Creating a Successful Online Community

First, you still need to create an account (be very meticulous over what your username should be).  The initial plan is to then slowly dip your feet into the water by beginning to comment on content created by the sites editors and by community members (in the "Fanposts" section).  Plan to generate around 10-15 comments on existing posts so you can build my value in the community.  Hope to have images in some of your comments that are relevant to the topic of the initial post.  These images could be screenshots of different play designs the 76ers have been running (for example), or pictures from games that serve to highlight your point.  Once you have done this, I would then like you to finally start your own discussion threads.  The reason why you do not want to start creating posts right after registering is because you want to earn the respect of the longtime community members.  If they see that you have 14 posts but zero comments, then it might deter them from lending their viewpoint to you.  I have seen this kind of thought process on various online communities in the past.  In one instance that I can semi-recall, a long-time community member gently scolded a new member because they did not participate enough in terms of commenting on other people's content. Just plan carefully, and you will be an active community member in no time!

-Tyler Greener

Snapchat

I think that Snapchat is one of the most well-equipped social media platforms for 2017.  It just seems as though Snapchat keeps finding new ways to stay innovative and fresh in thought.  With the release of the highly anticipated "Snapchat Spectacles" in November of this year, Snapchat most certainly has a lot to look forward to.  This may even sound silly, but even the face filters that Snapchat uses keeps things very fun in my opinion.  The basic premise of Snapchat, however, is what set up the social media app for long-term success.  Taking a picture and sending it to friends or family sounds redundant, yet Snapchat keeps proving how fun this actually is. The user keeps coming back for more of this rather simple experience.  I wanted to simply dedicate a blog post to my favorite social media app, that of which is Snapchat. While over time my use of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter has dwindled - my use of Snapchat has remained the same, as I continue to Snapchat my friends and family on a daily basis.

-Tyler Greener

Uber for Philadelphia-Area Colleges

When Uber first got started their communication strategy involved a big portion of word-of-mouth advertising as well as offering free trials to new customers. Uber also used referrals which allowed for those who had the app to encourage their friends to use it and in turn the friends received a free ride. We similarly offer this benefit but implement it in a different way by using a rewards program. This program will offer for every 10 rides the consumer will receive the next ride free. Uber also greatly uses social media to promote their product. We will also be very active in social media and will constantly be relying on customer feedback in order to determine what we can improve. What both Uber and Lyft are not effectively leveraging over our service is the fact that we are targeted at a specific market. We are able to relate to a definitive consumer base and therefore can direct our service towards them. Our market segmentation strategy will be focused on college students at three Philadelphia Universities. These three universities will be Saint Joseph's University, La Salle University, and Philadelphia University. The reasoning we have focused on these three universities is due to their close proximity to Manayunk and the fact that many students from these universities live there.

-Tyler Greener

200 Students Forced to Stay Home After Mumps Outbreak

Nearly a week ago, one school district in Auburn, Alabama had seen an outbreak with the mumps virus. Within the school district, there are about 200 students that have not been vaccinated for the virus, and the county's Public Health has now forced those students to stay home. For an event such as this, those students are required to stay home for 25 days after the last confirmed case, and then they would be allowed to return to school. This wouldn't be such a large problem, however more and more cases become confirmed as time goes on, so by the time all of this is resolved, those 200 students would be home for much longer than the normal 25 days. The parents are outraged by this, but within the vaccination exclusion forms, which has been confirmed by the head of the district, it clearly states that they would have to stay home in the event of an outbreak.
Get your children vaccinated, people!

-Domenic Manzi

Should Marijuana be Allowed for Pro Athletes? Steve Kerr Believes So

At the age of 51, Steve Kerr, the head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, had stated earlier this week that he had tried using marijuana to relieve his chronic back pain over the past two years. He mentioned that after trying it, he didn't like using it and that the drug did not agree with his body, but he concluded that painkillers and other medicine did not have the same effect, and, in most cases, were worse than the results he received from marijuana. Kerr urged the NBA, and other professional leagues, to reduce their stance on marijuana and embrace the possibilities that it can open up.

"If you're an NFL player, in particular, and you got a lot of pain, I don't think there's any question that pot is better for your body than Vicodin," Kerr said. "And yet, athletes everywhere are prescribed Vicodin like it's Vitamin C, like it's no big deal." He believes that if leagues were to allow marijuana to be used by its players, there would be a negative perception, such that the NFL would be "worried that their fans are going to go, 'All the players are potheads.'" And they have every reason to make that claim, however, once officials announce that they accept the benefits of using the drug can bring, fans all around would consider the act admirable and more likely a step in a positive direction.

-Domenic Manzi

Google to Run Solely on Renewable Energy by End of 2017

Much like many other large companies, the tech giant Google consumes an incredible amount of energy to run its businesses. So much so that, throughout the past year, the company used just as much, if not more energy than the entire city of San Francisco. They said, by the end of next year, all of the energy that the company consumes will come from entirely renewable resources, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric dams. While they do use most of these sources now, they are still using fossil fuels to pick up where these leave off, however, that is changing, as they are a year away to run only on green energy. It's hard to say if the company would become the largest to use only green energy, but they would, without a doubt, be one of the largest in that group. Even still, to make a move such as this, it may push other large companies to follow in their footsteps and join the renewable energy revolution.

-Domenic Manzi

Home Depot Employee has Massive Impact on Venezuelan Economy

Venezuela's currency is practically worthless, to put it lightly.  Their economy is struggling in a way that even Greece can't contend with.  Both countries do have something in common however, and that is their government is extremely corrupt, which is the root of their economic woes.  The Venezuelan government is claiming that the bolivar, their national currency, is valued at ten bolivars to the dollar, however that is not even close to the truth.  The real street value of the bolivar, according to a website run by a Home Depot employee, is over four thousand bolivars to the dollar.  This man's website, DolarToday, has a profound effect on the Venezuelan economy in a way that you might not expect.  His website serves the purpose of helping the citizens of Venezuela correctly calculate the real value of their currency in order to complete transactions effectively.  Without this website the true value of the bolivar might not be common knowledge to most Venezuelans, which would make the situation even worse.  Gustavo Diaz's website also serves the purpose of publishing economic news which the Venezuelan government would most likely censor.  Diaz says the purpose of his site is to protest the dictatorship in Venezuela as well as assist its citizens at the same time.  This man's small website is single handedly keeping Venezuela's economy from imploding more than it already has.

-Joey Arzeno

Hacking in Video Games is now Illegal in Korea

South Korean parliament has just passed a bill that makes creating or using hacks for online video games a crime.  They define hacks as pretty much anything a player uses or does that is against the terms of service of the game.  This may sound mundane or not that big of a deal, but the punishment for being caught using hacks is quite severe.  The unfortunate cheaters who are found to be using hacks or scripts can be punished with up to five years in jail or $43,000 in fines.  This doesn't only affect South Korea, seeing as quite a few hacking programs are developed in Korea and spread elsewhere.  Now that developing said programs is illegal the distribution of them in other countries should be greatly reduced.  Hacking in a video game may not seem like a big deal, but not only does it ruin the experience for 99% of the player base who spent over $60 on the game, but it also violates the terms of service that the company has put in place for obvious reasons.  Of course there will never be a time where hacking is completely nonexistent, but this ban in Korea will almost definitely have a huge impact on the games of today and hopefully far into the future.

-Joey Arzeno