Ball State

» Finding a website Host is like Buying a Purse

By China at 9:38 AM

Finding the right website hosting service can be difficult sometimes. You really need to know what you are looking for when you are searching. You can go through a hosting guide and check out everything that each provider or service has to offer and match up what they have to what your needs are.

The first step though to finding the right website host is trying to decide what you needs really are (sometimes it is shady at first especially if you are just starting a business or maybe even just a personal blog). You need to figure out what you are using this particular web host for. Web hosting sites may differ with business or personal use. If you are looking for a dedicated server for personal use, you may want to look into something free as opposed to paying for it monthly (or however that server may work). The free services are usually really good, occasionally you will have to deal with pop ups and less space, but if it is only for you (and it at no cost) than they may work out perfectly.

If you are using it for a more business use, then you may want to look into something with more space and more security and that fulfills your multitasking needs. With this kind of dedicated server you are able to exercise complete control over your site.

Finding a website host is kind of like finding the right purse in a way. You need to decide what you will be using it for (maybe for business meeting or for a fun night on the town). For more of a business use, you need it to be able to multi task for you having room and space for all of your supplies. And you may have to pay more for it because of everything that it is doing for you and all of the use that you will get out of it. But for a night out with your friends you may only need a little bit of space for your lip-gloss cell phone and money.

But no matter what kind of web hosting service you end up with (or purse I guess), you just need to make sure that it is right for you and right for the kind of business or personal use that you are doing.

» Marketing Class Pays Off

By China at 8:26 AM

There was this project that we had to do a few weeks ago in my marketing class. We had to pick anywhere in the world (within reason) and then try to market it in a way that people in this kind of economy would still be able to afford it and would also be interested. Since so many families have to cut out vacations, it is a hard task to accomplish.

So for my project I made up an Amsterdam travel guide and focused it on traveling students and grads who are looking for somewhere to go after graduation (or over break or studying abroad) and tried to target what they would be interested in.

The first thing that I looked into was prices (God knows that Americans right now, let alone college students can't afford big trips) and tried to compare them. I looked into airline tickets to Amsterdam and which ones had connecting flights and what not and the most convenient times at the cheapest price and checked to see if student discounts applied.

I also found a website on Amsterdam cheap hotels which was a really good reference since it is so far from here. I compared prices again with the hotels. I also looked to see which ones were student friendly and had wireless internet access and gyms and whatnot (also at the best price) because these are all things I would want as a student traveling.

Location was definitely important as well. The hotel needed to be located somewhat near the airport (so that they could get there without a hassle) and near a way of travel like a bus or train stop or in the city so that there were things around like grocery shops and banks and so on. I tried to make the entire presentation how I would want it to be if someone were presenting to me about the topic. I thought since I am a college student (maybe looking to travel) what I would find appealing is what other students (the audience) would also find appealing.

I ended up getting a really good grade on the project and also learning a lot about marketing as well as traveling and looking for good deals. I can't wait to be able to travel after I graduate and this project has helped me know how to do it more wisely.

» Web Hosting: Laying it out there for us

By China at 8:33 AM

I was reading this article online about the top ten web hosting sites and I realized that I really had no idea what a web host even was. I went onto the website and it talked about what web hosting choice was and how it was there to help people chose the right web site for their business or personal needs.

This website is actually really helpful and informative. It lists all of the sites and the price for each of them and the cost for setup and domain even. They are listed on this website based on affordability and reliability which is nice because they are all laid out for you so you can compare them right there and not have to search around for them.

I wish all products had a website like this one. It seems like such a great idea to be able to compare everything at once. I am the kind of person that will go from store to store to find the best item at the best price, even if it takes me hours. I wish that everything I needed to buy was laid out like this for me and I could compare all of my options to find the best one. Like when I had to get a new phone last year I went in and they were throwing all of these random perks to each phone at me and I couldn't remember the price of each one or what they looked like or even which ones had internet or the things I wanted. It would have been nice to see them all laid out nicely so that I could decide which one I wanted instead of leaving with a headache and a too expensive phone that does nothing that I want it to do.

I wish I could just make a website for everything out there for everyone so that we could all stay organized and on track. It would be great to be able to go online and find how much each store was charging for turkey that week or day (they do have a website for gas though that is really nice). It is obviously something that will happen someday, since it has already in other areas, it just seems like it would make everyone's lives a lot easier and happier.

» History Class

By China at 8:30 AM

I literally hated history class. There were a few things that I remember, like Ka-Bar (only reason I remember that is because of the name and that it sounds weird) which is a knife, I am pretty sure. I feel like history should be really important and interesting, but I have the hardest time with dates and seeing the big picture when it comes to certain things. I can't remember facts very well, so I have always done terrible job in history class and gotten bad grades which makes me hate it even more than I did before.

I wonder though why I am good at science. It seems like basically the same thing, I have to remember a lot of random facts that are boring and measurements and theories. I guess I probably like it because I have to and it is my major and if I ever want to graduate and find a job I need to get good grades. I do wonder though if anyone really actually likes classes and likes learning. I say that most of my classes for my major are interesting, but if I had the choice to go to class or not and not have consequences, I would definitely not go 99 out of 100 times (probably even more than that).

