Symbaloo

Hi! I wasn't sure if we needed to post this. I've been using it all week and love it!!
Here's what mine looks like so far:

Have fun and see you all Friday! Can't wait!

Tweet Tweet

I'll admit it. I did not want a Twitter Account. I first thought, I can't be bothered telling anyone where I am, what I'm up to and what my plans are.  After I set my account up, I found so many interesting sites and people to follow, I think I'm hooked! I found that SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) is on Twitter - this hooks me up with the latest information on HR issues and updates. Also World at Work is also on Twitter, which is also one of my professional organizations.  I am planning on adding these to my PLN as well. I am also connected to other HR professionals for best practices and solutions for everyday problems. I've discovered that Twitter is more than just talk - it's informational and useful for the business professional!
Happy Tweeting!
Michele
Tweet me  https://twitter.com/GoldingMichele

PLN Michele’s Blog of Totally Rewarding Benefits

In this ever-changing global environment that we live in, Total Rewards have become a hot topic.  Whether it is the American government fighting over medical insurance, Greece cutting back on almost all employee benefits or what is going on with the New York State Employees union, there is much concern and trepidation about what is fair, equitable and affordable to give employees.

I will research the latest and greatest trends and solutions both at home in the US and globally.  With many companies becoming global, it is very interesting and necessary to see what is happening all around us.  I will break down the rewards into five categories:

1.      Compensation

2.      Benefits

3.      Work-life

4.      Performance & Recognition

5.      Development & Career Opportunities

Because these are very broad topics, I will be able to delve into each one by the most newsworthy and trustworthy.  I belong to two Human Resources Organizations, World at Work and SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) so I can trust what I find on their websites.

I also plan on using CNN to find global activities and resources for my blog.  The government websites also have daily updates and events that would add interest as well.

I think this will be an excellent blog that I can continue to use for many years to come!

Citations:

http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/aboutus/html/aboutus-whatis.html

Be a "rock star" Web Browser!

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what a portal, web server or IP address is. I took a quick poll at my place of employment, where use of the intranet is a daily occurrence, and many of them couldn’t explain it either. I will take you through what they mean and how to feel like an “Internet Rock star”.                                                                                                                                                                         Let’s start with Web Site- Portal. When you first sign on to the intranet and bring up a particular business, organization or family’s website, it will bring up the first page. This is probably an exciting looking screen that makes you want to look further into that topic.  It will have contact info, product or relevant information listed on it.  It is usually organized in an easy to read and navigation manner that can take you to other screens with what you’re looking for. These pages take you through the website and are simply called web pages.  Every web page has another important address to know about is the URL or Uniform Resource Locator. There are a few parts that make up this address:

protocol  http://   domain name   msdn.microsft.com  path  en-us/library/  file name aa47.aspx

              

There are many different websites, specifically news or weather, or broad topic websites that provide links to other websites to get you the information that you want.  These are called web portals or just portal.  Take the general interest website, www.tripadvisor.com, the winner of the best General Interest Website in 2011 by the Web Marketing Association.  From there you can book an entire vacation with recommendations on restaurants, places of interest, weather – just everything that you need to know about your destination. 

Let's move on to Web Servers now that you know a little about websites and portals. Your computer has an application installed on it that is referred to as the “client”. When you input that web address or topic in your search or address bar, in that split second, that request travels to a server (or another computer) that gives you that website.   This other computer can be located anywhere globally.

Your computer has a special number that identifies you called an IP Address. This is how the information comes back to you – the server knows to send you the information by this address.  Because this number would be difficult to remember, a simpler way for us to remember this is through a domain name. Like above tripadvisor.com is a domain name. That company owns that domain name. It is associated with that IP address that is stored in a DNS (Domain Name System) that keeps track of all of these names and numbers.

For more information on how to get around a web page, please view my video in the previous post – I’m sure it will be very helpful.

                Happy Browsing!!!

References used:

Shelly,G.,Napier,H.A., Rivers, O. (2010). Discovering the Internet. Massachusetts: Course Technology, Cengage Learning                          

http://www.webaward.org/winners_detail.asp?yr=all&award_level=best&category=General%20Interest

How To Get Around A Web Page

Ivoclar Vivadent new wellness program!

Jing Jingity

Hello Friends! Did you get the hang of Jing yet?  I've been using it like crazy at work and for other classes here. It was especially fun when I had our IT department install it on my work computer and I showed them how to use it. That's when you know you're having fun.
I found an update on the Net Neutrality fight.  Read the rest of the article at http://www.freepress.net/files/Joint_Ex_Parte_re_Redactions_Feb_7.pdf

References: Downloaded from the internet Feb, 10, 2012:

 http://www.freepress.net/press-release/2012/2/7/groups-ask-fcc-require-verizon-spectrumco-and-cox-communications-make-agreeme

Do we have Net Neutrality - for how long?

I was quite surprised to learn that net neutrality was about “saving the internet”. I found the most interesting reading on www.savetheinternet.com and also on the FCC website. According to savetheinternet.com, “there was a huge lawsuit involving Comcast blocking Bit Torrent traffic to ease network congestion prompting complaints from consumer advocacy groups”.  Other ISP's could also block whatever they felt was slowing down service with no laws in effect to regulate this.

I believe that this is censoring our Freedom of Speech.  It’s almost like “Big Brother” watching over what we’re using and blocking competitors. These very large ISP's can block or slow down certain websites as they see fit.  I did find that the FCC adopted rules that went into In November 2011 for "An Open Internet" as described here:

• "Transparency. Broadband providers must disclose information regarding their network management practices, performance, and the commercial terms of their broadband services."
• "No blocking. Fixed broadband providers (such as DSL, cable modem, or fixed wireless providers) may not block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. Mobile broadband providers may not block lawful websites, or applications that compete with their voice or video telephony services."
• "No unreasonable discrimination. Fixed broadband providers may not unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful network traffic over a consumer’s broadband Internet access service. Unreasonable discrimination of network traffic could take the form of particular services or websites appearing slower or degraded in quality."

There are several companies including Verizon and Metro PCS who are suing the FCC over these rules.  They have the backing of the Republican Party who is trying to get this ruling reversed.  If the Democrats lose the majority this fall, this law will probably be reversed. 

I don’t believe that we should have to worry about providers limiting what or where we want to go on the internet. I hope that we can keep this law in effect. Write a letter to Congress!

References:

Downloaded from the internet 1/29/2012, http://www.fcc.gov/topic/open-internet#rules

Downloaded from the internet 1/29/2012, www.savetheinternet.com