Comparison and contrast essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Comparison and contrast - Essay Example Comparatively, these cities offer great life experience but it is not very easy to choose one when it comes settlement. Both are distinguished by their weather, factors such as entertainment and housing. Weather is one big different issue between these two cities. Seattle and Houston have calm weather conditions in the months of April and May. Seattle at times records up to four feet of snow but this is very rare in Houston which can witness only about one centimeter of snow in 25 years. When it snows in Seattle, it is really terrible since it does not only stop after a few inches but can even last longer where building a snowman is never a problem. Seattle also records plenty of rainfall such that it has come to be commonly known as the Rainy City. It can also be noted that Seattle experiences Mother Nature’s storms called tornadoes, which are mixed with hail, high winds that rip houses apart and cause other trail of destruction to infrastructure. The temperatures in Houston are moderated by the influence of the Gulf of Mexico and this results in mild weather conditions and it does not experience rain storms. Houston has warm weather and humidity is high especially during th e summer. Houston often experiences hurricanes during every summer with the high winds and heavy rain fall that can cause power outage for days and even weeks at a time and this make life miserable without drinking water and air conditioning. The geographical location of these two cities is a major factor when it comes to entertainment and sporting activities. In Seattle for instance, there are different kinds of entertainment activities that Houston cannot offer. Seattle is a quieter and more relaxed city that offers European relaxed ambience. Seattle is known for wonderful snow skiing and ice skating. There are several state recognized tournaments where some of them even attract European competitors. Seattle also has very

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Proposal - Essay Example This shall form the foundation for recommending specific and practical directions for the integration of such tools for business, and a citation of advantages and pitfalls that may be expected as a result. 1. Novelty – The research shall examine attributes of a newly emergent phenomenon, the widespread use of social media and the growth of online communities as channels of opportunity for global marketing 2. Significance – Based on existing literature, the aforementioned channels present strong potentials for use in social engagement marketing in the international arena, due to ease of access, wide reach, low cost, and powerful content delivery. 3. Dearth of research – To date, there have been few articles written about the topic, and research has been fragmented and limited. Scant investigation has been conducted on the systematic use of strategic branding through online communities in social media. 4. Continuing development – The proliferation of social media has assumed several forms in the past which had provided the setting for earlier research. Social media, however, is in continual evolution due to the rapid changes in personal electronic data communication. Technical advances continue to enhance the potential of this channel which must be explored through continual research. 5. Necessity of integration – As mentioned, previous research has been fragmented, and depending upon the time they were undertaken, limited in scope. Advances made since then highlight social media and the creation of online communities as viable strategic tools to be integrated into the marketing function of a business undertaking. This research seeks to establish links among the technical, social, and commercial aspects of social media and online communities. Other than the foregoing criteria, the researcher is particularly interested in the topic because it encompasses two areas of personal

Frederick Douglass Essay Example for Free

Frederick Douglass Essay Frederick Douglass was born a slave in 1818, a time when slaves were forbidden to have an education he succeeded in teaching himself to read and write. In Frederick Douglass’ Learning to Read, the audience was given a front row seat that allowed a glimpse inside the true depth and extent of slavery. Douglass expressed emphasis on literacy and the impact it had on slavery by revealing how slavery was detrimental not only to slaves but slave owners, how the path to educate himself caused mental anguish, and how literacy became his key to freedom. In the beginning, the master’s wife viewed Frederick as her equal and didn’t see anything wrong with educating him. Douglass said of his first teacher â€Å"She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness (346), then she realized that educating a slave meant giving them a voice. Slavery had the power to turn a kind and caring person into a callous and cruel brute. â€Å"Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger like fierceness† (Douglass 346). She ceased to instruct him and made sure nobody else would. â€Å"Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking ell† (347). Frederick Douglass was a brilliant man and determined to learn how to read. Douglass turned children into teachers and through an exchange of bread successfully learned how to read. In Learning to Read, Douglass wanted to name the boys who helped him as â€Å"a testimonial of the gratitude and affection I bear them†(347), but instead stated where they lived. Douglass writes about the steps he took when learning to read and goes as far to include where the children lived that help him succeed establishes accurate logic. The path Frederick Douglass traveled to pursue his education was a roller-coaster of emotions. Douglass was twelve when he came across the book The Columbian Orator, it contained material that spoke out against slavery, and with hope at his fingertips he came face to face with reality. â€Å"behold! That very discontentment which Master Hugh had predicted would follow my learning to read has already come, to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish. †(Douglass 348). He was still a slave, no longer ignorant of the truth but still without the answer. â€Å"I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free† Slavery was so horrific that he envied the clueless slaves and even contemplated death, but it was hope that saved him. Douglass’ use of loaded language appeals to the emotions of the audience. In Learning to Read, Douglass is eager to hear the word abolitionists, although he didn’t know what it meant he associated the word with hope. â€Å"If a slave ran away and succeeded in getting clear, or if a slave killed his master, set fire to a barn, or did anything very wrong in the mind of a slaveholder, it was spoken of as the fruit of abolition†(348,349). From a city paper he reads about the petition to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, and at the pier he is encouraged to runaway to the north, where he could be free. Douglass wrote â€Å"I consoled myself with hope that I should one day find a good chance. Meanwhile, I would learn to write. †(349) A lump of chalk, any solid surface and another clever method would provide Douglass with the tools necessary to learn how to write. Frederick Douglas was a slave who succeeded in learning to read and write establishes his credibility and authority. Douglass’ views on the importance of literacy and the impact it had on slavery was effective by accurately using logic, appealing to emotions, and establishing ethical credibility In Learning to Read, Frederick Douglass gives a first-hand account of the struggles he faced to free himself, mentally and physically, from slavery. Through his persistence to learn to read and write he discovers that knowledge is the key to freedom.

