Cam's Blog

In most cases, you would use online sites such as Expedia or Priceline to get a cheaper price for a nice hotel or vacation by booking in advance.  However, what has happened recently with a few cases is that somehow the servers that these online travel sites use has not been updated with the appropriate information regarding availability of rooms for various different hotels.  This means that individuals and families who have booked their relaxing stay in advance, have gotten to their destination only to be told that they “do not exist in the system.”  The online businesses have ensured its dissatisfied customers that this kind of thing happens from time to time when there is an overload of requests and hits on their sites and that they will be refunded of their deposits.

I personally believe that this is a very risky game to play as an online business.  If your going to create a website that is attached to thousands of different hotels then you must ensure that your servers are updated with the statuses of each and every hotel that is featured.  It’s incredibly unfair to put someone who is just looking to get away and relax in a situation that can ruin a vacation.

Article Used: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/23/online-travel-mistakes/?iid=HP_River

I found Nolan Killeen’s post on the new Google android phone very interesting and shows how dominant companies with almost all of the market share can still be in jeopardy of losing popularity.

Throughout my high school days and even now the only two phones that people have been remotely interested in were as follows: A Blackberry or an Iphone. Now all of a sudden with the huge problems RIM has been having with bringing in an entirely new system and with the let down apple brought upon its customers after releasing the “Iphone 4s” instead of a much awaited Iphone 5, the android market has been taking complete advantage of the situation.  These failures combined with the release of the new “Google” android phone which offers all of the fancy features included with the Blackberry or Iphone have created a very promising gain for the less hyped part of the market.  Suddenly now Google inc controls a whopping 52.5% of the mobile phone market from just 25% previously.

In my opinion, Apple and RIM had it coming.  I believe that the two giants simply thought that they were untouchable behind their incredibly popular products, but now have realized that this may no longer be the case!

I found Devin Spence’s analysis on how twitter can actually be used to predict market trends incredibly interesting.

I’ve been an avid internet user ever since I was in 5th grade and so I’ve been able to see the rise in social media first hand.  I’ve found websites that let the public express their personalities on the world wide web very iffy to take part in, but now it’s evident that researchers, such as Johan Bollen, have actually found a way to correlate emotions expressed online with market trends.  All of a sudden just tweeting or posting on Facebook allows analysts to predict behaviors of stocks and translates your typing into cash.

I personally agree with Devin’s thoughts regarding that there will be a huge increase in attention towards emotions expressed on Twitter, but I also believe that this exemplifies just how much economies have advanced in the past few years.  If between the time that I was in 5th grade and first year university researchers are now able to predict market trends with social media websites, then I can’t wait to see what happens in the next 7 years!

The title of this article blew my mind and so I just couldn’t resist reading up on what could possibly be going wrong talent wise in the eastern world.

The problem in a nutshell is is quite simply as follows: “For a country like China, the sheer velocity of the economy’s transformation means that the increase in demand for skilled and suitable workers is outpacing the increase in supply.”

Firms in the eastern world have reported that 40% of them are having trouble finding experienced enough candidates with the right skill sets to fill the positions that they are looking to satisfy, especially higher up ones such as managerial and executive positions. This is partly due to lack of creativity, but most interestingly due to the increase in interest of working for western world companies.  However, given that the overall economic slowdown has caused many western firms to decrease the amount of newly recruited employees, many Chinese companies have become aggressive to keep the top talent within their own country.

In my opinion, I agree with the theory that economies are growing faster than talent, especially in the eastern world.  It is clear that if you want to land the perfect job then you will not only have to be a smart leader, but also be able to differentiate yourself easily from the rest of the crowd.

Article Used: http://www.bwob.ca/topics/human-resources-topics/big-on-opportunity-short-on-talent/

We have all heard harrowing tales of how companies were created and the ingenious minds behind them.  In this particular case, I’ve chosen to read up on just how the now very famous company Bungie Studios, creators of the Halo series, came to fruition.

As per most entrepreneurship stories, this one begins with the founder, Alex Seropian, studying at the University Of Chicago pursuing a mathematics degree.  While at school, he designed a game called GNOP!, an imitation of Pong which then led Seropian to decide to create his own game company; Bungie.

Years later in 1999, after having met various key players such as Jason Jones (programmer), Bungie announced its release of Halo.  Microsoft immediately made offers to acquire the firm and allow the talented developers to work with the Xbox as a development base under the name of Bungie Studios.

Soon after this, Halo 2 was released in 2004 bringing in more than $125 million on its first day followed by Halo 3 in 2007 bringing in over $170 million.

I personally love these stories of incredibly successful entrepreneurship as it inspires the world to really chase your dreams and work hard at what your good at because actions never go unnoticed, especially revolutionary ones.

Over the past month 60,900 jobs were created pushing down the unemployment rate in Canada to 7.1%, which is far better than what was expected of our nation.  In relation to the US, we are not only slowly lowering the unemployment rate, but we are also a solid 2 per cent lower over all which shows just how strong the economy of Canada is, regardless of the recent global turmoil that has been ongoing.

