During todays lecture, Peter talked about the control of social media. Basically, is in the hands of companies or consumers. I'd have to say that i agree with Peter in recognising consumers as being in control. Yes, companies do pump out the content and essentially create the framework which either pushes content to us or attract us to it, but we're the ones who provide value or worth. We have the power to accept/reject and initiate change. An example would be battle.net.
The wikipedia definition can be read here but its basically an online gaming service that was the strong point of one of the worlds leading developers Blizzard. They've created more then a dozen games, where nearly all of them have been international hits. Recent examples would bethe World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Starcraft 2.
Most recently, Blizzard announced that users would not be able to remain anonymous in using the online service battle.net and would have to use their real names in order to continue using the service. Blizzard received backlash from users who feared for their safety and after responding to users threats to stop using the service.
For the time being, plans to initiate real identification have been put aside but i believe this is an example of just how much power consumers have. Companies work for profit, no matter what their vision statement is and if consumers aren't satisfied with the product/service, its up to the companies to respond to the feedback and change accordingly if they want to continue to earn profit.
Money = Power
Consumers = Money = Power
Does this mean since we pay for those products and services, are we essentially giving companies power? I like to think so.
Some articles regarding the situation can be read here:
Introduction of Real ID rule
Introduction of Real ID rule
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