WhatsApp controls.

20

October

2017

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Ever since in WhatsApp has been taken over by Facebook, the company is being criticized for privacy concerns. Aren’t we giving this one company to much personal information? Voluntarily even! At the same time that WhatsApp is changing, it also growing. Making WhatsApp more powerful than anyone had ever thought.

In 2014 WhatsApp was bought by Facebook, a company that is making money out of data, gathered from their users. Facebook is a platform, that initially earns money by collecting data from users and sells advertisements based on user’s information. Also, some other, more recent changes in WhatsApp’s policy raise many concerns: in 2016 WhatsApp introduces blue read notifications, putting your privacy towards your friends and acquaintances at risk. In the same year WhatsApp also updates its privacy regulations, handing their selves a little bit more power. (Mijn Online Identiteit, 2017), (iCulture, 2017a).

This year, in 2017, WhatApp again launches a new feature, now making it possible to share your location via WhatsApp. It shouldn’t be news WhatsApp already knows where you are most of the time, but now actually dares to stresses the fact they know where you are, all the time. You can use the software to share your real-time location, this way family and friends can follow every movement, without even having to ask you. You don’t even have to go online for this feature. (Perez, 2017).

In 2016 WhatsApp decides to respond to the request of both the uses and government, WhatsApp introduces end-to-end encryption. End-to-end encryption secures extra safety: messages and calls are now encrypted, which means no-one else, but you and your partner in dialogue can access your conversation. This has been a moving change and an enormous investment for WhatsApp, with which they really show they do care about your privacy. However, users shouldn’t get too enthusiastic about this change too fast. As your messages and conversation are probably still not a 100% save, mostly due to unsecured, online, back-up services many people use. (iCulture, 2017b)

But even if WhatsApp itself, would try its absolute best to protect all user data, the question should be raised whether it ever is a good idea to store so much information, from so many people, within the same system. Shouldn’t we see this last update as a warning? A warning that the Whatsapp-Facebook company probably already has too much power, and is still expanding.
Bibliography
1. Mijn Online Identiteit (2017). Blauwe vinkjes WhatsApp uitzetten voor Android en IOS. Retrieved from https://www.mijnonlineidentiteit.nl/blauwe-vinkjes-whatsapp-uitzetten/, viewed 19-10-2017.
2. ICulture (2017). WhatsApp en privacy: zo hou je zelf controle over je data. Retrieved from https://www.iculture.nl/gids/whatsapp-privacy-beveiliging-encryptie/, viewed 19-10-2017.
3. ICulture (2017). WhatsApp is nu op alle toestellen beveiligd met end-to-end-encryptie. Retrieved from https://www.iculture.nl/nieuws/whatsapp-end-to-end-encryptie-geactiveerd/, viewed 20-10-2017.
4. Perez, S. (2017). WhatsApp tests real-time location sharing in its app. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/03/whatsapp-tests-real-time-location-sharing-in-its-app/, viewed 19-10-2017.

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My jacket is smarter than yours.

20

October

2017

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A smartjacket… It’s like a smartwatch, for people that don’t like watches. Wearable electronics, it is becoming more and more popular. And why wouldn’t it? The probability of losing it, or getting it stolen in a club, is way smaller and at the same time you can make a fashion statement!

The ultimate goal of this so called “smart clothing”, is full integration of electronics into fashion. Integration of these two industries is the future for both the clothing, as the electronic industry, since collaboration will create added value for both industries. The production of interactive textiles, seems to have endless opportunities and can be useful for many different purposes. The military, public safety, healthcare, but also fitness, could all potentially benefit from the emerge of smart clothing. (Ariyatum et al., 2003), (The Guardian, 2017).

In the current digital world, most people are expected to be online 24 hours a day. Whether this is for business or family, the present norm is to be online whenever and wherever. This creates a double-faced situation: on the one hand, people are expected to stay live, on the other hand people get more and more annoyed by people who are constantly checking their phone. And I agree; it doesn’t look nice when your dinner date keeps checking his phone every two minutes. Well, this is the point smart clothes come in handy. You are now enabled to stay live in a much more subtitle way. (Park et al., 2003).

Since cycling while texting is an emerging problem, I think the topic of smart clothing becomes interesting. It has been proven to be very dangerous when you’re cycling, but keep looking at your screen (Kyle, 2017). Smart clothes might encounter this problem. And yes, it might be argued, wearing smart clothes will encourage people to check their messages and notification at all times. You don’t have to take your cell phone out of your pocket anymore. No. Your notifications are just right in front of you. All. The. Time.

But when you are checking your status while cycling, the use of smart clothes make it less dangerous. You can keep both hands on your steering wheel and in addition, the screen is much bigger, and positioned in a better way.

And the best is yet to come. As smart clothes have the ability to register every movement, your clothes will know whether you’re cycling, driving or walking. Your clothes can now make the decision for you, whether you, in that moment, should be online. A similar concept arose about two months ago; KPN launched a bicycle lock that blocks cell phone activities for as long as it is unlocked (De Beurs, 2017). With the aid of this lock, children aren’t able to use their phone while cycling. This same concept could, in the near future, be adopted by smart clothing, creating saver world.

