The History of Singapores Economic Development

In the 1960s, the city-state of Singapore was an undeveloped country with a GDP per capita of less than U.S. $320. Today, it is one of the worlds fastest-growing economies. Its GDP per capita has risen to an incredible U.S. $60,000, making it one of the strongest economies in the world. For a small country with few natural resources, Singapores economic ascension is nothing short of remarkable. By embracing globalization, free-market capitalism, education, and pragmatic policies, the country has been able to overcome its geographic disadvantages and become a leader in global commerce. Independence For over 100 years, Singapore was under British control. But when the British failed to protect the colony from the Japanese during World War II, it sparked a strong anti-colonial and nationalist sentiment that subsequently led to Singapores independence. On August 31, 1963, Singapore seceded from the British crown and merged with Malaysia to form the Federation of Malaysia. The two years Singapore spent as part of Malaysia were filled with social strife, as the two sides struggled to assimilate with one another ethnically. Street riots and violence became very common. The Chinese in Singapore outnumbered the Malay three-to-one. The Malay politicians in Kuala Lumpur feared their heritage and political ideologies were being threatened by the growing Chinese population throughout the island and peninsula. Therefore, as a way of ensuring a Malay majority within Malaysia proper and to limit the influence of communism, the Malaysian parliament voted to expel Singapore from Malaysia. Singapore gained formal independence on August 9, 1965, with Yusof bin Ishak serving as its first president and the highly influential Lee Kuan Yew as its prime minister. After independence, Singapore continued to experience problems. Much of the city-states three million people were unemployed. More than two-thirds of its population was living in slums and squatter settlements on the citys fringe. The territory was sandwiched between two large and unfriendly states in Malaysia and Indonesia. Singapore lacked natural resources, sanitation, proper infrastructure, and adequate water supply. In order to stimulate development, Lee sought international assistance, but his pleas went unanswered, leaving Singapore to fend for itself. Globalization During colonial times, Singapores economy was centered on entrepà ´t trade. But this economic activity offered little prospect for job expansion in the post-colonial period. The withdrawal of the British further aggravated the unemployment situation. The most feasible solution to Singapores economic and unemployment woes was to embark on a comprehensive program of industrialization, with a focus on labor-intensive industries. Unfortunately, Singapore had no industrial tradition. The majority of its working population was in trade and services. Therefore, they had no expertise or easily adaptable skills. Moreover, without a hinterland and neighbors who would trade with it, Singapore was forced to look for opportunities well beyond its borders to spearhead its industrial development. Pressured to find work for their people, the leaders of Singapore began to experiment with globalization. Influenced by Israels ability to leap over its Arab neighbors (who boycotted Israel) and trade with Europe and America, Lee and his colleagues knew they had to connect with the developed world and convince multinational corporations to manufacture in Singapore. In order to attract investors, Singapore had to create an environment that was safe, corruption-free, and low in taxation. To make this feasible, the citizens of the country had to suspend a large measure of their freedom in place of a more autocratic government. Anyone caught conducting narcotic trade or intensive corruption would be met with the death penalty. Lees People Action Party (PAP) repressed all independent labor unions and consolidated what remained into a single umbrella group called the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), which the party directly controlled. Individuals who threatened national, political, or corporate unity were quickly jailed without much due process. The countrys draconian, but business-friendly laws became very appealing to international investors. In contrast to its neighbors, where political and economic climates were unpredictable, Singapore was very stable. Moreover, with its advantageous location and established port system, Singapore was an i deal place to manufacture goods. By 1972, just seven years after independence, one-quarter of Singapores manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both the United States and Japan were major investors. As a result of Singapores steady climate, favorable investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965 to 1972, the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual double-digit growth. As foreign investment money poured in, Singapore began focusing on developing its human resources in addition to its infrastructure. The country set up many technical schools and paid international corporations to train their unskilled workers in information technology, petrochemicals, and electronics. For those who could not get industrial jobs, the government enrolled them in labor-intensive un-tradable services, such as tourism and transportation. The strategy of having multinationals educate their workforce paid great dividends for the country. In the 1970s, Singapore was primarily exporting textiles, garments, and basic electronics. By the 1990s, they were engaging in wafer fabrication, logistics, biotech research, pharmaceuticals, integrated circuit design, and aerospace engineering. A Modern Economy Today, Singapore is a modern, industrialized society and entrepà ´t trade continues to play a central role in its economy. The Port of Singapore is now the worlds busiest transshipment port, surpassing Hong Kong and Rotterdam. In terms of total cargo tonnage handled, it has become the worlds second busiest, behind only the Port of Shanghai. Singapores tourism industry is also thriving, attracting over 10 million visitors annually. The city-state now has a zoo, a night safari, and a nature reserve. The country recently opened two of the worlds most expensive integrated casino resorts in the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa. The countrys medical tourism and culinary tourism industries have also become quite successful, thanks to Singapores cultural heritage and advanced medical technology. Banking has grown significantly in recent years and many assets formerly held in Switzerland have been moved to Singapore due to new taxes imposed by the Swiss. The biotech industry is burgeoning, with drug makers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Merck Co. all establishing plants here, and oil refining continues to play a huge role in the economy. Despite its small size, Singapore is now the 15th largest trading partner of the United States. The country has established strong trade agreements with several countries in South America, Europe, and Asia as well. There are currently over 3,000 multinational corporations operating in the country, accounting for more than two-thirds of its manufacturing output and direct export sales. With a total land area of just 433 square miles and a small labor force of 3 million people, Singapore is able to produce a GDP that exceeds $300 billion dollars annually, higher than three-quarters of the world. Life expectancy is 83.75 years, the third highest in the world. Singapore is considered to be one of the best places to live on Earth if you dont mind the strict rules. Singapores model of sacrificing freedom for business is highly controversial and heavily debated. Regardless of philosophy, though, its effectiveness is undeniable.

