Book Review

The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life.

By Thomas W. Malone

In this book, Thomas Malone highlights the similarities between societal and organizational growth. His theory is that the declining costs of communication have made possible man’s historical change from independent hunter/gatherer to member of a decentralized organization. Combined with the increased value of information communication, organizations are able to consider more decentralized organizational structures such as loose hierarchies, democracies, and free markets. According to Malone, these structures are the building blocks for creating a successful organization in our evolving society.

Many businesses today operate in a traditional centralized operational structure, with all orders and decisions coming from the top. In the first two parts of the book, Malone illustrates several examples of companies moving away from this traditional style to try something new. First he discusses loose hierarchies. One example he cites is Wikipedia. Wikipedia meets all three criteria Malone lists as common to this type of organization. First is the need for constant and heavy communications between members. Next is a lack of centralized control. Last is the ability for an employee to choose whether or not to participate in a project at all. Loose hierarchies offer a way to balance the strengths and weaknesses of the basic hierarchical structure. When they are in place, power is disseminated throughout the organization, preventing apathy and the undermining of a workgroup’s enthusiasm about their current project. Malone lists as the strengths of this type of structure the ability to coordinate large-scale systems with little communication and the ability to resolve individual differences for the good of the group quickly and with minimal discussion. For the weaknesses, he cites the lack of a view of the ‘big picture’, the possibility of information bottlenecks, too narrow of a focus on solution options, and the difficulty in people maintaining a sense of autonomy.

Next Malone discusses democracy. Organizations using a democratic style agree that they will accept decisions voted for by the group. Decisions are made by a majority vote of the group, not just by the company leaders. In a democratic hierarchy, group member have to look past their personal preferences in favor of the greater good. This style is very similar to the federal structure of the United States, which is a republic. The people vote for leaders to represent and make decisions on their behalf, and if they do not serve them well, those leaders can be removed (not always easily!) by a majority vote. For this type of structure to work, there is a need for heavy and constant communication, just like in the loose hierarchy. Malone uses Hewlett Packard (HP) as one of his examples of a democratic company. Knowing the importance of having the support of their employees, HP polled them to see if they were in favor of a buyout of Compaq Computer. Prior to the final vote, the company had been doing periodic surveys to get a feel for where their employees stood on the issue. The results of the surveys and the final vote were favorable, so the buyout went forward. This example illustrates how in a democratic hierarchy the source of the power originates from the bottom instead of the top. Malone lists as the strengths of this style employee participation in all decision making and individuals joining with groups to make decisions they may not have made on their own. The weaknesses include a requirement for heavy and constant communication and people making decisions they may not be qualified to decide.

The third style that Malone introduces is the market structure. This is the most decentralized structure presented in the book. Malone discusses outsourcing or free lancing and the creation of internal markets as examples of market style. Outsourcing is not really a new idea. Many companies streamline their processes and save money by having other companies handle specific jobs in their production process. An example from the book of just such a company is Topsy Tail. All that Topsy Tail does is develop new products and plan marketing strategy. All other tasks from production to shipping are done by other companies. Another example involves the use of outside contractors. This is mostly seen in the service industry. A good example is in construction. A company bids for a contract to build a strip mall. If the company wins the bid, they then hire sub-contractors who specialize in certain facets of the job like plumbing and electrical. These companies all work together until the job is completed, then they separate and regroup with others for another job. The creation of internal markets is a way for companies to ensure that their employees’ talents are allocated efficiently throughout the organization. Instead of having people assigned to a specific department, they can move from team to team and project to project on demand. The strengths of the market style include efficiency, flexibility, and motivation. The weaknesses are incentive problems and communication needs.

Malone wraps up part two of his book with an analysis on decentralization. He discusses what factors to consider before making a move to decentralization. He details the advantages and disadvantages of the different structures. To summarize, if a company requires quick decisions, and wants to keep communications costs very low, it is best to stay with the centralized operational structure. If a company wants highly motivated and autonomous employees, the market option is the obvious choice. Loose hierarchies and democracies are combinations of these two extremes, and if a company is willing to move the power base to the employees while retaining a modicum of control, either of these would be a reasonable choice.

Part three outlines how managers of companies moving from centralized to decentralized organizations can continue to manage. Malone believes that a new management model needs to be created. The old model is known as command-and-control. He proposes a new model called coordinate-and-cultivate. In his book he defines coordination as a way to “…organize work so that good things happen” (p. 129). It is a way of focusing on business activities and how they relate to each other. Cultivation is about the people. It is what needs to be done to bring out the best in them, to learn what their strengths are, and to put them with others who have complementary skills. The best way to achieve that is to find the balance between control and motivation.

