Once, in the startup days of Facebook and heydays of less-prominent social networking sites (Friendster, hi5, Nexopia), there was one website that boasting the most potential. Myspace.

The idea was fresh: a place where emerging music talent could harbour a fan base, or where the average person could post about themselves and look at their friends profiles. It set out to reinvent the average person’s experience on the internet. So how did the website go from one of the most popular online destinations, to something most people would call obsolete? In the world of social media, consumer wants can be described as impulsive: people gravitate towards what’s new and exciting. Once rumoured to be valued in the billions of dollars, Myspace sold to new management for a mere $35 millon this past summer. Perhap Myspace got too comfortable around the height of their success in December of 2008 and gained a sense of overconfidence, maybe they weren’t quick enough or able to keep up with the rapidly growing power of Facebook since the end of 2008. In the end, maybe Myspace had a moment in time where they could’ve ruled the social media world, or maybe they were destined to fail. Either way, Facebook won.

Click here to read more about the Rise and Inglorious Fall of Myspace.

Secrets, Lies, and Sweatshops

This article was published in November 2006 on BusinessWeek,  and highlights the issue of unfulfilled labour rules in the factories of Chinese suppliers to American importers. Entitled “Secrets, Lies, and Sweatshops”, the article suggests that, although American companies insist that they carry out regular inspections to ensure optimal conditions at their supply factories, many of the factories have just become more skilled at hiding malpractice. For instance, the article uses the example of a major Wal-Mart supply factory in China, which covered up the poor work conditions of its employees, by presenting the Wal-Mart inspector with false, but authentic-looking, records. These records give the impression that all labour rules are being upheld, when in actuality the workers are subject to strenuously long hours, with a pay rate lower than what the company has outlined as appropriate. This issue has apparently become quite the practice in China: suppliers of major American importers keeping double records of the inner workings of the factory. Furthermore, the article states that Chinese export manufacturing totals to just under $300 billion yearly, and yet American companies still insist on lower prices from their suppliers in order to provide North American consumers with inexpensive products. The article says, “Factory managers in China complain in interviews that U.S. price pressure creates a powerful incentive to cheat on labor standards.” This ethical issue leads to the major underlying questions: How do U.S. manufacturers deal with upholding labour rules in an effective way? How do you stop the cover-up of malpractice in Chinese factories?

Article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011001.htm

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