Essay on The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children

Traditional research to ascertain the effects of living with domestic violence on children conducted psychological test to measure children’s competency and development. Development psychologists experimented on children in laboratory settings, if the level of competency demonstrated by a child was below average for their age and stage of development, witnessing domestic violence was deemed to be the cause. To know whether a child has been harmed by their experiences we need to how ‘normal’ children function and develop (Archard 197). But there is no universally agreed timeless norm of children’s health and development. Some psychologists believe domestic violence effects the way that children think and can cause ‘pre-mature’†¦show more content†¦Children also develop psychological coping mechanisms such as; blocking out the violence or on the contrary, monitoring it closely as a means of feeling in control; children may also talk ab out their experiences to a person, pet or object (McGee 2000). Very young children can only show their distress through their health and behaviour, for example: Sleep disturbances, eating problems, unnatural quietness and clinginess. Professionals disregard some of the complex and diverse coping mechanisms children possess by labelling them as psychosomatic disorders, personality defects or the beginnings of an addiction to violence. Based on studies of child development in what Jaffe et al (1990) call ‘normal’ families, a range of adjustment difficulties can be identified. Difficulties include: increased anxiety, psychosomatic illness including headaches, abdominal complaints, asthma, ulcers, stuttering, depression, sadness, withdrawal, fear, a reduction in understanding social situations including thoughts and feelings of other people (Saunders 1995:10). Behaviours such as: excessive cruelty to animals, teenage boys beating their girlfriends, disobedience, destructiveness, aggression, nervous demeanour and children running away from home. This research was produced within the rigid ethnocentric framework of children’s cognitive developmentShow MoreRelatedThe Impact of Domestic Violence on Children661 Words   |  3 PagesQuestion 1 There are many consequences of not taking a strong stance against domestic abuse and the later impact on the children in the situation. Even if the children are not involved in the actual abuse, they are still negatively impacted by the presence of domestic violence in their households (Osofsky 1990). 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Substance misuse, domestic violence and mental illness can result in parent’s fi nding it difficult to organize their lives to meet both their personal needs and theirRead MoreEffects of Domestic Violence on Children1124 Words   |  5 PagesThe biggest victims of domestic violence are the littlest. The home is a suppose to be a safe and secure environment for children with loving parents and free from violence. Children need a secure environment where they can come home to when the outside world is unsafe. However, every year there are millions of children who’s homes are not a safe haven. Millions of children are exposed to a parent being violently assaulted. Domestic violence is a prevalent social issue in America today. First, whoRead MoreEssay on The Gravity of Domestic Violence in America1423 Words   |  6 Pages the gravity of domestic violence in America has been disregarded and glossed over; perhaps it is because 60 percent of all domestic violence takes place at home. Domestic violence is defined as, the situation in which an intimate partner or someone you live with attacks you and tries to hurt you, often including physical assault, sexual assault, and bullying. â€Å"Every year, more than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes.† (safehorizon.org) Domestic violence at home is alteringRead MoreDomestic Violence And Its Effects On Victims And Varies1700 Words   |  7 PagesDefinition, strengths and limitations, and occurrence Domestic violence as a form of trauma can have an impact on victims and varies in the form in which it occurs. Domestic violence can occur directly to an individual or family or indirectly as exposure to domestic violence. The Department of Justice defines domestic violence as â€Å"a pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner†. According to CrossRead MoreDevelopmental Trajectory And Impact On Hispanic Women851 Words   |  4 PagesDevelopmental trajectory and impact Hispanic women who are able to escape their perpetrator may be faced with barriers that impact their ability to rise above a lower socioeconomic status. Community resources may provide some aid but are not suffice to sustain a family with a single parent. Hispanic women who are entrapped in an abusive relationship may feel financially obligated to remain with their perpetrator. Some barriers identified by Shah and Shah (2010) include low educational attainmentRead MoreThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Essay examples1577 Words   |  7 PagesExposure to domestic violence can impact the behavioral, social-emotional, and cognitive development of children. Children who are exposed to domestic violence tend to exhibit more aggressive behaviors with their peers, show signs of depression, and have a difficult time forming relationships (Brown Bzostek, 2003). Cognitively, studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence may have difficulties learning and concent rating in school, have difficulties with conflict resolution skillsRead MoreThe Effects Of Domestic Violence On Children915 Words   |  4 Pagessignificant impacts not only on the victims, but also on the society. Though, some abuses have minor impacts, but most of the abuses have long-term affect and some of them of the affects of abuse stay for decades. In an article, â€Å"The Hidden Consequence Of Domestic Violence Linger For Decades†, from Think Progress, the author Tara Culp-Ressler wrote, â€Å"You’re at a higher risk for some of the largest health problems that our country is facing today† which informs that the victims of domestic violence are at

Romeo and Juliette Essay Example For Students

Romeo and  Juliette Essay As an entry to grade 10, we will be expected to write a comparative essay between three different versions of Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene, from the three different film versions.  In Franco Zeffirellis version of Romeo and Juliette, the balcony scene is set in a medieval environment. The old looking costumes and buildings indicate this. Different from all the other scenes, the director of this film has chosen to build up the tense feeling between the two amorous young adults by first making Romeo unseen and unheard to his loving Juliette who is positioned high up on the balcony. In the West side story the balcony scene is completely different from both of the other film. It is in this version set in a modern time. Surrounded by staircases and brick walls the two loving ones meet sing. Unlike the two other scenes, this version does not reflect that the two â€Å"sides† have a wealthy past, due to that they meet not in a castle or in a mansion but in a alley. This gives a good understanding to their love. In the way that money doesn’t matter, and that they will meet anywhere at any time in order to see each other. My understanding in why they were singing is simple enough to show their feeling for each other in a better way. West side story is also a musical, causing music and singing to be a part of their way of telling each other about their feeling. Music is in this content very successful due to that music can very easily set a mode. Intense music creates a tense feeling and soft music creates a happy feeling. This gives the director of the film the opportunity to more widely express the feelings of the characters. The balcony scene from the last Romeo and Juliette comes from the movie â€Å"Romeo and  Juliette (1996)† is very confusing