Groupon Now: Daily Deals With the Click of a Button

Ecommerce is a prime example of how technology makes people’s lives easier. Within the past few years, many corporations have transformed traditional online shopping into a means that controls the way customers purchase goods. It is human nature to look for a bargain, and typically when people find a deal they purchase it without putting much thought into it. Andrew Mason used these principles to build Groupon, a company that sends out promotions available for purchase to group members. Mason may have developed a company that is valued at $3 billion dollars, however “[t]he business is pretty easy to copy. The technology involved isn't especially sophisticated; you mainly just need a bunch of salespeople to cold-call as many restaurants and nail salons as possible” (Stone, MacMillan).

Mason needed to create a competitive advantage, thus he decided to take Groupon to a new level through a spin-off program called Groupon Now. Instead of being emailed a daily deal, a user will open this program and be presented with two options: “I’m hungry” and “I’m bored”. Groupon Now will be able to locate where the user is and give them a time-specific daily deal. Mason claims that, "we want people to think about Groupon every time they walk out the door”, and he feels that through Groupon Now this will be possible. Groupon Now will manipulate the time people chose to dine to help restaurants gain customers at usually slow times. Rob Solomon, Groupon President, said, “the true promise of Groupon Now is to help eliminate perishable inventory—food ingredients, labor hours, and anything else that's wasted if not used immediately”, which will persuade companies to participate in this program.

Groupon Now sounds like an excellent program for people who need to run out and grab lunch without breaking the bank. However restaurant managers like Nick Pinelli are concerned because “there's no reason for customers to come in all the time if they can always get a discount. That's the reason we like Groupon; it's only a one-time deal" (Pinelli). If customers can continually get a discount, they will never be willing to pay full price, but will rather wait for the Groupon Now to come out again. Groupon also is failing to recognize that they are leaving too much up to small business owners. The managers or owners of businesses are responsible for uploading their deals, however they already have incredible amounts of work to worry about. As a subscriber to Groupon, I know I get really excited when a good deal comes out, mainly because it is exclusive. If the deal is available a lot, will customers still be interested in buying it? It will eliminate the thrill factor.

Groupon rejected a $6 billion dollar offer from Google last summer, and now with the launch of Groupon Now, it is projected to be valued at up to $25 billion. I definitely will look into Groupon Now after it is launched in April, but I am very skeptical about it. I think that the concept is great, however there seems to be a lot of minor issues that could arise which will in turn bring down its value and use.

MacMillan, Douglas, and Brad Stone. "Are Four Words Worth $25 Billion for Groupon?- BusinessWeek." Businessweek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. 17 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .

Parr, Ben. "Groupon's Ambitious Plan to Change How and When We Eat - CNN." CNNTech. 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. 18/tech/groupon.food.mashable_1_groupon-deal-ceo-andrew-mason-daily-deals?_s=PM:TECH>.

Virtual Wallets on Smartphones

Can you imagine a world where the only thing that you needed to carry around is your cell phone? The technology for your phone to act as your wallet already exists and may be available in cell phones soon (Dvorak). Research in Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry smartphones, is the leading company in trying to incorporate NFC technology, or near-field communication technology, into their cell phones. The technology would allow for people to pay for things with only the scanning of their phone. The phone could hold credit card information and bank information enabling people to pay quickly with the swipe of their phone. There are both potential benefits and problems with this technology.

This new technology has many potential uses besides paying for products and services. Business partners could use their phones could use NFC technology enabled phones to transfer data. Phones can scan NFC chips located anywhere to read information or receive data. There are already applications for the iPhone that can turn on a car remotely, so NFC technology could potentially be used to replace car keys with cell phones.

Of course a main concern with NFC technology is putting sensitive information on a portable device that can easily be lost or stolen. People already steal credit card information using credit card readers that can take information from credit cards, so phones having a technology where the phone just needs to be near a scanner to pay could encourage identity theft. However passwords and security features could disable stealing and would probably be considered by cell phone manufacturers once the technology is included.

Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular as prices become more affordable and features become more advanced. The addition of NFC technology would add another dimension to smartphone capabilities and allow phone manufacturers and service providers to increase their profits. The technology could help consumers pay for things more quickly, shortening lines and increasing efficiency in busy places with long lines such as bus and train stations.

Many companies and websites have already used NFC technology for different purposes. What is preventing the technology from being incorporated into phones is the dispute between cell phone service providers and phone manufacturers. There are debates about how much money these companies will make off of financial transactions done through NFC technology and whether the NCF chip will be located in a SIM card or in the actual phone.

However, as an article on CNET’s website says about NFC on iPhones, “NFC is coming to a future iPhone, it’s just a matter of when” and this is true for all phones (Lowensohn). Once the cell phone service providers and the phone manufacturers are able to coordinate their efforts, phones with NFC technology will start being produced. This gives a huge incentive for companies to enter the market first so that they can profit from the first-mover advantage.

Works Cited

Dvorak, Phred. "RIM, Carriers Fight Over Digital Wallet - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .

Lowensohn, Josh. "NFC: The Apple Rumor That Just Won't Quit | Apple - CNET News."Technology News - CNET News. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .

Virtual Border: Detecting Deception

At University of Arizona a new technology is being developed to better protect our borders, and believe it or not it is an AVATAR in two senses of the word. AVATAR or Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time is a kiosk made to look like an avatar that is designed to "detect what border agents can't" (Campos). Merely in testing right now, the avatar can detect every little subtlety in the human being when evaluating whether or not they have something to hide. An advanced microphone can pick up what you say and how you say it, and every eye movement and dilation can be deciphered using the infrared sensors. The main objective, of course, is to make our borders safer.

This new technology has the potential to change the face of border control in the near future. Watching a video by KOLD.13 News, illustrated the power of these avatars. Reporter Ana Campos tried to deceive the machine, and was immediately accused of lying (Campos). Although very creepy, the machine proved very effective in picking up on the body language of Ana. It is still considered an on-going project, however, for the Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence in Border Security and Immigration at the U of A because there are still some flaws. For instance, the avatar has trouble or gets confused when the individual is drunk, stoned or has a serious medical condition, and therefore, they will make sure to have a human agent present at each kiosk.

A similar technology to protect our borders is being implemented in Texas by the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition (TBSC) through BlueServo. They have created the Virtual Community, "an innovative real-time surveillance program designed to empower the public to proactively participate in fighting border crime" (BlueServo). Any qualified person can sign-up for free to become a Virtual Texas Deputy, and monitor the border from their homes. Virtual Texas Deputies can watch one of many cameras through this social network, and if they find anything suspicious they can alert a local sheriff via email. The other benefit of this social network is that the public can connect their own cameras to "www.blueservo.net" to create their own local Virtual Neighborhood Watches (BlueServo). Thus, users can protect their homes, neighborhoods, and families from crime.

It is much more user involved than the avatar project at University of Arizona, but lacks complete control and sincerity that the avatar provides. There are just too many things that could go wrong when working with a social network to fight border control, but it has been proven to be successful. It just goes to show that border control technology is an ever-adapting field as we try and stay a step ahead from criminals trying to enter our country. Whether it be enlisting civilians to keep a watchful eye or using unwavering machines to detect deception, the information technology is there to protect our borders and the virtual border control agent is just a new, attractive way to do so.

Work Cited

Campos, Ana. "Virtual border agent can tell when you're lying." KOLD.13 News. Raycom Media, 01/03/2011. Web. 20 Mar 2011.

"About BlueServo." BlueServo. BlueServo Inc., 2007. Web. 20 Mar 2011.

Yahoo Cookie Plan in Place

Yahoo Inc. announced its plan on Friday for letting its users in the United Kingdom opt out of allowing websites to collect information on their Internet habits. The plan was put in place as a way to comply with a new European Union law mandating user consent before collecting data about Internet users' identities and habits via cookies. (Miller, 2011) So far, only Italy and a few other members of the European Union have written this law into their legislation, which has a due date of being put of May 25th.

