Your life is on the internet, but just how much does the internet know and how does it affect you. Facebook, the social media tycoon has “received 8,500 requests [for data] from the European Union affecting 10,000 user accounts during the first six months of this year.” Domestically, Facebook received roughly 50% more from the US government. These are requests for one company among dozens including: Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Dropbox, and Google to share their data with global governments. The power of the Government is staggering. They are able to use our social media information as a way to spy on their citizens, limiting our sovereignty, freedom, and autonomy. Unfortunately for citizens they have been subjugated to this involuntary spying as a result of corporate decision making. The question is, is this leaking of information by enterprises ethical? How can we trust some of the most influential companies to provide for their consumers when they share our secrets and private information with the government? Privacy has been limited through the unethical decisions of corporations and this privacy continues to diminish as the trend of spying on an international basis escalates. Through the use of international firms, countries like the UK are able to intercept data on Canadian citizens for their own benefit. Companies need to be more responsible for the consumers as stakeholders and should refrain from sharing our information to make a cheap buck.

Image: http://www.droid-life.com/2013/06/06/nsa-forcing-verizon-to-hand-over-millions-of-phone-records/

Kanter, James. “In Europe, Thousands of Requests for Facebook Data.” New York Times: Bits. (2013): n. page. Print. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/in-europe-thousands-of-requests-for-facebook-data/?ref=technology>.

Ford is back at it. The original inventor of the assembly line is working tirelessly to cut costs, increase revenue, increase job satisfaction, increase supply, and create producer and consumer surplus. Ford pushes to increase production to reach optimal efficiency at the minimum efficiency scale. They plan to do so through the addition of new factories, technological advances, and longer working hours. As Sid Mookerjee points out the increase in working hours, especially in a factory environment, can have a detrimental toll on the employees. It could greatly hurt their overall productivity as well as limit quality control, something Ford prides itself on.  Mr. Mookerjee spoke briefly about the possibility of workers demanding extra pay. This would increase costs and completely undermine the entirety Fords plan. The plan to increase production by a third is certainly a radical one and will take a great amount of effort by both the top management as well as factory workers. I agree with Mr. Mookerjee when he states that, “Ford needs to consider the ethical implications of such a move.” By increasing production at such a rapid pace, employee job satisfaction will certainly decrease as a result of long weeks and lower quality work. The working environment is sure to go down at Ford. The questions is, is this the right move for Ford?  Will this shift increase total profit or just hinder the driving force behind the firm’s production.

Image: http://www.hhca.ca/14661/discovery-ford

https://blogs.ubc.ca/sidmookerjee/

Innovation, ideas, discoveries, and inventions inventions are all sparked through creativity. However, they are all also seen in great entrepreneurs which seem to be dwindling away as of recently along with the aforementioned characteristics in our society. Thus, Canada must begin to better educate its youth more about the possibilities and advantages of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and small businesses are a vital part of the Canadian economy; representing 98% of all companies as well as 30% of the nations GDP. In order to more effectively compete with foreign markets Canadians schools, both post secondary and secondary , must better educate their students about the benefits, how to’s, and possibilities of entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, the current courses schools are offering aren’t generating innovation. The programs lack the ability to teach students what they will experience in the real world while also limiting their success through a poor reward system of grades and degrees. This deters motivation and stunts idea growth. As Ryan Holmes said, “entrepreneurship in Canada needs to be taught, but the classroom isn’t necessarily the best place to do so.” More external and internal schooling programs need to be offered to introduce entrepreneurship in more realistic business situations. Canada’s schooling system is the key to the country’s economic future and as entrepreneurs have a vital role in the economy it only makes sense to devote more efforts into a better education of the topic, mindset, and living style of entrepreneurship.

Holmes, Ryan. “Can we do a better job teaching entrepreneurship in Canada?.” Financial Post. (2013): n. page. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/11/can-we-do-a-better-job-teaching-entrepreneurship-in-canada/>.