due to a number of different reasons. One reason being, that even though it is a modern setting, medieval costumes such as chain mails are used. Another reason to why the setting is unclear is due to the location of the scene. The scene takes place in a modern day world but in a medieval castle with outfits that would suit the medieval era. We can easily see that by looking at Juliette‘ s hair in Franco Zeffirellis version (which has been let out) and also by looking at the golden fabric dress that she is wearing (she is casually dressed) that maybe she is ready to go to bed. A golden fabric dress would today be something that would be worn for a ball, but her use of it shows us that she comes from a wealthy family with more than enough money. Her atmosphere and beauty clearly reflects the feminine role that she has in this important scene. Her clothes melt in with the environment surrounding them. It is first now that Romeo’s costume is properly seen; long sleeved with padded shoulders and dark colours show us his masculine role in the scene. He doesn’t quite belong in this setting and this is clearly shown when the two are standing next to each other. Her costume melts in with the warm colours, that make up the surroundings and his cold coloured clothes gives the obvious feeling of him being an intruder and that he is trespassing. In the Westside story on the other hand, Juliette is shown to us as a young independent woman who wants nothing else than to be able to do whatever she wants. Her feminine role is extremely well shown to us as an audience by her fine beauty, her white dress which gives us the feeling of her being an angel and also her voice which when she sings gives us the feeling that she really is an angle. Her outfit clearly shows us that unlike Juliette in Franco Zeffirellis version, she is not wealthy and does not wear a golden dress to bed. Romeo is in this version a tall brown- haired guy. He has a deep and steady voice, which almost sounds mechanical. His voice along with his body structure reflects the masculine role that he is playing. In the dark environment that this scene is set in, Romeo is a bright light in the dark night sky as he trespasses onto enemies ground in his bright yellow jacket. I think the director has chosen this outfit for him to clearly show that he doesn’t belo ng there and simply to show contrast between the two loved ones. .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 , .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .postImageUrl , .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 , .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:hover , .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:visited , .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:active { border:0!important; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:active , .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740 .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub35defe4f05afb1e3141150ba62c0740:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Essay On Separate PeaceIn the last Romeo and Juliette made year 1996, Juliette is well ornate with a long white dress. In almost all the versions white dresses have been an ordinary way of looking at Juliette. In this scene Juliette is shown to us as a young woman who is determined to get and do what she wants. In her soliloquy in the beginning of the scene she explains how her name is the only thing that keeps her and Romeo apart, and that if she only could she would drop that name in order to be with him. As this scene is played out in a modern day era, the physicality between Romeo and Juliette is much more intense then in both the other plays. This is something that is n’t built as the play goes on. Already from the start they are very keen about touching each other’s bodies. This adds to the feeling of love and as a part of the audience I must say that it was much more exciting watching this scene due to all the above mentioned. In the first scene that we watched the few rays of light that reaches Juliette in the dark night, reflects on her eyes giving them each a small white spot. It brings a look to her face of an abandon puppy that wants a family or a friend. She is lonely. In other words an unhappy look and it is clearly known to us, as an audience, that the only thing she wants at that moment, is to be with her soul mate Romeo. In all the versions, this happens in each and every one. The use of light in characters eyes is a common way of expressing a certain mood and is a widely used method throughout movie- makers. In the first scene the close space between the two creates a feeling of helplessness as Romeo can see and hear his dear Juliette but he dares not speak to her. The tense feeling continues to build as Romeo comes closer and closer to his dear Juliette. This moment is very ironic in all the versions, the beautiful loving feeling combined with the fact that this girl who Romeo loves, the one he is about to speak to, will later become the reason for both of their deaths. The couple is drawn closer and closer to each other as the scene and the intense feeling builds rapidly. In Franco Zeffirellis version and Romeo and Juliette made year 1996, when he finally does open his mouth to speak, Juliette is awfully surprised and appears scared as she realizes that he has been listening to her love speech to him. Romeo quickly lets her know that he shares all the same feeling of love for her as well. In the version made 1996 it is at this moment when Romeo starts speaking that they both fall into the water (pool). The light that the pool creates

Problems In Air Traffic Control And Proposed Solut Essay Example For Students

Problems In Air Traffic Control And Proposed Solut Essay ionsProblems in Air Traffic Control and Proposed SolutionsIn northern California this summer, the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) unintentionally performed its first operational test of free flight;aviation without direct air traffic control. This was an unintentionalexperiment because it was a result of a total shut-down of the Oakland Air RouteTraffic Control Center (ARTCC). Although Oakland is only the 16th busiest ARTCC, its responsible forthe largest block of airspace of any ATC facility; 18 million square miles. Oakland directs all upper-level flight from San Luis Obispo, California to theCalifornia/Oregon boarder, including most Pacific oceanic routes. The failurehappened at 7:13 a.m. local time during the morning departure push. Controllers estimated there were 60-80 aircraft under their control when thepower died. All radar screens went dark and all radios went silent. It took 45minutes to restore radios and bring up a backup radar system. It was more thanan hour before the main radar presentations came on line. One controller described the sudden quiet in the control suite as theloudest silence Ive ever heard (UPI , 1995). He went on to say there waspanic on everybodys face as they realized they had been rendered deaf, dumb,and blind by this catastrophic equipment failure. It took a few minutes forcontrollers to realize the shut-down had affected the entire facility. There wasno book procedure to cover this emergency scenario, so most controllersimprovised. Controllers in adjourning Los Angeles, Salt Lake, and Seattle ARTCCs andvarious Terminal Radar Approach Controls (TRACON; the level of radar coveragebelow upper-level ARTCC radar) were asked to take control over all airspacewithin their radar coverage, and divert aircraft under their control inbound toNorthern California. Control towers in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose,Sacramento, and other airports in the area were instructed to hold all IFRdepartures on the ground. The most difficult problem was getting notification tothe airborne flight crews. In one case, controller Mike Seko said, We had Napatower telling high altitude aircraft Oakland Center had lost everything, and toswitch to emergency frequencies (Seko, UPI, 1995). But most airborne aircrafton