Economic Trends
1. Electric and hybrid cars are now more affordable: Driving around, I have noticed there are more fuel efficient and electric cars on the road than ever before. The idea of a purely electric car used to be that.. just an idea. However, Telsa Motors has created a car that is becoming affordable, and entirely economically friendly. According to https://transportevolved.com, electric car sales have doubled every year for the past three years. I predict this is due to the fact that people are becoming more and more environmentally conscious and due to the higher demand for the product in the industry, the price for it's components are decreasing. It seems people are becoming more and more aware and conscious of the dangers we can impose on the environment if nothing is done to protect it. The evidence is out there and we no longer walk around wondering what the impact of emissions can do to the planet. I think because people are more educated on the issue, they are dedicating more effort in conserving and preserving the environment (for the most part). The revolution of a car which emits zero emissions has shaken up the automobile industry, driving up competition between which car company can compete with this new and growing trend; which therefore is going to continue to drive down the price of the vehicles as more models come out.
2. Streaming music may not be hurting the music industry: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/maybe-spotify-isnt-killing-the-music-industry-after-all/ There has been recent disputes about whether streaming a song on a platform such as Spotify is reducing the amount the artists and songwriters make off the song. Taylor Swift may be one reason so many people believe this because she made it very publically clear none of her music would be available to stream on Spotify. However, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, streaming revenue continues to grow. In 2010 revenues were at 0.5 billion - in 2014 $1.9 billion and now accounts for a quarter of the earnings in the music industry. A study conducted in the article states that while Spotify is not taking money away from the music industry, it has displaced physical and digital record sales. In that aspect Taylor Swift was correct. However, not by much and the decline of record sales was already in effect before Spotify blew up. Who is to say the decline would not have continued otherwise? The overall effect of Spotify on artists is more complicated. They still pay billions in royalties and has reduced piracy (a benefit for artists). Interning in the music industry, I was able to notice the lack of physical record sales. Then I started looking at the alternatives (like Spotify and Pandora) and understanding why. We are in a digital age, people would much rather stream music from their phone than put in the effort to go and buy a physical copy of a record. That especially holds true if there are only a couple songs one likes on an album. Streaming is extremely convenient for everyone and it definitely now holds a place in the industry artists must be conscious of.
3. Growing trends in identity theft: http://www.ovc.gov/pubs/ID_theft/growingtrends.html In 2016 alone, my parents have had their debit cards breached 3 times. Today my dad called me and informed me our bank called him to inform him someone was trying make $350 purchase in California using his credit card information. Target and Home Depot recently had their credit card databases breached. The article stated that from 2005 to 2007, the number of households that experience credit card theft increased 31 percent. The opportunity arises here to create better security for credit cards. Some banks have created the chip built into their cards which is suppose to decrease the risk of theft. However, with the internet and major databases, this may be a difficult opportunity to exploit. The call from my dad today made me realize how often this has happened to us. I thought about how we cannot be the only ones. Other people may be experiencing identity theft even more frequently than us.
4. Distracted driving is a growing trend which is increasing fatalities and insurance costs: http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats distracted driving has become more prevalent since texting was created. According to this article, 23% of crashes involve a cell phone which is about 1.3 million crashes. The more crashes (regardless of the cause) the more insurance will cost. This will impact just about anyone with a car, but especially teens and young adult.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Bug List
1. All the construction in Gainesville. It seems like there is always something that is under construction or being built. On campus, it makes our school look unfinished. There is so much construction by my house and it just makes me feel like I live in a unfinished and ugly area.
2. It bugs me when people take an extended period of time to answer emails. In this day-in-age we are all glued to technology. There is no reason one should not respond to an email within a day or so.
3. The wifi at my house. Our internet disconnects frequently and it always seems to be while I'm in the middle of something important. I was once taking an exam on ProctorU and the internet went out. I lost connection and was almost accused of cheating.
4. The line at Chipotle. This is silly, but the line wrapped around the inside of Chiptole and sometimes extends outside, bothers me. The food is not that great.
5. The limited available parking at UF. Finding parking on campus can be nearly impossible. It seems the school sells more decals than there are spaces available.
6. Car dealerships bug me because they already make millions of dollars, yet they still try to scam you when you take your car in. I took my car to the Volkswagen dealership a little while ago and they tried to charge me $1,200 to replace a part in the engine. We were skeptical so, we took it to a trusted mechanic in town and he fixed it for over half the price. It seems they can never have enough money and instead of trying to earn the loyalty of their customers, they'd rather earn the biggest profit.
7. People walking very slowly in front of me.
8. When people loudly interrupt me when I'm telling a story or am in the middle of a conversation.
9. When people talk about their weight all the time. I hate hearing complain about how they have gained weight. It won't do anyone any good talking about. Address it and do something about it; don't talk about it while doing nothing to change the fact.
