Final Blog Post: Summary

Over the past couple of weeks, my entrepreneurial idea of creating a fashion website/blog has evolved tremendously. I started out with an idea about creating an interactive blog that users would be able to to lookup any article of clothing, makeup, or accessory, and my website would be able to locate the item at a location that is closest to you. It also provides the user with the lowest prices and sale prices of each item they looked up. 

With blog comments from fellow classmates the IST GA's I was able to expand my idea with the incorporation of their advice as well as applying class material from the weekly lectures. I started to shape my idea into more of a fashion blog search engine website instead of just a blog. I discussed how social media is very useful in getting your business's name out to the public. With my website, I would advertise on a Facebook page, as well as create a twitter account. Daily twitter updates with sale items and hot celebrity fashion trends would be updated everyday. I also incorporated MP3 files into my website so that while users browse my website, they would be able to choose from different music genre playlists to play their favorite music. 

I got inspiration for my entrepreneurial idea from a website called WhoWhatWear.com, which is a fashion blog that talks about trends, celebrity fashion and matches outfits for you. I loved that they are creating a section for their site called "The Closet" where users will be able to shop from their favorite selections across the web. I tried to tie that idea into my website. 

I thought this project was very informative and really insightful. This made me realize that creating a website takes a lot of work. Without the weekly class lectures, I would not have learned all of the different technologies you can incorporate into your website. 

The 3 different blogs I commented on were:

http://jillraif.blogspot.com Post #1

http://micaelarob.blogspot.com Post #1

http://lggorman.blogspot.com Post #1

Blog Review: WhatWhatWear.com

One blog that I would like to discuss is called WhoWhatWear.com. This website is a fashion blog that discusses trends, shows celebrity fashion, and matches up outfits for you. They provide immediate access to the latest celebrity styles and reports on the hottest new trends the moment they hit the runway.

The website lay out is separated into different sections. There is a fashion section that provides a trend report, an accessory report, and shows how celebrities wear the trend. This section provides styling tips as well. They also provide a section of videos showing different styles and there is also a section called ask a stylist where a celebrity stylist explains what is "in" this season and how to purchase it at an accessible price.


This website is very similar to my entrepreneurial idea for a fashion website blog. WhoWhatWear.com has a blog section that lets users interact with fashion stylists and other  website viewers. This website is also similar to mine in the shopping aspect. They are in the process of creating access to what they call "The Closet" where you will be able to shop from their favorite selections across the web. My favorite part of WhoWhatWear.com is the fact that they stay so on-top of the latest designers and their runway pieces.  

Week 6: Color & Operating Systems

In lecture this week, we discussed digital color. Color is very important when designing a website. Having brighter colors that stand out will put you above your competitors and make your site above the others. Also, the image quality of the pictures uploaded onto the website will contribute to our site's success. When customer's are browsing through the articles of clothing and other accessories, they want to know exactly what the item they are purchasing looks like.To do this, the pixels will have to hold a high level of saturation so the item looks most accurate as possible.
Another part of this week's lecture was discussing operating systems. Choosing the right operating system for your company is extra important because the operating system manages the software and hardware that is used. There are different types of operating systems such as multi tasking, multi user, single user, single tasking, and mobile operating systems. My website will be able to work with operating systems such as Mac OS, Windows, Unix, and Linux.

Week 5: Bits & Bytes

This weeks lecture about bits and bytes made me think about more applications that I could add on to my shopping website. While users browsed through the online categories of shoes, tops, dresses, etc, they could also be listening to a playlist on my site. The users can choose which playlist they want playing while they shop such as Top Ten, House Music, Rap, etc.
My website would most likely be using MP3 files to upload the playlists instead of WAV files for music. The reason I would use MP3 over WAV is because MP3 files are compressed files, and take up less space, so then my website will run faster.
My website's graphics will also be made up of 8bits, which values 256 bytes. It is crucial that the graphics on my website are no less than 8bits because then the clothing and other accessories will not look as appealing and vibrant as they would in 8bits.

Week 4: Input & Output

In this weeks lecture we discussed input and output devices. There were two devices that clearly stuck out in my mind. First was near field communication device called Google Wallet. Google Wallet is an app for the Android phone that makes your phone a virtual wallet. It stores all your credit card information in a virtual form so you wouldn't need to carry the real thing around with you. Google Wallet is password protected as well.  This application goes hand in hand with my fashion website because when you are purchasing an item, all you need to do is scan your phone and it charges your card!

Another device discussed in lecture this week were QR Codes. QR codes can be generated online by anyone for any object. These codes can be seen anywhere from posters on trains, supermarkets, cereal boxes, etc. I would create a QR code and place it in all different stores that my website sponsors. This would be great for the site because it would get the name out there to all shoppers and customers.

Week 3: Identity Theft

This week's post is a similar topic to last week's online privacy post. Identity theft is a current and major problem with online purchasing. 18-29 year olds account for almost 30% of all identity theft complaints.  As I mentioned in the first week's blog post, my fashion website will be interactive and lead consumers to different stores and websites that carry the product or clothing they are looking for. The target ages for my  website are for young girls and women of all different ages. When these consumers visit my website they are looking to buy a certain product, some of them may do so when they come across their specific item at the store's online website.
They can only purchase the product through the store's website, not through mine. This way my company would not have to worry about protecting any users personal information. To purchase a product they  would need to enter in credit card or checking information to place the order.
To avoid identity theft you should ALWAYS make sure before typing in your personal credit card information  that the store you are ordering from is legitimate and that your personal information is confidential and will not be released. My website will only provide legitimate stores that will definitely not disclose any personal information. Occasionally I will check the balances on my American Express or Credit Card accounts to make sure no odd purchases were made. This is also another way to keep tabs on your accounts and to make sure your personal information is not in the wrong person's hands.

Week 2: Social Media and Privacy

Online privacy is a really big deal, especially when running a business. Before creating my business, I would have to make sure that all information found online about myself is appropriate and accurate. For example, my personal Facebook page would have limited access to people I am not friends with as well as my contact information. I would never discuss secret business information through social media websites either. Most social media websites provide standard privacy settings but it is always good to make sure you examine your settings on each website and make sure that they are set according to your personal preferences.

Although it is risky to have your information put out on a social media website, it can also be very useful. Social media is a great way to advertise your business and companies. Websites like Twitter can be useful when you want to let your customers know that you are having special deals or discounts. Facebook can also be useful by creating a company page. Customers and Facebook users can discover your business through the website and can press the "Like" button to show their likeness to your website.