Malone makes a great case for his theory in this book. However, it is definitely a theory. He uses great examples of companies that have moved to one of these different styles, but they are too few or too recent to be considered definitive. The book would be more useful if there were more of a focus on the practical rather than theory. It is not an instruction manual for how implement and manage these different styles. Managers could become very excited by the glamour of the move to decentralization, and it could be devastating to their businesses. The book definitely has a great deal of excellent information, and could be a valuable tool if used wisely.

This book definitely presents some interesting ideas that should be considered. As evidenced by the examples presented, many businesses are effectively making the changes to these new management styles. One would not necessarily have connected the falling costs of communication to the social and organizational changes that that man has experienced. It definitely gives a different point of view.

Communication costs have decreased in many ways through our history, but more recently because of the creation of the internet. With the advent of email, blogs, and other forms of e-communication, it has become virtually costless to quickly and easily communicate with others. Since our course is all about doing business using all available computer resources, this book shows an example of how companies can use those resources to work smarter.

E-Voting

Electronic voting (e-voting) describes several different types of voting technology for vote casting and counting. According to Wikipedia, these types include punch cards, optical scan voting systems, and direct recording electronic (DRE) systems. One of the reasons for the movement to e-voting was the ability to more quickly count up the votes. DRE's are also more friendly to disabled voters. One example of this is in the provision of headphone and voice technology for blind voters. On the downside, many Americans are concerned that e-voting could invite or facilitate fraud.

These types of voting have almost completely replaced the hand-counted paper ballot. This has certainly led to faster election results, but not necessarily more efficient ones. With hardware and software failures, there is no knowing how many votes are counted incorrectly or not at all. Audits are impossible without some kind of paper ballot to count and verify. Many of the DRE's are not hooked up to printers which would provide this documentation of a voter's selections. Additionally, according to Lessig in Code 2.0, having a printed receipt may not necessarily prove that a vote was even counted. If e-voting is going to be the only voting there is in the future, Lessig hints that he would lean towards open code as his solution to the problem. The e-voting machine companies, such as Diebold, are against that idea as they feel their code is secret and also because they don't want to increase the chances that their code will be hacked.

This election, e-voting was a success. However, the race was not as close as it was the previous two elections. If that had been the case this time, who knows what problems would have surfaced, such as the 'hanging chad' fiasco. What if a recount needed to be done on a precinct that used DRE's? As mentioned before, the DRE's without printers do not provide a written confirmation of voter selections that can be audited after the fact. According to statistics gathered by the California Voter Foundation and the Verified Voting Foundation, use of DRE's has gone down 5% since the 2006 elections. Use of the Optical Scan has increased steadily, with a jump of 7% in the same time period (YubaNet.com). As a result of audit concerns, many states using DRE's have implemented the use of printers, but it is a process that takes time. According to Jeffrey Young of NewsVOA.com, adding this technology could be cost prohibitive for some smaller states and counties. The cost of the new equipment could reach millions of dollars.

Before this assignment, I never really thought about e-voting one way or the other. I went to the polls, filled out my ballot, and was on my way. However, things have changed. In our society of instant gratification, fast results are what people want. They don't want to wait a week or two while all the ballots are gathered and counted. I have to agree that it is nice to know who won within the same day, but what is the cost? Are we better off with the quick answer? Also, with the problems that occurred in the last two elections, have people become more mistrustful of the results? Something needs to be done to rebuild Americans' confidence in the election system. I believe it is up to election officials to ensure the accuracy and credibility of technological advances in voting options. They need to find a way to show us that every vote is being counted. With that being said, e-voting in should be used in future elections as long as efforts continue to correct identified problems.

References:

Alexander, K. & Smith, P. (2008). Verifying the Vote in 2008 Presidential Election Battleground States. Retrieved November 9, 2008 from http://yubanet.com/usa/Verifying-the-Vote-in-2008-Presidential-Election-Battleground-States.php

Lessig, L. (2006). Code 2.0. New York: Basic Books

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voting

Young, J. (2008). Observers Voice Concerns Over Electronic Voting for 2008 Presidential Race. Retrieved November 9, 2008 from http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-10/2007-10-29-voa37.cfm?CFID=63247370&CFTOKEN=77330201

Purchasing and Reputation Systems

What is the problem?