Education system in india

Education system in india ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I take this opportunity to present my votes of thanks to all those guidepost who really acted as lightening pillars to enlighten our way throughout this project that has led to successful and satisfactory completion of this study. I am highly thankful to Mr. Pankaj Jain for her active support, valuable time and advice, whole-hearted guidance, sincere cooperation and pains-taking involvement during the study and in completing the assignment of preparing the said paper within the time stipulated. Without the active participation of our teachers it would have been extremely difficult for me to prepare the project in a time bound framework. HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN INDIA Indian education history is very rich and motivating. In the ancient days, gurus and scholars impart education orally, but after the development of letters, it took the form of writing. Palm leaves and barks of trees were used for teaching, and this in turn helped in spreading of the written literature. Temples and community centres often took the role of school. When Buddhism spread in India, education become available to everyone and this was the time when some world famous educational institutions were established like Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshashila. History has taken particular care to give Nalanda University, which flourished from the fifth to 13th century AD, full credit for its brilliance. This university had around 10,000 resident students and teachers on its roll at one time. These students included Chinese, Sri Lankan, Korean and other international scholars. It was in the 11th century that the Muslims recognized elementary and secondary schools. This led to the formi ng of few universities too at cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Allahabad. Medieval period saw excellent interaction between Indian and Islamic customs in all fields of knowledge like theology, religion, philosophy, fine arts, painting, architecture, arithmetic, medicine and astronomy. Later, when British arrived in India, English education came into being with the help of the European missionaries. Since then, Western education gained advances in the country. With hundreds of universities and thousands of colleges affiliated to them, India has positioned itself happily as a country that provides superiority higher education to its people in specific and to the world in general. PRESENT EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA The present education system in India mainly comprises of- primary education, secondary education, senior secondary education and higher education Elementary education consists of eight years of education. Each of secondary and senior secondary education consists of two years of education. Higher education in India starts after passing the higher secondary education or the 12th standard. Depending on the stream(Arts,Commerce or Science). Doing graduation in India can take three to five years. Post graduate courses are generally of two to three years of duration. After completing post graduation, scope for doing research in various educational institutes also remains open. The growing receiving of distance learning courses and growth of the open university system is also causative a lot in the democratization of higher education in india. WORLD CLASS HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTES IN INDIA: There are quite a good number of educational institutes in India that can compete with the best educational institutes of the world and made India recognizable in the International Education. Some of them are as follows- Ø The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Ø Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Ø Indian Institutes of Science, National Law Schools, Ø Jawaharlal Nehru University are some such institutes. FACILITIES OF EDUCATION TO MARGINALIZED IN INDIA: As education is the means for bringing socio- economic transformation in a society, various measures are being taken to enhance the access of teaching to the marginalized sections of the society. One such measure is the introduction of the reservation system in the institutes of higher education. Under the present law:- (1) 7.5% seats in the higher educational institutes are reserved for the scheduled tribes, (2) 15% for scheduled castes and 27% for the non creamy layers of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). PRESENT SCENARIO OF INDIAN EDUCATION : Soon after independence in 1947, making education available to all had become a priority for the government. As discrimination on the basis of caste and gender has been a major hurdle in the healthy development of the Indian society, it also restricted the educational development of the nation as a whole. The 86th constitutional amendment has also made elementary education a fundamental right for the children between the age group- 6 to 14. According to the 2001 census:- Ø The total literacy rate in India is 65.38% . Ø The female literacy rate is only 54.16% The gap between rural and urban literacy rate is also very significant in India. This is evident from the fact that only 59.4% of rural population are literate as against 80. 