Blog #3- Hardware

This week in class we discussed Chapter 4, which was Hardware and Computer Forensics. Internet and computer safety is of dire need in the modern computer world. Hackers and other online predators have the ability to access other user’s files and personal information. This information includes debit and credit card PIN numbers, Social Security Numbers, and phone numbers and addresses. With all of this information customers and consumers provide through business, it is important for the company to implement security programs. In relation to last week’s blog of privacy, I want to be able to avoid identity theft for my entrepreneurial design of a "Nonslip & Supportive Acro shoe", so that my website is completely protected in this regard. One of the main concepts I want to protect would be the personal information of customers given to make a purchase on my Web page for the "Nonslip & Supportive Acro shoe".  Identity theft can be a very invasive and disturbing situation in which you feel totally violated, and because this has recently happened to me, I would like to place more focus on this type of security for customers and consumers.

Some possibilities for internet programs include firewalls, pop-up blockers, and anti-virus software. Firewalls protect against outside intruders and detect when outsiders are trying to hack your computer. Once past a firewall, a hacker could also imprint a virus onto your computer, which changes how your computer works without you knowing of this. I definitely would not like to be accessing my entrepreneurial web page, and suddenly receive a virus on my computer. Both firewalls and anti-virus software is available through many companies, i.e., McAfee, Norton Security, etc.

The basic concept of computer forensics is finding info that you have left on a printer, fax, hardware, etc. that still remains accessible. Whatever you think you may have deleted, in fact still remains on your hard drive. Encase forensics is used to recover data that is supposedly removed. I want to make sure that if I were to buy or sell a hard drive on Ebay or Amazon that it is a new hardware. It is very easy to recover old information from a computer’s hard drive. I would not want my personal files disclosed in respect to my entrepreneurial design, if I were to sell my hard drive. To remove data from a hard drive you must destroy, disintegrate, incinerate, pulverize, shred or melt it.  

Blog#2- Spreadsheet

This week in class we completed Chapter 2, which was in correlation to privacy and social media. There is absolutely nothing that is considered to be confidential on the web.  More and more people are using social media sites to get the latest news and information, in addition to connecting with others, which ultimately is exposing their privacy to many online dangers. The more comfortable we become with these sites, the more apt we are to share personal details about ourselves, and let our guard down as we interact with others. Is what we share on Facebook putting our privacy and security at risk? It is always a good thing to examine your privacy settings on each social media service. As you have read in my last blog, my new "Nonslip & Supportive Acro shoe" has its very own web page displayed on Facebook. I want to ensure that my web page has the copyright and trademark rights needed about my entrepreneurial idea, so that I am protected from someone possibly hacking or stealing the information about my improved shoe, in addition to the Logo I will use on my web page. Cyber criminals are targeting social network sites with increasing amounts of online scams, focusing in on this growing user base. I do not intend on sharing a whole lot of information about how my new product was made on my Facebook web page, as privacy is a vital issue I need to be accountable for. Instead of giving out too much information about my product on my web page, I could consider providing a customer service phone line or email listings for questions they may have.

            In order to organize the data for my entrepreneurship idea, I would need to use spreadsheet software such as Excel for Word. Excel allows users to organize data in rows and columns, and perform calculations on the data. Using this data, I will be able to organize and present non-financial data, as well as financial data in an orderly manner. When customers would like to purchase my new "Nonslip & Supportive Acro shoe", Excel can be used to organize in the ordering products, and manage the money being used for my new product. This spreadsheet has basic features to create, edit, and format worksheets. It has many built-in functions such as sum, count, average, max, min that will be very useful in providing quick and accurate information. Also, pivot tables and a variety of graphs could help quickly and easily summarize and analyze large amounts of data for ordering and managing the money used for my product. A visual representation of data through charts often makes it easier for users to see at a glance the relationship among the numbers.

            Presentation software would be an exceptional way to present my product to customers who are interested in buying my Acro shoe. Presentation software allows users to create visual aids for presentations to communicate ideas, messages, and other information to a group. Creating a PowerPoint which will provide images, photos, video clips, etc. will enhance the way my entrepreneurship idea is presented to dancers, making a presentation more eye-catching. Animation and sound effects add extra emphasis on these presentations, making them look more interactive. This is just another creative idea to incorporate a structured presentation about my new "Nonslip & Supportive Acro shoe."  PowerPoint is the best way to market a product and attract an audience towards your views and arguments. Utilizing PowerPoint makes it easier for people in marketing, advertising, and sales to make presentations for motivation of their subordinates, in this case my Acro shoe.

Blog#1- Into/Social Media

As I begin to create my Entrepreneurship blog, I am optimistic about my project idea of improving the performance of an Acro Dance Shoe, which is used by Acro Dancers.  Acro Dance is a method of dance which takes an enormous amount of energy, strength and composure to land in the right position, while combining classical dance techniques in a unique set of choreography. When performing Acro on stage, the typical Acro shoe can be very painful when performing a trick (forceful landing, i.e., side aerial), simply because the shoes do not provide any support at all for your feet. In addition, they can be very slippery, which may cause a dangerous fall on stage. One of my own personal techniques I would use before going on stage to perform would be to hairspray the bottom of my shoes so that I wouldn’t slip. I want to improve the Acro shoe to make it more supportive for your heels, because without support it can lead to painful foot injuries. In addition, I would like to make it less slippery of a shoe. I personally have worn down both of my heels, and have injured my knees from the constant tricks (flips) I have performed over 10 years on hardwood floors. Thus, this is one of the main reasons I had to discontinue Acro dancing over a year ago.

 The best social media network to share my idea would be advertising via Facebook. On Facebook, there are over 300 million active users, and I think it would target many young Acro dancers, and would be a fantastic way to market my improved Acro dance shoe. Interested Facebook users would be able to click on the Advertisement on the sidebar, which will bring them directly to the web page displaying the new and improved "Nonslip & Supportive Acro shoe." The shoe photo would display a detailed shoe of an added cushioned heel, in addition to a non-slip backing for floor landing. The Advertisement on Facebook can then be “Liked”, ultimately displaying this link on your own wall, and making my new product exposed to even more Facebook users. Also, I would like to add a survey or poll to the web page, so that I would be able to collect information by asking dancers how they felt about the improvements of my new shoe. I think this would definitely be the right direction for me to obtain some initial information on what category of dancers (age, gender, etc.) would be interested so I can continue my marketing in the right direction. 

In addition, I would love to conduct testing of my new shoe on a group of Acro dancers by creating a YouTube video, which would display many of the dancers' reactions and comments from the new shoe. In doing this, others can “Like” or comment their opinions about my improved product. I can create a short clip of dancers performing, less than 5 minutes, for users to download and view. This will also enable me to collect as much information as possible on my progress by viewing their comments, while I am in the process of marketing the Acro shoe for the best performance possible.  Also, the YouTube link will be displayed on the Facebook web page.