A cookie, by definition, is a text files that is placed on a user's computer by Web sites that the user visits. Cookies may contain and provide identifying information about the user to the Web sites that place them on the user computer, along with whatever information the sites want to retain about the user's visit. (Wayne, 2011) In many ways, cookies have been both a useful and important aspect of information technology since the creation of the Internet. Websites use the information from cookies in order to figure out which customers to focus on, and how they could sell their advertising space on their pages to become profitable. The problem, however, is when websites abuse the power of the cookie. For example, if a website or the management personnel of a company used cookies to find out where a person is going on the Internet. This raises the issue of a person’s privacy and what should or should not be allowed to be monitored.

I personally believe that cookies are useful and necessary depending what or who is monitoring the cookies. On the one hand, I think that it is both fair and expected for companies to put cookies in place in computer systems that are directly located at a company’s workplace. Anything that a company owns should be monitored according to the company’s regulations and rules in order to make sure employees are staying focused and not going to places on the Internet that they should not be going. If information got out that employees of a company were going on websites that were deemed inappropriate and could put a company’s name in a bad light than the company has the right to know. If you do not own the computer or device you are accessing the Internet on you do not have the right to say how that machine should be monitored.

On the other hand, I think that people have the right to opt out of allowing websites to collect information on them through cookies when the information is being gathered for purposes that directly affect the person in a way that they don’t want others to see. The information that websites gather from cookies could be used to expose personal aspects of a person’s life that are either embarrassing or not made public for a reason. For example, a person would be opposed to cookies if an Internet browser tracked that person accessing adult content websites, and then as a result ads for adult content sites came up on other web pages…when that person’s young child was using his/her computer!

The cookie controversy focuses on the issue of privacy. What should be monitored and what information should be shared are two questions that are always going to be asked when talking about cookies. Yahoo Inc. has made a stance that it believes its users privacy should be put first. I agree with their decision, but that doesn’t mean I agree that every website or company should allow an opt out of the mass of information stored in cookies.

Miller, John W. (2011). Yahoo cookie plan in place. Wall Street Journal, Retrieved from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870351240 4576208700813815570.html

Porter, Wayne. (2011). Internet cookies - spyware or neutral technology. Spyware Guide, Retrieved from http://www.spywareguide.com/articles/internet_cookies_spy
ware_or_ne_57.html

Netflix's Next Big Move

Netflix has recently announced their plans to launch their own original series, House of Cards. The show, which plans to launch at the end of 2012, will revolutionize the public view of online video. In Ryan Lawler’s article, NetFlix Is the New HBO—And That’s Good for the Future of TV, he compares NetFlix’s addition to HBO’s improvements to cable TV. HBO changed the experience of cable TV by airing new movies faster and by producing original documentaries, along with original series like The Sopranos and Sex and the City. Similarly, Netflix’s House of Cards is expected to hit the online market with a bang.

Netflix chose to undertake the show after careful consideration of their consumer base. A lot of thought went into the selection of the cast, director, and even genre. Netflix subscribers are familiar with how the company’s recommendation system personalizes your account. Based on your interests, Netflix suggests movie titles and television shows with the same actors, directors, and within the same genre. It is no wonder that Netflix went into their databases to discover which actors, directors, and genres would be most profitable. House of Cards will star Kevin Spacey and will be directed by David Fincher. Therefore Netflix will be able to target its customers who watch a lot of Kevin Spacey films or David Finch films or even those who watch a lot of dramas. Netflix will be able to bypass all the marketing expenses incurred by advertising online and on TV. Steve Swasey, Netflix’s VP of Corporate Communications stated, “We don’t have to spend millions to get people to tune into this. Through our algorithms we can determine who might be interested in Kevin Spacey or political drama and say to them, ‘You might want to watch this.’”

While it may seem risky to launch an original series, Netflix’s detailed database and surveillance of customer activity has made them confident with their decision to launch House of Cards. It will interesting to see how the show revolutionizes online video.

