Power to the People! 2.0 Style

Wow, I almost fell asleep just now without doing my weekly post. Shame on me! Well, I don't think you can blame a guy who's working full-time, taking four classes and has a pregnant wife at home (sympathy violins anyone?). Oh, and not to mention that I'm utterly heartbroken this weekend, as I watched my beloved Pitt Panthers (my Alma mater) lose to Villanova in a nail-biter.  

Well enough about me and on to my post of the week.  So, there was a very interesting article I read this week as part of our assignment regarding Nike and their latest innovation quest, seeking designs from YOU! 

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2007/10/nikes_new_publi.html

And that's why I'm calling it Power to the People 2.0! I think this is amazing! I mean, a giant company like Nike, who, supposedly has a crack  sales and marketing division, athletic sponsorship out the "wazoo" and well over a billion dollar in revenues, is asking YOU to design their shoes! Well not really, they're asking you to design your own shoe, and if they like it, they may sell it on a limited basis. But still, how amazing is that! And, in my humble opinion, directly relate it to the huge reach of the Internet and the ability of people to readily voice opinions and share their own ideas at a touch of a button.  Its now wonder that Nike's website called NikeID.com has tripled its membership since 2004. This is the website that allows you to begin customizing your products.  We can see this in other industries as well. Look at Apple and its iPhone applications. Its also customer driven. Many of the Apps on the iTunes store are created by non-Apple employees. 

These innovation ideas, where the company reaches out to their customers for ideas, is brilliant and only pushes the company to produce top-notch products! Keep on innovating Nike! Just do it!

On a side note, did anyone else fall of their chair laughing at Sayyid's drugged up confession on Lost??? ;)

Virtual vs Reality

It's a fact that today's world is getting more and more virtual. We all seem to have some sort of presence on the web. I think its fair to say that every person I've ever met in the last 15 years has some sort of an email address, much to the shagrin of the U.S. Postal Service, but we now have our virtual presence on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn. These sites are allowing us to build a profile and let the world know who we are, what we like, and who we want to be friends with.  Its becoming so popular, that companies now are having internal sites to increase the networking capacity of its own employees.  But does all this virtual activity replace the traditional networking methods of going to an event and meeting a person face to face? 

In a way, yes it does. In fact, I'd argue that its more efficient and more real than actual meeting people at networking events.  Here's my reason. The speed at which people can meet others online is considerably faster than any networking event I've been too.  I could network with someone in Middle East with a click of a profile and a quick note if I needed to get in touch with someone in that region. Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have made that possible. I'd also argue that with the checks and balances in place in these websites, have allowed a more honest profile to exist therefore making networking a bit more real.

I feel going to networking events, whether work related or some school event leads to a rather "fake" interaction. Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject?

My first blog

I am a graduate student at American University's Kogod School of Business and this is my first blog. I'm not sure what to expect during this as this is my first time blogging. Although exciting, it is quite nerve-racking as I dong know what to write.

On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own.