With a vote on the debt ceiling looming, politicians turned to Facebook to express their opinions, conduct polls, and ask for citizens' feedback (social media article). One of the reasons politicians use Facebook is because they can bypass the media and control their message. The instant feedback is also unique to social media. The article points out that in a survey of congressional staffers "nearly 75% think Facebook is "somewhat or very important" for communicating their members' views, followed closely by YouTube and less so by Twitter."
One perceived drawback to Facebook is that users friend people with similar views and are seldom exposed to people with opposing views. Politicians on Facebook are usually followed primarily by their supporters and therefore they are less likely to garner additional support via Facebook. Nonetheless, politicians are stepping up their use of social media to get their message out to the masses.
The following YouTube video presents a survey of Facebook usage by politicians:
On July 12th Netflix announced a 60% price increase. A plan that includes DVDs and streaming content currently costs subscribers $9.99. As of September 1st, the cost will be $15.98. The new fee structure is effective immediately for new subscribers.
In the first few days after the announcement, social media played a huge role in providing a venue for outraged customers to voice their opinions. Within 24 hours of the announcement, Netflix's Facebook page logged more than 28,000 comments, most of them negative (customers see red). A consumer poll indicated that as many as 1/3 of Netflix's 23 million subscribers would drop their subscription (International Business Times article). Subscribers recorded videos of their opinions and uploaded them to YouTube, including "Hitler Reacts to Neflix Increase in Pricing":
The furor seems to have subsided. Today the Huffington Post put out an article entitled "Netflix, Despite the Price Hike and Nightmare PR, Is Still the Best in Field" (HuffPost Tech). Because none of Netflix's competitors offers the same or a superior service at a competitive price, many irate customers may very well decide not to cancel their subscription.
Now would be an ideal time for Blockbuster, Amazon, or Hulu to promise disgruntled Netflix customers that they have the capacity to duplicate Neflix's DVD + streaming plan for less than $15.98 per month. If a competitor can pull that off before September 1st, 1/3 of Netflix customers might actually jump ship.
Regardless of customer's threats to leave, the Netflix price increase is not likely to hurt the company's bottom line. The recent expansion of streaming services into the Canadian market has been very successful. Within the next year, Netflix plans to expand into Europe and Latin America, reaching as many as 43 countries, according to the following report:
I expect this story to resurface in late August when current Netflix subscribers will have to decide if they have a problem with the September 1st price hike.
Personal, Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Issues
A previous post on Big Brother Big Business discussed privacy issues. Chapter Four describes other risks associated with information technologies. Coincidentally, this week CNN is running a series on the ecosystem of cybercrime. Here is a link to the first installment (hackers). I'll follow up later with more info.
Follow-up: The second installment is "How They've Hacked You" (link to article). The topics include things we've covered in class, such as phishing, malware, denial of service attacks, and keyloggers. Read the article for information about spear phishing, SQL injection, backdoor exploitation, and brute force entry. The article is a little unnerving because it points out the vulnerability of our passwords and credit card information.
The third installment is titled "The Cyber Mafia Has Already Hacked You" (organized cybercrime article). This article points out that most large corporations and credit card companies have already been compromised. The most sophisticated mafia cybercrime rings originate in Russia. The Russian Business Network, founded by former spies, is one of many mafia organizations which are relentless in their quest to steal money using the Internet.