Looking from a social-, time-management, safety ánd fashion- perspective, smart clothing seems to possess all the ingredients needed to become a great success.

Bibliography
1. Ariyatum, B., & Holland, R. (2003). A strategic approach to new product development in smart clothing. In Proceedings of the 6th Asian Design Conference (Vol. 70).
2. De Beurs (2017) Slim fietsslot blokkeert smartphonegebruik. Retrieved from https://www.debeurs.nl/Beursnieuws/ANP-210617-089/Slim-fietsslot-blokkeert-smartphonegebruik.aspx, viewed 06-10-2017.
3. Kyle, S. (2017). The connected Commuter jacket from Google and Levi’s is finally coming this fall. The Technews. Retrieved from http://thetechnews.com/2017/03/13/the-connected-commuter-jacket-from-google-and-levis-is-finally-coming-this-fall/, viewed 06-10-2017.
4. Park, S., & Jayaraman, S. (2003). Smart textiles: Wearable electronic systems. MRS bulletin, 28(8), 585-591.
5. The Guardian (2017). Jacquard: Google and Levi’s ‘smart jacket’ that you can only wash 10 times. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/26/jacquard-google-levis-smart-jacket-denim, viewed 06-10-2017.

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Technology of the Week – The Disruption of the Internet on the Newspaper Industry (Group 26)

5

October

2017

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In a rapidly changing world, the newspaper industry is experiencing some rough water. With the rise of the Internet, it appears news can be created and accessed by everyone, which endangers the revenue model behind newspapers.

The first traditional newspaper appears in 1605, this paper was completely written by hand (MDR, 2011). Hence, these papers were very expensive and only available for the elite. This all changed with the invention of printing (Bellis, M). In 1833 the penny press arises; newspapers are now sold for only 1 cent, which makes news available for everyone (Economist, 2011). Around 1950, the newspaper industry is highly profitable, mainly due to prosperity and advertising revenues. However, in 2000 Web 2.0 is brought to life and the industry drastically changes. (Picard, 2008).

A industry disruption is set in motion due to a change in frequency and reach (Doctor, 2015). Traditionally, newspapers are tangible goods and news is shared offline, which limits the above mentioned characteristics. To elaborate on this disruption, Porter’s Five Forces model is applied (Porter, 2008). With the rise of the Internet, the threat of new entrants also increases. Anyone can publish on the Internet. Since there are so many potential suppliers, their bargaining power has decreased. Threat of substitutes has increased: platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are capable of delivering news just as well. To make matters worse, the bargaining power of buyers has also increased. Since news is everywhere, and mostly free, customers are not purely dependent on newspapers anymore. All in all, a higher industry rivalry has emerged. (Shapiro, 1998).

Companies are already adapting to the distion. Some have digitized their traditional paper, which increases user friendliness. Others have started a collaboration with (social) media companies. And still others have created an entire new business model. Blendle is an example of such a disruptive innovation. This platform not only personalizes the product, it also enables customers to pay for only specific articles. (Rogers, 2017).

In a world where everything is getting more personalized (Chen et al., 2012), we expect the newspaper industry to do the same. Blendle is already taking a step in this direction. Prices of news might, in the future, be purely determined according to the prediction of how a person would value a certain article. Secondly, we predict, bundled information will be offered to highly specialized niche markets. Filtering out irrelevant information and offering unique content to these niche markets, will create complete ease for customers. Specialized advertisements can be used in niche markets, resulting in higher revenue. (Sambrook, 2017).

To conclude, the Internet has put pressure on the newspaper industry. At this moment, solutions are developed to conquer this, if possible. We expect that in the future personalized pricing will arise and bundled information will be offered to specialized niches markets.

 

References

  1. Bellis, M. (2017) Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/johannes-gutenberg-and-the-printing-press-1991865.
  2. Chen, H., Chiang, R. H., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business intelligence and analytics: From big data to big impact. MIS quarterly, 36(4).
  3. Doctor, K. (2015). Newsonomics: The Financial Times triples its profits and swaps champagne flutes for martini glasses. Retrieved from http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/02/newsonomics-the-financial-times-triples-its-profits-and-swaps-champagne-flutes-for-martini-glasses/.
  4. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (2011). In Leipzig wurde 1650 die Tageszeitung erfunden. Retrieved from http://www.mdr.de/zeitreise/weitere-epochen/neuzeit/zeitungsgeschichte100.html.
  5. Picard, R. G. (2008). Shifts in newspaper advertising expenditures and their implications for the future of newspapers. Journalism Studies, 9(5), 704-716.
  6. Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40.
  7. Rogers, Tony. (2017, May 7). How Can Newspapers Remain Profitable in the Digital Media Age? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-can-newspapers-remain-profitable-2074032.
  8. Sambrook, R. (2017). Stop press? Last words on the future of newspapers. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/stop-press-last-words-on-the-future-of-newspapers-a7558006.html.
  9. Shapiro, C., and Varian, H. 1998. Pricing Information. In Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
  10. The Economist (2011). Reinventing the newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/18904178.

 

Group members – Group 26   

  1. Marilou Das – 401712
  2. Eva Kustermans – 386411
  3. Bart van Lunteren – 386610
  4. Gozewien de Wekker – 379700

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