memo

This is a first draft memo assignments. Read the the professor comments, which is in red and fix it.

English 113A/Misaghi

3

Progression 2 Essay: Super Freakonomics!

 Essay Proposal (Outline with Thesis) due ____________
 First draft (at least 2 full pages with a Works Cited page) due ____________
 FINAL draft due ____________

The purpose of this assignment is to formulate a clear, argumentative thesis statement, and develop
support for it in an essay that  analyzes  others’  arguments  and  utilizes  academic  research. You will learn
and practice the following research skills: analyzing a text, applying the claims from the text into your own
argument, finding and evaluating sources, and citing sources.

Note: this is not a report-where you collect and then report information. Instead, you will develop and
argue a debatable position on your selected topic. You will not turn in a paper that puts together other
people’s  ideas.  Instead, you will support a thesis statement and use sources to back up your ideas.

After spending time in class discussing Levitt’s and  Dubner’s  work,  you  will  combine  what  you  have  read  
along with a minimum of 2 other credible outside sources to develop a 3+ page typed, and double-spaced
(MLA format) paper that addresses ONE of the following questions:

1. Does the recognition of differences (narrow your topic to something specific, like: ethnicity, religion,
culture, politics, socioeconomic status, geography, gender, sexual preference, appearance, etc.)
create an “us and them” mentality, or does it help maintain a fair society? You MUST use examples
from SuperFreakonomics to support your position.

2. In the first book, Freakonomics, Levitt proclaims, “Humans respond to incentives” (7). Write an
essay to explore the power of incentives by:

a. Analyzing one or two of the ideas/conclusions Levitt reaches in SuperFreakonomics, and
b. Showing examples of how incentives work in your world.

3. If you want to formulate your own question, you may do so as long as it is related to

SuperFreakonomics, you get my approval, and you can write an argumentative essay to answer it.

YOU  MUST  INCLUDE  A  “WORKS  CITED”  PAGE  AT  THE  BACK  OF  YOUR  PAPER  (See  chapter 29 of
COMP if you need more help); THIS DOES NOT COUNT IN THE PAGE COUNT!

WHILE YOU MAY USE WEBSITES AS SOURCES, YOU CANNOT CITE FROM WIKIPEDIA OR ANY
DICTIONARY/ENCYCLOPEDIA/QUOTES WEBSITES. YOU MAY USE THEM IN YOUR RESEARCH,
BUT DO NOT CITE FROM THEM AS THEY DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS THE 2 SOURCES REQUIRED.

YOUR ESSAY FOLDER DUE ON ______ MUST INCLUDE:
1. Final draft (100 points)
2. First drafts (all of them)
3. Outline
4. Optional: LRC slip (10 points extra credit)

DON’T  FORGET  TO  ATTACH  THE  ESSAY  COVER  SHEET  (ON  NEXT PAGE) TO YOUR FINAL ESSAY!

turky Abu bunayyah

turky Abu bunayyah

Instagram Privacy Policy Issue

One recent case study where marketing ethics plays a role for a company is Instagram. Except this isn’t a case study. It is a ethics memo directed at whoever can resolve the ethical problem, which is not me. This is a photo-sharing website where people can create an account and share pictures with family and friends. Some say Instagram is the picture version of Twitter. However, the ethical dilemma with Instagram occurred when the company was purchased by Facebook during the end of 2012, which forced Instagram to change their privacy policy and terms of use. According to a Santa Clara case study, “According to the updated terms, “a business or other entity may pay Instagram to display users’ photos and other details in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you”. Many users became outraged with the change in policy because any business or public entity could use Instragram pictures without having to compensate the owner of the picture. The ethical issue that lies in this situation relates to how much information should Instagram share to third-parties, if any.

The ethical issue at hand is creating a privacy policy that makes sure users of Instagram do not have their rights of privacy taken away by changes in the privacy policy. Once Instagram was bought acquired by Facebook, many users became outraged because Instagram planned to adopt a privacy policy like Facebook’s which was different. Users believed that their privacy with photos would not be upheld and users could not prevent their information from being shared to the public.

Instagram is not acting ethically because once the company was acquired, the change in privacy policy caused an area for concern because users did not expect this change. By changing the policy, users believed that third parties could use any picture from Instagram for use since the information is seen as public. The confusing language of the privacy policy was called into question. According to an article from Yahoo, “It was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation. This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing” (NCC Staff). The dilemma Instagram has to deal with is assuring users that the content they upload to Instagram will not be used for outside use, unless consent is given by the user. They need to make sure the privacy language is clear, or else the vagueness of the policy can be used as a weakness for third parties to use this information. “No other major photo-sharing service appears to have language as broad as Instagram’s, which claims the perpetual right to license users’ photos to companies or any other organization, including for advertising purposes, which could effectively transform the Web site into the world’s largest stock photo agency” (NCC Staff).

In order to address the issue at hand, Instagram needs to revise its privacy policy and state in clear and concise language that the privacy of users will be upheld before Facebook acquired the company. As a result of the acquisition, Instagram has altered their privacy policy. Currently, it states, “Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service. Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service, subject to the Service’s Privacy Policy, including but not limited to sections 3 (“Sharing of Your Information”), 4 (“How We Store Your Information”), and 5 (“Your Choices About Your Information”). You can choose who can view your Content and activities, including your photos, as described in the Privacy Policy” (Instagram website). Instagram has taken action by allowing users to customize the privacy features on their account. This ensures that Instagram has tried to meet the privacy concerns of their users and hopefully the language is clear enough for users to clearly understand what Instagram can and cannot do with the pictures that are uploaded on the website.

References:

http://news.yahoo.com/instagram-policy-changes-post-privacy-challenges-215809883.html

http://instagram.com/about/legal/terms/

First, no separate works cited. Citations should be embedded in the memo.

Second, who is your audience? Instagram or Facebook. That depends on who responsible for the ethical failure. Was it Instagram for not maintaining their user agreement prior to purchase? But was that an option for them because they were being taken over by another company? Should they have declined the purchase offer unless Facebook agreed to let them keep their existing user agreement? Or is the audience Facebook because they now own Instagram and set policy? Does Instagram still have its own leadership or is the leadership now Facebook, in which case this memo must be addressed to the CEO and board of Facebook.

Third, your content is solid but I would rework the structure a bit.

1. Open with Instagram’s previous user agreement terms.

2. The buyout by Facebook and the adoption of Facebook user terms.

3. Now the ethical issue.

4. The solution. Don’t forget to remind Facebook that trust is becoming a serious issue with them for various reasons.