Oakland Center frequencies were in a state of lost-comm unless they figuredout what happened on the ground and switched to another ARTCC or TRACON. Flight crews did their own improvising. Some pilots squawked VFR andcontinued the flight on their own. Others continued on their previously issuedclearance, while others climbed into or descended out of Class A airspacewithout a clearance. Later analysis tells us one of the biggest problems was nobody believeda prolonged outage like this could occur. Both controllers and supervisorsworked on the assumption their radar and radios would come back any moment now. The same thought process prevailed at Bay (Oakland) TRACON where operations wereparalyzed by the Centers blackout. Its impossible to say how many separation losses occurred during thehour-long episode. Some near mid-air reports were filed, but the vast majorityof separation-loss situations will probably go unreported. After power wasrestored, and the primary radar system was returned to operation, extensive airtraffic delays, diversions, and flight cancellations persisted for many hours atBay area airports, especially departures from San Francisco International. We may never know the full aftermath of this incident. Changes will bemade as to how power is fed to ATC facilities, and how maintenance is performed. Contingency plans will be rewritten and controllers will be trained how toimplement them. Meanwhile, controllers nation wide are brushing up on their non-radar and lost-comm procedures. After an extensive investigation, its now clear why the failureoccurred. One of three power sources was down for maintenance testing. Thesecond power source failed unexpectedly. When technicians tried to bring thethird power source on-line, a faulty circuit board failed in a critical powerpanel, preventing power from being restored. Oakland Center was completely dead. This was the story of one air traffic control facilitys system failure. Dont think this was an isolated incident though. A partial list of this yearsATC radar failures:Chicago Center lost their primary radar system when the 1970s technology IBM9020E host computer went down for 29 hours. ASR-9 radar failure at Miami TRACON possibly due to a lighting strike. Miamiswitched to a back-up ASR-9 system at Fort Lauderdale. The Fort Lauderdalesystem then failed just as technicians at Miami brought their radar on-line. Miami failed again forcing controllers to revert to non-radar procedures. Fort Worth Centers host computer lost power while technicians were replacingsome related processing equipment. Back-up radar was on-line for almost threehours. All departures experienced a 60-90 minute delays. Pittsburgh TRACON briefly lost communication and radar with 38 flights in theair. Radar contact was lost for 5-8 minutes. Everyone from vacationing families to the director of the FederalAviation Administration recognizes the national air traffic control system is indesperate need of reform. Host computer systems are 20 years old, power suppliesare at times unreliable, and facilities are under-manned with over-workedcontrollers. Moral is low at facilities because of these problems. The mainproblem that currently plagues the system though is whos going to take chargeof the situation and with what reform plan. The controllers union has theirreform plan as does the FAA and the law makers in Washington. These groups fightamongst themselves to promote their reconstruction plan, but meanwhile nothingsaccomplished and the skies stay unsafe. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is the unionthat replaced the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO). NATCA, representingthe controller work force, supports a plan to structure theair traffic control branch of the FAA. NATCA endorses the government corporationconcept for air traffic control because, it goes furthest towards correctingthe FAAs personnel, procurement, and budgetary problems (NATCA policystatement, 1995). The union goes on to say theyll back any legislative measurethat addresses at a minimum, the following personnel, procurement, and budgetaryconcerns:Provides for protection of retirement, benefits, and job security consistentwith applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Need for long-term leadership at the FAA. Provide the FAA with the ability to hire personnel when needed and allowindividuals to transfer to where theyre needed most, regardless of artificialhiring/managing caps. Provide the FAA with the ability to attract and retain high caliberindividuals. Allow the FAA and its recognized unions, the ability to seek a morestreamlined and factual classification system. Provides a flexible procurement system that mitigates the effects theappropriations process has on large contracts, allows for more off-the-shelfpurchasing, and reforms the contracting appeals process. Provides some relief from the Budget Enforcement Act. Allows for increased (but reasonable) user and internal union input. NATCA actively lobbies their concerns how ATC reform should occur. JamesPoole is the Vice President of NATCAs Great Lakes Region. In September of thisyear, he testified before the House Committee on Transportation andInfrastructures Aviation Subcommittee. He presented an air traffic controlsystem that was in a state of distress . He went on to say the numerousequipment outages nationwide is an indicator the system is moving towardsfailure. Although he gave credit to FAA Administrator David Hinson for somereform actions (such as canceling the failed Advanced Automation System), hedebated the administrators claim the ATC system was 99.4% reliable. Poole said,they (the FAA) are striving to maintain user confidence in the system but theirstrategy tends to trivialize very serious system deficiencies. (UPI, 1995)Again, Poole offered NATCAs recommendation to Congress and the FAA on how toassist the crumbling air traffic control system:Reform the procurement policies so new technology enters the system while itsnew technology. Provide better funding mechanisms for the FAAAuthorize and fund hiring an additional 1,500 controllers. Implement a vehicle to attract high caliber controllers at the busiestfacilities. Many NATCA controllers believe they are able to survive each days shiftin spite of their equipment, not because of it. Its a known fact the technologycontained in a laptop computer outperforms the capacity of the IBM 9020E thatsupports all FAA radar facilities. NATCA goes on to the claim the digitalclarity of a cellular phone is light-years ahead of the antiquated radios nowusedto communicate. John Carr is an air traffic controller at Chicago OHareTRACON and is that facilitys representative for NATCA. His analogy follows;Our nation has entered the on-ramp of the information superhighway. The FAAcant even get their Pinto out of the driveway. (AP, 1995)In 1989, the Chicago System Safety and Efficiency Review recommendedthat a new TRACON be built. A new TRACON and tower at OHare were built and areset for commissioning in late 1996. The price for the TRACON building alone was$100 million dollars. The equipment will cost $200 million dollars. NATCAproposes though, its just radios and rada r. The union reiterates the FAA hasonce again chosen to ignore their most valuable resource; the working airtraffic controller. Carr said the transition plan to the new TRACON calls for 77controllers working six-day workweeks in order to man both facilities. This isrequired so theres orderly training, testing, and transition. According to Carr,there are only 67 controllers, and seven of those are leaving. The staffing forthe new TRACON will be 21 controllers per shift. Using the FAAs own StaffingStandard Plan, OHare TRACON should have 30 controllers per shift. Carr says,this is woefully inadequate and we believe it does a disservice to the user. Basics On Keats EssayA loss of timely and accurate weather reporting would be devastating tothe aviation industry. There have been too numerous aviation accidents caused byunreported or undetected weather