One of the problems that Public Administration faces is how better to select vendors or service providers. Governments are responsible for the careful spending of taxpayer's dollars. That responsibility is even more critical now with the current state of the economy. What is the best way to get the job done for the least cost? Perhaps the establishment of reputation systems based on vendors' past performance could be an additional tool for purchasers.

What is the current approach?

The existing process for inviting companies to bid is good. A request for proposals (RFP) is sent out to companies that provide the commodity or service required. The responses that are returned within the time frame are reviewed. However, this is the place where the system breaks down. It is the policy for most municipalities to select the low bidder almost exclusively, with very few exceptions. That is not always the best thing. Some vendors will underbid to make sure they get the job. This can lead to cost overruns on service projects, because the vendor will submit change orders later in the project for unexpected or unplanned costs. The job has to be completed, so it may be the case that the change orders will be approved and the project cost could increase beyond what another bidder's cost might have been.

What should the new approach be?

Sites already exist that can help consumers verify if the company that they intend to do business with is reputable. Two of them are the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and the Registrar of Contractors (ROC). However, these sites do not have information on every company in business. To rectify that, if customers are required to give a rating after they have completed their transaction with a business, information could be compiled and posted on a site accessible to any who are interested. Questions asked could include whether the job was completed on time, on budget, and with good customer service. Individual statistics as well as an overall rating could help consumers decide if they wish to do business with a specific vendor. In addition to the current process, having this information could assist municipalities in deciding what the likeliness is that a vendor will be able to complete the job as bid. This new approach is a combination of two of the four constraints Lessig introduced in his book, Code 2.0, Market and Norms.

Reputation systems do work. Ebay, Amazon, and other sites like them use them very successfully. Whether or not reputation systems are a viable option for this suggested application is unknown. Maybe an ambitious entrepreneur will think this is a great idea and start a new project.

References:

Lessig, Lawrence. Code 2.0. Chapter 7, "What Things Regulate", p. 122.

Court Recognizes Privacy Expectation in Text Message Contents

"Court Recognizes Privacy Expectation in Text Message Contents"
by Steven Ellis
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
June 19, 2008

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2008/quon061908.htm

This article discusses a court decision on whether or not it was a violation of privacy to access an employee's actual text messages.

Employees of the Ontario, California Police Department were issued pagers by the City. They were asked to sign off on the City's general policy related to internet and computer use. Among other things, the policy advised employees that they had no expectation of privacy with regards to computer usage. The policy did not specifically address pagers, so an informal policy was created which said that if the monthly 25,000 character limit was exceeded, the City must be reimbursed for the overage charges or the messages would be audited to see if they were personal or business related.

One officer, Jeff Quon, exceeded the limits on several occasions, leading to complaints from his lieutenant about having to collect the overage charges. The chief's response was to request the contents of the Quon's texts to verify if they were business related and to increase the character limit on his account if warranted. In fact many of the texts were personal, some even sexually explicit. When Quon found out that his texts had been audited, he filed a lawsuit alleging violation of his 4th amendment rights.

The court found for Quon, stating that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy according to the details of the department's informal policy. As long as he paid the overages, his messages would not be reviewed. The court felt that he could have been warned that if he did not stop going over his limit his messages would be reviewed.

As a Mesa employee, I am required to sign the computer usage policy every year with my review. The policy is very detailed, and it clearly outlines the violations and their related consequences. The City wants to make sure that no employee can say they were not aware of the policy if they are caught violating it. This article highlights the need for policies to be reviewed and updated as needed to keep up with changing technology use in the workplace.

As for the review of Quon's text messages, it seems that the chief did not have any qualms about accessing an employee's private information. He did not even consider that the informal department policy made his actions a violation of Quon's 4th amendment rights. As public administrators, we need to be aware of these laws so we don't make the same mistake.

Additional information:

An article posted by Sherman & Howard LLC gives more detail on this decision.

"Employer's Review of Employee's Text Messages is an Illegal Search"
by Sherman & Howard LLC
September 8, 2008

http://www.shermanhoward.com/NewsAndEvents/View/252D6045-5056-965B-E8A6094648148C6F/

BJ's Presentation on ICT Implementation

BJ did an excellent job of presenting the challenges faced by tribal governments involving the encouragement of citizen participation and the movement towards information and communication technologies (ICT) to face them. The creation of a website, www.mygilariver.com, was a great solution, and mirrors the steps the city, state, and federal governments have taken to increase citizen communication and participation. The goal to move towards facilitating services is the next logical step. E-government seems to be the wave of the future, and everyone is trying to catch it. Not only is it a better way to keep in touch with the community, it is more cost effective as well. Great presentation BJ!

