Students launch online auction for college

Woah!! another internet business in the brewing.. and a potential one for success too!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6994965/

Although currently now inmy own school there are avenues to buy/trade old textbooks, don't tink i've come across any that offers an auction service yet.

It may be a good idea because thru auctions, both the seller and buyer will benefit.
Sellers can fetch the best price for his books/notes while only those buyers who are really keen and willing to pay for the text will get the text. sometg like Maximising economics surpluses (a term i learnt in my economics calss)??!

In addition "the key to this transaction is dot-edu; it only works for students, faculty and university staff" .. hence it ensures only legitimate sellers can post items for sale while only genuine buyers will bid for them.

maybe after my exams this sem, i may explore the possibility of settin up an exclusive auction sites and monitor the interest/popularity of such a service?

-tee-

There are more brands than ever.But they're taking a beating-or even worse,being ignored. Who's to blame? A new breed of hyperinformed superconsumers.

Decline in Brands.

The last sentence best summed up the article.
"The aristocracy of brand is dead. Long live the meritocracy of product."

It has never occured to me that brandings have a declining influence on us consumers today, that is until i chanced upon this article.
There were a few convincing points brought up by the article.
1) In the past, the consumer-goods markets were very stable. You can also depend on your "regular customers" to come back to ur shop.
2) Today, we consumers have become more promiscuous and fickle than ever. This means the so-called "popular brands" can no longer attract customers thru their brandname alone. The product has to prove for itself it is indeed worthy of our purchases!
3) Indeed one main contributin factor for such a change is the availability and easy access to information. the internet, especially, has enabled consumers to read up more on the various brands of the same product and this allows them to compare and contrast. Whose product they choose eventually will no longer be swayed by brand loyalty, but product meritocracy!!

As we strive to be more entreprenurial and technopreneurial, I feel that this quote from the article is a good point to rem:
"Brands have become nothing more than shadows. You wouldn't expect your shadow to protect you or show you the way. It only goes wherever you go."

-tee-

Ever Thought of Owning a Remote-controlled Castle??!

Here is an interesting write-up on the increasing popularity of home automation.
Home Automatiokn Article.

It is really amazing how technology can shaped our lifestyle.
In the past, people seek to buy the biggest house.
Today, people look out for the most hi-tech equipped home.

The All-in-One convenience of hooking up almost every eletrical devices in the home is definitely a very attractive offer. With the click of one button, one can now open the gates, switch on the lights, on the air-conditioning, turn on the television, draw the blinds, etc.
How wonderful!!!

In addition, the owner can even add-on a home security integrated control systems. "In the event of a fire, the house could sound an alarm, call the fire department, turn off the HVAC to stop smoke from spreading, broadcast evacuation instructions, and even flash the front lights to guide the fire department."
Oooo..

However, I believe we should not be overly dependent on a totally integrated control system. We should have the ability to override the system so that in the event of a system failure, we are still able to operate the devices manually.

Home-automation will definitely gain popularity in the long-run.
For now, probably only the upper middle class and upper class families will be willing to give the integrated control systems a try.
The additional convenience from these systems is not likely to persudae large number of followers, given their relatively high cost at this moment.

-tee-