conditions. Controllers and pilots alike agreethat SOS represents a serious degradation of service to the aviation community. They call for an immediate return to manned observation stations untilimprovements are made to the automated style of weather reporting. How could the FAA and other national agencies miss these systemdeficiencies? Even with all the criticism coming from every corners of theaviation environment, contractors continue to install and commission SOS. Unbelievable. The reform of the nations air traffic control system is not just oneplan laid out by one person or group. On Capitol Hill,where the final formulawill be decided on, there are several bills before various House and Senatecommittees. Some call for an air traffic control structure thats totallyseparate from the federal government, another calls for the government to run aquasi-independent ATC system, plan. Whatever the outcome is, the desire isbasically the same; eliminate the government procurement nightmare and allowmoney to flow into the equipment buyers hands. A bill to separate the Federal Aviation Administration from theDepartment of Transportationhas already won support from the HouseTransportation subcommittee. In a rare showing of bipartisan politics, thesubcommittee unanimously passed the measure and sent it up to the full committee. The legislation would make the FAA an independent agency, free to set up itsown rules for personnel moves and procurement. The organization would be exemptfrom federal budget restraints, and have total authority to spend its portionof the Aviation Trust Fund as it saw fit. Representative James Oberstar, authorof the bill said, Today is the day when we begin to unscramble the egg that wasscrambled in 1966 when nearly a dozen federal agencies were combined into theDOT. It worked for some agencies, but not for the FAA. (AP, 1995) The bill hasalmost total backing from the aviation community, but is opposed by the Clintonadministration. As discussed earlier, the Clinton Administration is fully behindthe formation of the United States Air Traffic Service corporation which wouldtotal privatize ATC services. . Another bill circulating is sponsored by Senator John McCain. His billwould make the FAA a quasi-independent agency financed largely through user fees. Obviously, this legislation has almost no support from those who would be forcedto finance the majority of the system; aircraft owners, pilots and the generalaviation community. They are afraid they would be obliged to provide the revenueto fund the reformed FAA. Fee structure would be based on aircraft performance. Commercial and business jets would be charged for ATC services based on theabove. Opponents to this measure ask, If we want a higher altitude, will thecontroller ask for a major credit card? (AP, 1995)FAA Administrator David Hinson has praised this bill saying it wouldgive the FAA greater flexibility in purchasing and managing personnel. TheMcCain bill is seen as a compromise to the administrations efforts, but stillrelies heavily on user fees. Representative Jim Lightfoot has proposed to reform the FAA from within. Along with Representative John Duncan (head of the House Aviation Subcommittee),their bill would give the FAA independent-agency status, removing it from theDepartment of Transportation. Lightfoot said, our legislation will streamlinethe FAA, reform the costly and often delayed rule-making process, and increaseaviation safety. The legislation is seen by some as an attempt to counter theUSATS proposal by President Clinton. It also appears many aircraft owners andpilots support this reform action. There is quite an array of legislation proposed to reform our nationsaging, outdated air traffic control system. One has to suppose each effort hasthe good of the consumer in mind as time ticks by without any changes. The following is an editorial that appeared in the September 4, 1995edition of the Federal Times. It was written by a controller at Denver Center:Last year, air travelers flew 520 billion miles within the U.S. airtraffic control system. This year that system seems to be falling apart. Eachtime an air traffic control centers radar shuts down, every traveler blinks andgulps. When air traffic controllers hand out scary literature in airports andair traffic control outages are separated by days instead of years, its timefor some serious attention to the system. That being the case, youd think wedhave invested time, talent cash in the best darn air traffic control system theworld had ever seen. Instead were limping along with computers whose vacuumtubes are the butt of jokes on late-night television shows. Too often, ourcontrollers are silenced and blinded by technical failures 11 since lastSeptember. Glitches force controllers to pass planes between centers viatelephone. Now even backup systems have started to fail. As it has tried toupdate its now 30-year-old machinery, the Federal Aviation Administration hasbecome a budget ary black hole. A May General Accounting Office review foundmodernization contract completion dates slipping and sliding as costs mount. Congress has wrung a pledge from FAA for an interim fix in 1997 at five of 20big centers, with the other 15 to be upgraded by 1998. Thats a small start, butlittle solace to fliers. Its time for legislators and aviation administratorsto call a halt to this Russian roulette in the skies. Quit waiting for accidentsand outcry to prod action. Get the equipment tested, functioning and in place. Staff towers and centers to match the growing number of planes. Breathe harddown the necks of the officials responsible until it gets done and done right. Get us the system we deserve and have paid for. Do it now.(World Wide Web, FAA Homepage, 1995)The Oakland Center nightmare could have caused the largest loss of lifefrom an aviation-related accident. There literally could have been bodies andairplane wreckage falling from the skies throughout Northern California. Butthankfully, it didnt happen. The day was saved by every controller workingwestern Americas airspace that day. The day was saved by pilots that followedpreviously assigned clearances, and those that were worthy enough aviators toweave their way through uncontrolled, but not uncrowded airspace. Everyones got an opinion. In this case, everyone knows the best way tofix the crumbling airways. NATCA wants the FAA structures as a corporation wouldbe. But the union goes on to say theyll support any legislation that meetstheir laundry list of concerns. The FAA wants to restructure the system fromwithin. The also support the notion of freeing their agency from the procurement,budgeting, and hiring stranglehold theyre under from the federal government. And then our nations lawmakers got involved. There are approximately fivevariations the basic reform bill making their way around Capitol Hill. Theres aplan to totally privatize the FAA, another to partly privatize it, another torework it from within, and a few other variations of those. Legislators havetheir own reasons to support certain bills; is our safety one of them?The Federal Times editorial sums up an everyday controllers concern. Hes the one working with that aged computer equipment, hes the one working theunnecessarily long shifts, hes the one scared every day his screen will go darkduring the morning rush hour. I would be inclined to listen very closely to hisconcerns and follow his recommendations towards a solution. The FAAs Quality statement declares the agency as an organization dedicated to eliminating barriers, improving communication, providingadditional opportunities for training, and constantly encouraging all personnelto seek ways to improve. The FAA is proud of its Quality activities becausethey foster such initiatives as continuous improvement of work processes,empowerment of employees, partnering of labor and management, and re-engineering. (World Wide Web FAA Home-page, 1995) These are very lofty goalsthat always require improvement. But will disaster strike before their processesgets us a new ATC system?

