GDayX: A Critical Reaction

by Calimlim, Noli R. (13-11406)

Google as a search engine does play a big role in our social life around the network from education, entertainment, and even business.  It offers not only every user a huge number of information to help them attain their goals easier but also very well-organized tools and applications that will surely help the users, especially in entrepreneurship industry, finish their tasks more efficiently.

Last November 23, 2013, Google Business Group Philippines conducted an event, named GDAYX, composed of numerous sessions explaining the uses and perks of Google and a variety of Google applications in the extension of business and management. Ways on how to take advantages of using computer technology or the internet itself was also presented.

Some of the Google applications discussed on the said event are the following:

Google Drive: Digital Collaboration

Google Drive aims to help people work together more efficiently using little more than a browser. One of Google Drive’s best features is its ability to let you collaborate with other people on a document in real time. It also creates a folder on your PC that syncs with your Google storage space so you can access the files from elsewhere. It can also keep the conversation within the document itself. Google Drive’s Forms let you build surveys and collect data. (Chartier, 2013)

Google Drive’s many and varied capabilities—from chat with collaborators in a document to the ability to automate your entire Drive—can sometime be surprising because it helps them get even more out of this online productivity platform.

YouTube: Aid in Growing Business

            YouTube is not only a video search engine but also social platform for anyone who has his/her own channel. Since this application is visited by a truly large number of viewers per a short duration of time, it helps you find your audience. Eventually, you can develop and educate your audience and most importantly, in order to collaborate with them.

            By telling the people what your business is about, Showcasing your product or service, Building your brand, Developing a relationship with your clients, Enhancing your online presence and/or simply by Putting videos on your website, YouTube will then be a great instrument in making your business grow.

Business Blogging: The Benefits

Blogs are way much different from a website. They both inform the readers but only blogs can perform conversations between the readers and the blogger itself. The best blogs inform the audience in a non-preachy way. It also suggests opportunities to share real, unfiltered information to not let your readers feel down. And finally, through blogs you can respond to comments and keep track of the likes, shares, and follows with everything you write.

Through blogs, you can establish yourself  as an online authority specifically in business industry. (Bicskey, 2013)

          Those are only sort of the numerous features Google has introduced yet the advantages are indeed dominant. Although information can now be collected with a single click, it would be better if the awareness to this kind of tools must be spread all throughout the area especially those with limited access of the web only or areas with no knowledge to computer technology at all.  If that happens, simultaneous progress will be managed which is a sign to better business community.

WORKS CITED

Bicskey, Zsolt. "The Benefits of Blogging: Top Trends in the Business Blogosphere." Web log post. Business 2 Community The Benefits of Blogging Top Trends in the Business Blogosphere Comments. N.p., 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.

Chartier, David. "16 Secrets of Google Drive." Weblog post. Macworld. N.p., 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.

GDayX Reaction Paper

November 23, 2013 – I was really sick. But still I opted to go to Xavier School for the GDayX. Problem was I didn’t know how to go there. It was already 8:00 and I’m still at UP waiting for a Katipunan Jeep. So I took a cab. At least I’d be there before registration ends and kuya might know where the school is.

                And I arrived there 40 minutes after. I actually liked the auditorium, it had strong AC units and it had strong WIFI. I was with no one so it was my phone and the strong WIFI connection accompanying me throughout the 5 talks I attended.

                I was really getting bored because the program started 20 minutes late and I’m an impatient guy. But once it started, the talks were fun. And because I really like listening to business stuff, I was into it. The talks were about how to utilize Google, Youtube and Blogs for the business you want to do.

                The first speaker, Gail Tan, talked about humans. How they are actually the ones manipulating technology for their businesses. She did a great talk. She actually focused on the consumer part of the business, that what you do should please your customers and listen to them.

