Balance of Power Shift
I know we were supposed to get away from discussing blogs but I saw the most interesting article from the Financial Times, "Blogs are shifting the balance of power". The article went on to discuss how bloggers discovered a defect in Kryptonite locks used in bicycles. A viral video was sent throughout the blogosphere on how to pick the lock with a ballpoint pen.
The company couldn't react fast enough and had to end up giving everyone new locks and settling various lawsuits, all of this ended up costing $10m!!! This story showed how the power balance shifted to the favor of the consumer against corporate America.
It also brought up legal and ethical concerns of how much information should become public and is it moral to show people things such as how to steal a bike and for other bloggers to defend thier personal and private space.
The article went on to pose the question of how can society stay connected but be responsbile in doing so and not abusing the power of the internet.
The company couldn't react fast enough and had to end up giving everyone new locks and settling various lawsuits, all of this ended up costing $10m!!! This story showed how the power balance shifted to the favor of the consumer against corporate America.
It also brought up legal and ethical concerns of how much information should become public and is it moral to show people things such as how to steal a bike and for other bloggers to defend thier personal and private space.
The article went on to pose the question of how can society stay connected but be responsbile in doing so and not abusing the power of the internet.
1 Comments:
Very interesting example. The power shift is definitely on. Consumers have more choice and access than ever before. Businesses have responded by rethinking the paradigm for interacting with customers through such concepts as trust based marketing.
Businesses also need to be wary of disappointing one consumer, as that one consumer can now reach (theoretically) everyone with a computer to tell the tale of a poor product or service.
There are obvious parellels between the commercial and political sectors. Because of the resistance of the party duopoly, the power shift to the voter hasn't had the same impact quite yet (at least in terms of results) as the power shift to the consumer. Though it's been a little slower than the commercial world, the balance of power will eventually shift in the political world as well and totally change the way everything operates.
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