Policies and Products of Alibaba Group, China

History of Alibaba Group Alibaba Group’s origin dates back to the late 1990s. Jack Ma who was initially an English instructor in Hanzhou established the Alibaba Group in the late 1990s together with almost 20 other members. They had a common conviction that small companies had the ability to influence expertise and novelty via the internet to develop and rival more efficiently in the local and international markets.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Policies and Products of Alibaba Group, China specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company launched its website, Alibaba.com that assisted small Chinese entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and exporters to sell their products on the international market. Over the years, the firm has grown into a world leader when it comes to mobile and online commerce (Liu Forsythe, 2010). It had a successful IPO in the US that turned out to be the largest in the history of IPOs (Tho mas Barreto, 2014). The company runs its basic operations from China. As of September 2014, it had a market value of 231 billion US dollars. Its website is also among the twenty websites that have the highest online traffic in the world accounting for a significant portion of parcel deliveries to China. The website is also responsible for over two-thirds of China’s online sales (Liu Forsythe, 2010). The firm is currently planning to establish businesses in India, which is one of the world’s most populous countries in its expansionary plans. India provides one of the largest markets in terms of consumers. Alibaba’s Innovations One of Alibaba’s greatest innovations is Alibaba.com that accounts for the huge profits that the company enjoys. The initial Alibaba.com website listed thousands of China’s factories that offered manufacturing outsourcing services for numerous sectors within the Chinese economy. The website enabled foreign firms and business es that were looking for manufacturers of the right kind to produce the products they needed. The innovation made the orders placed for the production of goods by the Chinese run into thousands of units. Another great innovation by the Alibaba Group is Taobao, which is an online consumer portal that is closely similar to the United States’ eBay.com (Yang, 2006). Taobao is a consumer-to-consumer portal that enables clients to trade between or among themselves. However, Taobao was unique in some aspects. It was able to tap into Alibaba’s existing database of manufacturers and producers.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Taobao made it possible for factories and farmers to have a direct link with customers. Taobao allowed both consumers and producers of commodities to transact directly without the need for intermediaries via its order fulfilment services and centre s. Taobao has been proved a powerful economic engine. When this innovation is combined with the emerging middle class in China that is made up of at least 400 million potential consumers, the results are incredible. This innovative consumer-to-business model has completely changed the way businesses operate. The producers have taken up the roles that were initially played by businesses, thus making them improve on their profits. This situation has necessitated the need for manufacturers to come with customised options for the goods they offer to their clients. The situation applies with intermediaries who go to the extent of repackaging and/or mixing the product to come up with a product that meets the specific needs of their customers. Digital distribution is also an incredible innovation by the Alibaba Group. With this innovation, it is now possible to consume products such as movies, music, video games, and series over the air without necessarily having to purchase the hardcopy c omponents. With virtual deliveries of goods, unlike the traditional items, much of the overhead costs are eliminated. Digital distribution does away with physical storage or shipment of such items with no accompanying reproduction costs (Premkumar, 2003). This distribution innovation has inspired other innovative business models such as SaaS (software as a service). With SaaS, users are able to test software free of charge and/or buy additional features via micro-transactions. SaaS is a model that is becoming popular in gaming (Cusumano, 2010). It is widely adopted by business-to-business start-ups that provide basic services to their clients cheaply while finding other means of charging the top-tier accounts. To ensure success, the free trial model usually means that a developer of a given game is able to deliver frequent updates of his or her game content, including new characters, new powers, features, and levels. The company believes that to guarantee an increase in revenues, it has to lend a listening ear to its existing audiences and find out whatever it is that they desire next in relation to a given line of products.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Policies and Products of Alibaba Group, China specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More SaaS has changed the handling of customers for the better (Cusumano, 2010). Initially, during the product era, shipment of the final iteration took place without the customers having any real say on the products on offer. Organisational Approaches to Drive Innovations Alibaba Group has a three-pronged organisational approach when it comes to innovation. Firstly, the firm explores the desirability of a given innovative product to its consumers. The reason for this step is to ensure that it does not invest heavily in products that eventually turn out to be obsolete within a very short time due to their inability to satisfy specific customer requirements. Anothe r reason for checking out for the desirability of the product among its consumers is to ensure that the company does not suffer a taint to its image that currently portrays it as one of the world’s largest e-commerce company (Fan Huang, 2007). A disastrous innovation may serve as a steppingstone for some of its competitors who may be trying to catch up with it. Even though the firm may institute some recovery measures to revamp its image in a case of any ruin, the damage done to the firm in terms sales may be far-reaching and almost irreversible. This human-centred approach has been responsible for driving much of Alibaba Group’s evolution. The second consideration in warming up to innovations is viability. Any innovation that Alibaba Group considers must be in line with its business strategy. The firm prioritises technologies that are compatible with its business model. It has to enhance it to realise unprecedented growth rates. This certainly informed the firmâ€⠄¢s decision to buy AutoNavi, a mapping company, whose value to the company’s operations appeared strategic. AutoNavi has the potential of channelling more customers to the firm’s Taobao and Tmall (Guo Hu, 2012). As such, it avails a complement for Alibaba Group’s core business. It will also avail much more innovation relating to consumer preferences and whereabouts through its tracking services that will supplement offline data to online data that Alibaba Group has in its possession. Such online to offline (O2O) cohesion raises switching costs, consequently strengthening the network effects. In addition, AutoNavi will assist Alibaba Group in diversifying into mobile consumption.