It isn't that I hate school, it is just that it seems like since we have to do it, it isn't very much fun. And the fact that we have to go every single day without a break sucks too. I do remember though my dad telling me when I was younger to make it a game. I seriously just laughed in his face when he said it, but he actually does have a point. When I took my ACT and SAT I made it more of a game and tried to beat out other people and just not really put pressure on what I was doing, and I actually ended up doing really well. So I kind of adapted that mindset for a lot of my school work now and I am doing better and have become less pressured and stressed about getting stuff done and doing it well. I am having more fun with it and learning more instead of being worked out about everything all the time and forgetting dumb facts, I just wish I had done this in history class in high school ha.

» Finding a new Bed

By China at 8:57 AM

Last year when I moved into an apartment out of the dorms I had to find a bed while having to bring it back and forth from home to school and back. So i thought it would be easy to find a bed and just have it shipped to school so I waited weeks and weeks to do it and then about two weeks before school started I went online and started looking and realized that finding beds online wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

When I went to the first website I was so confused because I couldn't tell which ones came with the box spring and memory foam mattress and which ones didn't. Then when I finally found one that I liked with both the mattress and box spring (after about two hours of searching) I found out that the place didn't even deliver to the city that my school was in (even though they have a store there). So I had to call the store and find out if I could get one delivered directly from the store (without even being able to see it) and even they said no. So I finally had to call a 1-800 number and order my bed from there and have it delivered. It was such a hassle having to talk to a million different people, but when it finally came it took them about 2 minutes (no joke) to bring in the box spring and the bed frame and the memory foam mattresses and set the whole thing up.

But I definitely learned a lesson from this experience. I will never again procrastinate like this when it comes to something as important as my bed. I guess I could have gone a day or two without it since we had a couch already, but still, I didn't realize (even though my dad warned me) that it was going to take so much time and effort to find one and find a place that would deliver to Muncie, Indiana on that date. I also didn't know that you had to order it at least a week ahead of time, so I guess I learned an important lesson. But like people say, you just have to live and learn sometimes.

» Finding Good Web Hosting

By China at 8:50 AM

For students in today's economy and workplace, digital skills are essential. You cannot make your name in any business today without some sort of skills at the computer. This is not speculation, but cold hard fact. That is why is is essential for all of us to learn as much about the digital world as we do about the figurative or real world while we're in college. Many of the jobs that a lot of us will eventually end up doing might be partially or completely based upon internet built skills.

One such job could be Web Hosting. Being a web host is essentially making sure that the basics of a web site move smoothly and that if any problems arise that you are there to remedy the problem before it gets too bad to have to scrap the web site. This is not something that requires a huge amount of digital knowledge for the very basic of web sites that some may need run. Cheap Web Hosting is often a huge commodity for businesses because they have so many other things stressing their system anyway that if you can provide quality service for the basics then you are quite valued.

I can understand though that many of us do not have time to read a quick Guide to Web Hosting so try your best to strengthen your other skills with technology. It is extremely essential that to be able to run our own business or function within any other in this country today, we all have to be proficient in the newest versions of everything. This does put some of us at a disadvantage because some of us can make it through college without using many of what will be considered the basics later, but many schools do force us to apply ourselves to the technology of today on a regular basis. This is because the schools understand the reality of the modern work model, even though even schools sometimes lag behind because of the transaction costs of keeping up with the light speed of the technology industry.

All that said, it would probably be in your best interest either way to get yourself immersed in the basics of what is out there today just in case your dream job turns in to a tech job.

» A SUBWAY FRANCHISE IN MY FUTURE

By China at 10:28 AM

I love sandwiches and I have always wanted to run a sandwich shop. I may sound odd, but running my own business has always been a dream of mine and that is why I went to school for business in the first place. Now, I have some money that my grandfather left me when he passed away and I always thought that I would be using it to open my own sub shop. Lately, with the economy being so iffy and my graduation only a few months away, I have been talking to my parents about what I am going to do after school, after all, it is not really a good market to be looking for employment in, and I am afraid that I will get in over my head if I try to start my own new business. My mother suggested that I consider looking into some franchise information. That way I would have health insurance and a big company backing me. She said that I could open a Subway franchise, which would be right up my alley and that with the money I have in the bank, I could most likely afford this business opportunity. Well, I went online and took a look at what Subway had to offer, and quite honestly I couldn't believe what an incredible opportunity this would be. I would be able to be my own boss, and run things my way, under the guidelines they set for me. Plus as I build the business, my income would grow, and with everyone becoming more health conscious and all the great publicity from that whole Jared thing, it couldn't be a better opportunity for me. Also, if at some point I decide that the franchise isn't for me, then I will have a lot of knowledge with which to open my own sub shop at some point in the future. Sure, I would have to open my shop in another town somewhere, but that is no big deal. I have contacted them and am waiting to hear back about what opportunities they have available, and if all goes as planned I should be in my own store in about a year, and that will be incredible.