Homeworkassignment Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding

24

October

2013

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There are a lot of examples of crowdfunding. The reason behind this is the fact that crowdfunding is very popular nowadays. But not every crowdfunding project has a happy ending. Not all projects can reach their funding goal.

The first example I want to show is the Ouya gameconsole. With a goal to raise $950.000 in 30 days, it was already a pretty big project. But they never thought it would be so popular, that they raised $8,596,474 when the campaign ended. This was one of the most successful crowdfundingprojects of Kickstarter.

The Ubuntu Edge, a yet to be created and released smartphone by Canonical, tried to raise $32 million in 30 days using IndieGoGo. They never managed to reach that amount, but they do have the record of largest amount raised in a crowdfunding campagin, having rasied a total of $12.8 million.

In this case, the strength of Ouya, was the weakness of the Ubuntu Edge. Ouya had a lower entrance barrier, a better known product and also a much better marketing. The Ubuntu Edge had a pretty good product, but it wasn’t well known due to their operating system. They had a high entrance barrier and their marketing was lacking. The exposure of the Ubuntu Edge was too small, and thus hampering the performance of the crowdfunding campaign.

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#Donate #Organ #Yolo – A new trend

13

October

2013

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Worldwide, a lot of people are waiting for an organ transplant.  The procedure is very time consuming. First you need to apply for a transplant, then they have to find the right person with the right conditions for the organ. The waiting time can be very long, and not everyone has the time to wait.

But a new trend is upcoming: using social media to find an organ. By launching online petitions or soliciting donors on Facebook, some patients can find an organ faster than via the normal way.

Here’s an example: Jerry Wilde, a college professor in Indiana, was desperately needing a kidney. He first updated his status by stating that he needed a kidney. A student who saw that, thought it wouldn’t reach a large audience, so instead, she created a Facebook page. Shortly after launching the page, a woman Jerry didn’t know wanted to become his kidney donor. After corresponding on Facebook, the kidney is now inside the body of Jerry.

But using this method can make organ donations unfair. If you’re for example young and very attractive, the chance of getting an organ is higher than if you’re old and/or ugly. Also doctors are afraid that this is going to be a ‘popularity contest’, rather than just saving the person.

What do you think? Is this the future of organ donations? Do you think this is going to be fair or that it really depends on your look? And is this going to shorten the already too long waiting list?

Sources: TheVerge, NewYorker

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Social media and your privacy: Not Safe Anymore?

12

September

2013

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Social media is fun to use. You can share a lot of things with people around the world with just a few clicks. You can share more things with friends closer to you. Your name, date of birth, where you live, who your friends are etc. A lot of information. So much information, that you can tell where a person is at that moment, just based on the information on your social profile.

New Social media Application: NSA
And that’s something one organization knows what to do with it: the NSA. So what can the NSA do? Well, a lot of things:
– Read your emails? Sure.
– Listen while you Skype with someone? I’m on it.
– Need an extra like on your photo on Facebook? NSA can give his opinion.
– Do you feel alone when you browse the Internet? Not anymore thanks to NSA!
– Worried about losing data on your smartphone? NSA makes a backup for you!

It’s actually worrisome how much possibilities the NSA has. Your personal life is all stored in the datacenter of the NSA. We all assume that this is securely stored in the servers of the NSA. With all these smart people there, you would think that they would have the best security in there. Except for one. And that’s this guy.

Edward Snowden. Without him, we wouldn’t even know the existence of PRISM, the program to track shady people on the world. He still have information with him, that is not released yet.

Not only the NSA
But enough about the NSA. Because without the NSA, your privacy still isn’t save. Cookies are small pieces of data stored on your computer when you are browsing the Internet. They can collect your browsing behavior, in order to ‘enhance the experience on the Internet‘. I mean, there is no other way they can remember your searches and clicks on their website.

All those fun apps you install on your smartphone. Have you ever actually looked what these apps can do? When you download an app on the Google Play Store, it shows what permissions it need to function. But certain apps, like some games, need to read your call log for example. Why does a game need to know who called me or who I’ve called?

