In the 2010s, Americans who use the Internet are in the 80s percentile range. In 2000, it was 46%, and in 2005, it was 68%. But this number also means as of 2013, around 38 million Americans are without Internet access. Let’s examine the reasons.
Economics have a? role to play. Of those surveyed who don’t use the Internet, 19% say that can’t afford a computer neither/nor an Internet provider service. Some say that lack online service in their local area. But let’s look at the other 66%. This group will tell you it’s simply by choice. This group says it’s not relative to them and simply want no part of it. They also say they’re so concerned with issues from spam to hackers to privacy rights, that they feel safer if they don’t log on at all. The majority of non-Internet users are over 65. Only 8% of off-line Americans say they even have the desire to get back on.
There’s quite a few observations here. First, if? people don’t want to use the Internet for various reasons, more power to them. Who are we to tell them how to conduct their lives? But my concern is the minority who can’t afford it or have access to it. In 2013 America, that has to change. Thankfully, there are public libraries virtually in every county in the US that will let you use computers for free. All you need is to get their local library card. Yes, there are time limits and censor filters for naughty websites, but at lest those who want to use the Web can do so. But there are some who can’t even get to their local library. What about people living in extremely rural areas? How do those who want to get online do so? There is a movement among some online movers and shakers to make sure everyone has access to being online. In this day and age, should online access be a right to all Americans?
China is one of the fastest growing powerhouses today on the world stage. But it’s also notorious for censorship. But that’s changing…somewhat.
The Chinese government is lifting the ban on social media sites Twitter and? Facebook…that is, if you’re in the Shanghai free trade zone. Hong Kong is already a free trade zone, so they already enjoy these freedoms. The three big state owned communication companies gave little or no complaint as the ruling came down. The social media ban started in 2009. But lots has changed, like revolutionary protests caught on camera in the Middle East. Heaven forbid if that kind of instability happens in China. Think it can’t happen? Well, I read it has one of the biggest economic gaps in the world. And who remembers Tienanmen Square back in 1989?
This is a huge step for China economically. It’s mighty difficult to grow globally when foreign traders can’t even get a hold of you due to censorship. One anonymous Chinese official said this. “If they can’t get onto Facebook or read the New York Times, they may naturally wonder how the free-trade zone is compared with the rest of China.” And note that Hong Kong and Shanghai are the top tourist friendly areas in China.
But these free trade zones only represent a small percentage of the Chinese land and Chinese people. The Shanghai free trade zone is less than 29 square kilometers. Think about how big the Chinese populous is. There is talk that social media bans will be lifted throughout the country in the next several years. These are great steps in the right direction, but I think more needs to be done. If they’re going to continue to shine economically, they need to open up social media and cut down censorship for all. But it’s more than that. Think of the message they would send socially and globally if every Chinese citizen have the exact same freedoms we in the USA take for granted? Isn’t that even more important?
The 65th annual Emmy awards aired last night, honoring the best in television during the last 12 months. There were lots of surprises. But there was one moment that 10 years ago would have been impossible.
The drama House of Cards won an Emmy last night. It’s director, David Fincher, took home best directing for a drama series. What makes this unique is House of Cards can only be seen online on Netflix. This is the first time in history an exclusively online show won an Emmy. They also won for cinematography and creative arts. Those two were given in a private ceremony, but Fincher’s award was given during the show, putting this tremendous feat on a public national forum. Keep in mind House of Cards was nominated for 9 Emmys, and that Nelflix has over 30 million streamers, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.
This is a great sign for online entertainment. And Netflix isn’t the only one. I saw a report on CBS This Morning talked about the rise of You Tube shows. I heard one You Tube producer say he wouldn’t put his program on mainstream TV unless they made him a huge offer, due to the creative freedoms You Tube gives him. You can get Netflix for a little as eight dollars a month. That beats what a lot of cable companies right now. I heard some families are hooking up their computers to their big screen TVs not to watch prime time TV, but You Tube channels! And now an exclusive Netflix show is getting Emmy awards and this kind of recognition? Is streaming online entertainment the future of visual TV?