Works Cited

Lawler, Ryan. "Netflix Is the New HBO--And That's Good For the Future of TV." Gigaom. 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .

Lawler, Ryan. "How Netflix Will Use Big Data to Push House of Cards." Gigaom. 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. .

Tracking Students Who Skip Class

Thinking about skipping class? I’d think again…

We all know what GPSs are and it’s likely most of us have used them at least once in our lives. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It’s a satellite-navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense (garmin). Around the 1980s, the system was made available for civilian use. Since then, GPS has been used for a number of things; from personal car navigation to mapping, construction, and surveying uses (Aero). The latest use of GPS has been to track students who skip school. Thanks to this new elaborate system, truancy and skipping class are being rapidly eliminated in participating school districts.

The “Attendance Improvement Management (AIM) Truancy Solutions has developed a walkie-talkie-sized GPS tracking device that is able to follow students’ locations,” (eschoolnews). Through this new use of GPS technology, the program hopes to not only reduce truancy problems within the school district, but also to increase school district revenue through increased attendance (aimforattendance). President Travis Knox states “Truancy is an enormous challenge in our country, with devastating consequences. Students who are frequently absent from school are more likely to drop out, which leads to joblessness, crime, and prison. By addressing the problem, we get students back on track to graduate and make a direct impact on our country’s crime rate” (aimforattendance).

So how does this work? Every school day students will receive an automated phone call reminder that they need to arrive to school and they also need to make sure they’re on time. After they get to school, they are then required to enter a unique identification code that tracks their location. This happens 5 times throughout the day; as they leave for school, when they arrive, at lunchtime, when they leave school, and at 8pm. In addition to this new use of GPS technology, the students are also assigned an adult mentor or “coach” who calls them at least three times a week to see how everything is going and to find effective ways to get to school if the student is struggling (msnbc). If a student enters their code and they’re not where they are supposed to be, the GPS provides a way to find that student.

While some might argue that this form of correctional behavior seems excessive and invasive, the program is entirely optional. The incentive to joining the program is 1) obviously a better education and social environment for the student, and 2) a way for students to avoid continuation school or prosecution. In addition parents can be subjected to certain legal actions if they turn a blind eye to their child’s truancy. The program is also free because according to msnbc schools lose about $35 per day for each absent student. The program will in turn pay for itself and possibly return a profit if students return to class consistently (msnbc).

I was skeptical at first to how effective this program could be and if students and parents would actually participate. But when I saw the success rate, I was convinced. In schools where the GPS technology has been put to use, the average attendance for each has increased from 77 to 95% in addition to an improvement in grades and fewer behavioral issues (eschoolnews and msnbc). This is a great use of technology in my opinion and should be implemented wherever possible.

-Alexa Cavacchioli

Works Cited

Attendance Improvement Management. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. .

"Garmin | What Is GPS?" Web. 18 Mar. 2011. .

Golijan, Rosa. "Schools Use GPS to Track Students Who Skip." Technolog. 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2011.

.

"Uses for GPS." The Aerospace Corporation. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. .

Zwang10, Jenna. "Uses for GPS." The Aerospace Corporation. 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 18.

Mar. 2011.

Stopping Big Brother: Online Privacy, the Government, and the Web Privacy Market

After a read-through of the Wall Street Journal’s “What They Know” series on online privacy (found here), one can hardly be faulted for recalling the dystopian vision of Big Brother from George Orwell’s “1984.” Many (popular) websites allow third-party “tracker files” to monitor your clicks and browser history to gain as much information about users as possible, chiefly in the name of creating well-targeted advertising (What They Know). As a response, the private sector and government alike have proposed two distinct solutions to combat these online threats to privacy: a privacy market and regulations on data collection, respectively. Accordingly, businesses relying on data collection as a top-line strategy will have to refocus their efforts to reach new customers.