See this comment also posted on BJ's Blog.

Slashdot

I had the most difficulty with this assignment. I started looking at articles on the site Thursday, and found the comments and replies disjointed and confusing. Many of the references are clearly technical or inside info/jokes. In many cases, they didn't even seem to have anything to do with the original post. I finally found one that seemed interesting, and below is my post. Because the original post on this was from 10/23, I don't know if I will receive a response or get rated up. I doubt I will ever go to this site again, as it really doesn't seem to have a lot of relevance for me.

Ask Slashdot: Alternatives to Daylight Saving Time?

Posted by timothy on Thursday October 23, @02:21PM
from the even-ben-franklin-made-some-whoppers dept

Re:Move to Arizona (Score:1)

by jackpinegirl (1394593) on Monday October 27, @12:33AM (#25523923)

I also grew up in Arizona. My family moved to Northern California (Napa) for 10 years, and when we came back, I didn't miss DST at all! (No offense Californians, but I don't miss CA either - earthquakes, twisty narrow roads, and the constant rain!) We don't need DST in Arizona. I can't imagine what it would be like to 'Spring Forward', and have sundown moved to even later. In the summer, the overnight low sometimes doesn't get below 90 degrees. I would not want to go to bed at 10:00 with the sun just going down and the temp at over 100. Don't get me wrong, I love hot weather and HATE the cold. This is my home, and not having DST is another great reason to stay here.

Facebook

I joined Facebook this week, though it is not something I would have done had it not been a class assignment. From my point of view, in the long run, it is another obligation against my very limited free time. I did find that it was very easy to get started. I was able to find more than 5 people to add as friends right away. Most of them are local family, but I also found one of my cousins from California.

I found the site to be very east to navigate, and was able to edit my privacy options right away. I have not had a chance to post a picture or to visit all my friends' sites, but I did post to my CA cousin's wall. I see how this site could be a great place to maintain long distance communications without having to write letters or to make phone calls, but I prefer to call or see my local friends. It definitely makes it easier for people to keep in touch with scattered relatives and friends. I also feel comfortable with this site, more so than Myspace. I like the fact that you have to approve anyone to be a friend, and that the privacy options allow you to limit who can see your personal information.

Meetup.com Event

Full Moon Hike

Nov 13

Thu 6:00 PM

Location

Papago Park

625 N Galvin Pkwy
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(602) 256-3220

Who’s coming?

10 Yes / 5 Maybe

Who's organizing?
P-kitty

Full Moon Hike
Papago Park

Trail: West Park Loop Trail

Length: 4 miles
Elevation gain: minimal, about 50 feet
Difficulty: Easy

This trail begins from the parking lot on the west side of Galvin Parkway. To the east of the parking lot is a single track, dirt trail that heads north towards the big buttes. It continues counterclockwise around the big butte and heads south around the smaller butte. It continues west around the golf course eventually leading back to the parking lot. This is an easy trail for hikers.

Meeting Location: TBA

Parking & Facilities: The parking lot located on the western end of Papago Park Drive has a drinking fountain, bike rack and picnic ramada with a few tables (not reservable). There are no restroom facilities on the west side of the park. (**Please note: though not indicated on the above map, West Park Drive has been closed to through traffic.)

Papago Park Trail Guide

Individual Paper Presentation

The Growth of E-Government:
Maintaining Service Levels Using Less Resources

Citizens both locally and around the world are placing increased demands on their governments. They have always demanded efficiency, accountability, and quality service. Now they also want government leaders to maintain the levels and quality of service they are receiving without having to pay more money for it. It is within their rights to make such demands, since it is their money that is being spent. In this current economic crisis, their concerns of service reductions are justified with the looming budget cuts that will require staff layoffs which could in turn result in service cutbacks. Mesa had to make the difficult choice to reduce services in the past due to budget pressures and the rejection of a primary property tax by voters.