Economists believe that even though the process of hiring new employees is slow, that the markets are “healthy” which suggests that the economy is likely to grow over the third quarter and will most likely avoid any thoughts of a recession.

Sectors where unemployment fell over the past year are within finance, real-estate, and leasing, with real-estate taking the biggest hit of the three as the housing market is still leveling off.

In my opinion, I believe that overall the message of this article is very positive for the citizens of Canada as it shows just how strong our economy is regardless of the global chaos that has been going on.  It is clear that many opportunities await as new students graduate from High School and University/College every year !

Article Used: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/canadas-job-market-makes-gains-in-september/article2194122/

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, released by Activision, sold 4.7 million copies within the first 24 hours of its release on November 9th, 2009, earning $310 million in revenue and the title of being the biggest entertainment launch in history. Unfortunately that’s not the only media attention the game acquired.  Suddenly headlines such as “Outrage as new video game lets players kill civilians in terror attacks” or “Modern Warfare 2 accused of promoting terrorism” began to appear all over entertainment media due to a mission in the campaign that allowed players to kill civilians.  However, what wasn’t included in these rants was that the truth is that you play an undercover agent who has infiltrated the terrorist group in order to bring it down.

This is where a question arises: Is Modern Warfare 2 simply making entertainment out of terrorism? Or is it attempting to confront a major issue that is very real?

I personally agree with the author in that it could very well be all of the above, although I do believe that realism makes for better gaming and that the media has the power to blow up almost any issue with no effort at all.

As for those mothers and fathers who think that the game is “sick,” don’t be a bad parent and buy the titles with the 18+ stickers for your 12 year old at home.  In my head that seems more unethical than Activision releasing the award-winning game in the first place.

Article Used: http://www.denofgeek.com/games/359360/the_call_of_duty_modern_warfare_2_controversy_a_reality_check.html

I completely agree with Ed Rempel’s very interesting points of view on the various different areas for worry such as the U.S. debt ceiling and European Crisis.

Since the stock market crash in 2008, it is obvious that everyone has gotten a lot touchier regarding economic situations that appear on the news and instantly jump to the conclusion that “we are all doomed.”

Rempel calmly addresses this style of thinking as follows:

1. This is nothing like 2008. People have clearly been under estimating the sheer power the US has regarding its ability to pay off its bills.  The same goes for the crisis in Europe.  There is a drive to keep the euro strong in Europe and the EU will clearly support every country.

2. Most of the problems in the US and Europe are simply political problems, not financial problems.

3. Our money is not getting invested in the government, but in companies.  Fortunately for us companies are currently booming and are at an all-time high regarding profits.

4. Right now is the time to invest.  Strong companies + pessimistic economies = profit in the long term.

Rempel clearly outlines that people eat up what they hear on the news about how times are going to be bad, when in reality the issues are a lot less significant as they’ve been lead to think. In fact, right now may even be the best time to invest:

Fear of a False Factor is Favorable.

The answer to that question is it may very well happen. 

A Business Man’s POV

At this point in time Greece appears to have two options: One being to go bankrupt, and two being to get bailed out. However this grim situation appears to be a lose lose for countries in the euro-zone.  If Greece’s neighboring countries do decide to help bail them out, then they also get stuck with having to cough up a huge sum of money. If they don’t, then Greece would most likely have to stop using the Euro to gain the ability to print their own money which will then force them to inflate themselves out of debt!

A Politician’s POV

What simply needs to be done from this outlook is a repeat of how Wall Street got bailed out in 2008: A European TARP (Trouble Asset Relief Program).  Essentially what this means is that the European Union is going to have to assume the debt of Greece and take control of its finances.  This means that tax rises and spending cuts will not only occur in Greece, but all over Europe too in order to cover the debt!

In my opinion, if a decision isn’t made quickly as to how the problem is going to be dealt with in Greece and essentially all over Europe, then the U.S. is going to have no choice but to get involved and pour even more capital into the very daunting situation.

Article Used: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/03/opinion/frum-europe-high-stakes/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

In March of 1989, the Exxon Valdez, an enormous oil tanker owned by Exxon Mobil, ran to ground off the coast of Alaska in the Prince William Sound causing unbelievable environmental, ecological, and financial damage to the region.

Following the oil spill, thousands of birds, fish, and many other marine mammals surrounding the Prince William Sound were killed or affected by the 53 million gallons of crude oil that leaked from the grounded tanker.  This combined with the lack of preparation demonstrated by the enormous distributor regarding what measures were to be put in place if the vessel did indeed crash; sparked endless amounts of controversy surrounding what the company should do in return to not only help the environment, but to aid in restoring the markets it destroyed around the region.

The ethical dilemma that Exxon Mobil faced after this disaster was whether the billions of dollars that they did end up paying to the markets surrounding Prince William Sound and to the government was enough to replace the priceless environments and ecosystems they devastated.  In my opinion,  you can’t put a price on an ecosystem.

Comment with your opinion!