How do the interest of carriers differ from the interests of websites? What are the implications for websites from a value chain perspective?

The interest of the carriers focuses on how to get money from both the end user (the customer) and the companies/individuals running the websites (i.e. Netflix, Amazon, etc.); whereas websites’ mainly focus on getting money from the end user, be it from subscriptions or money back in advertisement payments. Carriers are subjected to the power of the buyers and therefore have to be aware that the buyers can possibly change carriers if they restrict their services too much (Kroenke and Wallace, 36). However, websites are constantly under threat from substitutes and therefore have to keep providing their particular service or create new services to keep their website in the forefront of consumer’s minds (Kroenke and Wallace, 37). Websites also are constantly under threat from new entrants as creating a website and offering services, while it can be costly, it does not have to be – unlike with cell phone carriers where the cost of entry into the business was considerably higher (Kroenke and Wallace, 35).

Cell phone carriers have their own rivalries to contend with among their existing competitors – Verizon vs. AT&T vs. Virgin vs. T-Mobile (Kroenke and Wallace, 38). From a value chain perspective, this puts the websites under more strain to keep new and exciting features or services whereas carriers just have to compete with what their existing competition is providing in order to stay on top. Unfortunately with both websites and carriers there aren’t hard-set benchmarks of service to hold each other accountable for some minimal standard and therefore the proverbial bar is never quite set in stone and can always change. At least with carriers there’s a bit of an unofficial benchmark to at least provide what the competition is providing in order to maintain the status quo. With websites there isn’t anything that sets one website over another. Take for example Netflix vs. Amazon. The way these two service websites provide content to their customers is via contracts with movie license holders in order to have rights to showcase the respective movies (Stenovec). These contracts have variable lengths and therefore can be renegotiated and one of the two companies can get rights to movies they previously did not have rights to. This is not the same with mobile carrier services – AT&T isn’t going to lose rights to 3gbs of data for their clients.

Overall the websites face stronger and ever changing competition from new sites that have low to no cost of entry. Carrier competition have a much higher cost of entry and therefore face less competition, though the carrier competition has higher stakes from a monetary point of view. Websites must constantly be changing to maintain their edge in the ever changing e-world of the internet and keep their offerings new and ever-improving in order to maintain their consumer base.


Kroenke, David M. and Wallace, Patricia. Introduction to Managing Information Technology. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2015. Print.

Stenovec, Timothy. This is Why You Won’t See Oscar Blockbusters Streaming On Netflix. HuffingtonPost.com 4 March 2014. Retrieved 8 Feb. 2015. .

The Wax of Tomorrow

Alrighty!!! So many know that I am undertaking a monumental task - at least to me. I am going to get a Brazilian wax! Now, for those of you who do not know what this entails... Google it. I don't feel like explaining the intricate details. Either way, however, I have started the "no shave" portion of the prep for this procedure. It sucks. I'm a shave every day kind of gal and this whole no shaving business is bad business in my book. Actually, it's simply annoying at this point... Ask me how I feel about it again in 3 weeks when I'm mentally pep talking myself up for the actual appointment! I am going to Spruce Skin and Wax Shoppe in Olympia (Washington for those who don't keep up with my numerous across country moves) and I have to say... I am quite excited. If the Brazilian goes well I'm also going to book appointments for legs and armpits. Soon, I will no longer need to buy a razor or shaving cream! It will be GLORIOUS! And on that note... Until later my pretties.

Among other things...

IT'S COLD!

Airports Review 10/04/10

Well since I had a rather full trip for my extended weekend in Arizona, I thought I'd put down some of my thoughts.

First, we'll go over my reviews of the following airports - Sky Harbor, Phoenix AZ.; Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN; Memphis, TN and finally my now-home-port of Louisville, KY.

We'll go opposite of my list and start with Louisville.

-)Very nice, petite and easy to navigate. I did not get a chance to mess with their internet capabilities, but since I did not see any signage, I'll assume that they offer the Boingo wireless option. Boingo is, in my opinion, over priced and probably not used often. I'm not hardcore enough of a traveler to subscribe to their $9.99/mo services. I am, however, hardcore enough to know how to use my phone to hook my laptop up to the internet. Put a nice little star next to my minor tech nerd title for that one!

Next would be my 2nd airport destination on my weekend journey... Minneapolis/Saint Paul.