Advances in information technology and communications over the past decade have given governments a reliable and efficient way to serve and communicate with their citizens through the internet. Web sites are not just for information anymore. Also, most governments provide intranet access specifically for their employees to help them with communication, information gathering, and providing efficient customer service. The explosion of internet use over the past 20 years proves that the trend toward e-services is the way to go. The internet has gone from less than 1 million users in 1990, to 1.418 million as of May of 2008. Clearly many citizens would jump at the opportunity to use e-services.

From this, it is reasonable to assume that a solution that could help governments to maintain services while still reducing costs is the implementation of e-government services. E-government is the use of any information or communication technologies (IT or ICT) needed to assist in the day-to-day administration of government. E-government could help to transform administration of services into a leaner and more cost-effective proposition. It could improve communications at all levels of government, from customer to city manager. Additionally, e-government could increase the efficiency of operations by changing processes, reducing costs, preventing duplication of work and promoting information sharing. Services such as utility bill payments, ticket purchases, payment of court costs and fines, access to library catalogs and services, registration and payment for city offered classes, applying for jobs, paying for building permits, and reserving rooms for special events could easily be handled on a government’s web site.

Governments both need and want to be responsive to their citizens. They are also required to be fiscally responsible with the money entrusted to them by the taxpayers. The success of government leaders is increasingly being measured by the benefits they are creating for their citizens and their communities. Offering e-government services that require minimal staff time to administer is a solution that meets the requirements of maintaining service and quality levels at reduced cost. The success of these various services can prevent future additional reductions in city services such as those that have been enacted in recent years in Mesa.

Citizen Participation

Citizen participation in Arizona government is available in almost any form imaginable. For example, the City of Mesa's website states that any citizen "... can take an active role in shaping Mesa government policies, programs and decisions". Some examples of citizen participation listed on the website include voting in elections, volunteering for an advisory board, volunteering to help out in different city departments, speaking at council meetings, being a neighborhood representative, or even seeking elective office. With so many options, it is likely that an interested person would find at least one of them to be appealing. The City encourages such participation to ensure that any decisions they make will correctly reflect the will of the people. Additionally, having such participation can help to ensure that small groups with special interests do not make all the decisions that affect the entire community.

With the current economic situation, there is a vital need for citizen volunteers to support City programs. Individuals can volunteer at either of the City's museums, with the options of working in the museum store or leading guided tours of the facility. The libraries are always looking for volunteers to shelve books, staff the Friends of the Library book sale desk, or to deliver books to the homebound. The cemetery is looking for people to help with the maintenance of markers, the cleaning of vases, and arranging flowers. These are just a few of the opportunities available. There are so many more. According to Mesa's website, in 2007, volunteers provided almost 270,000 hours of service. Estimates are that the City saved more than $5,000,000 because of their help.

While volunteering is critical to the City, participation through advisory boards may be more so. Mesa's website lists more than 20 boards to choose from. These can vary from design review boards to personnel appeals boards. Citizens participating on the design review board can offer their opinions and recommendations based on their area of expertise, such as architecture, engineering, or contracting. Those on a personnel appeals board are expected to be objective third parties conducting hearings and making recommendations about employee disciplinary actions. These boards are important because the City needs checks and balances to ensure fair treatment both to its employees and citizens.

The article by Irvin and and Stansbury discussed the pro and cons of citizen participation. The point they are trying to make is that citizen participation isn't always the path to the best results. They list the advantages and disadvantages that are involved when citizens participate in policy-making endeavors. One of the advantages is the benefit of knowledge. As mentioned above, citizens can bring their specific knowledge, experience, and expertise to help governments make good decisions in the process of adopting laws, making budgetary decisions, or even in planning the design and location of a park. Another plus is the fact that participation brings ownership. When people are involved in the decision making process, they feel they have contributed to a satisfactory solution and are more likely to buy in to it. Also, and maybe most importantly, having citizen involvement keeps the lines of communication open. This prevents the appearance of secretive or dictatorial behavior.

Disadvantages are more related to appearance and opinion. Apathy is probably the worst. People simply don't believe that they have the authority to assist in any decisions, or that their opinion is important enough to count. Or maybe they feel that someone else will stand up for them. Also, if they don't believe that there is a concern, they just aren't interested enough to even take part. Another problem is dealing with special interest groups. They get a small following all whipped up about a specific subject, and then they dominate the debate and poor decisions may result. Another problem is cost and implementation of decisions. It may be that there is a difference between what the citizens want and what the City can afford. This problem can lead to disillusionment, which can result once again in apathy. Irvin and Stansbury identified some indicators that can help with making the decision whether to invite citizen participation or not. When citizens are involved, the authors stress the need for regular meeting, clear lines of authority, trust, and the availability of sufficient financial resources for implementation. If governments follow these recommendations, they have a good chance of success in their final decisions.

