Blog Assignment 3

The media/technology I want to report on for this blog assignment is called "longbets.org"  Long bets is a new social media and financial combination website that is "an arena for competitive, accountable predictions".  It also serves as a discussion forum for societal and technological changes that may come in the future.

It all starts with a prediction.  Someone starts by making a prediction about the future (minimum 2 years away).  Example: Prediction 678: Apple will release an electric car within the next decade.  Once someone makes a prediction, someone can challenge it, and turn it into a long bet.  Both participants (the predictor and challenger) pay a minimum of $200 to start their bet.  Whenever the deadline ends, the winner is paid.  The money is paid up front to longbets.org and is invested in endowments managed by Capital Research and Management Company.  The interesting part is that the winners of the bets don't actually win the money.  If they win, they donate their winnings to an IRS approved charity of their choice.

Longbets.org is an intriguing tool for philanthropic giving.  An example of a bet that has been paid out is bet #3.  "A profitable video-on-demand service aimed at consumer will offer 10,000 titles to 5 million subscribers by 2010".  This bet was placed in 2002.  It may not seem like a big deal to us now, but that prediction in 2002 was probably a long shot at the time. Both the predictor and challenger bet $1,000, and went to the Electric Frontier Foundation in 2010.

This is related to our internet communication course because it shows an entertaining, interactive option for philanthropic giving.  There are comments on the website from as old as 12 years ago, which is uncommon to see.  The site has only recently gained popularity, after being featured on CNN.

You can read more from CNN here:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/tech/social-media/future-betting-tomorrow-transformed/

I recommend this article because it describes a website that is both intelligent discussion and charity based.  It's unlike any other website I've ever seen.

Internet Laws Assignment 2

While I believe that all the laws are technically “true”, I think the one that the masses need to be most concerned with is Sarnoff’s law.  It states that the more active users you have on a network, the more value it holds.  Some may ask: “why does network value matter?”  Well, today a large percentage of advertisement is done online.  People are starting to spend more time at their computers, and less at their TV.  This could be because with a computer, you can cater your media choices to your own interests.  Either way, a web user is now a potential customer for advertisers.  

I bet many companies thought differently about advertising with Facebook in 2006, compared to advertising with them in 2014.  The reason for this change would be Sarnoff’s law.  According to a Yahoo News article, Facebook only had 12 million users at the end of 2006.  In March 2013 (their last measured date), there were 1.1 billion users.  The network grew exponentially, and so did it’s value.  That’s why facebook is now a multi billion dollar corporation.  That’s why you have to pay to advertise on their website.

Sarnoff’s Law can also be applied to more traditional contexts such as TV and Radio.  We’ve all heard about TV rankings.  You’ll notice that on newer and more popular shows you’ll find higher quality advertisements.  If you watch a local TV station, you’ll likely be seeing cheesy local car dealerships’ advertisements compared to seeing Audi commercials while watching a show like “Mad Men”.  Another example is superbowl advertisements.  The advertises know that the network users increase during the game, and therefore try to purchasing advertising space.  This drives the price up, as more advertisers are trying to purchase time than is available.

Five years from now, I think information will be received primarily through the internet.  Since I’ve gotten a smartphone, I’ve noticed that I use it to make simple internet searches instead of going in my room and using my desktop computer.  I think smartphones and tablets are going to be the main computing devices of the future, because they’re more convenient. Desktops and laptops will still be used for working, but casual searches will eventually transfer over to mobile devices as more people get smartphones and tablets.