The changing business environment; or, How I Finally Learned to Love Big Business

I fear that this course, if not the overall degree program (me, a graduate student in IT??) will allow me to rationalize "selling out." Although what my company purveys is essentially trivial (entertainment consumption), I can see its direct connection to how the computer age has revolutionized consumer society. People can choose their media delivery in a way they could not in the past. I myself have several hundred channels through my television, "On Demand" and high speed internet.

And yet, at the same time, this provider has an unseen influence on the very customers who have greater consumption "power." I don't think the paradox will become evident in sufficient time for protections to come about (and I really don't know what form those protections would take anyway). My company is the research engine upon which its parent company seeks to achieve market dominance. Without our know-how, C_ would have limited potential to achieve venerability. I console myself that this is a good thing, as it allows C_'s customer base to achieve greater social (and perhaps political) autonomy through a different kind of consumption. They can participate in forums, develop personalized recommendations for movies (and have those recommendations become part of the product offering) and customize their viewing habits. So even though we are promoting greater complacency overall (my personal belief is that we should be out on the streets, demanding change, and not sitting at home indulging in masturbatory pursuits), the potential is still there for people to find their voice. Business has to respond to us, and we can sharpen our message. Maybe it isn't too much to hope that the consumer will eventually use this new power to collectivize (ah, my socialistic leanings!) opinion and mass action. Consumers of the world, unite!