Okay, I’d better clarify that! Since it’s inception in late 2005, You Tube has released countless videos. They now average billions of hours of videos every month. Now, you no longer have to be online to get this phenomenon.
Effective next month, you can save clips on your portable device for 2 days, and you can watch them when you’re offline. Advertisers will still tout their products, which I’m sure is good news for them. You Tube will be still be free for the viewer, which is good news for me and you. For You Tube video producers, they can option out of the offline option. Why would they want to?
No, I don’t see a downside to this at all. You may say, “Everyplace has wi-fi or online access these days.” Not really. Imagine being in a car with three bad kids, and offline You Tube is the only thing calming them down. I know places, like my gym, that doesn’t have online access. Don’t get me started on airplanes, where in many cases, in-flight entertainment is now a fond memory. Offline You Tube will be a true plus over a crying baby or arguing couple or a disgruntle customer complaining to a flight attendant about everything!? This is good for advertisers too. This frees up more space for more companies to hack more products. I know these commercials can get annoying at times. But I’d rather watch the same You Tube commercial 10 times a day then to pay for You Tube out my own pocket! What do you think about offline You Tube?
Back in 2009, due to an uprising, Iran’s government blocked and censored social media sites in an attempt to slow down protests and demonstrations. They found software to hook up to networks outside the country to show their struggle to the world.
Isn’t that supposed to teach Iranian leaders about censorship? Apparently not. Their Facebook and Twitter rights have been taken away after some found they could get around the gov’t blockage they set up back in 2009. Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. He’s considered a moderate by many people. He promises to reduce censorship. Some of Rouhani’s cabinet members even have Facebook and Twitter accounts. It’s believed many anti-censorship groups have tasseled with censors over blocked Web sites. And for a while, the anti-censorship groups opened glitches to expose Facebook and Twitter. But the Iranian censors took back Web control and the blocking went back on.
You know, with all the problems our nation has, we should consider ourselves blessed. We are fortunate to live in a country where we can log on social media sites without blockage or censorship. That’s why I’m so weay about the NSA surveillance scandals because I worry about what it could lead to. But yes, we should all be thankful our leaders will never have the power Iran does pull this injustice. I’d encourage those in Iran who are fighting censorship to keep fighting the good fight. They did back in 2009, and opened all our eyes to what goes on in that land. Now I’m nobody to tell people how to run their country. But I believe all should have an opportunity to have access through social media. Shouldn’t every peace loving peace loving person have that right?
It amazes me how things can change so fast, especially in the tech industry. By 2010-11 social gaming network Zynga was riding high. Games like Farm Ville and City Ville were household names and kids’ hobbies. It got on the NYSE and acquired 11 companies. But today, Zynga is on the brink of extinction.
In retrospect, 2010 was the only year Zynga made a profit. The fact of the matter is, since it’s creation in 2007, they’ve lost hundreds of millions. Stocks that were once near $15 are now $3 a share. At their peak, active monthly users were over 300 million. Now, they hover around 125 million and falling. Employees are being laid off hundreds at a time. And experts say there’s no end in sight. So what happened to this once promising company? Shady and borderline shameful?business?practices are what happened. Players were offered credits and hook-ups if they accepted some offer. According to a statement by founder Mark Pincus, “…I needed revenue right now. I mean we gave our?users poker chips if they downloaded this zwinky toolbar…”. Many believe the games created where knock-offs of other video games. Zynga partnered with Facebook. But it wasn’t long before FB changed it’s policy, in part due to Zynaga’s ‘spam mechanism’. Soon, game users on Facebook dropped by 26%.
Wow, this almost reads like a Greek or film noir tragedy. All it took were just a couple of bad choices and questionable habits to unravel the whole operation. Maybe Zynga can learn from these mistakes and make a comeback. They still have some profit left. Maybe they can hire a gaming consultant and come up with an original idea, instead of borrowing from others so heavily. That’s just a suggestion. With what little revenue they have, they can use better advertising methods. Some don’t cost very much at all. What lessons can be learned from Zynga’s downfall?
