



3. How competitive are they in the market?

Google also provide a number of online products and services, including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Docs, that compete directly with new and established companies that offer communication, information, and entertainment services integrated into their products or media properties.

Google designed AdWords for advertisers who want to reach a qualified audience as efficiently as possible. Advertisers select their own target keywords and only pay when customers click on their ads. It's easy to create ad text and manage online advertising accounts with no large upfront payment required.

Google spread from one satisfied user to another. With superior search technology and a high volume of traffic at its Google.com site, Google's managers identified two initial opportunities for generating revenue: search services and advertising.

According to (http://news.cnet.com/Googles-market-lead-widens/2100-1030_3-6054990.html)
Google is increasing its lead over Yahoo and Microsoft in the U.S. Web search market while a rebranded Ask.com is inching up, according to the latest statistics from ComScore Networks.

Google's domestic market share rose to 42.3 percent in February, up from 36.3 percent a year earlier, ComScore said.

Yahoo's search market share in the United States fell to 27.6 percent from 31.1 percent a year ago, while Microsoft's MSN fell to 13.5 percent from 16.3 percent and Time Warner's America Online fell to 8 percent from 8.9 percent.

IAC Search & Media's Ask.com, which unveiled a new brand and interface last month, rose to 6 percent from 5.3 percent.

It means that Google leads in the market today.


4. What new services do they offer?


Google offers different services such as:

*Google Earth
*Gmail
*Google Maps
*YouTube
* 3D Warehouse
* Ad Manager
* AdWords
* AdSense
* Google Alerts
* Google Analytics
* Google Answers
* Google Questions and Answers
* Google App Engine
* Google Apps
* Google Audio Indexing
* Google Base
* Blogger (service)
* Google Books
* Google Books Library Project
* Google Bookmarks
* Google Browser Sync
* Google Calendar
* Google Chart API
* Google Checkout
* Google Chrome
* Chrome Web Store
* Chromium (web browser)
* Google Web Toolkit
* Google Code
* Google Code Search
* Google Current
* Google Dashboard
* Google Desktop
* Google Quick Search Box
* Google Dictionary
* History of Google Docs
* Google Docs
* Dodgeball (service)
* Google Fast Flip
* Google Finance
* Google Friend Connect
* Google Gadgets
* Google Gadgets API
* Gears (software)
* Gizmo5
* Gmail
* Gmail interface
* Google Business Solutions
* Google Buzz
* Google Editions
* Google Sidewiki
* Google Wave extensions
* Google translator toolkit
* Google Groups
* Google Health
* IGoogle
* Google Image Labeler
* Google Images
* Google Image Swirl
* Google Insights for Search
* Jaiku
* Joga Bonito (social network)
* Google Labs
* List of Google products
* Google Lively
* Living stories
* Google Map Maker
* Google Maps
* Google Mars
* Google Moderator
* Google Moon
* Google News
* Google News Archive
* Google Notebook
* Orkut
* Google Pack
* Picasa
* Google Product Search
* Google Public DNS
* Google Reader
* Satellite map images with missing or unclear data
* Google Scholar
* Google Scholar and academic libraries
* Sitemaps
* Sitemap index
* Google Sites
* SketchUp
* Google Squared
* Google Street View
* Supplemental Result
* Google Talk
* Google Toolbar
* Google Translate
* Google Trends
* V8 (JavaScript engine)
* Vevo
* Google Videos
* Google Wave
* Google Web Accelerator
* Google Webmaster Tools
* Google WiFi
* Google X


5. What makes them so unique?

List of what Google makes unique:

One word, PageRank. ‘PageRank' is to Google, as the ‘secret formula' to Coke Cola. Named after its co-founder, Larry Page, PageRank is essentially an algorithmic formula that examines the entire link structure of the web and subsequently determines which pages are more important.



Page's theory was based on the notion that ‘all links were not created equal'. Some mattered more than others; greater influence would be granted to incoming links from important sites. Page decided that sites with more links pointing to them were more important than sites with fewer links.


Another Google application is GoogleMaps, which is similar to Mapquest. Users can search for places or get driving directions. Also, they can switch between "Map" view (simple drawings of streets), "Satellite" view (the pictures from the satellite but without roads labeled), or "Hybrid" view (satellite view with roads and road names drawn in).

What makes the Google search special is the unique advertising on each search page. After entering a search query, the AdWords program pops up relevant ads on the side of the results. For example, if someone searched "formal dresses," the right side of the results page would have a list of ads that contained the word "dress" in them to attract the user to their sponsors' sites.


6. How competitive are they in the international market?


Having studied Google abroad somewhat significantly, I believe this article provides a very naïve view on Google’s success abroad. Absolutely, Google, as any American company, needs to be extremely aware of the impression they make when entering foreign grounds, as the risk as being seen as arrogant – the ugly American – is omnipresent. And, yes, Google should continue to grow their in-country teams significantly in order to best overcome cultural and sales hurdles and take advantage of unique opportunities and the gigantic world market that is growing at a quicker pace than the U.S. market. Recent stats point to European e-commerce in a position to surge past U.S. e-commerce.

Yet, don’t attempt to fool anyone here: Google has enormous international market share. Though I’m on a plane and not able to access these stats immediately, I believe that Google has approximately a 10-point higher share of search in Europe than they do in the States. I attended an online and multi-channel retail conference in London earlier this year, and Google was constantly mentioned, and never in a bad light. I am attempting to arrange a dinner in Paris later this year or early next with top French e-commerce companies, and Google is the likely sponsor, due to their relationship with the French agency that I am in contact with and their relationship with the likely invitees. Google is dominant in most countries, with their distant following to Baidu in China and the Russian example in the article notable exceptions.

In the UK, Amazon.com and eBay have also taken off after some early slips and command a dominant share of the market. Of course, they face hurdles, most notably eBay’s fraud and trust problem, but these American brands have also experienced tremendous success abroad. And there are other huge hurdles across Europe, such as Germany’s reliance on non-credit card payments and their language and cultural barriers. The European Union is still quite segmented, and pan-European plays will rarely be successful. Yet, the world continues to flatten, and American brands can have success abroad with fewer hurdles as can international brands have success in the States.

Google has had success with other products abroad, most notably its Orkut social network which has bombed domestically to its MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn brethren, yet has taken off in huge countries such as India and Brazil. So, sure, Google should be sensitive to cultural sensitivities and will face different regulatory environments abroad, but the truth is that Google has been remarkably successful internationally in large part due to the international word-of-mouth generated by their product and feature set.