3% urban population according to the 2001 census PUBLIC PRIMARY EDUCATION IN INDIA- AN OVERVIEW: Early childhood education in India is subject to two extreme but contrary deficiencies. On the one hand, millions of young children in lower income groups, especially rural and girl children, comprising nearly 40% of first grade entrants never complete primary school. Even among those who do, poorly qualified teachers, very high student-teacher ratios, inadequate teaching materials and out- moded teaching methods result in a low quality of education that often imparts little or no real learning. It is not uncommon for students completing six years of primary schooling in village public schools to lack even rudimentary reading and writing skills. PRIVATE PRIMARY EDUCATION IN INDIA- AN OVERVIEW: Cildren attending urban schools, especially middle and upper class children in private schools, are subjected to extreme competitive pressures from a very early age to acquire basic language skills and memorize vast amounts of information in order to qualify for admission into the best schools. Parents and teachers exert intense pressure on young children to acquire academic skills at an age when children should be given freedom and encouraged to learn as a natural outcome of their curiosity, playfulness and eagerness to experiment. Necessary steps should be taken to avoid unnecessary pressure for childrens. GOVERNANCE OF PRIMARY EDUCATION: Schemes undertaken by the government: Ø State-wise Allocation of Central Governments Share Made Ø Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in India (2006-2007) State-wise Amount Spent on Elementary Education from Component of Prambhik Shiksha Kosh in India (2006-2007 and 31.10.2007) State-wise Targets and Achievements under Sarva Shiksha Abhiayan (SSA) in India (2002-2007) Selected State-wise Number of Additional Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) Sanctioned in India (As on 01.02.2006) Funds Released to North Eastern States under CentrallySponsored Schemes for Operation Blackboard and Non Formal Education in India (1997-1998 to 2000-2001) Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources under Centrally Sponsored Schemes for Elementary Education for North Eastern States in India (1999-2000 and 2000-2001 Progress Recorded under Shiksha Karmi Project in India (upto september2001) Efforts are also being taken to improve the access to higher education among the women of India by setting up various ecational institutes exclusively for them or eserving seats in the already existing institutes. Development so far:- Under SSA, Ø 1.47 lakh primary schools have been opened across the country, Ø 1.23 lakh primary schools have been upgraded to have upper primary classes. Ø 9.86 lakh teachers have been recruited, Ø children are provided free textbooks, Ø teachers are provided periodic in-service training, Ø Mid-day meal is provided to all children in classes 1-8 in Ø Government and Government aided schools. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOL EDUCATION The National Council Of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the legal body for governing the curriculam matters for school education in India. The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and give guidance to many educational policies in India. Different Indian curriculam bodies governing school Education in India are as follows:- The State Government Board The Central Board Of Secondary Education ( CBSE ) Board The Council For The Indian School Certificate Examinations ( CISCE) Board The Indian Certificate Of Secondary Education ( ICSE ) Board The National Institute Of Open Schooling ( NIOS ) Board GOVERNANCE OF HIGHER EDUCATION In order to develop the higher education system, the government had established the University Grants Commission in 1953(UGC) . The primary role of UGC has been to regulate the standard and spread of higher education in India. There has been a marked progress in the expansion of higher education if we look at the increase of higher educational institutes in India. The higher education system in India comprise of more than17000 colleges, 20 central universities, 217 State Universities, 106 Deemed to Universities and 13 institutes of Natioanl importance. Under the Indian constitution, various minority groups can also set up their own educational institutes. This number will soon inflate as the setting up of30 more central universities, 8 new IITs, 7 IIMs and 5 new Indian Institutes of science are now proposed. PESTLE ANALYSIS OF EDUCATION P POLITICAL ANALYSIS SCHOOL LEVEL Schools being privatised (like the NHS) A government initiative creates the risk that the school may fail to deliver the policy or be diverted away from local priorities etc.Changes tothe skills required to be a teacher/ tutor Changes to curriculum with short lead times Requirement to be self managing Requirement to be self financing HIGHER LEVEL- Funding allocations to Universities and level of priority given to HE/ science.Funding allocations within the University. RAE 2008 process and its suggested replacements.University league tables and rankings. â€Å"In vogue† research disciplines. Institutional policies on IPR and open access. Publisher lobbying and the DTI. EC position on research dissemination. Pressure for global dissemination of resources including redressing the balance between information poor and information rich. Competitor institutions. Research peaks. Future of the White Rose consortium and regional cooperation in HE. What happens to work when researchers move institutions? E ECONOMICAL ANALYSIS- SCHOOL LEVEL- Central or local government funding