Blog #9 - Diffusion of Innovations Theory

 The Diffusion of Innovations is a theory that looks to explain why, how and at which rate technology spreads. Throughout my time in Media Law and Literacy, I have learned a lot about different social media applications and how they operate. I have especially gained a new perspective on the app Twitter.

 In one of our Media Law classes, we became familiar with the above graph. This graph helps to show how people reacted/are reacting to technology over time. This is an example of the diffusion of innovations theory, and it can be compared to the growth of Twitter. Before Twitter was officially launched, the creators of the app did a “test run” to see how Twitter would be used by individuals. Today, Twitter is a successful social media app with over 300 million users. I believe that many people became early adopters to Twitter, myself included, because it was an easy way to find out information and keep in touch with family and friends. Twitter quickly became an up-and-coming app after it was launched in 2006.

There are negatives to Twitter, like any social media application, but there are also positives. Some negatives of Twitter can include spam content, a character limit, and false news. Positives can include staying connected with family/friends and having updates on the latest news. I personally feel that the positives outweigh the negatives because I am an active Twitter user; however some people, like Laggards, may feel that the negatives outweigh the positives and therefore are not interested in the app. 

Blog #8 - EOTO Sherman Anti Trust Act

For my second EOTO, I researched the Sherman Antitrust act. The Sherman Antitrust act of 1890 is a federal law which prohibits actions that limit interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace. The act allowed the Federal Government to investigate anti-competitive trusts and initiate proceedings in order to break them up or dissolve them. It was the first federal act that outlawed business practices which thwarted competition and created monopolies. The act was passed by congress in 1890 and it is named after Ohio Senator John Sherman, its principal author. The Clayton act in 1914 altered the original Sherman Antitrust act by making it more specific. The Clayton act outlaws “every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade,” and any “monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize”. The Clayton Antitrust act also outlaws restrictions on trade between states or with foreign nations. Antitrust cases are heard and remedied by the U.S. Department of Justice through litigation in the federal courts. These prohibitions of monopolistic business practices were put in place to help workers and small businesses by encouraging competition.  

The Sherman Antitrust act can have severe penalties for violation of the act. The Antitrust legislation can impose criminal punishments of up to $100 million for a business/corporation and $1 million for an individual, along with up to 10 years in prison. The maximum fine can vary under federal law, and the punishment would be commensurate with the level of advantage gained from the illegal anti competitive behaviors.

Many people agree that monopolies still exist today. An argument could easily be made that Google and Facebook are modern day monopolies.  In addition, industries such as utilities, telecommunications and satellite entertainment are also considered anti-competitive. If a business or industry is unfriendly or destructive to competition, it is likely that monopolistic practices are occurring . The Antitrust laws are intended to remedy these anti-competitive practices through the use of fines or even requiring larger companies to break up into smaller ones. Google is a great example of a company who has had a lot of growth by acquiring many of its smaller competitors.  Google’s ad revenue dominates the competition, and the data they use to target these ads is also collected by other Google tools such as Gmail, Android phones, Google Maps, and many others.  While it is great for the consumer that these products and services are “free”, the true cost is the privacy of the end-user.  

Facebook is another example of a company who has grown through acquisition of competing companies like Instagram and WhatsApp.  Like Google, Facebook also earns revenue by selling advertisements on their digital platforms.  And like Google, the end-user’s data is the product they sell to monetize their business.  In August of 2021, the Federal Trade Commission filed a new complaint in the Federal court alleging that Facebook violated antitrust laws by buying Instagram and WhatsApp in order to eliminate them as competitors. Unfortunately this case was dismissed by the judge, but the concerns remain.  

If someone wants to participate in one of the top 2 or 3 social media applications, you can pretty much guarantee that their data is making its way into the database of a tech giant for sale to the highest bidder.  Young startup companies in the technology space, once their product becomes popular and reaches millions of end users, are pretty much guaranteed to be swallowed up by one of the big 2 or 3 tech giants.  There is increasing awareness by the public who no longer want to be part of a personal data-mining machine, but finding competitive alternatives is nearly impossible.  Tech companies have become very wealthy, and they spend a lot of money on political lobbying to protect them from the very antitrust laws that were designed to prevent them from suppressing their competition in the first place.