-)Ever heard the phrase "Too much is not always a good thing"? Yeah, Min/STP is that phrase in technicolor. It's basically a mall, a really big mall. High end stores abound, it took me about 10 minutes to cross not even half the airport to get to my connection flight. There are almost too many coffee options (which I did not go with my standard Starbucks, but decided to indulge in a rare option for me of Caribou Coffee - yum) and twice as many food options. Moreover, after all this muchness offered to the spending gods and goddesses of the world, they charge you for their internet usage. Really? REALLY? You're a destination airport and you don't offer complimentary wireless? Min/STP I am disappointed in you...

3rd airport and destination city of my trip, Phoenix/Sky Harbor!

-)Now I'll be the first to admit that the maze Phx/SH claims to be their roadways around the airport are simply pathetic in their complexity and random twists, turns and cut offs. You consider yourself lucky just surviving the trip in/out let alone giving you time to consider the horrors of flight (turbulence anyone? Gotta love that moment of the feeling of free-falling). However, being a moderate sized airport Phx/SH won my heart on this trip mainly on the fact that I did not have to waste battery power hooking my phone up to my computer for internet. Sky Harbor is one of the few airports I've been to now that offer free wifi! Go Phoenix! You're leading the way on airports that make my nerd genes happy! Moreover, Phoenix offers quite a nice variety on dining and shopping options - just not like Min/STP!

Finally, my 4th airport and honestly the most eclectic, Memphis.

-)You certainly do not doubt the fact that TN is a BBQ State the moment you step off the plane at Memphis Airport... No, I'm pretty sure the smell smacks you in the fact the moment you leave the gangplank from the plane! Tiny, cramped and alas, no free wifi (boingo anyone?) the only redeeming factor of this airport is the lovely smell of massacred pork and beef cooking happily along and filling you senses with that glorious "yum" feeling. Moreover, they have an Elvis shop in house! Granted... It was disappointingly small; c'mon Memphis, he's your Prince, right? Tisk tisk.

I will say that the people I was forced into close quarters with this weekend were very pleasant and not stuffy in the least. Mostly of the younger generation, they were rather amusing to eavesdrop on (hey! CLOSE QUARTERS! Hard not to listen in).

The trip itself was quite worth my shaken nerves (hate flying) and the long weekend away from my husband. I got to see people I haven't seen in a little over a year! It was wonderful staying with Jessi and her family, seeing Leah and her daughter, long talks with Heather, Sushi with Ashley, Kim and Stephy, lunch with Maggie, Matt and a quick appearance of Bonnie, and the two days spent with the boys (Jack, Shaun, and Richard[?]) eating dinner and general minor tomfoolery.

All in all I would say this weekend was a success. One that has recharged me and reminded me that no matter what, I have good friends in this world.

It's been a while.

Well after much ado and little nothing, I'm back to post a blog. Go me. Just to catch everyone up to speed on what's going down on this side of the nation, lets start with the most prevalent.

We do not know when/if we are moving to Washington. There, I said it! Basically with us being locked into the Fort Benning, GA transfer we were essentially locked out of re-enlistment until Tor was within his 1 year of ETS (getting out of the military). So we have to wait until Oct '10 to re-up. We'll know when and where we're going at that point. Tor's thinking Combat Surgical unit so we could go anywhere. We'll see what's on the table then.

We're in the process of upgrading housing, since we could be here for another 4+ months. We're going from old, never renovated multiplex to a just renovated duplex. We'll be going from a 2 story to 1 story (I'm happy about that) and we'll have a larger yard for the pups. The houses have a better layout than our current home and a lot more usable space. There is a lot of wasted space in our Townhome.

Other than those two things, there isn't much going on at the moment. The weather is finally getting lovely (borderline too warm/humid)... Which also means the flies are back. We had a huge fly problem last year and it's shaping up to be a similar issue this year. Right now we have the fly-trap bags strategically placed around our back yard so we'll see if that keeps them away from our house.

Well, that's all for now. I promise to update more as things develop. Peace out my lovelies.

2 people, 1 scout.

Oh lord Scout II tops are HEAVY! Tor and I just welcomed spring in our own fashion by removing the top from the Scout II! It now has the "bikini" top on and it's all rugged looking! That and I have my summer flowers planted and I'm religiously watering them so we can have some color other than green (even though I do enjoy green). The PT test is either this week or the next, so cross your fingers for us the next few weeks.

