Amazon: A Modern Day Monopoly?

Amazon…. Hotels?

Amazon is preparing to add hotel rooms to the robust list of things you can purchase in “the Everything Store.”

Amazon is hoping to bring onboard independent and boutique hotels that may not have the marketing resources to compete with large hospitality chains. Amazon is targeting New York, Los Angeles and Seattle to launch their new service by the 1^st of the New Year.

Everything at the Everything Store.

“Amazon rivals Wal-Mart as a store, Apple as a device maker, and IBM as a data services provider.”

Amazon has definitely had a influence in all most all of our lives, but at this rate, Amazon will be eating, sleeping, and breathing with us as they continue to make their presence felt in new markets.

Since the days of the Rockefellers, Vanderbilt’s, and Carnegies, monopolies we not meant to be continued in modern day business.

I’m not sure about you but I believe Amazons current business practices in moving the company in the direction of forming a monopoly in the online business sector. Before it is too late, we better hope business-governing officials step in and closely monitor and regulate their activity moving forward.

The forming of monopolies would be a huge detriment to society as our freedom as consumers will be taken away.

Network Engagement – How Do You Intend to Make an Impact to Others?

Engagement strategy and networking help you communicate a strong message to your audience.

In the article, What’s Your Engagement Strategy, the author suggests that “you should never create a piece of content without defining an engagement strategy first.”

Your engagement strategy towards your network should consist of:

• Identification of your audience
• How to connect that audience to your brand
• How to define value to others

It is extremely important for you to stay personal throughout your messages. Know exactly whom you are communicating with along with the passion points that excite the recipient.

You must stay relevant, which is the biggest challenge when connecting your brand with your audience.

You lastly must provide value. A tip mentioned in the article was to do something for your audience that will get them to say thank you. A method described by the author uses the formula Get, To, By to craft his engagement strategy.

Now to add in the networking portion…

Here are four steps to ensure you are successful in your journey:

It is very important to remember that networking is a two-way street. It’s more important to ask more questions about the other party verse having the attention focused on yourself.

In doing this you will be able to understand those in your network and how connections can be made between yourself and other parties, that results in added value in your brand.

Prioritizing your network is key by evaluating the contacts you have available to you. Developing a rating system that helps you identifies the whether or not a contact is worth you investing your time in our not.

Most importantly, do not burn any bridges, regardless of the perceived value the connection may have.

Criminal Justice and Equality for All

Often time’s celebrities stand above the law when faced with law breaking allegations that put their likeliness and legacy in jeopardy. There have been many instances where a crime committed by those who many individuals idolize for their talent and contributions to society has been overlooked by the public.

It comes a time where not only our legal system has an obligation to uphold it’s values amongst the court of law but for people as a whole apply more pressure on them to do so.

In an article called Bill Cosby, Rape and Why Society is So Quick to Abandon Its Victims, the author states the following:

“… let’s get one things straight: Bill Cosby did it. He used his power to access, manipulate and rape at least 15 women; it was an open secret, and he kept on doing it for decades because no one gave a shit.”

So it has become clear to the people that celebrities have a strong advantage over the rest of society and will continue to have this power for generations to come. But what about on a lesser scale, what about white favoritism?

In the article, This Country Has Been Built on White Favoritism: How We Can Change It, states that “In the billions of decisions that have come across the desks of prominent white men in America’s history, I’d wager that the overwhelming majority were made with the white man’s best interest in mind.”

Now these are two completely different scenarios that I am comparing amongst one another: celebrities verse everyone and whites verse black. The points in both instances are profound as favoritism is shown in both instances.

Our criminal justice system is heavily flawed and drastic changes need to be made immediately. Equality for all is something we should all strive for in the court of law.

Banned From A Country: No Apples in Russia

Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced to the world his sexual preferences, and a Russian politician has made his views on Mr. Cook’s lifestyle very clear.

The very outspoken Vitaly Milonov stated that Tim Cook could “make homosexuality fashionable.”

The politician is lobbying for him to be banned in the country for ever.