A database stores files of related data. Database management system software allows people to use databases efficiently. Data manipulation (adding, deleting, modifying, and retrieving records) is executed through a query language, the most common of which is SQL (Structured Query Language). The following video will give you a good understanding of the basics of SQL:
The CNBC video "The Business of Innovation: Rethinking Work" consists of short segments on a variety of topics pertaining to the changing world of work. Experts briefly discussed competition for jobs, the search for a sense of community and meaningful work, the role of education, personal branding, social networking, open innovation, privacy, conflict resolution based on game theory, mass transit, and crowding in cities. The entire video is only 55 minutes long (full version), which means that each topic gets superficial treatment. Watch the clip below on augmented ID and you'll see what I mean:
The topic I found most interesting was Open Innovation/Capitalizing on the Crowd. This concept allows companies to utilize a project-based workforce located anywhere around the world. Freelance problem solvers are more diverse and help the companies innovate faster. InnoCentive is a broker organization that links companies to innovators by offering a financial reward to anyone who can think of solutions. The following YouTube interview sheds more light on the benefits of open innovation:
A CNBC report "Big Brother Big Business" describes how businesses collect data and utilize it. Chris Hoofnagle, a privacy advocate, believes that the information society has eroded the privacy we take for granted. Passing laws to protect our privacy is urgently needed because developments over the next 10 years are likely to determine privacy rights for the next 50 years.
Technological advances are being used in ways that ordinary Americans are unaware of: extensive personal data is collected and sold by data mining companies such as Acxiom, black boxes in cars provide crash data that has convicted drivers of vehicular manslaughter, phone companies and Internet providers provide records to the NSA and other government agencies, some employers use GPS to track employee's activities as they drive their routes, and employees at Citywatchers are implanted with microchips similar to pet identification implants.
Charles Morgan, the company leader of Acxiom, is concerned that the government could misuse the information his company collects. Dr. Joseph Atick, one of the fathers of biometrics and CEO of Identix, states that Big Brother will happen if allowed to happen. Wide area surveillance is now technologically feasible, but should not be permitted. Society's needs and values should dictate how we use technology, says Dr. Atick.
In my opinion, if we as a society value privacy we need to demand that our legislators pass laws that will protect our privacy and set limits on how data is collected, stored, sold, and used. 4th Amendment protections currently apply only to our homes. Third parties that have our information, often without our knowledge or consent, should be subjected to limitations that would allow us to maintain more control over our information and allow privacy.
1. How are Facebook and Google+ the same or different? As I mentioned here on July 1st, Google+ has some features that have the potential to outperform Facebook (CNN article). A video feature called Hangouts lets several users join a room and set up live feeds from each user's webcam. This feature is more advanced than Facebook's newly released one-on-one video chat option. Another Google+ feature which appeals to me is "Circles," a way to organize friends into categories and easily control communication sent to specific groups of friends.
2. How many users does Facebook have? Why so many? Why did Facebook overtake Myspace? According to Facebook Statistics, Facebook has over 750 million active users (Facebook statistics). Myspace was not as interactive as Facebook. While Myspace put the burden of creating content on the user, Facebook users act mostly as curators, choosing how to display photos and comments posted on their wall. Facebook was the first to integrate other social media, such as Twitter, to facilitate communication and keep users logged into Facebook.
3. Do you think Google+ or any other social media will overtake Facebook? No, I think that Facebook has reached a critical mass which would be difficult for any other social networking site to attain. Facebook has a virtual monopoly on the market. People will take a casual look at other social networks, but will remain Facebook users as long as their core group of friends are loyal to Facebook. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. If Facebook blocks easy transfer of friends to other social networks, most people will not expend effort on recreating their group of friends on a new network.
4. Why do you feel there is such an obsession with Facebook? Is it warranted? The Facebook phenomenon caught my attention about 18 months ago when old friends finally lured me into the site. After the initial excitement of catching up with former classmates and acquaintances, I gradually spent less and less time on Facebook. However, I have spent enough time on Facebook to form some opinions about the source of its popularity. I think people's obsession with Facebook stems from the constant feedback that the site provides. Read about positive reinforcement loops here (teens and texting). I wouldn't say this obsession is warranted - in fact, some people have to quit Facebook in order to live healthy, productive lives (Facebook addiction disorder).
5. What was your perspective of the film overall? I enjoyed watching The Social Network in class yesterday. The take-away message for me was that people skills are not essential for success in Silicon Valley. The film highlights the fact that a good idea can succeed even in the hands of someone who is socially inept.
