EFFECT OF BLOGS

THE EFFECT OF BLOGS ON ORGANIZATIONS

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of blogs on organizations include but not limited to the following:

Advantages:

1. Blogs' use is an interesting marketing technique used by individuals, organizations, and or both.
2. The use of blogs enables consumers and citizens to be better informed about different aspects of life. Since organizations are affected greatly by this, they also tend to create their own blogs in order to affect personal views of people [1]
3. Brand loyalty is an advantage of blogs which benefits organizatios since they develop stronger relationship with consumers [1]
4. Blogs' use is a feedback creator, since readers will be more interactive with each other using the "commenting" tool, and people can speak freely about what they think of different aspects
5. Blogs can create the fact of organizations' talent and expertise

Disadvantages:

1. As blogs can be a tool to create a positive environment for comments and feedback, it will display the writer's own thoughts about different aspects. Those thoughts could be false ones, which will affect readers' future prespectives
2. Blogs' creation can consume a large amount of time in editing and maintaining, therefore it is considered time-consuming for organizations [1]
3. With various organizations' views, blogs could be used as a competitive method to form the consumers' behaviour and the market as a whole.

References:

[1] http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_08_23_blogging.htm

ELECTRONIC PAPER POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES

ELECTRONIC PAPER POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES

As with any technology that is being introduced, there are disadvantages that could result from it which could affect organizations.

1. Unlike the traditional use of regular paper, the use of electronics could be not reliable as much as possible for ogranizations as a whole. Since important information could be saved on e-books for example, and if the device stops working, it will affect the people using it.
2. Cost efficiency is a problem for the time being for this technology. However like any technology which is being implemented it will cost more as soon as it comes out, and when the demand increases eventually the price will decrease in the long run. But for now, this is a downside for the average consumer.
3. Electronic paper technologies have slower refreshing rate compared to LCD technologies. This does not enable producers to implement innovative applications like using a mouse pointer or scrolling [1]. This can affect organizations which require a high level of interactivity with their displaying experience
4. The fact that the electronic paper devices contain small displays, can affect the capacity of displaying larger text or images. This will also affect organizations who inquire the zooming version of their displayed content [1]
5. As with any technology, comes the possible risk of disposal. Since the Electronic Paper technology uses carbon nanotubes which is considered part of the nanotechnology, it is still unclear the negative impacts of this technology on the environment. However research is being done currently to verify the future of the nano-elements and the future risk they will have [3].

Since the Electronic Paper technology is a state of the art one, it has shown great potential and promise, however potential disadvantages are hard to predict for now.
And as an interested individual, I will keep my readers with updates regarding this technology, its potential advantages, and disadvantages that will have direct or indirect effect on organizations and industries.

A 6.7-inch screen is able to produce the same resolution as a 20-inch desktop LCD, click here

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper#Other_technologies
[2] http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/11/16/seiko.ultra.dense.e.paper/
[3] http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/10/23/samsung.e.paper.display/

ADVANTAGES OF E-PAPER FOR ORGANIZATIONS

ADVANTAGES OF E-PAPER FOR ORGANIZATIONS

Electronic Paper technology is rich with interactive and dynamic advantages. Its implementation in different applications has benefited different organizations and industries. As discussed in the earlier posting, E-paper has the potential in replacing other traditional technologies and techniques being used like LCD displays in handheld devices, books, newspapers, photo albums...etc

The E-paper technology has the following advantages [1]:

With those advantages, different organizations are contributing in the continual innovation in the E-paper technology. These Development partners include:

• Arizona State University which is working on a prototype of a small portable information screen for the U.S. soldiers [2]
• Epson which is a leader in innovative imaging products like printers, LCDs and projectors.
• LG. Philips, which is a unique manufacturer of "thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels" [2]
• Plastic Logic, which is a leading company with specific expertise in plastic electronics which is used for the manufacturing of Electronic Papers [2]
• Polymer vision, the creator of matrix displays containing polymer electronics-based pixel driving, with reflective "electronic ink" which is used for Electronic Papers [2]

As companies see how the Electronic Paper technology combines the paper's portability as well as the computer's adaptability, they will be investing in them for the following advantages:

1. E-papers inquire low power which saves the cost of power generation
2. High contrast in viewing different projects, books, newspapers...etc
3. Durability and Reliability
4. Data Storage
5. Electronic papers do not need constant charging like LCD displays to retain its text and images
6. Stores can use this Electronic Paper technology in department stores for convenience as store displays which can change [5]
7. Companies will not need to use overheads and projectors or big-screen TV's. Paperless-offices will be using the e-paper displays to display the stock markets' constant changes, updated schedules, reference manuals, contact lists and addressbooks...etc [5]
8. Cost effectiveness. For e-books, the technology saves the users money by reducing the costs of books, and for the publishers by reducing the publishing costs.
9. Newspaper companies' future with electronic paper looks very promising since they have to find efficient solutions for digital newsprint, and to accomplish that is by producing electronic paper edition [3]
10. Since E-books will eliminate the use of papers by having books viewed from devices, it is essential to note that this technology will help save the environment. Environmentally friendly technologies are tending to be invested in more than other technologies, since it is an important aspect of society.
11. The watch market will bloom since the implementation of the first electronic ink watch. The watch's display is informative, easy to read, and interactive since the wearer can update it according to one's mood [4]. The following shows Seiko's e-ink interactive watches


