Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that is free and openly edited by anyone and everyone, is easily my favorite site.  The amount of knowledge it contains is unbelievable.  The best part is that it’s all (usually) true!  While most professors cringe at the idea of students using the site in anything even fractionally academic, the site is a goldmine of opportunity.

Wise students (well, in my opinion…) may consult Wikipedia for two reasons – brainstorming and source locations.  When looking for more information on a topic, or ideas on what other information to hit up regarding a subject, Wikipedia is the place to go.  The site is chalk full of informational goodness – whether historic, scientific, sports-related or otherwise, the articles are endless.

Additionally, while citing Wikipedia would be an unforgivable offense, looking for sources through the site is a useful and perfectly legal idea.  The sources at the bottom of each article often reveal solid sources with which to go to for help – whether online journals, academic sites, books, or what have you, the site is filled with good links with which to gather more research in addition to the traditional source search at the library.  For some students, this is already a popular method, but for others, it’s time to not worry about the hype against Wikipedia’s open and editable system and just use it for what it is.

Social media is term that is constantly tossed around amongst marketers and the media as the new way to promote a company’s brand. While some criticize the terminology of “social media,” it is undoubtedly a force in marketing that every firm must accept and be immersed in to succeed. The problem is not merely whether the firm is using social media or social marketing tools, it is whether or not they are using the right ones in the right context.

As is discussed in the insightful book Groundswell, there are various types of internet users present in social media. Some users create blogs and join social networks, while others simply contribute reviews or read commentaries on products. Each company, in turn, has different demographics of customers. These demographics accordingly correspond to the type of social media users they are: whether they read or create blogs, have a Facebook or MySpace page, whether they tweet or not etc.

The battle of a firm appropriately approaching the use of social marketing is to know what type of user  their customers are. Knowing this information in the beginning avoids misuse of internet resources and avoids wasted time and money.

Here are some other social marketing tips companies need to understand as the approach the social media world:

1. It is one thing to have presence, it is another to monitor it. As has been recently made clear by Domino’s handling of a viral video, being present on social media and monitoring it are two different things. It is vital for the company to be constantly aware of what the public, i.e. the groundswell, is saying about their products.

2. Social Marketing Takes Time.A firm cannot expect to immediately get results when they first create a Facebook or MySpace account. Such results and presence takes time. A new Twitter account is not the golden ticket to new users and sales.

3. Avoid Non-Organic. In preparation for a new auto show, automaker Land Rover recently launched one of the largest, most extensive Twitter campaigns by a major national brand. The campaign works by “hiring” prominent Twitters to highlight the Land Rover product. The goal is to present the image and brand of Land Rover through respected Twitters. Such a campaign, as I see it, avoids the true essence of social media: it must be organic. Users to quickly can see through the veil of corporate deceit.

In light of the mass panic over the the slowing economy, many entrepreneurs, particularly the internet inclined have withdrawn efforts to pursue their business. Driven by fears of lack of funding and interest, such entrepreneurs, in a time of high unemployment and empty 401-k’s, recede back to the enclaves of entrepreneurship abandonment.

Pessimistic thinking is not necessary when the proper options are considered for the potential online entrepreneur. A recent article in Time, highlights the that the hard-pressed economic times is in a reality time for a new boom in internet start-ups. The online companies that are able to thrive now are those that cost little to start and run, and with proper planning have the potential for big payouts in the end.

Central taking advantage of this new boom is starts with a great idea for a need in the modern online marketplace. Find the need, construct the plan, and run the company on shoestring until the economy improves. But, just how do sites run on a shoestring budget? Taking the cast study from the Time article, the site MotorMouths.com (the Rotten Tomatoes of car reviews) offers some insight into the matter:

1. Start as a hobby and grow. Many entrepreneurs are working full-time and treating their new business as a time intensive hobby. By staying in their full-time job and working hard on the evenings and weekends, they are building a strong base for financial security in the  company.

2. Collaborate. Not all internet entrepreneurs have to be MIT graduate programmers. The web has access to numerous sources of helping hands and programmers with the right skills. In most cases, these programmers can be a bargain.

3. Start small and build progressively. Build the idea slowly, bootstrapping as much as possible. If the idea catches on in the internet community, the funding will quickly follow.

Some of you may ask what in the world does and ice rink and Grove City College have anything to do with the internet. Well everything, in a sense. The Entrepreneurship Club here at GCC has been working with the school administration to have an outdoor roll away ice rink that would be open to student for free on Thorn field under the lights from after Thanksgiving break until the weather gets too warm.

To get to this point has taken a lot of hard work and research to put together a feasibility study of the plan to present to the school. Here’s where the internet comes into play. The group conducted a majority of it’s research for the ice rink online. In fact, the group has even received quotes from an online ice rink retailer from www.nicerink.com.

The process the Entrepreneurship Student Group has gone through illustrates a handful of important concepts about the internet. The itnernet is a great place to do research for purchases and more importantly business plans. Second, the internet serves as a great medium for business, otherwise known as e-commerce. Third, the fact that nicerink.com was a top organic search result on google illustrates the importance of SEO in e-commerce.

SEO is an important feature for any online business and pays in unexpected ways. I am sure the investment nicerink.com has made into SEO and their business website will be more than worth it when  GCC purchases the rink and liner from them.

On a side note this is where you come in. Help point out another useful application of the internet by commenting on this blog and giving your feedback about what you think of the ice rink. You can even post questions. This ice rink is a very real opportunity the school is pursuing. The more support and school voice behind it the better it is going to be.

Security is a number one priority for many internet users who are looking to make online transactions. A common problem, however, is that many users do not even know what to look for when trying to identify internet fraud. Awareness of the most common internet fraud scams is the first and best defense against internet fraud. Watch out for…

• Lottery Scams
• Internet Auction Fraud
• Nigerian Advance Fee Frauds
• Phishing and Pharming for Identity Theft
• Passive Residual Income Scams or “get rich scam websites”
• Lotteries and others that send you a counterfeit check
• Freecreditreport.com
• Work at Home Scams
• Pyramid Schemes
• Property Investment Schemes
• 900 Phone Number Scams

Internet Fraud is difficult to prevent and even more difficult to settle once it occurs. If you have been a victim of an internet scam or fraud then you can file a claim with the Internet Complain Center which is a FBI – NW3C partnership.

I have been victim of internet fraud in the form of non-delivery in a textbook I ordered at the beginning of this semester. My file claimed has still not been settled and is doubtful that I will ever get my money or my textbook. Since then I have become more aware of what to look for and how to defend against online fraud.

Before Web 2.0, it would cost a lot of money to drive traffic to a website. Pay-per-click programs and web banners/ads were the cutting edge and came with a significant investment. Web 2.0, however, introduced a variety of tools to do more with less.

StumbleUpon.com is an online community of user-generated referrals. Just as friends refer one another to trusted businesses/products, StumbleUpon users refer one another to useful, interesting websites. Users refer and rate these websites using two buttons, a “thumbs-up” and “thumbs-down.”

Rather than “word of mouth,” it’s a “click-of-a-mouse.”

For the growing web-business, using StumbleUpon is a free way to not only generate traffic to your site but also to receive relevant feedback. When users comment about your website on StumbleUpon.com, utilize this information to improve your website. Lastly, make sure to thank them by commenting on their StumbleUpon page. Remember, five years ago you would have written a check to receive such feedback.