The Issue with Sex Offenders at MySpace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Issue with Sex Offenders at MySpace - Essay Example Sullivan discusses the fallout of the seemingly innocuous experiment run by Wired News reporter Kevin Poulsen, in which Poulsen matched registered sex offenders against MySpace profiles and discovered hundreds of matches (116). MySpace’s response was to hire a third-party vendor to compare member profiles to registered sex offender rolls and â€Å"root out sex criminals from the site† (117). A debate arose, however, regarding the amount of time associated with the action that MySpace took. MySpace identified 7,000 profiles of members who were potentially on the registered sex offender rolls, but this action took several months. MySpace promptly deleted the profiles but did not notify authorities at the same time (117). Sullivan states that â€Å"the presence of 7,000 registered offenders on the site—and the time span required to remove them, raises inevitable questions about MySpace’s ability to keep its neighborhood safe† (119). Conversely, Texas A & M student Kevin Alexander wrote â€Å"MySpace Not Responsible for Predators†, an article discussing the experience of a 14-year old girl who met and was allegedly raped by a 19-year old man she befriended on MySpace (119). Alexander argues that the lack of age verification by MySpace does not preclude the responsibility of those using the service to act with caution and common sense (119). He believes that culpability resides with the parent and child who made poor decisions with tragic consequences (120). When setting up a profile, MySpace users must sign a waiver indicating that they understand that MySpace has no control over the actions of its users online or offline (120). The nature of the MySpace service limits the amount of power the company has over who is a member at any given time. Even the action taken in the previous example in which MySpace checked member profiles against the registered sex offender rolls would not have identified this particular situation as a threat to anyone. Online users should be aware of the dangers inherent to cyberspace usage, protect their personal information, and only consider meeting online acquaintances in secure situations. Additionally, parents should educate their children, monitor their online behavior, and not allow them to meet strangers without supervision (120). According to Alexander, by using MySpace, the mother, in this case, sends â€Å"the wrong message by deflecting the responsibility onto a Web site that has no control over sociopaths† (120). Both authors agree that there is a risk inherent to the use of services such as the one offered by MySpace. However, they differ in the assessment of who should assume the responsibility of mitigating this risk. Sullivan prescribes to the idea that companies are ultimately responsible to protect the end users of their products and services wherever possible. Sullivan implies that MySpace has a social responsibility to identify threats and take act ion to create a safe and secure environment, and to protect the children who use the service for fun and entertainment. Alexander believes that people must apply common sense and act in an individually responsible manner. Users should be cautious and careful in all online interactions, and should not depend on the company to do this for them.  

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Business Strategy - Essay Example There are other products and services that were added which include Shops, sothebys.amazon.com, electronics, home improvement products and many others. Their continued broadening of spectrum is directly related with their goal of making customers find anything they want online. Huge market capitalization of Amazon.com enabled it to stage an aggressive expansion in the market through introduction of several products and services. Websites were opened in several countries and are expected to continue by also forging partnerships with other internet service providers around the globe (Paavo, Arash, and Alain 2013). The amazon.com in United Kingdom and Germany are listed as the leading sites in sales. In Amazon.com followed a strategy of developing software specialized to their type of business and acquiring commercially made applications. 2,461 million dollars’ worth of assets with inventories representing 7 per cent of total assets was realized in 2002. This shows the strength of the company significantly in that year even before they had began their expansion process in France and Japan. The Amazon.com Commerce Network strategy basically leads the company to earn high revenues with high margins which is also risky provided it acts as a venture capitalist. The company reduces significantly the cost of goods sold by increasing their own distribution channels which allows to the company concentrate on their main focus which is customer service. Ravi suria an analyst at Prudential Securities Company was concerned Amazon was not generating good cash flow essentially because it was swiftly expanding from less than 10 million dollars cash out lay. He also had a genuine worry about the reducing stock turnover of the company as it increased their distribution channels in 1999. Despite of Amazon being one of the largest online retailers, they had been able to hold on to profit making and had fallen in the eyes of the investors. (Rainer, Turban,