Tuesday 13 November 2007

Second Life

Second Life is on of the biggest virtual worlds in the world, and has a massive turnover of about $500 million a year, and is growing fast. The map, which is about 48 Second life km long, houses around 4 million people, generating millions of dollars a year, from 3.5 million in 2005, to 64 million in 2006, and growing fast. People are making lots of money with these virtual worlds, because of subscription fees: there is not just one lump payment, but many payments of the years, and since the consumer is more inclined to play the game; because of extra features there is to paying customers, and as you play you get better and better, it adds up to a much more expensive total, which is the sole tactic of the producers (keep the users paying). People like Anshe Chung , have made millions of dollars by selling virtual items for real money, she being the first virtual millionaire.
Second Life also has Teen Second Life, which allows teenagers to join in the same experience of Second Life. Though much smaller than the Main Grid, the Teen grid has the same perks and features.

Monday 12 November 2007

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the new way of using the Internet, as opposed to Web 1.0, which was originally created for universities and the military. In Web 2.0 you can watch and post new videos on youtube, share and post information on myspace, bebo, and facebook, and since this technology has appeared, it has become immeasurably popular. Also, downloading information, music, films and podcast have been very easy to find, cutting out the middle-man, and the cost. This is very positive for people who want to get a film but do not want to buy a DVD, instead downloading it and not having to pay anything.

There are problems with this technology, such as the Finnish killer, which posted a number of videos of youtube about his rage and his hatred. Media has isolated youtube as the scape-goat, and in my opinion, there is nothing they could have done to prevent the 8 people being killed.

The Web 2.0 means the new way we use the Internet, and how we are allowed to interact with the content we use. On videos we watch on youtube, we can leave comments rate the video, and show other people that we are watching the same video that they are. Uploading and downloading the videos is also new with Web 2.0, and we can do so much more than we could when the Internet was first introduced.

Here is a video of the development of Web 2.0 and what it can do over time.

Wednesday 10 October 2007

Jellyfish

When you look on the page you can't see anything obvious as to what the site is actually selling, and the layout is quite confusing. You also don't see what you can buy and what you can't, and if you search for something, you get the worst quality of the item you are buying. eg. compared with zinio, they have no magzine brands in common, zinio has the best ones and jellyfish has none that i've heard of. The important aims of the website are not clear and there is really confusing home page.

Zinio

I have the found the website very well laid out and convienient, so that the more popular magazines at the front so that customers can access them easily. You can see which the fastest selling magazines by the top 10 sellers in the right hand side.
Also, there is links at the bottom for price ranges, so that people can choose magazines that are in their price range.
Furthermore, there is suggestions at the bottom if the magazines that a customer wants is not present, so if there was a magazine you particularly wanted, you can suggest it to them, maybe even getting it in stock.
Most importantly, there is a "your recommendations section", so if you buying a particular magazine, it would appear with all the magazines of that genre, making it easy for you to find your magazine, and a clever selling point by the author.
Lastly, there is a free magazines section, which i've just used to download a magazine, which is very good at attracting the reader.

Definition of a blog

Short for "Web log," a specialized site that allows an individual or group of individuals to share a running log of events and personal insights with online audiences. Blogs with political or current-events themes have grown in popularity and become "soap boxes" for instant mass-audience commentary.