CHSWebDesign2020

by Danielle Hannah Look around you.  Well...maybe not right now. But the next time you’re in public (when it’s safe!), look around you. What percent of the population walks around, eyes glued to a phone with a little drawing of an apple on it? I’d bet good money that most people you see and interact with on a typical day have an iPhone resting comfortably in their back pocket.  So how exactly did we get to this point? The ever popular iPhone 6. Early Deals Apple recognized the need for a good cellular phone, and quickly snagged a deal with Motorola, who would design the hardware and deal with the carriers that controlled cellular networks. It seemed like a home run for Apple. Until they saw the phone in person. It was a clunky, brick of a phone that didn’t align with Apple’s previous products. The deal was scratched. Then Cingular (later AT&T) approached with a deal of their own. The iPhone would be designed solely by Apple, Cingular would deal wit

by Olivia Conkling and Courtney Campbell Early Computing Devices Would early computing devices have been as successful if they weren’t ahead of their time? Before smartphones took over the World, tons of companies were trying to find a way to fit a computer into the pockets of consumers everywhere. The problem was that there were too many problems: too big, too expensive, and even weak tech. Handheld computers were not just a fad for Silicon Valley, they were a goal for many tech companies. Companies like GO Corp., who wasted millions of dollars trying to develop the new handhelds, and GeoWorks, attempted to be the next big thing in the tech world. A division named General Magic, with now-famous names like Pierre Omidyar, Tony Fadell, and Andy Rubin, and a division called Newton were both Apple teams. Newton created the Figaro, a huge tablet with networking and a hard drive. However, this device was too expensive to make, and was therefore a failure. The Newton MessageP

(Great title considering our Netflix Party next week!) By Anabell Mazzan and Hayden Minard In 1999 Mark Zuckerberg created The Web... A screenshot of Mark’s “The Web”: a java application  that allowed him to digitally map out his social circle. Okay, not exactly The Web, that was already a thing. I’m talking about “The Web”, a subpage on Zuckerberg’s personal website that linked to all of his friends’ sites so he could keep track of his social network. At age 15, Mark Zuckerberg had no idea of the impact this simple idea would have, but soon it would change the internet forever. From the moment Zuckerberg arrived at Harvard, he was creating ways for people to interact with each other online. His first project, Course Match, was a tool to help students pick their classes and see who else was taking them so they could feel more comfortable in this new college experience. Course Match was the first of many projects that all shared one theme—social conn

by Aakash Sell and Elliot Topper [Directions from Instructor: Please read the blog post below. If you did not write this post, you must respond at least once directly to the post, and then respond at least once to someone else's response. If you did write the post, you need only respond at least once to the initial responses from your peers.] Paypal /X.com Paypal was a new way of online transactions. It was originally named Confinity and was started by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin. Paypal was kind of like having a bank account on the internet and became popular with eBay buyers and sellers as an alternative to checks and money orders. Paypal had a competitor called X.com that was founded by Elon Musk. These two companies eventually merged to become Paypal. Paypal started growing very quickly and became profitable early on. They made money by taking a percentage of the transactions made on their platform. eBay eventually bought Paypal but Paypal’s success showed how th

By Erin Brady and Riley Forrester [Directions from Instructor: Please read the blog post below. If you did not write this post, you must respond at least once directly to the post, and then respond at least once to someone else's response. If you did write the post, you need only respond at least once to the initial responses from your peers.] Wikipedia How did blogging impact future companies on a larger scale? After the burst of the dot-com bubble, blogging served as the transition of publishing to the digital arena. Websites like Pitchfork allowed previously unknown writers to gain credibility by pushing the best content to the top. Through blogging, users were motivated to create their own content using websites like Napster, where MP3s created communities of shared interest. Websites like Slashdot and Flickr further promoted this idea, with communities debating articles and sharing photo albums, respectively. TechCrunch and Digg.com both had the ability to increas

by Ava Turner and Lynne Walenjus [Directions from Instructor: Please read the blog post below. If you did not write this post, you must respond at least once directly to the post, and then respond at least once to someone else's response. If you did write the post, you need only respond at least once to the initial responses from your peers.] The Initial iPod and iTunes Was the failure of the physical music industry worth a new generation of online music downloads? Apple had a rough start before Steve Jobs came back to save the day. Apple established its trademark as beautifully crafted computers that were innovative and individualized devices. Jobs wanted the iMac to be the central machine to a variety of other Apple products to create a digital hub. Jobs knew that music download was the key connector of the digital hub, but needed a way to unite this system. After purchasing Toshiba’s idea for a 1.8 inch 5 gigabyte hard drive, Jobs developed the iPod: a stainless s