Public administrators need to be clear on the pros and cons of citizen participation, and to know how to deal with challenges as they occur. The ability to interact diplomatically with the public is a skill that should be sought by any who are interested in entering the public service.

References:

City of Mesa website: cityofmesa.org.

Irvin, R.A., & Stansbury, J. (2004). Citizen Participation in Decision Making: Is It Worth the Effort? PAR, Vol 64, No 1, 55-65.

Abstract

With the advances in technology that have occurred over the last decade, governments are turning more and more to the internet as a way to serve and communicate with their citizens. The increased demand for responsible use of taxpayer funds has lead to a reduction in government employees. Government agencies are being told that they need to run leaner while still maintaining current levels and quality of service. Additionally, the general mistrust that government has always had to deal with has increased over recent years. One answer to these concerns has been for agency websites to move from strictly informational to include services as well. More customers can be served though the use of e-government using less resources. There is also a belief that having a reliable place to go for information, to have questions answered, and to pay bills or buy permits, will go a long way to reducing the mistrust of citizens towards their government.

Resources that may be used for this paper include: Various articles from the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, and Political Science Quarterly, as well as others not yet identified.

WOW and 2nd Life

I have never participated in either of these games before. Between family, work, and school, I have never been able to find the time or the inclination. I have to say it was a very interesting experience.

It was easy to get started in 2nd life. I spent some time at the welcome island, and got familiar with how things worked. There were many different types of help available. I watched some interactive billboards, read different types of messages, and talked to others. After finding advertisements for different 'places', I tried teleporting to them. Some places were busier than others. The characters were very strange. Many players chose to have very different shapes. One person I saw was a huge balloon bunny in red, white, and blue. Very different! I was mostly ignored, and spent my time flying around and checking things out. I thought it was pretty boring.

It was also very easy to get started in World of Warcraft. I created my player, and selected a world. The game gave instructions and tips as you followed each step. I spent a little time familiarizing myself with how to talk to others and how to navigate my player. Then I just stated playing. I found someone who had a quest for me, and I used my map and the hints to figure out how to complete it. It was fun finding my way back and picking up another. I interacted with some other players, and had some fun exploring and using all the tools and items I was carrying.

Overall, I definitely preferred WOW, and I may even go back and play again, if I have time! I don't intend to ever go back to 2nd Life.

Possible Paper Topics

Digital Governance

Domestic E Government

E Communities/Competition

Favorite Line #2

The searchable is the part of your life that leaves, or is, a record. (Chapter 11, Privacy, p. 202)

We leave records everywhere we go. Our ancestors left us letters and pictures. We all buy possessions to surround ourselves with that make us happy or enhance our lives. We join different institutions which assign numbers to identify us such as banks, schools, libraries, museums, etc. We sign guest books at weddings and funerals. We sign our friends' yearbooks, and our family's birthday cards. We leave parts of ourselves all over like permanent fingerprints. It proves that we existed, we were there. I just liked the thought of continuity that this line evoked.

Favorite Line #1

We reveal to the world a certain class of data about ourselves that we ordinarily expect the world not to use. What happens when they use it? (Chapter 10, Intellectual Property, p. 191)

These lines caught my attention because we are in a world that revolves around data. We give information out for one reason, and businesses are asking for it for another. One example is your shopper's card that you use at the local grocery store. You want to get one in order to take advantage of all the great savings, they want you to get one so they can learn about your buying habits. Do we think about how they are going to use the data that they are gathering? How many people actually consider that question? I don't have the data to answer that but I could start gathering it...

Analysis

"Sharing 2999 Songs, 199 Movies Becomes 'Safe' in Germany"
By enigmax
August 14, 2008
TorrentFreak

This article addresses the German music industry's concern about copyright infringement due to file-sharing. File-sharing refers to the transfer of digital files though a network. One of the most common ways to do this is using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. Examples of P2P's include Limewire or Napster. To stop this activity, the industry has been threatening legal action against any offenders that have been identified for them by anti-P2P tracking organizations such as Logistep AG and Digiprotect. According to the article, in many cases the legal action is not carried out, but used as leverage to get the offenders to pay for the downloaded files. Prosecutors in the Nort-Rhine Westphalia area are being overloaded with these cases. Their solution has been to refuse to prosecute any cases where less than 3000 songs or 200 movies have been shared.

