Zendesk--Brian McGarry Post #1

Zendesk is software that helps improve customer service. Customer service usually begins with a phone call, email, tweet, search on your website, etc. so Zendesk takes all of these conversations from all of these different places and stores them to one site. It's very easy to set up and simple to use.


For customer support agents, it will highlight issues that require attention, allow them to work on multiple tickets/complaints at the same time, It also allows the support agent to find the tools and resources they need to solve an issue and can also link them to other outside social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to respond to an issue that way as well. Zendesk also makes it easy to work and collaborate as a team if you need input from other members of your company.


Zendesk will then track all of these customer interactions and how they're resolved which gives you critical data about your company and how you respond to issues. Not only does it give you an evaluation of your performance but it will also show you how you stack up against your peers. This will give you a real sense of how things are working regardless of your companies size.


Ultimately, Zendesk was created to improve the relationship between your business and your customers. It allows you to actually make sure they're happy at the end of the day without being involved in every little issue that might occur.

Bitcoin - The First Decentralized Currency

Bitcoin is an alternative and innovative way to pay for services or goods via the web without having to have funds tunnel through traditional financial institutions or clearing houses. This allows for transactions fees to be significantly reduced. Bitcoin is simply a software application that holds a virtual wallet for purchased Bitcoins. These can be acquired through a Bitcoin exchange. Bitcoin is run by the community and is not centralized by any organization or government. The secure transactions are handled through a process called Bitcoin mining. In a nutshell, mining is the process that validates the transactions as legitimate (i.e. cryptographic hashing). Bitcoins can be used at over 100,000 different locations including popular sites such as Gyft, TigerDirect.com, and Overstock.com

In order to get started, a wallet such as Blockchain or Armory is required to store Bitcoins. Once you have established your wallet, Bitcoins can be purchased through various reputable exchange sites such as Coinbase or BitStamp. Gift cards can be purchased via Bitcoin for common stores that do not presently accept Bitcoin currency.

Bitcoin has a significant following and is growing by leaps and bounds daily. With the concept of a decentralized payment network, the power is literally with the people. Merchants are able to tap into new markets and not worry about regulations or PCI compliance. They also benefit from lower fees and fraud minimization. Although there is still a fair amount of skepticism (perhaps due to lack of knowledge in general), the Bitcoin community is a thriving crypto currency that is not going away anytime soon.  

Ello Social Network

Ello is an ad free social network launched in March of 2014. When it launched it promised the opposite business model to Facebook. An example of this is they are not selling ads that are based on their users data, instead they will be relying on paid premium features to keep going. As an antithesis to Facebook with its no advertising policy and it refuses to go the typical social media route.of inundating its users with marketing materials.

While this may sound contrary to what you think social media should be doing in regards to business, there are many companies who have been impressed with Ello's ability to build relationships, to engage online users, and be a building block for a different style of attracting consumers to a business.

In less than two months in August and September Ello has grown from a close knit community group to now having over one million members, with three million in queue to join up!

Apple Pay, New Technology

Apple and MasterCard has joined forces to create a new method of payment called Apple pay. You are now able to link your MasterCard's to your iPhone 6 and make payments to vendors. Apple was able to incorporate the new fingerprint scanner feature to make this method of payment secure. This device/ app uses near field technology (NFT) which is not new technology, but it is the first mobile device to have the technology incorporated into it. 

This is a great way to understand a consumer's purchase habits. Every purchase will be stored by MasterCard to develop a personal marketing program for that specific individual. This technology connected to your device, will create efficient marketing and meaningful impressions. An algorithm can assist predicting purchasing trends. Coupons and deals can be sent directly to the consumer via email. 

I personally think this genius. This will streamline marketing and create  meaningful impressions. This will change the way we purchase and sell goods. 

Blog:1 Introduce the class to a new technology as well as its potential business application. New Panda, A New Technology

Blog: 1- Introduce the class to a new technology as well as its potential business application  

New Panda is a multi-tiered platform that can be used for social media posts, E-tools, contact database management system and mobile advertisement.

One of the things I personally love about New Panda is they help businesses who lack in the social media marketing platform appear active. They do this by posting great material such as articles and stories to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. From experience I can say that many of my Facebook friends have liked content New Panda has posted for me and it is all marketed under my business name so no one knows that a private company is managing my social media websites. The post can be instantly or scheduled for future delivery

In addition, New Panda offers customer database and E-tools which can manage your contacts information. Again, this is something that can be set on auto-pilot so the business doesn’t have to remember every customer’s birthday or anniversary. The business uploads its contact database when it’s time for the system to sends out birthday, holiday and e-Cards upon your request. They also have hundreds of templates to choose from.  In addition to e-Cards they also offer Newsletters that can be emailed to potential clients or posted on websites such as Wordpress, Blogger, and even Facebook.  

Today’s business is all about being mobile. New Panda also offers mobile advertising for the consumer who uses their mobile phone to search for businesses.  

Snapchat, The New Wave

Blog One:

 In 2011 three students from Stanford University developed Snapchat. One of the students presented Snapchat to his class as a final project and they were unwilling to except his idea.  Snapchat has grown significantly since it was first launched. May 2014 Snapchat reported that users were sending 700 million photos per day compared to about 2 million images per day back in May 2012. Late 2013, Facebook’s owner offer to buy Snapchat for $3 billion in cash.

     This new technology will be beneficial to business in several different aspects. With not many businesses using Snapchat, companies that jump on board now will have a huge impact. A business could reward existing customers with coupons. They could reveal new product. Businesses could do promotional campaigns to get new customers. The list could be endless.

     In my opinion Snapchat will keep growing. I think that just the simple fact that Facebook tried to buy and show that much interest could mean Snapchat is a threat to Facebook and their marketing strategies.

The Assignment

Examples of Web 2.0 technology being used for social and business application are all around us. New technologies are appearing all the time.Everyone in this course is responsible for writing 2 blog posts, with each being about 3-4 paragraphs long. Your posts will need to be on the following two topics, respectively (one of each).

• Introduce the class to a new technology as well as its potential business application  
• Summarize and reflect upon an innovative technique using an already established Web 2.0 technology (like the Wheat Thins campaign.)

Be sure to read your classmates blog posts and comment as well!