This article is geared towards those that run businesses online, but it also gives some insight into what's ahead for the rest of us (many of us take place in online business, whether we are buyers or sellers). The article points out many developing trends, including group buying, co-creation, and social media used for customer support. I think it is fairly illustrative of the overall picture of online commerce-- enjoy!

This article covers research by Turku University on the effects of cyberbullying. The text explains the possible negative effects that online bullying can have on the victims as well as the bullies themselves. I found it interesting and somewhat sad that teens can't get away from bullies anymore-- while being home and out of school was often a getaway from bothersome peers, that is becoming less and less the case.

This article shows that people's perceptions of government and their websites changed little during the past year. ForeSee Results, the Michigan-based company that did the supporting research, emphasizes the importance in individuals' satisfaction with government transparency. A table in the article shows a correlation between a person's satisfaction with an agency's transparency and their trust in that agency. I found this article interesting as this is any area with many ethical and moral issues.

This is a very short but interesting description of a great application of the internet to connect with your neighbors-- "neighbornodes." I had never heard of these before but thought maybe someone else had. They seem like a great idea not only for promoting a sense of community, but also for security reasons as well! Ideas such as this tie into our discussion for this week of digital communications among neighbors.

This short article hits on a small portion of our course discussion material for the week-- academic integrity in online education. The article discusses some of the issues with cheating online, and makes some suggestions as to who the responsibility falls on. It also brings up some less-known issues surrounding online education, such as "diploma mills" and universities' negligence of their online students. Enjoy!

This article, which is authored by a member of the Asia Future Internet Forum, looks at some of the current mobile internet trends, and also addresses some of the potential problems. It gives the author's proposal for an alternative mobile network design. While I don't expect anyone to read all the fine print in this (some of it is IT oriented and somewhat confusing), the big picture is what I find interesting-- people have so much faith and support for mobile internet that they want to develop some sort of international standards for it. People taking initiative such as this will really have a big impact on how the mobile network is shaped in the future!

This is a recent article I found that relate's to this weeks topic of social networking. The article discusses the uses of social networking for older generations, and provides many statistics, some of which come from the Pew Project we study. As the article shows, older generations use social networking for many of the same uses as teens and young adults. The article may be help you think of questions related to this week's discussions. Here's a little excerpt to help you get an idea of what the article is about: "Whether it's congressmen Twittering during presidential speeches, parents connecting with high school flames on Facebook or empty-nesters planning group outings on grown-up sites such as Eons.com, Baby Boomers are speeding up the Web's ongoing metamorphosis from limitless void to global watering hole. Social networking is fast becoming a staple for a growing number of adults as Web use surges. One-third of adult Internet users have a profile on a social networking site, up from 8% in 2005, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And though adults share some teen habits - checking in with friends, planning get-togethers - they differ from the younger set in their desire to use the medium to meet new friends from across the country." Enjoy!