Tutorial 3: LinkedIn Professional Network

I recently presented a forum on Social Networking with my fraternity and thought that it would be an interesting topic to Blog about. My social networking expertise extends only as far as Myspace and Facebook. However, within the couple of years, other popular social networks have evolved, two in particular include LinkedIn and Twitter. During the forum we reference the article "How Small Businesses Can Use Social Media for Customer Service" (http://mashable.com/2011/04/17/social-media-customer-service/), as well as, a youtube clip that shows the power of social networking titled "Social media revolution 2"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng)

Back to LinkedIn! I created a LinkedIn account but have never used it, so this will be a great time to learn and teach some one else. I do have a twitter, but I am not that familiar with many of its functions or capabilities. The mission statement of LinkedIn is to "...to connect the world’s professionals to accelerate their success. We believe that in a globalconnected economy, your success as a professional and your competitiveness as a company depends upon faster access to insight and resources you can trust."

The access the LinkedIN Homepage

Once the homepage has been accessed, login into your profile if one has already been created. If a profile has not been created, then you must use a valid email to create an account.

Since I have not accessed my account in a very long time, I was prompted to type in additional information for security purposes.

Once logged in, the next screen that will appear will be the LinkedIn home page. Since I have never used my account, the first thing I am being prompted to do, is to add contacts through my gmail account.

Once I click on continue, all of my contacts from my gmail account are imported. I now can see which of my contact have a LinkedIn account, as well, as invites those friends who do not

Along the top tabs, if you click on profile, you will be able to view your personal profile. Your personal profile allows you to input information you think would be relevant for other user to know. Key information includes, a photograph, contact information, education, past and current work experiences, recommendations, applications, and skills. There are a variety of security options available.

1. First the owner chooses who can view his/her profile
2. Limited profiles are available- this feature allows you to filter the certain information from selected users

The link below is a very good website for those who want to understand the basid functions and capabilities of LinkedIn. The titel of the artile is "LinkedIn for Duimmies". I actually skimmed over the article before updating my profile. There is also a section that contains frequently asked questions. http://www.avangate.com/articles/using-Linkedin-125.htm

 Overall I had a great time witht eh inital setup up of my linkedIN profile

Secure Emails

Over the past few days I have been working on the secured email project. The first few steps were very familiar. however, I ran into some trouble when I no longer had access to the computer, I had originally downloaded the certificate from. 

Idlette, Walter, "ISM Secure Email", 2011

I then proceeded to download another certificate, using another email account, however, that was not apart of the assignment. Fortunately I was able to gain access to the originally computer I was one, and was able to complete the remainder of the Project. All in all the assignment was not very difficult, but the i definitely learned about how importance it is to protect sensitive information. This is event in the article link below.

The above picture displays the photo shot of the digitally signed email, as well, as the encrypted email that are in located in my Thunderbird Inbox.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/politics/12hackers.html?_r=1

The article was obtained from the New York Times, and was published on April 3, 2011. The article discusses how computer hackers were able to infiltrate a security company, HBGary Federal, earlier this year ( February 2011).  HBGary sells investigative services to corporations that are trying to damage the reputation of their competitors.  The computer hackers were able to post over 10,000 of HBGary company's emails onto the internet.  Some of the company emails included ways to damage high profile businesses adversaries of The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Bank of America.  

 

Among the documents obtained was a PowerPoint, which included a variety of ways that deal with the "Adversaries". For example, one proposed ways to embarrass adversaries of the Chamber of Commerce for an initial fee of $200,000 and $2 million later.  Aaron Barr,  HBGary Associate, estimated that the “competitive intelligence” industry had over 9,000 companies offering these services, with an annual market of more than $2 billion.

Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce both deny hiring HBGary to investigate their competitors.  Coincidentally,  HBGary offered to complete work for  Hunton & Williams Law Firm, which happens to represent both Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  HBGary admitted that they had been victims of a cyber assault, but they released a statement saying that some of the documents might have been “falsified”. Tom Collamore, a chamber spokesman, said, “The leaked e-mails appear to show that HBGary Federal was willing to propose questionable actions in an attempt to drum up business, but the chamber was not aware of these proposals until HBGary’s e-mails leaked.”  

 

It id for the reasons that companies must use a secure email service to protect their information from the public domain. The potiental affects that these email could have on supplier and client relationship are large, and would be very hard to recover from.

Article retrieved from The New York Times online on April 3, 2011.

MS Access Blog

Hello Everyone,

I am currently in Raleigh, NC attending my fraternity’s southern Regional Convention. What better weekend to have an assignment due, right!? During the convention, I scheduled some time to finish my database up my database project. I have had a lot of experience Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher), however, with Microsoft Access, was a completely different experience. I had to re-watch many of the lectures, as well as solicit the help of some of my peers.

Author: Idlette, Walter "Sheraton Hotel" Copyright 2011

Author: Idlette, Walter "Downtown Raleigh" Copyright 2011

I had always heard about the “powers” of Microsoft Access, but had never experienced it for myself. By simply watching the lectures, I could tell that this application was much more intricate. As I began working on the Assignment, all seemed well and fairly easy. The first thing I noticed that was some unusual about the assignment was that some of the information imported from the excel file, would be formatted incorrectly. At first I overlooked this, but later noticed that an error message appeared in my database. Although this was a very subtle way the professor could tell how much we studied the material, the purpose this function serves is amazing. Instead of having to type all of the data into MS access, or having to search row-by-row for each error, MS compiles a list of format errors, as well as, provides the user with a location where the errors can be fixed.

The part of the project I had the most trouble with was the QUERY ACTIVITY! Creating the expression to “show the individuals who left the gym within the past months” was very difficult. I leveraged all of my resources: the discussion board, Google, as well as, peers. Honestly, it took me about an hour to properly create the expression, and get the desired output. I originally thought that the formulas would be very similar to word. Although some of the characteristics were similar, MS Access has a

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/examples-of-query-criteria-HA010066611.aspx

Creating expressions are very beneficial, especially when there is a lot of data and it needs to be sorted or compiled. The expression keys allow the user to organize data in a manner that is easiest for the user to interpret. Lastly the form and the report activity were fairly easy to complete. The form function allows the user to input data through as many or little fields as wanted. The report function allows the user to compile and organize the data in a way that can easily be printed and interpreted.

Overall I think that this project was very helpful and eye opening. I have never really had to manipulate a large amount of data. I know that through this project, we only grazed the abilities of MS Access. I know this because as I Googled information, I found what seemed to be an endless about of information.

Avatar Experience

Today I decided to create an avatar. I have always wondered what the pupose of an avatar was! i thought that this was going to be an easy assignment, that would only take a few minutes, however, it took me almost two hours to complete. One of the reasons, is because you can customize and personalize you avatar so much.

I created my avatar through Meez.com. I was amazed by all of the features! First, I was given 2000 coins (I had no idea what this meant). Then I noticed that I was able to change a variety of features on my avatar, everything from hair and clothing to nose size and make up.

Additionally, there is something called Meex NAtion which allows me to interact and chat with other avatars and their users. We can also play games, as well as, post to discussion boards.

Overall, I think that creating an avatar was a great experience. It allows the user to express themselves in a creative manner!

Tutorial Blog 2

During weeks 5-7, I have learned alot of information as it relates to information technology. One of the sections i found the most interesting was the project we did on excel. I took Computer problem solving my sophomore year in college and learned a lot of the basics about excel software. Although much of the information was similar, this course went into greater depth about the breathe and depth of excel. I was completely unaware of the variety as well as amount of information Microsoft excel could process.