decisions may affect school/ establishment finances Closure of a local industry may affect fund raising plans etc. Ability of parents to raise funds for optional activities The need to run breakfast/ after schools clubs Ability to invest savings/ surpluses Cost of providing resources: Ø Staff teaching support Ø Basics books/ paper Ø Technology solutions laptops etc Interest rates Shortages of materials on national/ international markets Over provision of school places in the area resulting in competition from neighbouring schools The risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more „up and coming schools/ academies. HIGHER LEVEL- Overall funding allocations to Universities from government and from Research . Councils.Use of short term contracts for researchers. VAT on electronic publications. Publisher business model and the possible impact of open access.. Cost of data storage. Cost of digital preservation actions and/or services. Priority given to outward facing technical services in a Financially Restricted environment. Journal subscription model may be in transition; libraries universities may worry they are paying for the same thing three times. Repository services are unlikely to be income generating or, only indirectly. Student debt may make a research career less attractive. S SOCIAL ANALYSIS SCHOOL LEVEL- Decline in birth rate, reflecting national trends. Local population changes (increasing/ decreasing numbers) . Demographic changes may affect likely pupil rolls or the nature of pupils needse.g. pupils with English as a second language etc. Closure of local firms providing employment Inability to attract staff. Social networking blogs, facebook, twitter Changes to qualifications expected. Integration with local community. Integration of students with special needs. parental preference an increase in „parent power has allowed. parents more freedom of choice over their child s school. the risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more up-and- coming establishments. Information is accessible to staff anywhere in the world via the Internet. Staff were not given enough training or access to effectively change their habits and how they expected information to be made available. HIGHER LEVEL- Widening participation. Increased student to staff ratios.. Use of short term contracts for researchers. Commodification of HE; emphasis on HE for monetary gain. Possible lack of lecturers and researchers in the future. Public attitudes towards science and scientific knowledge; demand for scientific information. Globalisation of science; possibly more democratic access to dissemination mechanishs. T TECHNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS SCHOOL LEVEL- Changes to standards/ equipment required. Risk of selecting the wrong technology at times of change (i.e. windows -v- open source).New computer viruses may affect school/ college operations, Disturbing/ illegal images on the internet may affect ICT security measures etc.Move from paper based books to e-book readers. Computer hardware being out of date.Computer software being out of date. Time to manage IT systems. HIGHER LEVEL- Widespread availability of internet access including developing countries. Development of GRID computing. Development of virtual learning environments and virtual research Environments. Generation of increasingly complex digital objects during research. Development of common interoperability standards. Development of metadata standards. Urgent need for digital preservation protocols. Need for and cost of data storage. Massive proliferation of email. Developing scientific disciplines; new potential for research. Increased expectations of end users re quality and manner of data delivery. Increasing level of skills needed, particularly programming, to be classed as a â€Å"techie†. Anyone can be a publisher: different publishing models. Possible new models for peer review. Local IT development priorities. LITERACY RATE IN INDIA As per 2001 Census, the overall literacy rate of India is 65.38%. The male literacy rate is 75.96% and female literacy rate is 54.28%. Ranking of States and Union Territories by Literacy Rate States literacy rate male literacy rate female literacy rate Kerala 90.92 94.20 87.86 Mizoram 88.49 90.69 86.13 Lakshadweep (U.T.) 87.52 93.15 81.56 Goa 82.32 88.88 75.51 Delhi (U.T.) 81.82 87.37 75.00 Chandigarh (U.T.) 81.76 85.65 76.65 Pondicherry (U. T.) 81.49 88.89 74.13 (U.T.) 81.18 86.07 75.29 Daman Diu (U.T.) 81.09 88.40 70.37 Maharashtra 77.27 86.27 67.51 Himachal Pradesh 77.13 86.02 68.08 Tripura 73.66 81.47 65.41 Tamil Nadu 73.47 82.33 64.55 Uttaranchal 72.28 84.01 60.26 Gujarat 69.97 80.50 58.60 Punjab 69.95 75.63 63.55 Sikkim 69.68 76.73 61.46 West Bengal 69.22 77.58 60.22 Manipur 68.87 77.87 59.70 Haryana 68.59 79.25 56.31 Nagaland 67.11 71.77 61.92 Karnataka 67.04 76.29 57.45 Chhatisgarh 65.18 77.86 52.40 This table shows the literacy rate of various state in india. EDUCATIONAL TARGETS OF 11 th YEAR PLAN Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52.2% in 2003-2004 to 20% by 2011-2012 Develop minimum standard of educational attainment in elementary school, and by regular testing moniter effectiveness of education to ensure quality. Increase literacy rate for people of age seven years or more to 85% Lower genger gap in literacy to 10 percentage point Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher higher education from the present 10% to 15% by the end of the eleventh plan.

