Shop Till You Drop!

After Allyssa's presentation I thought about where I see the most advertisements: Online Shopping. I spend so much time online shopping since I never get a chance to actually run out and see what's in the stores. Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many people have Internet access both at work and at home. A visit to a conventional retail store requires travel and must take place during business hours.

The first online shopping arenas were Amazon and eBay which developed around the late 1990s. The uses of online shopping are not only because of the high level of convenience, but also because of the broader selection. If I cannot find the right size or color in the store, the sales clerk always suggest that I check the online store. There is more of a competitive pricing and greater access to information in regards to the merchandise being offered. Through online shopping I am able to quickly seek out deals for items or services with many different vendors.

One of the biggest disadvantages of online shopping is fraud and security concerns. I have been a victim of Internet theft when someone stole my credit card information and started using it for their own. People need to be aware of where they are shopping and the security of the site. Now most vendors disclose such privacy settings through the checkout process.

Here is a video about online safety:


How many of you online shop more than shop in stores? Is it more convenient to shop online or more of a hassle in dealing with security issues?

Apple Wins - "There's an App for That"

In one of my media studies courses, we discussed the issue of copyright material and copyright laws. Many argue that copyright laws are set to protect a creator's rights in various fields such as music, videos, film, and even phrases.This is proven to be the case in Apple's trial to trademark "There's an App for That".

Apple began to use the phrase to market it App Store in January 2009 for the iPhone with advertisements that concluded stating "there is an app for that." However, issues arose when Verizon produced a commercial mocking Apple' App slogan by comparing its nationwide 3G coverage map with its competitor stating, "If you want to know why your 3G coverage works so well on Verizon Wireless, there's a map for that."

Verizon Wireless - "There's a Map for That"

Verizon and AT&T have been competing to be America's number one wireless provider. Having Verizon not only steal the slogan but mock its competitor was a huge insult for AT&T and they sought to put an end to it. Well those commercials can no longer run for Apple now officially owns the slogan "There's an App for That" along with anything that resembles that phrase.

Apple - "There's an App for That"

The Age of Social Network Users

When I think about the average age of a social network user, I assumed they were around my age, or at least within my age group 18-24. However, that assumption was wrong! People between the ages of 35 - 44, calculating 25% of the users on social networking sites, are the age group that dominates the social media sphere.

This study, conducted by Pingdom, pulled together age statistics for 19 different social network sites: Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Slashdot, Reddit, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, FriendFeed, Last.fm, Friendster, LiveJournal, Hi5, Tagged, Ning, Xanga, Classmates.com, Bebo.

Therefore the most "social" age groups out on the web today are the generation of people who were in their 20s when the Web took off in the mid '90s. 

Here is a graph that depicts the average age of the user per site:

The average social network user is 37 years old. LinkedIn, with a business focus, has a high average user age: 44. The average Twitter user is 39 years old. The average Facebook user is 38 years old. The average MySpace user is 31 years old. Bebo has by the youngest users with an average age of 28.