One proposed private sector solution is the commoditization of privacy. Essentially, this concept centers on transforming “personal data into an ‘asset class’ by giving people the right to manage and sell it on their own behalf” (Angwin and Steel). While companies like Microsoft Corp., whose Internet Explorer 9 browser is slated to include a “Do-Not-Track” tool (Wingfield and Angwin), and McAfee Inc. are concentrating efforts on providing “opt-out” privacy features, others are seeking to create a full-fledged marketplace for the purchase and sale of online privacy (Angwin and Steel). Allow Ltd., for instance, is a start-up that “offers to sell people's personal information on their behalf, and give them 70% of the sale” (Angwin and Steel). Fans of free-markets should rejoice at this burgeoning industry, as it essentially monetizes users’ privacy data, thereby allowing them to more fairly weigh the costs and benefits of their privacy. While the marketers who benefit from boundless data collection may cringe at the idea of paying more than pennies for data, it is likely that the information users sell to marketers will reveal their preferences more accurately than mined information (Angwin and Steel). Therefore, by purchasing this higher priced, higher quality information from users, companies will be able to tailor product offers and ads to those who are actually willing to consider them.

The argument does not end there, though. For every fan of this new, laissez-faire approach to privacy, there is inevitably another who decries companies’ breach of user privacy and demands that the government intervene. In fact, legislation recently proposed by Senators John McCain and John Kerry seeks to create an “online privacy bill of rights” to protect users from rampant data collection (Angwin). Indeed, the issue has become the hot topic in Washington; the Senate Judiciary Committee’s February announcement that it was creating the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law has galvanized recent efforts to bring Internet privacy issues to the forefront (Valentino-DeVries). As recently as Thursday, March 10, two Senate committees have engaged in a battle to lay claim to the investigation into user privacy (Valentino-DeVries). While the exact details of the proposed legislation and investigation have yet to be finalized, a successful government campaign against tracking would doubtlessly end in greater regulation over data-collecting companies. With life insurance companies actively testing the viability of data gathered online as a risk assessment tool (Scism and Maremont), many will likely welcome this regulation.

However, legislators must be careful that the regulation of online privacy does not channel data-reliant businesses to a more threatening place. Justin Basini, cofounder of Allow Ltd., notes that during his time at Capital One, targeted mailings had an unimpressive one percent response rate (Angwin and Steel). With such lackluster results, it is unlikely that the troves of personal data floating in cyberspace really threaten to manipulate or exploit us. Alternatively, increased government regulation over the tracking industry could, quite paradoxically, accelerate developments of new data collection methods. Put simply, if the government defines permissible and impermissible tracking methods, the tracking industry will surely pour its resources into developing effective mining techniques that skirt these regulations.

Given a choice between the two scenarios, I would prefer the former to the latter. Like all technology, tracking is subject to obsolescence without the power of government intervention. As soon as tracking is forbidden, technology will allow for new, probably more potent methods to be used to gather information about consumers. Rather than playing this futile game of catch-up, consumers must take personal accountability for their own privacy. Browsers with a “Do-Not-Track” tool and other security features that empower consumers to make their own privacy decisions are the solution, not the government.

Works Cited

Angwin, Julia, and Emily Steel. "Web's Hot New Commodity: Privacy." Wall Street

Journal. 27 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703529004576160764037920274.html).

Angwin, Julia. "Proposed Bill Would Put Curbs on Data Gathering." Wall Street

Journal. 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704629104576190911145462284.html).

Scism, Leslie, and Mark Maremont. "Insurers Test Data Profiles to Identify Risky

Clients." Wall Street Journal. 19 Nov. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704648604575620750998072986.html).

Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer. "Senators Scramble to Stake Claim on Web Privacy."

Wall Street Journal (blog). 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

(http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/03/11/senators-scramble-to-stake-claim-on-web-privacy/).

"What They Know." Web log post. Wall Street Journal. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

(http://blogs.wsj.com/wtk/).

Wingfield, Nick, and Julia Angwin. "Microsoft Adds Do-Not-Track Tool to Browser."

Wall Street Journal. 14 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703363904576200981919667762.html?

mod=googlenews_wsj).