Comparing Death in Araby and The Metamorphosis Essay -- comparison com

Death in Araby and The Metamorphosis Many readers have commented on the contrast of light and darkness in the story Araby by James Joyce. Perhaps the death of the priest in Araby adds to the "darkness" that the boy experiences when he is thinking about Mangan's sister, as contrasted with the light he experiences when he is actually in her presence. It is interesting that the death of the priest does not become so "dark" until Mangan's sister is introduced. In the first scene where the boy visits the priest's old room, he rummages around and finds some treasures, including "paper-covered books," and "the late tenant's rusty bicycle pump." There is no sense of gloom here, in fact, the boy seems to be having fun exploring and discovering things, and reminisces about how the priest "had been a very charitable priest" in a rather disconnected way. But later, after the boy's crush on Mangan's sister has been introduced, this dead priest's room takes on a very different character. This is the place where the boy retreats on a stormy night while his emotions are churning inside him. It is no longer a place to explore, but has taken on almost a "sacred" character. Here the boy experiences his most impassioned moment of "strange prayers and praises," pressing the palms of his hands together "until they trembled, murmuring: 'Oh Love! Oh Love!' many times." You can almost feel the presence of the dead priest in the room on this "dark rainy evening" as the boy is praying, in a way that you would not feel his presence if he were merely on vacation. The fact that he has died here in this very room adds to the drama and it intensifies the boy's emotions. Maybe the boy was thinking that the priest was watching him from he... ...ere really what the family needed to start living their own lives. In this story the "deaths" of Gregor serve to make obvious where he really stands in the family, and what the real situation is. If he had not turned into a bug and ultimately died, neither he nor the family would have ever known that what he was doing for them wasn't really helping them. Gregor's deaths also showed that the family didn't really care that much about him, and weren't that grateful for his sacrifices. It brings out the contrast between what Gregor was willing to do for his family (die) and what his family was willing to do for him (not very much). They wanted to get rid of him once his condition started demanding too much from them. Gregor's death turns him into a sort of tragic hero. If the story ended differently, I think readers would feel less sympathetic towards him.

Technology and Education Essay -- Teaching Education Essays

Technology and Education The use of technology in schools has a great effect on not only students, but teachers as well. Today, we mostly think of technology as computers, but it is much more than that. In fact, one of the first technologies used in the classroom was the chalkboard. Most students today use technology throughout their school day. Uses for technology can be found for every subject matter a student has. Some of the most widely used tools are found in the English and Language Arts classes. Writing on word processors allows students to cut-and-paste, save their work, and use spell checkers and thesauruses. With technology students are also given advantages in learning how to read. Reading programs use drill-and-practice techniques to help with reinforcing young students’ reading skills. Technology is also used in science education. Scientific hardware such as handheld computers, thermometers, and sensors allow for out of class experimentation. Students are now able to telecollaborate with other students, and scientists, from places all around the world. This communication with others allows for the understanding of experiments. Social studies education also includes the use of technology. Databases are used to organize information, which if done by hand could take hours longer to accomplish. Online archives and simulations [1] are also used. One of my favorite technologies used in the social studies field is the ability for students to go on virtual fieldtrips. According to Ryan and Cooper (2004), these â€Å"provide a wealth of opportunities to extend learning† (p. 192). Mathematics education also uses technology to aid students. Tutorial software can provide instruction to stude... ...in the classroom. (p. 1) This five-phase study [2] concluded with the results supporting Grimes’ and Smith’s (2004) â€Å"supposition that dollars spent on technology professional development increased a teacher’s integration of technology into the classroom† (p. 5). There are so many aspects of technology that positively affect students, teachers, and the educational system. I can’t imagine my life without my own personal uses of technology. I check my email regularly, use my graphing calculator in math class, search the World Wide Web for information, and I’m using a word processor right now. I am going to school to become an elementary school teacher and I am excited to be able to use these sources of technology to help teach my students. I’m sure by the time that I am a teacher, my students will be teaching me a thing or two about computers and technology. Technology and Education Essay -- Teaching Education Essays Technology and Education The use of technology in schools has a great effect on not only students, but teachers as well. Today, we mostly think of technology as computers, but it is much more than that. In fact, one of the first technologies used in the classroom was the chalkboard. Most students today use technology throughout their school day. Uses for technology can be found for every subject matter a student has. Some of the most widely used tools are found in the English and Language Arts classes. Writing on word processors allows students to cut-and-paste, save their work, and use spell checkers and thesauruses. With technology students are also given advantages in learning how to read. Reading programs use drill-and-practice techniques to help with reinforcing young students’ reading skills. Technology is also used in science education. Scientific hardware such