Prostitution is certainly an interesting market with many variables; not to mention the legal aspects. The economics of prostitution is truly staggering. Some transactions dig very deep into the top 1 percents pocket. Like Alex Dye said, the current economic instability has resulted in a decrease in demand for prostitution. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that newer industries could learn from prostitution to help counter the effects of economic despair. While prostitutes may be relatively luxurious in the eyes of most, many other markets have a much more inelastic demand. It’s difficult to truly understand the value of an illegal trade and it can be even more difficult to replicate their tactics of generating profit and revenue streams. The world of prostitution has very limited monetary costs which can’t be said for most industries. Furthermore, the decision making of a prostitute can be done much more quickly, thus their supply is much more elastic; making them able to adjust supply within short time constraints. Conversely, industries rely on other factors for supply, making it more difficult to adjust to market trends. Overall, the concept is interesting, but evaluating the decisions of a prostitute should not be a recommended way for a business in other industries to make changes.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/alexandradye/

On its opening début on the NASDAQ Twitter Inc. rose 73% from a $26 IPO to $44.90. Why did the stock rise so dramatically compared to the recent debacle of the Facebook IPO? Well, too begin with, Facebook was overvalued and offered a significant amount more stock than investors demanded. Furthermore, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and Founder was hesitant to publically release the company, leading to faulty anticipation. With the culmination of these two factors the company’s value depreciated rapidly. However, Twitters IPO was a great success, raising more than $1.8 billion. Twitter had more interest than anticipation; unlike in the scenario of Facebook. Investors felt the company has mass potential to grow and has begun to effectively tap into the mobile advertising market, a market believed to be very valuable. Unfortunately, Twitter isn’t safe yet. With the massive increase in price people feel that the company’s value is inflated and is unsustainable. It is a stock waiting to crash in some investors minds. “If you’ve got it, sell it,” said Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research Group. While the company succeed in its IPO, Twitter is bound to fall; it’s only a matter of time. The company has little structure, thus, it won’t be able to support this overly inflated bubble.

Liedtke, Michael. “Twitter Inc’s IPO: Five key players behind the social hub’s creation.” Financial Post. (2013): n. page. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/07/twitter-incs-ipo-five-key-players-behind-the-social-hubs-creation/?__lsa=2318-f8d4>.

Image: http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2013/10/03/twitter-files-for-ipo-hopes-to-raise-1-billion-under-twtr/

Jesse Browns’ blog evaluates the technology world. He shares valuable insight into market trends as well as: new innovations, company outlooks, forecasts, and better informs the reader of the importance of technology. He evaluates each topic with great detail in a concise way; keeping you interested and reading. For example, in one article he explains how Gmail could be breaking the law. He describes the recent Google court case over Gmail which has been accused of what would seem to be wiretapping. In other words, Gmail is able to intercept not only the web traffic from its users but as well as non-users who send mail to those who do use Gmail. The US federal court recently ruled this illegal. Mr. Brown begins by saying that internet companies are becoming increasingly less ethical as they use ‘dodgy’ legalese to protect themselves. Mr. Brown argues that “Internet users need new policies and protections around the services we enjoy.” He has a point. The law hasn’t adapted to the rapidly changing technology world and thus the hundreds of millions of users are constantly at risk. However, in this era, most things are intercepted and processed, and by limiting Gmail to process its mail the federal court would have to justify through further regulating the internet, which doesn’t seem to be an option. Overall, Jesse Brown’s writing about Gmail offers valuable insight and puts forth a valid argument.

Brown, Jesse. “Is Gmail Illegal?.” Maclean’s, 27 09 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/27/is-gmail-illegal/>.

The internet has become one of the world’s largest advertisement platforms. With millions of WebPages and billions of users, corporations are able to target very specific market segments. However, some users feel the freedom of the internet has been diminished as a result of the pestering ads scene on every video and every webpage. To combat this, the AdTrap device was invented. It is a small box that automatically removes any advertisement even before it reaches your device. The purpose of the AdTrap is to regain the fluidity and joyfulness internet users originally experienced. While a ten second ad on YouTube might seem unbearable now, with no more potential advertising revenue, soon free services like YouTube will become another expense for everyday internet users. Since consumers won’t be seeing the advertisements any more, companies will stop putting them up. Given that advertisements pay for a great portion of the services on the internet, by removing them you effectively increase the cost of surfing the web for any consumer. Social media sites and video streaming services will be dramatically impacted since they generate a great portion of their total revenue from online advertisements. The internet will surely be changed, whether it is positively or negatively is dependent upon the consumer demand for the AdTrap and how popular the device becomes.