Listed below are quotes made by this Russian ^%$#@:

•  “What could he [Cook] bring us? The Ebola virus, Aids, gonorrhea? They all have unseemly ties over there. Ban him for life.”
• “[Apple CEO’s] come and go, maybe [Cook] will get AIDS tomorrow.”

There have been plenty of other outlandish viewpoints the politician has made, we surprisingly shouldn’t be surprised by his latest remarks.

We as the community need to continue to rally for the rights of individuals and applaud those live their life on their standards. Personal preferences that cause no harm to other individuals well being should not be the issues that are highlighted and discussed. Much more focus could be placed on more pressing issues that effect a much larger demographic.

With the internet and information being accessible by all, ignorance in today’s society is no longer an excuse.

Enough Already!

Too many people criticize the President of the United States as if they could do better themselves. Heck, the strong majority of us barely have control of our own lives from a day-to-day basis.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am completely aware that each and every one of us have a completely different stance on many of the issues that are popular in many political agendas. Although some of these issues are minor in comparison to others, the public opinion of the president of the United States of America will forever be important.

I’m sure we have all seen the video by now of various publications criticizing President Obama for his half-assed salute when exiting the presidential helicopter, but let’s all think about ourselves for a moment.

When was the last time you personally thanked a man or women in uniform for serving our country?

Now I’m not sure if the frequent and widely publicized lack of support of our president is due to opportunities each and every one of us has to share our thoughts with the world, but to be quite frank, I am sick of it.

The United States of America government has turned into a party (Republican) verses party (Democrat) competition instead of being unified together for the betterment of our country. Why do I make this statement? Because many of us are doing the exact same thing towards the president of the United States; us (American Citizens) verse him (the President).

As a country, we need to stop pointing fingers are one another and start creating solutions to the problems at hand by doing our part and make those improvements. The well being of our country will continue to be in jeopardy if we cannot come together and support one another, regardless of race, background, political party, religion, etc.

I guarantee the author published this article based upon their views towards the president of the United States. I agree that President Obama could have put more effort into greeting our fellow troop, but I’m sure they themselves have not paid tribute to various troops they’ve encountered.

Another point to be made in regards to the article is the author assumes President Obama is drinking a pumpkin spice latte. Anything, and I mean absolutely anything could have been in that cup. If you ask me, he was drinking a white chocolate mocha.

Reference:

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/president-obama-pumpkin-spice-latte-salute/770379/

Fortune 7 Billion: How Much Value Is In Your Personal Entity?

Survival of the Fittest – Separating Yourself from the Pack:

Competition is fierce and times are changing faster than ever. With the amount of opportunities that are made available to us all, how do you plan to take advantage of those opportunities presented to you?

The Importance of Building and Developing Your Own Company:

Building and developing your personal corporation adds tremendous value in your personal and professional endeavors, allowing you to further leverage your skills and experiences to capitalize on opportunities that would have been absent and hard to find otherwise.

As a young entrepreneur who is looking to establish him or herself in there respected industry, it is a must you start immediately on this life-long project, by focusing on tasks that propel your career tenfold.

Self-Education:

Self-Education is the key to achieving success. Although we all are trying to find time to do more of the things we enjoy in life, carefully putting together a learning plan that allows you to take small incremental steps towards getting better is key to our success.

My Personal Learning Plan:

My personal learning plan consists of the following: read 1 book every month and schedule a meeting with at least one mentor per month. As you can see my personal learning plan is not complex at all, but it allows me to continue to grow and reach higher levels.

I find the most value in choosing a piece of literature that meets an area you would like to become more knowledgeable in such as marketing, branding, sales, writing, etc.

Mentorship:

I also suggest building relationships with well-established professionals who may serve as a mentor to you to provide you with personal feedback and insight on their personal experiences.

Here is an article that further supports mentorship and why it is important to your success.

Marketing and Branding:

How you handle yourself on social media is another aspect that we all need to think about. Often times, people on social media are too careless and are unaware of the consequences their online activities may be causing. This is also a huge part of adding value to your personal entity, as it may be the first and only things people see prior to meeting you.