I'm in the process of cooking Easter dinner, Tomato pork loin! With salad... The salad part is OK, haha. We did get Apple Turn Overs for desert! I've been sticking to my 0 calorie drink diet, as well as limited portions and paying attention to caloric value of everything (is "caloric" a word?). So far I think it's working for me, it'll be a little bit longer before I can say yes or no on that.

Hopefully this will be a sustainable transition, which is why I'm focusing more on a monthly picture rather than weekly. Weekly feels too much like a diet and Monthly feels more like a life change. Our big thing is to keep snacks other than veggies out, limited to no fast food and we're cutting high fructose corn syrup out of the picture completely. Oh, and, gym, gym, gym. We're also going to start regularly swimming! It's all so exciting, now we just have to keep to it...

Sammie is trying to come down next weekend, we've got some nice stuff planned for that. Hiking is number one on that list! Nothing overly strenuous, but we have a nice reserve right off post (which is where we were legally married) that we've been waiting for the weather to get nice to try out. We're also, probably, going to grill a whole lot and just generally have fun.

One of my best friends here in KY is moving in 2 weeks and her last week at work happens to be this up coming week. I'm a little sad about that! We're having a "chick" party next week for her ^_-. Tor keeps making fun of us all for doing it, but it'll be awesome. We're calling it our Mexican Passion Party (the food is all going to be Mexican inspired dishes).

Frankencouch is GONE! The destroyed portion of our sectional went to the curb last week to make room for Amy's old (but still looks pretty much new) couch. We love it, in fact we are always in competition with each other to decide who gets to hoard it every night. It matches the portion of the sectional we kept, and they compliment each other nicely (enough). Area rugs are now also present in our living room, which helps with the dust and dirt.

Our next big furniture purchase is an entertainment center that we saw at the PX (Post Exchange). It'll take us a little while, but we really liked it. The only downside? It doesn't match the coffee table and end table. So what am I going to do about it? I'm going to sand both down and paint them red! It'll be lovely. This is what HGTV (Home & Garden TV) does to me. It gives me ideas... Ideas can be bad... But, oh so fun!

Oh, dinner's ready! I shall update you all at a later day! Peace out!

Who Knew

Who the hell knew getting pregnant could possibly be so complicated? Seriously, movies like Juno and Knocked Up make it seem like it's the easiest thing ever! Granted... It can be... I guess I shouldn't whine too much. I am almost a week late and have no signs of the flow of the red river... However, my last 3 pregnancy tests are all negative. I could still be pregnant... But I think I'll wait another 2 weeks to run to the doctor. I want to be good and sure I'm not going to start spontaneously eradicating the lining of my uterus before I go in. That would be the day... Appointment 11am... 10am, inserting the tampon and simultaneously calling Ireland to cancel said appointment. Yes, that would be my luck. So waiting it is, however impatiently.

On that note, I got accepted to Tacoma Community College - not that doing so is an overly huge achievement. Community Colleges are notoriously easy to get into. But hey! At least I can work on my RN while pregnant and both TCC and Fort Lewis offer daycare so I can work part time AND go to school with a munchkin. These were all things we were looking into before deciding to get pregnant. I know it's a bit early, but I'm ready for a kid. We'll just wait a while before number two! I can handle being an associate RN while rearing one kid and trying on number two while getting my bachelors. Which will be immediately after I finish my associates, in about a year and a half after finally getting to Washington.

So the position Tor was re-upping for in Washington might not even still be available, at this point. Tor's prepared to take another position, possibly a combat one, to get us to Fort Lewis. I have to admit that I told him if the words Japan, Germany or Hawaii come up that he'd better say yes. I could do Hawaii; in fact, I'm looking at the housing there right now... (insert time taken to google the housing website here. Not too shabby, just like most posts, some NICE then nice then crappy. The stand alone houses are very nice... Now lets look at Japan's housing... Okay... Camp Zama doesn't believe in housing websites. Well poo on them. I'd still probably love to go there for a year or so, LOL. I think Fort Lewis is my most preferred for so many reasons, though. 1) Jenna and Joe will be close by. 2)All my friends are willing and financially fit enough to go there (Hawaii would be a stretch!). And finally 3) SEATTLE! I will definitely keep everyone posted on what the deal is with all this shenanigans.

I think this is the end to my lovely, long, blog. I hope everyone is well and for God's sake, FACEBOOK ME!