12. Flexibility is a great advantage of the e-paper technology and since consumers are always prefering flexible object, corporations would strive to invest in such projects. The future of the electronic ink is also promising since it is used for an electronic book that could be placed in the users' pocket and on the go! The following video displays the E-ink's vision of the electronic paper technology [2]

Video for E-pen technology using Electronic Paper [2]

Video for E-book technology using Electronic Paper [2]

For the most updated information about the new prototypes of Electronic Paper Technology please click here

References:

[1] http://www.eink.com/technology/index.html
[2] http://www.eink.com/technology/flexible.html
[3] http://www.hitech-projects.com/euprojects/diginews/publications/Adapting%20production%20workflow%20processes%20for%20digital%20newsprint.pdf
[4] http://www.seikowatches.com/baselworld/2007/press/details/070412_11.html
[5] http://www.itvendorsdirectory.ca/Online-Resources/e-paper-promise-soon-to-unfold-001.html

Electronic Paper Potential in the Market

E-PAPER'S POTENTIAL IN THE MARKET

Electronic Paper Technology is showing great potential since it has been innovated in the 1970's. It improves the electronic display industries in many great ways. As discussed in the previous posting, it has great advantages which make this state-of-the-art technology unique in function and durability.

Electronic paper takes the display technology to the next level and is potentially foreseen to replace other technologies or techniques which are considered traditional or at least be more preferred by its users.

The purpose of this posting is analyzing the potential effects of the Electronic Paper's potential in the market as well as the current technologies it will be affecting currently or in the future.

• Electronic Book Readers (E-book) which is a device dedicated to display e-books. An e-book is a portable electronic media reader which replaces a typical printed book · The E-book has proven itself as a more useful and interactive tool compared to traditional written books users can edit the content of their readings, store more books on the same device, can adjust the font and size of the text for extra ease of readability, and costs less to produce with eliminated paper and ink. It is also more convenient for the authors since it is easier to publish as well as more profitable [1]. A picture of an e-book is as follows:

• Electronic paper was implemented in a secondary school in Maastricht as an e-paper specialist has started a project in which digital schoolbooks were used instead of books, and that resulted in reducing in books' costs on students [2].


• E-paper technology has been used in France 2007 by a newspaper company "Les Echos", which has introduced an electronic version of their newspaper [2]. By expanding on this technology, the electronic version of newspaper can soon replace the traditional printed newspapers. This will reduce the costs of printing, as well as provide convenience for the readers.

• E-paper display is being used to replace the conventional LCD displays of cell phones, PDA's and most of the portable devices. Motorola has already implemented this technology in its production of the cell phone model F3 [2]. A picture of that mobile phone is as follows:

• The army has invested 43.7 million dollars in February of 2004 for the development process of a small-sized portable information screen for the United States soldiers to use on the battlefield [3]. This will lead in the eventual replacement of the traditional displays being used by the armies currently. An actual picture of an e-paper being worked on by the Flexible Display Center at the Arizona State University is as follows [4]:
  
• Engineers have introduced an Autocad/CAM compatible software with e-paper which has enabled them to elaborate more on CAD drawings, which are used to portray Engineering designs for various projects. This has the potential in replacing the regular CAD program since it is portable and easily used by Engineers to improve their designing experience [5]. For more information please click here


• Since e-paper has the advantage of displaying better-quality images with higher resolution, it has been used for Digital Photo Frames. This could eventually replace the traditionally-used photo frames while giving the users the convenience and portability they need [6].

As the Electronic Paper technology is still under development, new innovations are being worked on in order to optimize this technology. It is meant to be a reliable and cost-effective technology which has great potentials commercially.

AMAZON.com is a widely used e-tailer company and has already introduced the AMAZONKINDLE which is the amazon's version of an e-book reader device. For more information on the amazonkindle please click here.

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-book
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper
[3] http://www.eink.com/technology/flexible.html
[4] http://flexdisplay.asu.edu/index.htm
[5] http://www.sanepr.com/Enggsoft-Group-Launches-the-Latest-Release-of-Industry-Leading-Software-ePaper-and-PMZ-2007_28486.cfm
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_photo_frame

Introduction to Electronic Paper Technology

ELECTRONIC PAPER

E-paper (Electronic Paper) which was first innovated in the 1970’s by Nick Sheridon, is able to display text and images until further changes are done to it by the user. Electronic paper is able to reflect the light around it and unlike some technologies does not require electricity consumption to function [1].

The high resolution and contrast, thin with low power consumption E-paper displays that look like physical papers led the technology’ inventors to introduce different handheld devices like PDA’s, cell phones, e-books to be lighter while improving the reading quality for users [2]. With the use of Electronic ink, which gathers the advantage of looking like the typical ink used on papers and the interactive compatibility with electronic displays, the text used on E-paper is more dynamic and interactive than the traditionally-printed one [2].

The E-paper technology enables the readers to be more comfortable when reading the content displayed because of the following characteristics:

• Images displayed on an Electronic paper are steady and stable which enables the user to conveniently view all parts displayed [1]
• Since E-paper reflects ambient light it also provides wider screening or viewing angles [1]
• E-papers are light weight and thin [1]
• Shatterproof [3]
• E-papers are also durable and long lasting [1]
• Viewing ability in various lighting conditions including sunlight [3]

With the use of plastic electronics which rely on inorganic conductors such as copper or silicon, the E-paper technology benefits by having flexible displays. This adds to the advantages of the use of E-papers for readers [1].

For more information on how Electronic Paper Displays (EPD)'s electronic ink technical technology works please CLICK HERE

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper#cite_note-0

[2] http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2001/03/42056

[3] http://www.eink.com/products/index.html