                The second and third speaker was all about how Google can help you with your business. And here the two guys were answering questions and bragging on the world’s number one search engine’s capacity of doing things. I was impressed. Also to think that big names trust Google Docs, I say it’s really something. And also Herald Uy, the glasses guy, told us that there’s “No excuse for you to not attend meetings because you can do it online!” You can technically go to meetings without really going to office and you can bring your work anywhere. Bottomline is that, they just shared what people can do with modern day technology.

                Next was the Youtube girl, Trixie. I don’t know her last name. But she showed one funny video. The one that was about the “Shave Time, Shave Money” tagline. I found that ad very witty. And I should say that they used Youtube very well.  She also talked about on how to build your products and how to communicate with your audience through YT. She also gave some statistics about Youtube like the number of people who visit YT, the length of the vids they watch and what they usually watch on YT. I use YT daily so I was really hooked with her talk.

                The last talk I listened to was done by Kring Elenzano. The Kpop fan queen with a Korean boyfriend. She talked about her blogs and her business ventures. She was actually very forthcoming because she also shared the negative responses she got from many people and the clothing line store that did not boom. But I can see that she handled the negativity quite well. She even showed a vid of her with another girl that tutors girls on how to get a Korean boyfriend. People were very entertained with the vid while I, much less.

                I left after that. I’ve had a great time listening to the talks. And kudos because it was successful and the free food tasted fantastic. 

2012-15340

Reaction Paper - GDAYX, 11/23/13

               The 21^st century, The Age of Computers, The Technological Era, The Techno-savvy Generation; these are only but a few of the nicknames we have come up for the modern day. At present, our world revolves over the concept of technology; computers, gizmos, and the internet to be more specific. A vast majority of professions and businesses, if not all, are linked to a computer in one way or another. Computers are nearly omnipresent in our daily lives as well. Whether they may be used for advertising, scientific research, management, playing online games, or for just simply posting a status on Facebook, computers play an undeniably important role in today’s society.

                The GDAYX event held in Xavier School, Greenhills last November 23 gathered business people, budding entrepreneurs, students, and various experts in order to share knowledge primarily focused on using computer technology in one’s business. The speakers discussed the uses and potentials of Google and various Google applications in the fields of business and management. I attended the talks on “Blogs vs Websites”, “Google Analytics”, “Google+ for Business”, and a talk on educating through Google. These talks explained how one can use various applications in Google, such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Analytics, and Google Maps, for marketing, advertising, or for improving one’s business. They also presented ways on how to take full advantage of the internet, like using blogs or by taking advantage of the search engine in order to attract more customers. A speaker also presented the various projects on education started by Google such as the Google Glass (a pair of eyeglasses with a built-in computer), Project Loon (a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot flown by balloons), and the integration of Google applications in the learning system of different schools.

                The dawn of advanced technology has certainly influenced modern day society. Almost everyone has a gadget; it may be a smart phone, a tablet computer, or any other high-tech gizmo. We use them to keep in touch with friends through calls, texts, and social networking sites, we install various applications in our smart phones for our entertainment and our utility, and we use them to make grueling tasks like document making easier and faster. The GDAYX event showed only a small portion of the near endless number of applications and software in the internet available for use at a whim. Not only Google has applications that people can use, there are millions upon millions of other sites with applications that are closely similar to those offered by others. The event also got me thinking, with all of these options on software and hardware, which device is the best? Which one is the perfect program? Which should I choose?

                In my opinion, there is no perfect program nor is there a perfect device. Nothing can satisfy everyone’s wants and needs. There is an old saying that goes, “the tools do not matter, but it is how you use the tools that matters more.” Simply put, all these modern-age technologies are merely just tools for our use and there is no perfect tool that can satisfy everyone’s needs. So, which device or program should you pick? The answer to the question comes from a speaker at the event, he said: “pick the one that suites you best, the one that solves your needs and the one that you are most comfortable with using, because what matters at the end is how you use the application” (non-verbatim). In our world where almost everything is possible with a click of a button, we should always remember that only our own personal efforts, not computers, can provide us with the happiness we constantly seek for.

 2013-13861