Digital Frontiers Syllabus Final Copy

DIGITAL FRONTIERS  Business Strategies for a New World  IDH 3931    Adam D’Augelli  Nikolai De Leo  Hough Graduate School of Business  Fisher School of Accounting  561‐706‐3697  305‐310‐1826  adaugelli@gmail.com  nikolaideleo@gmail.com      Class  Office Hours  Monday  1:55 – 2:45  Monday  2:45 – 5 PM  Monday and  1:55 – 3:35      Wednesday  Classroom  Little 119  Office  Stuzin 255    Course Website: www.digitalfrontiersuf.com      To start with a story ….. (Borrowed from David Gillespie’s Digital Strangelove)   Since the beginning of time, people have been inherently social.  They love to interact,  they love to discuss and they love to tell stories.     (What did you think cave drawings were?)  However, over time the medium of communication has evolved.  Think about it ‐ once upon a  time even paper was impressive.    What has changed? The answer: Time  Let’s talk Music:  • The gramophone was invented in 1880.    • AM Radio was invented in 1895.    • FM Radio in 1933.    Today, all of these tools are basically obsolete.    Let’s talk Photos:  • The camera was invented in 1840.  • Today, our phones have high quality digital cameras built into them.  But the Internet has only been around really for 15 years …   Think about any technology – are the same today 15 years after they were invented? Or even  40 years after they were invented?  Don’t confuse growth for maturity.  (The same can be said about every one of us!)    At the end of the day, we are still figuring all of this out.  That’s where this class comes in …. 

Class Overview and Philosophy    With the evolution of the Internet, the business world is rapidly changing. However, since  the  rules  are  changing  everyday  ‐  there  is  very  little  attention  paid  to  this  in  current  textbooks  or  classrooms.    This  course  will  focus  on  how  technology  is  changing  how  businesses interact with and influence consumers.     Each week will follow a similar format:    Monday: Guest Lecture  Wednesday: Discussion about a case study occurring today    Through active discussion and interaction with entrepreneurs developing tomorrow’s tools  ‐ this course will prepare students for business in this new world.      Due  to  the  nature  of  the  course,  students  will  be  held  to  a  higher  professional  standard.   Business  Casual  is  required  for  every  guest  speaker.  They  have  taken  the  time  to  come  speak to you and we expect you to show up looking presentable. Grades will be based on  involvement  in  class  discussions,  professionalism,  and  tangible  results  from  course  assignments.      This class will be fun.  You will learn more here than you will in any other business course.   However, you will have to work hard.    Assignments:   1. Blog Posts: Each Friday (due by 11:59 p.m.) students will be responsible for a blog  post on the course website.   2. Case Study: In groups, students will be responsible for leading a discussion  presentation on a case example of a business today using the technologies discussed  in class.   3. Final Project: In groups, students will be challenged to create and implement a Web  2.0 marketing plan for a local Gainesville business. Emphasis will be on creatively  applying a variety of tools to accomplish the business’s goals – be it increased  mindshare, awareness or sales!    For further details on all three assignments read the separate assignment sheets.    We also may assign short essays or quizzes on readings.  We may not give lengthy comments on papers; however, we will give enough to tell you  what to improve.  If you ever need more clarification, just ask. 

Texts:    • What Would Google Do, Jeff Jarvis  • Monk and the Riddle, Randy Komisar  • Wikinomics – How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Don Tapscott  • Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi    Books are available at Goering’s Book Store, 1717 NW 1st Avenue (Behind Gator City and  Tijuana Flats), 377‐3703, though you are welcome to shop around.   Please be aware that there will be a lot of reading in this course. To encourage thorough  and timely reading, we reserve the right to give graded pop quizzes and essays.  In addition, we will assign short online readings. In this class, we hope to make you familiar  and comfortable with Internet resources and able to use them more skillfully than the  average student.     Course Calendar:  The course calendar can be found on the course website. It will be constantly updated for  speakers and new developments so do not expect a static calendar.     ABOUT EMAIL:     • Please choose one email account (preferably Gatorlink) and use it throughout the  semester.    • Send work to us as a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment (unless we say otherwise)  by the deadline we agree on in class.   • Please include your name in the name of the Word file (e.g. adaugelliessay1.doc), so  we can find it easily.  • You must put a helpful subject line and an appropriate, brief cover message in the  body of every email. (Please include your name in the subject line)       

Course Requirements    Class participation will be a major portion of your grade.   This class is different from any  other class at the University of Florida because it requires interactive learning.  Reading  about the speakers before they attend and researching their industry would be a good idea.   We want to see students asking questions, answering questions, offering suggestions, and  interacting with other students.     You must complete in‐class work in class on the day we do it and may not make it up. (If  you need to be absent, please let us know in advance or as soon as you can, so we can keep  you updated.)     This course will make all accommodations necessary to welcome and support students  with disabilities, including those mandated by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)  and University policy. Please discuss with me any personal circumstances we should be  aware of. Please consider this syllabus a promise of full compliance with the University’s  ADA guidelines.     Grading.     Reflection Papers:           20% of course grade    Case Presentation:          20% of course grade    Final Project            40% of course grade    Participation            20% of course grade    For every day late that an assignment is turned in, it will result in the loss of a letter grade  on the assignment.      In some cases, we will allow students to revise and resubmit work that is not passing  quality, as long as you do so quickly. There will be a deadline. “Quickly” does not mean  “after the semester is over.”     We reserve the right not to offer or accept a rewrite on any assignment. In some cases, the  best lesson is failure.   

Final Notes, Warnings, Pet Peeves, and Jokes     • Cell phones: please turn them off before class.   • If an outsider speaker is in class, please treat them with the utmost respect.  These are  professionals who have taken their time to help you learn and grow.  This means come  to class prepared, wearing business casual and ready to ask questions.    • In  class,  come  to  learn.    That  means:  No  laptops,  text‐messaging,  reading  the  paper  or  doing a crossword.  You may give the person seated in front of you a shoulder massage,  as long as you are discreet and he or she (or you) do not make any noises.   • Do not skip class because you are 20 minutes or an hour late. Come anyway. But if your  hair is freshly gelled and styled, I’ll be pissed that you didn’t just put on a cap and come  on time.   • Don’t be 20 minutes or an hour late. If you are, have a credible story. Nothing is sadder  than  a  bad  liar.  Good  liars,  on  the  other  hand,  get  my  respect.  A  bagel  hot  dog  from  Einstein’s or a burrito will usually gain forgiveness. I’m often hungry during class.  • Sleeping  or  appearing  to  sleep  through  more  than  50%  of  class  counts  as  an  absence.  And I may draw a mustache on you.  • Don’t take this class if you’re not going to read the books fully and well.   • Though we do our best to keep our political,  social, or other views to ourselves unless  they are directly relevant to the class, sometimes they do appear. You get no advantage  from  agreeing  with  us  and  no  disadvantage  from  having  a  different  viewpoint,  party  affiliation, or whatever. Our goal is to help you express and back up your assertions, not  to impose our views on you. I do not lower grades for people who disagree with me. I  only do so if they disagree with me on basic writing principles that have stood the test of  time.  Moreover,  I  ask  your  cooperation  in  making  sure  our  classroom  is  a  welcoming  place for all viewpoints. 

Digital Frontiers Syllabus Final Copy

by Digital FrontiersUF on Jan 05, 2010

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Digital Frontiers Syllabus Final Copy — Document Transcript