The issues in conflict here are music industry revenue losses vs. the freedom of sharing music or movies purchased for personal use. The music industry is concerned that if people can get songs for free on the internet, they won't buy cd's, and they will go out of business. They are fighting for their livelihood. On the other hand, people who have purchased the music and just want to share it with their friends don't see the problem.

An alternative way to deal with this issue could be for the music industry to market a non-copiable cd/dvd for a lower price, and raise the price of the one without copy restrictions. Customers may be willing to buy the cheaper cd and avoid the threat of legal action for having too many files-share files on their computer. Those who still want to share their music can pay the higher price. In chapter seven of Code 2.0, Lessig describes this as an example of using the market and architecture constraints to regulate behavior.

The difference in value or issue conflicts are the same in both solutions. The music industry wants to protect it revenue stream, and it uses copyright law to do so. On the other hand, customers who have legitimately bought music and want to share it for personal use only, feel they should have a right to do so. Who is wrong? I don't agree that any copyright law has been violated if a purchased cd is shared with friends or family. I do agree that commercial use of the cd should be prosecuted as a violation. Wiser heads than mine have been debating this problem for years, and the 'right' solution has yet to have been discovered. We will just have to watch and see how this plays out.

Agree

I agree with Jessica Jenkins' response to the Malone reading in regards to the drawbacks of technology versus face-to-face communication. We have all taken classes in communication and have learned about all the visual and aural clues underlying the message being communicated. Our language is rich with volume and tone, facial movements, and gestures. An email could never replicate that, and can easily be taken the wrong way or be misinterpreted without such clues. We all know that video conferencing and web cams can give you images and sound, but these tools are not really a replacement for personal interaction. Jessica sums it up nicely by stating that "...communication technology can lead to more choices, but should not be a substitute for face-to-face interaction."

Disagree

I agree with the spirit of David Walker's response to the Malone reading, but I have to disagree with his definition of freedom. Freedom is exactly what it says it is - the ability to do whatever you want. Most of us are constrained by society to stay within certain boundaries. Clearly our success as a society reflects that most of us respect social mores, family teachings, and the threat of punishment. Our constitutionally protected freedoms are what we fought and died for, and I for one would not like to see them taken away. However, as the examples in Lessig's book show, the internet is an outlet for those who can anonymously exercise their freedom to engage in aberrant behavior. I would venture to say that we in this class are responsible and exercise our freedom wisely without infringing on others while continuing to provide excellent service to the public.

Malone Reading

Malone's views on the movement from decentralization, to centralization, and back are very interesting. He suggests that the decreasing cost of communications is the common thread. While I agree with the possibility, I think it is too simplistic. He asks why there was no change for thousands of years, and then in 200 years radical changes occurred. This same argument could be applied to the industrial revolution. Why did we struggle for so long and then within a short period move to machines and mass production? Malone touches on the conquering and assimilation of many societies, which has been a recurring theme in the history of man. But why did the conquered not simply run off and reform their bands? Because they had left their hunting and gathering and tied themselves to the land. Their choices were to assimilate or abandon their livelihoods. Those in power knew this, and were able to use their military power to increase the boundaries of their kingdoms. What choice would we make if confronted with this decision?

So why should this movement towards centralization be tied to communication costs? People naturally congregated together in areas conducive to the lifestyle they chose. Also, as Malone mentioned, people developed specializations that were desired by others. It was easier for groups to live together and share their knowledge and abilities with each other. Eventually, this led to the realizations that larger groups were safer and better able to fight off aggressive neighbors. Eventually, leaders will emerge when large groups form, and power is willingly surrendered to the one who is willing to take all the responsibility and stress. As we all know, power can corrupt, and in many cases those who were in charge became greedy and felt that they had the right to take more than they deserved because they were the hard working protectors of the group. With the pattern established, it became easy for those in power to find those of like mind to join them and to help them become dictators and rulers.

That being said, I can see how falling communication costs gave people the opportunity to educate themselves and to encourage others to do the same. As awareness of abuses of power became more apparent, some people would have communicated this information to others and encouraged revolt. Clearly that has happened successfully in our history, and could be attributed to a greater ease of mass communication. As I sad in the beginning, I believe that lower communication cost played a part, but I don't believe that it is the sole factor.