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third factor in Alibaba Group’s innovation approach is feasibility. The company evaluates its ability to handle and implement certain innovations. Focus here is on the availability of the human resources that are needed to implement such innovation. Technological advancements usually carry with them certain minimum requirements in terms of accessibility to complementary facilities and resources, some of which may not be readily available in the market. Implementation of a technology in the absence of the necessary structure can have adverse effects on a firm since this situation incredibly increases the chances of failure. In cases where Alibaba Group does not have the required structures, it tries to explore the possibilities of sourcing for them. At times, the firm is forced to scout for talent in various areas of innovation in which it is not well endowed. All the three organisational approaches to driving innovations have guaranteed the firm success in the launch and implementation of various innovations (Qinghe, 2013). This situation has made it possible for the firm to experience unprecedented growth without any major setbacks that might have had the effect of cutting back on the already-achieved milestones. For Alibaba Group, being in possession of large amounts of extra cash does not mean it invests in just any kind of innovation without getting deep down into detailed information regarding the innovation’s feasibility, desirability, and viability. According to Jack Ma, success lies in being thorough in whatever one adopts to minimise the impact of setbacks that may come along the way. Alibaba versus its Global Competitors Alibaba Group’s main competitors in the e-commerce sector are Amazon and eBay. Alibaba Group has performed incredibly well in the face of stiff competition from both eBay and Amazon, with statistics and published reporting intimating that the Alibaba Group’s revenues surpass the combined earnings of Am azon and eBay. Sales records for Alibaba indicate that the firm’s e-commerce business is growing faster than that of its two closest business rivals for the first and second quarters of 2014 (Fan Huang, 2007). Moreover, the gap that separates its growth from that of Amazon and eBay seems to widen fast. This observation is a clear indication of how the leadership role that Alibaba Group plays is taking shape in the e-commerce Market (Filson, 2004). However, there is a variation between Alibaba Group and its competitors when it comes to market dominance. For instance, Alibaba Group’s dominance is in the Chinese market where it controls an estimated 80% of the online market, especially with its Alipay and Taobao components (Shen, 2012). On the other hand, Amazon controls much of the North American market where it competes closely with eBay. Judging by the nature of their dominance, it is rather obvious that real head-on competition between Alibaba Group and these two com petitors can only take place outside their strongholds. Therefore, these firms will be targeting new markets that have not been explored much and/or where no firm has an established presence. Alibaba Group has an added advantage over eBay and Amazon due to some of the facilities it enjoys. One of them is that it has the Chinese government’s support behind it (Qian, 2012). China is seeking to move away from manufacturing as the main economic activity into consumerism. It is counting on eBay as one of the ways out in achieving this vision. Additionally, Alibaba Group enjoys a huge market base back home compared to Amazon and eBay. This advantage serves as a good foundation in its growth and expansion plans. With efficient plans in place, Alibaba Group does not have anything to worry about competition from its close competitors. Competition in terms of Innovation When it comes to innovation-based competition, one needs to consider various aspects to analyse the position of Aliba ba Group in relation to its competitors. First, Alibaba Group seems to have copied Amazon’s business model. However, to make its product better and more attractive, it has included some extra innovative components to its models as a way of customising its products to have a more desirable response to customer needs and requirements of manufacturers and other producers of commodities. In the view of these facts, it becomes a bit challenging to come up with a clear position on this issue. If one chooses to ignore the allegations of copying on part of Alibaba Group, it is easy to say that the firm is bound to maintain dominance due to its timely and relevant innovations. Alibaba’s Entrepreneurial Model Alibaba Group’s entrepreneurial model is a great one. It has won the envy of other firms in the e-commerce industry and other industries as well. The company has a diversified model that consists of three main sites that run the different aspects of its business. Eac h site is tasked with ensuring creativity and innovativeness on its part. Tmall deals with online sales of goods that are branded such that they focus on China’s middle class that is among the fastest growing portions of the population (Guo Hu, 2012). Taobao is the second site that focuses on shopping. The third site is Alibaba.com that helps in linking firms all over the world with Chinese exporters who host millions of businesses and merchants with many users. With the addition of Alipay, Alibaba Group has a big stake in the online market and hence huge growth prospects. Conclusion: The Degree of Alibaba Group’s Success in its Approach to Innovation Alibaba’s approaches to innovation have had great degrees of success upon judging by growth in sales and the market base that the firm has gained over the years. Some of its creative business models have introduced new concepts into the market. Such concepts have helped in terms of simplifying its business. For in stance, alibaba.com was the first website in the world to enable foreign firms to connect directly with manufacturing firms that are located in China. It made it easy for them to outsource the production of goods at low costs without having to go through intermediaries that cause the prices of various goods to go up. Many firms have been attracted to do business with China. The result is an immense increase in the number of orders that are received by Chinese firms. In terms of financial innovation, Alipay has had a great success by attracting millions of subscribers (Shen, 2012). Alipay is currently offering great competition to PayPal. Alibaba Group was able to outstrip Amazon of its status as the preferred e-commerce service provider in China. It has rose to become China’s preferred online transactions firm that controls more than 80% of the country’s online business. Considering the degree of success that Alibaba Group has recorded over the years, it is clear that it is headed for greater heights. Reference List Cusumano, M. (2010). Cloud computing and SaaS as new computing platforms. Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 27-29. Fan, S., Huang, Q. (2007). Networked Manufacturing and Mass Customisation in the E-Commerce Era: the Chinese Perspective. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 20(2/3), 107-114. Filson, D. (2004). The Impact Of E-Commerce Strategies On Firm Value: Lessons From Amazon.com And Its Early Competitors. The Journal of Business, 77(S2), S135-S154. Guo, M., Hu, W. (2012). Tmall Incident – A Legal Problem or Business Operation Dispute. Advanced Materials Research, 472(1), 3455-3461. Liu, C., Forsythe, S. (2010). Sustaining Online Shopping: Moderating Role of Online Shopping Motives. Journal of Internet Commerce, 9(2), 83-103. Premkumar, P. (2003). Alternate Distribution Strategies for Digital Music. Communications of the ACM, 46(9), 89-95. Qian, G. (2012). Psychometric Analysis of Validity of Trust Evaluating Indicators in C2C Online Markets: A Case Study of Taobao. Sensor Letters, 10(1), 124-130. Qinghe, Y. (2013). The online shopping change the retail business model: A survey of the people use online shopping in China. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 15(5), 77-110. Shen, W. (2012). Deconstructing the myth of Alipay Drama. Repoliticising foreign investment in the telecommunications sector in China. Telecommunications Policy, 36(10-11), 929-942. Thomas, D., Barreto, E. (2014). Alibaba’s choice of U.S. IPO spurred by rivals, Hong Kong impasse: sources. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-ipo/alibabas-choice-of-u-s-ipo-spurred-by-rivals-hong-kong-impasse-sources-idUSBREA2I0OA20140319 Yang, B. (2006). Some Personality Correlates of Using EBay. Psychological Reports, 99(7), 762. This report on Policies and Products of Alibaba Group, China was written and submitted by user Rihanna Key to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Examination of Twitter and how social media can be used by businesses rely on immaterial labor The WritePass Journal