10. When I have to repeat myself to someone who is not listening.
11. When drivers don't use their turning signal.
12. People who sit on the same side of a booth in a restaurant with no one sitting across from them. As a server, this is just one of the pet peeves I have. The way we keep track of who is sitting where starts with the first person to my left and then goes counterclockwise around the table. It's not a big deal, it just makes the situation feel awkward.
13. When people chew their food loudly or with their mouth open.
14. When people do not when to use the correct forms of your, you're, their, they're, and there. At this point in life, this should be common knowledge for everyone.
15. People who will throw trash or cigarette butts outside their window while driving.
16. When I crack the screen on my phone on accident. It is so expensive to replace and can happen so easily.
17. When people take days or even weeks to wash their dishes.
18. Starbuck's coffee prices. There is no reason a small coffee should be $4 or more.
19. Those people who sit right in front of you during a movie when they could've clearly sat somewhere else.
20. People who are always late. I don't understand how people can't plan accordingly to be punctual. Everyone has those days when they are running late, but those who are consistently late are the ones that bug me.
Coming up with this list was more challenging than I thought it would be. I came up with the first six or seven pretty easily, but it took me awhile to come up with the rest after that.
2. It bugs me when people take an extended period of time to answer emails. In this day-in-age we are all glued to technology. There is no reason one should not respond to an email within a day or so.
3. The wifi at my house. Our internet disconnects frequently and it always seems to be while I'm in the middle of something important. I was once taking an exam on ProctorU and the internet went out. I lost connection and was almost accused of cheating.
4. The line at Chipotle. This is silly, but the line wrapped around the inside of Chiptole and sometimes extends outside, bothers me. The food is not that great.
5. The limited available parking at UF. Finding parking on campus can be nearly impossible. It seems the school sells more decals than there are spaces available.
6. Car dealerships bug me because they already make millions of dollars, yet they still try to scam you when you take your car in. I took my car to the Volkswagen dealership a little while ago and they tried to charge me $1,200 to replace a part in the engine. We were skeptical so, we took it to a trusted mechanic in town and he fixed it for over half the price. It seems they can never have enough money and instead of trying to earn the loyalty of their customers, they'd rather earn the biggest profit.
7. People walking very slowly in front of me.
8. When people loudly interrupt me when I'm telling a story or am in the middle of a conversation.
9. When people talk about their weight all the time. I hate hearing complain about how they have gained weight. It won't do anyone any good talking about. Address it and do something about it; don't talk about it while doing nothing to change the fact.
10. When I have to repeat myself to someone who is not listening.
11. When drivers don't use their turning signal.
12. People who sit on the same side of a booth in a restaurant with no one sitting across from them. As a server, this is just one of the pet peeves I have. The way we keep track of who is sitting where starts with the first person to my left and then goes counterclockwise around the table. It's not a big deal, it just makes the situation feel awkward.
13. When people chew their food loudly or with their mouth open.
14. When people do not when to use the correct forms of your, you're, their, they're, and there. At this point in life, this should be common knowledge for everyone.
15. People who will throw trash or cigarette butts outside their window while driving.
16. When I crack the screen on my phone on accident. It is so expensive to replace and can happen so easily.
17. When people take days or even weeks to wash their dishes.
18. Starbuck's coffee prices. There is no reason a small coffee should be $4 or more.
19. Those people who sit right in front of you during a movie when they could've clearly sat somewhere else.
20. People who are always late. I don't understand how people can't plan accordingly to be punctual. Everyone has those days when they are running late, but those who are consistently late are the ones that bug me.
Coming up with this list was more challenging than I thought it would be. I came up with the first six or seven pretty easily, but it took me awhile to come up with the rest after that.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
My Entrepreneurship Story
1. Last summer I interned at a company in Nashville that was a little under a year old. The CEO was the former Senior VP/General Manager of a large record label in Nashville. After working in the music industry for about 30 years, he decided to branch away from the large company he was employed and start his own artist management company. His company had 3 employees (including himself) and his business partner. He took the risk to start a small company and compete against several other much larger management companies. The music industry is extremely competitive, so right off the bat I admired him for that. It ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences of my life so far. Because the team was so small, they were always seeking innovative ways to compete and succeed. They were open to all ideas and even asked my opinion on certain subjects. I loved listening in on meetings and discussions. I was even given the task to coordinate a fan club party and one of their artist's historic number one parties. The CEO took a huge risk to start this company in such a competitive industry and it is awesome to see how successful they have all become.
2. I hope to gain a better understand of entrepreneurship through taking this course. Everyone knows the general concept, but I am excited to understand more in detail what being an entrepreneur is really like. Because I wish to work in such a competitive industry, I hope my new understanding will give me an edge in the future.
2. I hope to gain a better understand of entrepreneurship through taking this course. Everyone knows the general concept, but I am excited to understand more in detail what being an entrepreneur is really like. Because I wish to work in such a competitive industry, I hope my new understanding will give me an edge in the future.
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