Privacy and security
When you store data on the internet and social media applications, you assume they’re safe, unless someone knows your password. So the first thing you need to do is create a strong password. This story gives a good example how to create a strong password that is also easy to remember.
But a strong password is not enough. The other side (the website) needs to store it securely. Unfortunately, that’s often a problem.

To enhance the security further, you can opt for ‘Two-step authentication‘. It works like this: you have a password for a website that supports ‘Two-step authentication’. You also need a smartphone that supports the ‘Two-step authentication‘ app (in this example Android phone users). When you log in to that website, it asks you to enter the 6-digit code that’s generated by the app on your smartphone. That way, even though your password has been compromised, the thieves still need the 6 digit-code generated on your smartphone. Websites that supports ‘Two-step authentication’ are for example Gmail, Hotmail, Facebook, Dropbox and Twitter. I highly recommend to use ‘Two-step authentication’.

Do you value your privacy?
Friends of mine always ask why I protect my smartphone, have such a strong password and double the security on my devices. The answer is very simple: I just don’t like people that mess with my data without my permission. It also gives them too much power when they have access to my information. Yes, they can use it just for fun, but there are some cases where it is done for revenge.

When I ask them why they don’t protect their smartphones etc, one friend replied with:

I don’t care, they can know everything about me. I have no secrets to hide.

So in return, I asked him to give his PIN-code of his bank account. He didn’t give it to me, because it’s private. Funny, right?

So what about you? Do you value your privacy? Do you mind what the NSA is doing? Do you also change your behavior, due to the abilities of the NSA? And do you protect your privacy (as in a secure smartphone, laptop, login)?

All sources are hidden in the text as URL’s. The same goes for images. When you click on an image, it will redirect you to the original source. Meanwhile, the NSA has collected valuable information about you.

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Social Media: Win and Fails

8

September

2013

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Social media is hip, trending and booming. And that’s something companies also know. Many companies nowadays have a Facebook and/or Twitter account, where they can put their latest news and announcements. But they also often use social media to help their (potential) customers. If they manage to help a customer, it will create a positive image of the company, which can be seen by people who are online connected to the company or customer. It’s also an easy and cheap way to promote your brand.

But there also lies a potential danger. The social media account of the company can be seen by a lot of people. If you do it correctly, you’ll get positive feedback and image. But if you do it wrong, it can hurt the image of the company and there is a chance you’ll lose some customers.

In this blog I’ll show some examples where company have put social media to good use, but also managed to get a big FAIL for their actions.

How you should do it
A boy that saved up money for two years for a LEGO set, was disappointed when he found out that this set was discontinued when he finally had enough money. The boy wrote a letter to LEGO and posted a video on YouTube. The first reaction of LEGO was that this set was discontinued. But two days before his birthday, a box arrived from LEGO. Inside the box, there was the discontinued set the boy was looking for, fulfilling the dream of the boy. This is an example of how a company should treat their customers. It’s also not the last time LEGO has helped a customer using social media.

Another big company that knows how to use social media is Samsung. See for yourself:

How not to use social media
On July 20, 2012, there was a massacre in Aurora, Colorado. That day, there was a movie premiere of the latest Batman movie. Unfortunately, there was a person who opened fire in the audience, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. It was big news everyday, but it seems that not everyone got that message…

And they didn’t get it either:

And in this blog of Scott Hanselmann, he shows an example of what you shouldn’t do on Twitter. In short, he states that as a brand, you shouldn’t argue on the internet and certainly not on Twitter, since you can’t win an argument with just 140 characters. Also, you need to realize that Twitter messages are archived and accessible forever. Think twice before you post something on Twitter!

So social media can really help you, but also make it worse. Have you seen other examples of social media ‘wins’ or ‘fails’? Do you know a company that should be banned from social media, because they react inappropriately? Or a company that is so creative with social media, that definitely deserves your attention? Feel free to leave a comment.

Sources are embedded in weblinks in the text. Clicking on a link redirects you directly to the source. Clicking on an image also redirects you directly to the source.

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