as handheld computers, thermometers, and sensors allow for out of class experimentation. Students are now able to telecollaborate with other students, and scientists, from places all around the world. This communication with others allows for the understanding of experiments. Social studies education also includes the use of technology. Databases are used to organize information, which if done by hand could take hours longer to accomplish. Online archives and simulations [1] are also used. One of my favorite technologies used in the social studies field is the ability for students to go on virtual fieldtrips. According to Ryan and Cooper (2004), these â€Å"provide a wealth of opportunities to extend learning† (p. 192). Mathematics education also uses technology to aid students. Tutorial software can provide instruction to stude... ...in the classroom. (p. 1) This five-phase study [2] concluded with the results supporting Grimes’ and Smith’s (2004) â€Å"supposition that dollars spent on technology professional development increased a teacher’s integration of technology into the classroom† (p. 5). There are so many aspects of technology that positively affect students, teachers, and the educational system. I can’t imagine my life without my own personal uses of technology. I check my email regularly, use my graphing calculator in math class, search the World Wide Web for information, and I’m using a word processor right now. I am going to school to become an elementary school teacher and I am excited to be able to use these sources of technology to help teach my students. I’m sure by the time that I am a teacher, my students will be teaching me a thing or two about computers and technology.

Direct and Online Marketing †the New Marketing Model Essay

I. INTRODUCTION With the growth of the Internet community and the limitless possibilities the Internet gives to the single user, it didn’t take long before someone realized that the World Wide Web is a really good place for the commercial entrepreneur. So, very quickly the online market was born, offering almost all kinds of goods to be purchased and delivered to your door. This new online sensation was called electronic commerce, or ecommerce. E-commerce is a complex term referring to the process of selling and buying products and services over the Internet or other electronic systems. Considered as the sales aspect of the e-business, the electronic commerce has revolutionized trade as a routine activity for the contemporary man by bringing the marketplace to your home or the office, thus saving you time and efforts. The development of e-commerce has given birth to new terms such as electronic funds transfer, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), Internet marketing, automated data collection systems, etc. They all designate certain key components of the sophisticated e-commerce system. The majority of processes running within the e-commerce system are carried out on the World Wide Web. It is on the web where goods and services are presented through variously designed e-commerce websites to match the taste of a particular target audience. From there customers can order the desired items and pay for them in a variety of supported e-payment options such as credit cards, PayPal, etc. Certain e-commerce operations are executed via email as well. These may include sending order placement confirmations or electronic invoice notifications to the buyer’s personal mailbox after a particular purchase. Depending on the nature of the offered products and services, ecommerce operations may involve virtual and physical items. Due to the increasing use of the Internet in our daily lives, the percentage of the virtual items distributed through ecommerce is rapidly growing. These include services like buying admission to limited access websites or electronic versions of newspapers and magazines, online gaming, etc. Nevertheless, the majority of e-commerce transactions are still related to the purchase and transportation of physical items. As far as the parties involved in the online transaction process are concerned, ecommerce can be thought of as being business-to-consumer, more popular as B2C, and business-to-business, also known as B2B. The B2C ecommerce, conducted between business entities and consumers, includes all online stores (e-shops) offering retail products and services to end customers such as flower stores, shoe stores, furniture stores, etc. The B2B commerce, on the other hand, takes place between business entities only, such as wholesalers and retailers, on not that widely popular web stores. The rapid expansion of ecommerce has made it possible for almost all big retail companies to set up their own online stores with regularly updated content. Thus, it is now easier than ever to obtain an item from the latest collection of your favorite clothes brand, or be among the first to take advantage of a starting clearance campaign. Moreover, the ecommerce fashion is gradually ‘infecting’ smaller retail companies, which find it as a good chance to expand their reach to potential customers and increase the selling volumes. This trend is stimulated by the attractive low-cost ecommerce hosting services offered by different hosts on the web. II. ONLINE MARKETING Online marketing, also known as online advertisement, internet marketing, online marketing or e-marketing, is the marketing and promotion of products or services over the Internet. Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web to deliver marketing messages to attract customers. TYPES OF ONLINE MARKETING * Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s â€Å"natural† or un-paid (â€Å"organic†) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine’s users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines. As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content, HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic. The plural of the abbreviation SEO can refer to â€Å"search engine optimizers,† those who provide SEO service. * Pay-Per-Click Advertising (also called cost per click) is an Internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers pay the publisher (typically a website owner) when the ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system. PPC â€Å"display† advertisements, also known as â€Å"banner† ads, are shown on web sites or search engine results with related content that have agreed to show ads. In contrast to the generalized portal, which seeks to drive a high volume of traffic to one site, PPC implements the so-called affiliate model that provides purchase opportunities wherever people may be surfing. It does this by offering financial incentives (in the form of a percentage of revenue) to affiliated partner sites. The affiliates provide purchase-point click-through to the merchant. It is a pay-for-performance model: If an affiliate does not generate sales, it represents no cost to the merchant. Variations include banner exchange, pay-per-click, and revenue sharing programs. Websites that utilize PPC ads will display an advertisement when a keyword query matches an advertiser’s keyword list, or when a content site displays relevant content. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to, above, or beneath organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a web developer chooses on a content site. Among PPC providers, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter used to be the three largest network operators, and all three operate under a bid-based model. In 2010, Yahoo and Microsoft launched their combined effort against Google and Microsoft’s Bing began to be the search engine that Yahoo used to provide its search results. Since they joined forces, their PPC platform was renamed AdCenter. Their combined network of third party sites that allow AdCenter ads to populate banner and text ads on their site is called BingAds. The PPC advertising model is open to abuse through click fraud, although Google and others have implemented automated systems to guard against abusive clicks by competitors or corrupt web developers. * Email Marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current customer database. Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to: * Sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business, * Sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, * Adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their customers Researchers estimate that United States firms alone spent US $1.51 billion on email marketing in 2011 and will grow to $2.468 billion by 2016. * Affiliate Marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as ‘retailer’ or ‘brand’), the network (that contains offers for the affiliate to choose from and also takes care of the payments), the publisher (also known as ‘the affiliate’), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third party vendors. Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization (SEO), paid search engine marketing (PPC – Pay Per Click), e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner. Affiliate marketing is commonly confused with referral marketing, as both forms of marketing use third parties to drive sales to the retailer. However, both are distinct forms of marketing and the main difference between them is that affiliate marketing relies purely on financial motivations to drive sales while referral marketing relies on trust and personal relationships to drive sales. Affiliate marketing is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail, and website syndication capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers’ marketing strategies. * Display Advertising is a type of advertising that typically contains text (i.e., copy), logos, photographs or other images, location maps, and similar items. In periodicals, display advertising can appear on the same page as, or on the page adjacent to, general editorial content. In contrast, classified advertising generally appears in a distinct section, was traditionally text-only, and was available in a limited selection of typefaces. Display advertisements are not required to contain images, audio, or video: Textual advertisements are also used where text may be more appropriate or more effective. An example of textual advertisements is commercial messages sent to mobile device users, or email. One common form of display advertising involves billboards. Posters, fliers, transit cards, tents, scale models are examples of display advertising.. Display advertising appears on web pages in many forms, including web banners. Banner ad standards continue to evolve. * Blogging. A weblog, also called a blog, is a journal that is maintained by a blogger and contains information that is instantly published to their blog website. Blogging is a very popular activity. The number of online users creating and maintaining blogs has increased dramatically over the past year. The number Internet users who read these blogs has also shot up, with some blogs boasting thousands, even millions of daily dedicated readers. Blog marketing is any process that publicizes or advertises a website, business, brand or service via the medium of blogs. This includes, but is not limited to marketing via ads placed on blogs, recommendations and reviews by the blogger, promotion via entries on third party blogs and cross-syndication of information across multiple blogs. * Community Building. An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted number of people can initiate posts, such as Weblogs. Online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other primarily in real life. Many means are used in social separately or in combination, including text-based chat rooms and forums that use voice, video text or avatars. Significant socio-technical change may have resulted from the proliferation of such Internet-based social networks. * Social Media Marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. Hence, this form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid media. Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns. Social media marketing involves the use of social networks, COBRAs and eWOM to successfully advertise online. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter provide advertisers with information about the likes and dislikes of their consumers. This technique is crucial, as it provides the businesses with a â€Å"target audience†. With social networks, information relevant to the user’s likes is available to businesses; who then advertise accordingly. Consumer’s online brand related activities (COBRAs) is another method used by advertisers to promote their products. An activity such as uploading a picture of your â€Å"new Converse sneakers to Facebook† is an example of a COBRA. Another technique for social media marketing is electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Electronic recommendations and appraisals are a convenient manner to have a product promoted via â€Å"consumer-to-consumer interactions†. An example of eWOM would be an online hotel review; the hotel company can have two possible outcomes based on their service. A good service would result in a positive review which gets the hotel free advertisement via social media; however a poor service will result in a negative consumer review which can potentially ruin the company’s reputation. ADVANTAGE OF ONLINE MARKETING These are some of the many advantages that online marketing offers over traditional media outlets: 1. Reduced Cost The starting cost of online marketing is only a fraction of the thousands of dollars that Yellow Pages, television and radio ads cost. For example, you can get a free listing on Google Local that will be just as effective as a costly online Yellow Pages ad. In addition, while traditional ads may only run for a short time, a search engine optimization campaign can deliver long-term results. You can also save money with online Pay-Per-Click advertising where it is easy to experiment with small ad volumes until you perfect your strategy and then expand your marketing budget when you are assured of a positive sales return. 2. Everything Is Measurable When you place an ad in the newspaper or a magazine, it can be difficult to assess the direct sales impact for your business. With online marketing, everything can be tracked and illustrated in detailed graphs that illustrate traffic growth, leads and sales conversions from your specific search marketing campaigns. Using a free traffic analysis tool like Google Analytics, it is easy to calculate your return on investment (ROI) so you can appreciate the excellent value generated from your online marketing budget. 3. Brand Engagement In the crowded market, you need to establish and maintain positive brand awareness and client loyalty. Apart from word-of-mouth and leveraging your personal relationships with your established clients, a website is the most important marketing tool a business can have. A regularly updated website with well-written content that maintains people’s interest is essential to showing people exactly how your business is distinctive – and how you offer the best value to your clients. 4. Demographic Targeting The degree to which an online marketing campaign can target and measure the response from specific demographics and regions is often astonishing to business owners who normally use traditional media. New demographic prediction and online advertising platforms allow you to specifically target the specific consumer demographics most likely to buy your products. In particular, if you want to target young people between the ages of 16-30, you’ll need an online marketing strategy to reach them where they spend the bulk of their time: On the Internet and on social media sites. 5. Real-Time Results With online marketing you don’t have to wait weeks to see a significant boost in your business. With a paid search marketing campaign you can experience real-time results that enable you to fine-tune your marketing message to achieve your desired effect. If your marketing strategy isn’t working effectively, real-time monitoring tools allow you to easily pin-point exactly where you are going wrong. 6. Easily Refine Your Strategy Using online marketing analytics and tracking tools you can test conversion rates at a fraction of the cost of a traditional media campaign. Online marketing levels the playing field and allows savvy small businesses to compete in competitive niches that previously would only be open to large corporations and their massive marketing budgets. If your marketing strategy is not bringing in the return on investment (ROI) that you desire, you can work to perfect it without having to launch an expensive new campaign as would be required with most traditional media outlets. 7. Long-Term Exposure The benefit of an organic search marketing campaign that optimizes a website for specific keywords is that you will achieve a long-term return on your investment. Once your website’s visibility is well-established with search engines, it is easy to do regular low-cost maintenance of your strategy. The early adopters of new online marketing platforms like social media marketing will have a significant head start over their competition. 8. Product Information Today’s savvy consumers want to compare reviews and opinions of friends, trusted bloggers and industry experts before they make a decision. If you can provide quality, linkable information that is what people are looking for, then the next step of converting users into paying clients can be very easy. With social media networks like Facebook and Twitter re-enforcing the value of positive word-of-mouth exposure, trust is more important than ever in the marketing field. 9. Less Intrusive Most savvy consumers dislike intrusive traditional marketing methods like direct mailing, print ads and television advertisements. When someone buys a newspaper or magazine, they want to read interesting articles not be bombarded with irrelevant ads. While mediums like television can still be useful for maintaining awareness of large corporate brands, it is not an effective medium for most small and medium-size businesses. With online marketing, you can target consumers precisely when they are searching for products and services that your business can provide. 10. Holds Their Attention When people read the newspaper or a magazine they may scan over the advertisements beside the article but there is no way to engage their attention. With online marketing you can encourage them to take action, visit your website and read about your products and services which results in vastly increased â€Å"stickiness† of your marketing message.