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Computers, Information Technology, the Internet, Ethics, Society and
Human Values
Philip Pecorino, Ph.D.
Queensborough Community College, CUNY
Chapter 9 Information Technologies and Accountability
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Cases
GARAGE Online Auction
-ACCOUNTABILITY - Internet
Information-Consequences Link:
http://www.csis.ul.ie/staff/JoeGriffin/pise/cases.htm
GARAGE Online
Auction
© 2003 by Simon Rogerson
Auction sales on the Internet were growing rapidly and were forecast
to represent nearly 25% of online retail sales within a couple of
years. This promising prospect led Wendy Jones to establish a new
auction web site, which she called GARAGE, that was aimed at
attracting young people 16 to 25 years old. Wendy believed that this
age group had the greatest potential sales growth. She carefully
analysed the functions and style of existing auction web sites so
that she could offer an alternative. She concluded that the site
must have an anarchic anti-establishment feel so that it would
attract a lot of young people.
The business model for GARAGE was based on several key points:
GARAGE would receive a fee from people who wanted to list and sell
items for auction. It would charge a percentage of the final sales
price for completed auctions.
GARAGE would merely be a publisher, much like a newspaper that
publishes classified advertisements, with no responsibility for
transactions since it would simply provide the conduit through which
auction transactions could occur.
GARAGE would not veto items posted for auction, but it would be
marketed to ensure that posted items were of interest to the
targeted age range. It was likely that some items would be
controversial in the opinion of other age groups, and this was part
of the marketing strategy.
GARAGE users would be tracked, since this would be essential for
growing the business. HTML e-mail would be sent to all those
accessing the site. HTML email would act like a Web page, requesting
graphics and content from a Web server and counting as a "hit" on
the GARAGE web site. GARAGE would be able to track how and when
people responded to e-mail, note where they click, and trace
follow-up actions on GARAGE pages.
GARAGE would set up an advice service, called GI, on the products
being auctioned. This would enable potential purchasers to find out
more about the products offered. Those wishing to provide "expert
advice" would register with GI giving contact details and a brief
description of their credentials. Information providers would pay a
fee for GI registration. In return a GI expert would receive a
commission for each access of information they had posted. The fee
for completed sales would cover this commission.
Five weeks ago GARAGE was launched. It was an immediate success. The
design of the site and the use of street language attracted many
young people. By the end of four weeks 7000 products had been sold.
A typical virtual auction attracted 1000 people. There were now 250
registered experts on GI. The products offered for auction included
clothes, music, books, various equipment and appliances, adult items
and recreational drugs. Controversy was growing about GARAGE, but it
was this which seemed to be boosting the numbers of people using the
site.
Last Friday it was reported in the German national press that a 19
year old man had killed a 25 year old woman. The man was inquisitive
about martial arts and had come across a GARAGE auction of nunchaku
sticks and throwing stars. Both were martial arts weapons. Using GI
the man had found out how these weapons could be used and their
relevance to martial-art culture. According to the posted
credentials, the GI expert who had posted the information had been a
martial arts instructor for over ten years. The man purchased four
throwing stars from the GARAGE auctioneer, who was based in the USA.
Eager to try out his new acquisition, he went into his back yard to
practice throwing the stars using the information he had gotten from
GI. The stars need careful handling because they can be thrown long
distances with relative ease. This was not indicated in the GI
information. The man threw one of the stars very hard. It missed the
target, veered to the right and hit the main artery in the neck of a
woman who was walking down a public pathway some 50 metres away. The
woman collapsed and tragically died in hospital through loss of
blood.
On hearing the news, Wendy was sorry that the tragic accident had
occurred; but she did not see how it could be blamed on GARAGE. She
argued that these minor negative effects were symptomatic of the
business model on which GARAGE was built. This feeling of being in a
slightly risky lawless environment in which you could purchase
otherwise unavailable products was what was attracting such great
numbers of young people to GARAGE. Indeed she felt vindicated that
her strategy was working.
Planning a Vacation
@Melissa Peters 2015
So, you are thinking about
taking some time off and decide to plan a beach vacation. You log in
to any one of the various airlines or travel bookings websites to
plan your trip. You enter your from and to destinations, length of
stay, type of flight, number of travelers, etc. and a price is
calculated and quoted to you. This is a prime example of
computer-aided decision making. Now this is where it gets
interesting. Another customer may plan the exact same trip and be
quoted a different price based on a program that generates consumer
behavior information such as spending behaviors.
Airlines utilize a
strategy known as variable or dynamic pricing and
yield management is one of these practices based on
understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in
order to maximize revenue or profits. To add, a USA Today article
quotes attorney Robert M. Weiss’ research on the use of
technological tools to perfect "online micro-marketing.” For one,
airlines use computer cookies to analyze consumers’ web browsing
history and dependent on your web browsing habits you could pay more
for a vacation than your neighbor does. What are your thoughts on
this type of business practice? Do you think that a programmer who
creates a program like this is behaving ethically? Why or why not?
Where do programmers’ moral responsibilities lie –with their
managers or the public?
Read:
Do travel deals change based on your browsing history?
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