Simon, Dan. “The device that could change the Internet.”CNN. (2013): n. page. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/28/tech/ad-trap-internet-ad-blocker/index.html>.

Image: http://digitaldir.com/adtrap-device-blocks-internet-ads-before-reaching-your-computer/

Video – http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/600284081/adtrap-the-internet-is-yours-again

The increase in sales of Smartphone’s in the past five years has certainly hurt the Camera industry. However, we are now seeing a catastrophic end to the world of cameras that aren’t integrated into your phone. Nikon and Canon have seen a huge decrease in sales for both their digital and SLR (single-lens reflex) lines of cameras. There has been a 10-15% decrease in DSLR shipments worldwide as a result of this shift in technology. Ever since Sony developed a technology that greatly improved Smartphone cameras, allowing more exposure and better light quality, consumers have shifted to the more ‘practical’ camera phone. Canon and Nikon felt that the picture quality of a DLSR was enough of a point of difference to keep their market share. Unfortunately for them, a clear shift in preferences has occurred which has dramatically decreased demand on a global scale. Smartphone’s are paving the way for camera innovation through a variety of applications and social media connectivity. Furthermore, Smartphone’s seem to be increasing their camera quality on an annual basis as it poses as one of the main attractions for any potential consumers. As Apple states, “more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera.” With this, the end to the half century reign of digital and SLR cameras has come to an end.

Braga, Matthew. “Point, shoot, collapse: Why big camera companies are the next BlackBerry.” Financial Post. (2013): n. page. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/05/point-shoot-collapse-why-big-camera-companies-are-the-next-blackberry/?__lsa=b623-b3bf>.

Image:

http://fstoppers.com/how-does-the-iphone-5-camera-compare-to-a-dslr

Consumers across the globe are in the era of technology and as a result have become very attached to their portable devices, primarily smart-phones. With this shift has come a huge change in the news and magazine business. No longer are consumers buying the hard copy of the daily newspaper. Instead they read the news on their phones and get the latest Bloomberg magazine in the Apple ‘News Stand’ application. Rogers, has recently entered the market of digital news and magazines by unveiling a new all-in-one digital magazine subscription service. In an attempt to join the growing digital market, Rogers will now be offering roughly 100 magazine subscriptions for $9.99 a month.  It is with my analysis and understanding of the technological world that this new feature that Rogers will be offering will certainly be profitable. This new service will open up a new market and provide avid readers with a cheaper alternative, drawing them to using their devices instead of reading on paper. This new feature will also help to prevent wasted mailing charges for the consumer and producer. Finally, it will also help to diminish environmental impact as magazines use a large amount of ink and paper when on print. Rogers has the potential of being the Netflix of the magazine industry: providing them with much to gain in the future.

Dobby, Christine. “Rogers unveils Netflix-like all-in-one digital magazine subscription service.” Financial Post. (2013): n. page. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/26/rogers-magazine-bundle-app/?__lsa=2318-f8d4>.

To commemorate those who lost their lives and those who were Affected by the terrorist attack on September 11th AT&T shared a photo on twitter of the lights shining from Ground Zero. However, the photo was not just the beacons of light. Rather, it was a Blackberry Z10, a phone the company sells, taking the photo of the lights. Many tweeters shared their displeasure forcing the company to delete the post. This photo “was solely meant to pay respect to those affected by the 9/11 tragedy.” AT&T later stated in another tweet. Ethics in business play a major role in how the company is viewed. Now that AT&T has used this opportunity to market their phone, whether it be intentional or not, the company has been branded as using unethical advertising measures. Today was a day to commemorate, to respect, and to pay homage to an important day in America’s recent past, not to sell more phones. In ethics it is vital to adhere to social conventions of the culture, and the American culture responded vigorously. Whether it was purposeful or not, marketing on a day of mourning is simply unethical and as such has hurt AT&T’s reputation.

Business Insider, . “AT&T apologizes for 9/11 commemorative tweet that featured a BlackBerry Z10 after getting Twitter-shamed.” Financial Post. (2013): n. page. Print. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/11/att-911-tweet-blackberry/>.