by Hannah Arbeitel and Erin Burke [Directions from Instructor: Please read the blog post below. If you did not write this post, you must respond at least once directly to the post, and then respond at least once to someone else's response. If you did write the post, you need only respond at least once to the initial responses from your peers.] Origins of Google Irony can sometimes be the best cultivator of a situation. This stands out more than ever when the founding of Google is examined. Two men who seemingly had nothing in common coming together to create the biggest internet company ever is not the everyday tale of an internet startup. Larry Page and Sergey Brin did have one thing in common: their thought process, which would allow them to turn their startup into a global phenomenon.  The homepage of Google when the company first was available to the public in 1997. Both forward thinkers who looked to challenge why things should be done, they were able to

On Monday, there will be two blog posts written by your peers. You must comment on both (and hopefully converse). You do not have to comment on your own if you are posting, but I do hope this is true engagement not just a bunch of unrelated comments. If you are posting Monday, please send me your post by 7 a.m. that day. I have faith it will work - have a good weekend!!

(This image is my answer to this question. The domain pets.com is now owned by Petsmart. I spent a lot of money on pets.com back in the day and still buy a lot of pet products online.) How many businesses have you seen failed that you thought were ahead of their time? What do you think of companies being before their time? Did these failures eventually lead to the right time?

In the court case with Microsoft and the US government, why do you think Microsoft didn't have to follow through with the court's verdict and get broken up? Do you agree with the argument that Microsoft used throughout the case “the technology industry is so competitive, that no player can truly be monopolistic”?

Many companies in the dot-com era (like Pets.com) suffered from losing money with each sale in the hopes of making a profit in the future. Was this a smart business plan for these new companies? Is that a risk that you would take if you started an online business?

There were many events and changes in the market that led to the creation of the Dot Com Bubble, which do you think played the biggest role? And why do you think investors were so willing to throw their money into internet stocks?

Below is a quote from the book found on p. 176: "A lot has been made in the last several years about income inequality and how gains made in the overall economy tend increasingly to go to the top 1%, while the rest are left with scraps. At the time of this writing, there is a lot of talk about how the American public, especially the middle and working classes, have come to believe the economic structure of America is rigged against them, and everything is tilted in favor of the insider, the moneyed, the elite. An argument can be made that this was a belief that first took hold when the dot-com bubble burst, especially to a generation of investors who came to the stock market for the first time in those years. Baby boomers did what society told them: they invested in stocks; they bought and held. And for a time, they did well, seeing their nest eggs go up by five, even six, figures (or more if they were lucky). And then they watched it all evaporate. they watched the insiders an

Seeing how Omidyar’s own libertarian philosophy impacted his company policy, what role do you feel personal beliefs play in an expansive business? Here's a link to his wikipedia page if you'd like more info about the man.

Why do you think sellers willingly paid Omidyar his percentage of the final sale price, without enforcement of this rule? Would you give him his share?

Why was the use of recommendations beneficial to Amazon? Why was it controversial? ( Pg. 100-101)

Amazon's original homepage What do you think of Amazon's decision to start with books? What differences might have occurred had Amazon tried to start out of the gate with another market?

Here's a link to the wikipedia page about iVillage. I realize that this was a brief mention in the book, but at the time, just about every woman I knew used iVillage, and I had a number of friends who worked there.  For the young women in the class: If this website were launched today, do you think you would use it? Do you think other women you know would use it? do you think we need a website like this today? For the young men in the class: Are there niche websites out there for men? If you don't know, that's ok, but open to your input! (NOTE: I will publish the four questions throughout our hour when I think conversation on a previous post has slowed. Feel from to "move along" when your ready.)

Which do you prefer for our discussions? I think there are pros and cons to each, and this was a good way to mimic chat rooms. Let me know with a comment.

What would have happened if Yahoo did not include advertisements on their website? Would they still have been successful?

(Watch this - really! These commercials were made 25 years ago!) What played a role in advertising on the web? How was it similar or different to today? Here's a link if this doesn't play.

AOL eventually turned to a flat fee for unlimited access. Do you think AOL should have turned to unlimited access to the web? Did this lead to their success?

How much did you know about AOL? What programs or services do you think could have been inspired by chat rooms? What are your thoughts on the usage of the chat rooms? 

I will post questions over the course of the class. You must comment once on this post and multiple times on the posts with today's questions. I will join the discussion as well. Let's see how it works on this platform! Do you know anyone who still uses AOL? Truth, my 80 year old parents do! They were both my current age when they joined AOL... and they both still think that's the internet. Listen to the video above to hear the original sound of the internet. (I bet an adult in your house comes running when you play it!)