TED Talks....Dan Ariely talks about " What makes us feel good about our work?"

In the selected presentation on TED Talks, Dan Ariely talks about what makes us feel good about our work. He talks about what motivates us to do the things we do every day. Dan explains about the goals we all aim for on every little thing we do and what would happen if that goal suddenly disappear right after we are completed or near completion.

Dan explains that everything we do is for feeling a sense of purpose, whether we like the task or not. Whether the result is being appreciated by the person or someone else, it’s a matter of being appreciated or feeling rewarded.

During the presentation Dan talks about multiple experiments and scenarios that were tested to prove his point on why we work.  Dan talks about one of his past student who worked weeks on a PowerPoint presentation for a company merger. The student summited the PowerPoint to his boss a day before it was due and he received a “Good job but the merger is off.” The student was crushed. The whole time he had a purpose.  Without the purpose, the end result was pointless.

Dan has multiple examples and as he talked from one to another there’s are simple slides to go with each examples. Some of those slides seems like they are just there for the purpose of the example.  If the slides weren’t there it wouldn’t matter because his explanation was good enough. There were moments during the presentation where Dan had some humorous parts. His tone was energetic and he had a good pace.  

After watching his presentation, it did inspire me. It makes me think about the things I do at work and the things I have my employees/ coworkers do.

Amazon and Cabela's on Social Media

In today’s world of advertising, social media marketing is everywhere. Almost every business either has a Twitter or a Facebook account. Unless they are paying a profession to maintain the account, it’s free. Whether the business is big or small, everyone benefits from free advertisement.  For example, Amazon and Cabela’s, one is an online store and the other is a retail store. Both stores use social media to get their products out there. 

When looking at the two retailers on Facebook, you’ll notice they do a lot of product advertisements. That as a whole is great. It gives the customers the opportunity to leave feed backs on products they purchased.  For potential customers, it allows them to ask question and get feed backs before a purchase.  If you are a follower of the two retailers, you will also get the chance to sign up for sweepstakes they have every once in a while. It’s a good gimmick to draw more people to their site and get more attention.

On the twitter side of it, the two are much the same. Even though both businesses are trying to sell their products, according to their description, each are aiming at two different goals. Amazon’s is letting their customers know that if they have any concerns or need assistance, feel free to send them a tweet.  With Cabela’s, they are letting people know that they can share their stories and pictures. In a way, that’s Cabela’s way of having the customers give their reviews of their past purchases.

For business owners, there are so many ways to utilize social media to assist in the upkeep of a business. With social media, it opens the door to a new way of advertising and assisting customers. It allows the customers to give feed backs about a business’s services and products. 

A New beginning

     I attended MATC as the place to start a new beginning. Mainly because I am finally starting my family. I have a two year old and another one coming in mid December. So, I will have a very busy schedule ahead of me soon. I am 32 years old. For most of my adult life, I've been working in a printing company doing various jobs, from shipping/ receiving to material handler to an order picker. Right now I am a Letter shop Coordinator for the very same company I have been with for the past 12 years.

     Throughout those years, I have always been interested in computers. A lot of my computer experiences has come from trial and error. Like some things in life, once you find something you like and can't quite get a good grip on it, you want to know more. After 12 years of procrastinating, I decided to take the plunge and go back to school. People have said in the past "When you are doing something you like to do, it's not work." I have always liked computers. A lot of the time I help people with their computer issue for fun and to help advance my own knowledge. So, choosing to take the IT Network Specialist program at MATC was a good fit. After graduating, I am hoping to get a position with the IT department at my current job to start my never ending learning process about computers.