As stated before I did an internship this past summer, and we depended on Excel to help process and organize a lot of our data. When I think back, I remember a partner making reference to pivot tables. At that point in time, i though a pivot table was just a chart with a lot of formulas. I had no Idea, that in a pivot table you could organize and format data, to produce output in a variety of forms.

Some of the more complex this I learned were
- IF Functions: Where you type in the "logical test", then the value if true (words must be in "quotations"), and then the value if false

- Pivot Tables: Select the data that you would like to organize, including the headings. once the information is selected, you have the options to import the table into the current sheet or into a new worksheet.You then have the option to organize the information in  a variety of ways. By select different heading you can calculate "sums", "avg", etc.

Overall my interest with excel has definitely grown through this course.

I not only enjoyed learning about excel, but all different types of of software programs, and the legal parameters surround software.

Overall, I enjoyed completing the web 2.0 presentation project. I have created numerous presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, but I had a great time dded a unique element to overall assignment. I was unaware of the variety of web presentation tools that were available. I learned how to import audio, pictures, and music into a single presentation file. I also learned how to incorporate some creative effects into the presentation- transitions.

This class is going great, and I can not wait for whats next!

Web 2.0 Presentation- Not For Profit

                            

                                   http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/10/18/charity.donations/index.html

                             Web 2.0 Presentation Link: http://jaycut.com/users/lilwait

                                                                      Self-Critique

Overall, I liked the project a lot! I have created numerous presentations in Microsoft, but incorporating Web 2.0 into the presentation added a unique element to overall assignment. I was unaware of the variety of web presentation tools that were available. I learned how to import audio, pictures, and music into a single presentation file. I also learned how to incorporate some creative effects into the presentation- transitions. All of this information is very interesting to me, as I always relate it to whats going on in my life. For instance, the difference presentations, I see at school, at work, or even in student organizations.


While doing some research I noticed that there is a lot of information on the web about a variety of topics. When making a presentation it is important to be clear and concise. After searching and finding information, I had to make sure to select the information that was the most important, as well as, make sure it is presented unambiguously.

Whend oing reserach on not-for profits and how they like to communicate information to their stakeholders. I found that the moajority use video presentations, because they create a greater dramatice effect.I experimented with different presentation forms, and as a result I decided to make my presentation into a movie. After sitting through many lecture style presentations, I feel that showing a "movie presentation", that somewhat evokes a lot of emotional response, in essence, explains itself. However, by watching others presentations, I do see how a web 2.0 presentation can be formatted to incorporate more interactive items. 

Overall, this project was great and very enjoyable. The assignment allowed students to express their creativity not only in the content that was presented, but also the way in which it was presented.

Excel Project

Excel Print Screen

For the past week I have been working on the ISM Excel Project. I took Computer Problem Solving as a freshman and was able to use a lot of the knowledge and skills I learned in this class. The purpose of the project was to arrange and interpret a set of data by using an Excel Spreadsheet.


I was familiar with most of the formulas, however, there were two formulas in particular that I need to further research. The first was a compound formula. In my previous Information Systems course, we used simple formulas that only required one mathematical operations (Addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division). The "Percentage Increase of Heart Rate" was a prime example of where i had to include two mathematical operations (subtraction and division).


Secondly, the "IF" function, gave me a little trouble. For some reason, I was able to get a numerical output responses, but whenever I typed in letters for output, I received and error. After re-watching the letter, I recalled that alphabetical output requires "quotations" around the words.


Lastly, The part of the project that was the most interesting and most useful was the pivot tables. As stated before, I completed an internship two summers ago, and pivot tables were used very heavily. I worked in the Recruiting department, and pivot tables were used to determine the number of offers extended, students who accepted offers, GMAT scores, GPAs, etc. I am definitely going to conduct some further research on pivot tables, before I return to my internship next summer.


Overall I am very please with the Excel project. I know from first hand experience how much corporations rely on Microsoft excel- everything from creating mailing lists, to creating and interpreting statistical output.