Summary of My Entrepreneurship Idea

This project has come to develop my idea and the comments and feedback have really helped me improve the concept of my idea. At first, I knew I wanted to start a snow day website and application but I did not think of all the aspects that I can add to the idea. KnowYourSnow started out as a snow day notification system for students, but then I added more and more and my idea has developed into a weather site, social networking site, notification center, and teacher communication service.  I began to incorporate the lecture lessons and feedback from peers and my TA and realized how innovative the KnowYourSnow idea is and how popular it really could be. I utilized all aspects of technology and updated the concept when necessary.
I learned a lot about blogs, entrepreneurship and the importance of technology from doing this project and really enjoyed thinking of how I can make my idea grow and develop.

The three students blogs I commented on were:
Zachary Hess: http://lostyourremote.blogspot.com/
Michael Gelsinger: http://where-u-at.blogspot.com/
Aaron Goldsmith: http://momshangoverhelper.blogspot.com/

Tech Crunch Blog Review

A powerful and successful blog utilizes all its resources to engage its users and provide them with up to date information on the subject. Many followers take into consideration the reliability of the information, the design and functionality of the blog, and how up to date the information is. As I was researching popular blogs one blog really appealed to each of these categories. The blog is named TechCrunch and reviews new technology, video games, and other technology aspects.
I really enjoyed reading the TechCrunch blog, especially since I am very interested in Apple technology. They have detailed reviews on all aspects of the iPhone 4s including battery life, Siri, iOS 5 and much more. Also, you can choose to see blog posts about Gadgets, Mobile, Social, StartUps, TCTV and many other subjects. I liked how each blog post is interesting and informative and there are many pictures and videos to explain each subject.
http://techcrunch.com/

Week 7

KnowYourSnow can really be a popular and successful business, but we must make sure that the company is well-organized and easily manageable. In order to do this we will most likely use a database. The database will allow us to manage vast amounts of information, perform quick queries, and make quick decisions about information, which is necessary in order to provide our service. We will use tables with attributes consisting of the users name, address, school, etc. and it will be simple to keep track of every users information. Also, we will need to buy the domain name KnowYourSnow.com in order for users to simply visit our site.

Week 6

KnowYourSnow can be an incredibly innovative and popular weather and entertainment source, however, we must capitalize on all aspects of technology and keep up with the ever-changing internet fads. One aspect that is very important now-a-days is social networking and I believe that KnowYourSnow can definitely use it as an advantage. As our company grows and becomes more popular, we will add a feature that will allow users to create their own profile and interact with other users. They will have the capability to post statuses, interact with friends, and comment on whether or not school is closed. I see on Facebook whenever there is a snow day, everyone puts it as their status. This will allow users to do the same only on an easier and more specific interface. Also, users find pleasure in creating a profile with a picture and information about them, this will keep users entertained while on the site.

Week 5

The idea and concept of KnowYourSnow is different and I believe it can be extremely successful, but the meeting I had on Friday made me realize that it has to be more developed. For example, the aspect of KnowYourSnow that seems most appealing to others is the fact that it will predict the chances of a snow day. Most of the appeal of snow for young children is staying up late watching the weather making predictions on whether or not school will be closed. This website will not only make this much easier for children to do, but it will enhance the experience with fun graphics and effects. Children will put in there school district and click "calculate my chance of a snow day". Next, a meter will appear on the screen that will show the percentage of having a snow day and rate it on a scale of "bring out the sleighs" to "dress warm and set the alarm". This section of the website or application will have many colors and cool fonts as it is directed at a younger age group.

Week 4: Privacy and Computer Forensics

The internet is an amazing information source, yet it can be very dangerous. Many people do not realize that the information they post on the internet is accessible to everyone and is never deleted. Users need to become more cautious of what they are posting and websites must be able to better protect the users.
KnowYourSnow must be aware of this and aim to protect the users private information. Especially due to the fact that users must enter their hometown, school district and other personal information. Also, since the application and website is aimed towards younger children in grade school, it must guarantee their safety.
We will insure that their information is kept for our use only, not given out to anyone, even to advertisers. Also, since we do not charge users any fee to use our services, there will be no need to enter credit card information. Our database will be well protected and our employees will be background checked regularly to ensure the safety of young ones.

Week 3: Hardware/Software

Creating a well organized, well working, user friendly application and website like KnowYourSnow is an incredibly complicated task. In order to achieve our goal, we must use a variety of the software that is available to us. We must develop and design software and utilize software already created. Some of the apps that are already available to iPhone users can serve as a premise to build our own, such as the weather app. 

There are many types of software we can use in order to make our product work to the best of its ability. For example, in order to make our website aesthetically pleasing, we would need to use Desktop Publishing Software. Also, we can use Paint/Imaging Editing Software to design the web page.

Not only does the website have to look professional, but it must also have the capability to contain images, graphics, text and video. This can be done by using Multimedia Authorizing Software. We can also use RSS aggregators, Web browsers and VoIP.