Examination of Twitter and how social media can be used by businesses rely on immaterial labor Abstract Examination of Twitter and how social media can be used by businesses rely on immaterial labor AbstractIntroductionDEELVRAAGResearch MethodologyMarketing op internetMarketing in TwitterLiterature reviewImmaterial labourFinding and discusionsTwitter als one-way marketinginstrumentTwitter as a source of news/ people opinionTwitter to create a hypeCompanies using   twitters users networkTwitter as helpdeskOther forms of twitter useCelebritiesPoliticiansTwitter ActionsFrom Free Labor to Voluntary Immaterial LaborReferenceRelated Abstract Nowadays the main trend on the net is the rissing numbers of Social media Appilications, which all have a common factor.   They all depend largely on the users-generated content in simle terms the users of the application. Users create the websites. The process of creating and adding content is a way of working which Italian autonomists call immaterial labor. An example of a social media site that is filled by immaterial labor, is Twitter Not only individuals use social media websites such as Twitter, companies also are active on Twitter. The site is increasingly used as a marketing tool, companies see the value of sending tweets to followers, twitter is becoming very important in companies marketing mix. There are books which addresses the ways you can reach potential customers on Twitter and there are even courses learning companies using Twitter effecitelve and as effecient as possible. Yet there is no clear one way process for the companies to use or to follow. Actually use of twitter by companies   can not be described in one particular method. The purpose of this dessertetion is to examibe the certain ways Twitter can be used by businesses and how enterprises could rely on immaterial labor of their followers Introduction Social media websites are in a rising trend. Each year a new website/application will be lauched on the internet. Tamar Weinberg describes Social Media in his book The New Community RulesMarketring on the social web  as ‘anything where users can participate, create and share content’[1] such as profile sites like Twitter and Facebook and collaborative sites such as Wikipedia and many other blogs. The rising number of social media Initiatives on the web, are resulting in rising numbers in user generated content.   Many of the Social Media sites are largely filled by content supplied by the users. This the delivery of content is an example of   immaterial labor. Immaterial labor is performing labor which has not to be the right idea of working, but yet there is an certain value generated.   An simple example of immaterial labor is posting a message on a social media website. You create a certain value in form of information regairing a certain subject. Other users may or may not use youre provided information. Twitter is a popular appilication of social media. This site is filled by its users.   People with a twitter account are able to to post short messages about anything.   The message should be decent and cant harm others in anyway.   Twitter is very strict with this. A person with twitter account can post messages about thire current situation,   what are they doing now, what they are thinking and they can also alert other twitter users . Reply from other twitter users is common aswell, this is called re-tweet in twitter terms. Many companies discover the power of Twitter. Since its foundation in the Netherlands alone there are hundreds of companies already using twitter,   companies such as Holland international, America express and many more. Companies which are using twitter are actively approaching potential customers each in their own way,   because twittering is a relatively new form of information transfer, there are few standardized methods on how it can be done.   Thus   many companies devise their own ways   using Twitter into their marketing strategy. In some approaches trying to fit twitter into the marketing strategy the immaterial labor of other users have a big impact on the company and its marketing strategy. The purpose of this dessertetion is to examine the ways Twitter is currently being used by companies.   DEELVRAAG In which ways   companys use twitter to spreak their messages? How are companys using the willingness of there followers to perform immaterial labour. Before the analysis a further explaination of immaterial labor is neccesarry. the theory of   Lazzarato and Terra Nova about immaterial albour will   be discussed in theoretical framework aswell as the terms social factory and free labour will be the main themes in theoretical framework.   After a clasification of the case study the different ways twitter used by companys will be analyssed and disccussed Finally, an formulation or the writers own criticism of the idea of free labor, by stating that the emphasis is strongly on the exploitation of immaterial labor Research Methodology This dissertation will be based mainly on the qualitative analysis. In which ways did twitter change the ideas about marketing. Marketing op internet Internet is still not yet fully integrated marketing tool by many companies. The reason is because Internet and the digital world in relative terms are fairly new, developments are followed up quickly, making it very difficult for marketers to perform on a certain development, something new seems interesting until a new features is   added. The Internet is a momentary medium, you can’t predict it, what today is a must for companies can be changed rapidly. Through this turbulent nature of the Internet, some companies are not really convinced to invest in this relative new media. Instead of this they try to use the so called old media like television, radio, newspapers etc.. This gives them a certain guarantee. Yet there are already companies that see the value of the Internet as a marketing tool.   There are many advantages.   Advertising on the Internet:   the range is large and the costs are relatively low. Moreover, if something is advertised on the Internet   companys can precisely track how many people see a particular ad, who clicks on it and many more features. The possibilities are endless. With the rise of Social Media.   Profile web sites such as Facebook and Twitter increase   the possibilities   for companies to invest in Internet even more. For   example, companies can be in touch with individuals on the social network, with almost no costs involved. Marketing in Twitter In a full page e-article in the Handelscourant ( Dutsch business newspaper) of april 2nd, 2011 an interview with businessman Jelle Van der Doorn: Companies that are not use Twitter are doomed. In this article Van der Doorn explains,   with the arrival of Twitter the trend on social media   is developing very rapidily. In one of the many handbooks that have been written about Internet marketing Twitter is explained as follows: Twitter is best described as a micro blogging service. The principle of Twitter is letting know what   you are currently doing. This is done using a text message that can consist of up to 140 characters. Such a message is called a Tweet in Twitter-terms. People who follow you see the Tweets which you write. Interestingly Tweets are often adopted by other people twittering creating a modern fuss/hype that often creates more widespread than the traditional media. Who, exactly, is using Twitter these days? A gadget-addicted tech geek? A twenty-something born-to-be-wired? Someone who has nothing better to do all day than post mind-numbering tweets? Of course not! These days Twitter crosses a wide swath of people from all walks of life.[2] This   fuss/hype will prove to be relevant to companies wanting spread the message to as many people as possible. A detailed expalnation about this topic will be done in the case study fouded in theoretical framework. While Twitter was created for individuals to socialise, Twitter appears to be very interesting for companies aswell. Especially as a platform for marketing, since Twitter is increasingly viewed by companies as an interesting marketing tool. There are conferences about Twitter, there are courses organized and there are books with tips on how to best use Twitter for your business. A recent publication on this issue from Hallis Thomases first book, she removes the prejudice about tweeter and explains why companies need to use twitter/ Who, exactly, is using Twitter these days? A gadget-addicted tech geek? A twenty-something born-to-be-wired? Someone who has nothing better to do all day than post mind-numbering tweets? Of course not! These days Twitter crosses a wide swath of people from all walks of life.[3] What Thomases   could not   know when writing her book is the fact that on April 15, 2010 an anouncement would be done by official Twitter Congress announcing that at that time there were 105 million Twitter users and 300,000 users joining twitter every month. Also interesting to mention is the fact that Twitter.com had a traffic of 180 million unique visitors/viewers each month. The number of users are still increasing. Thomases then provides that Twitter is still in development: Twitter’s full versatility has not even been tapped out yet. It seems like every few weeks, another innovative use of Twitter comes to light.[4] Literature review Immaterial labour Producing Tweets on Twitter is a form of work described as immaterial labor by   Italian autonomists. Sociologist and Social Theorist Maurizio Lazzarato gives as a definition of immaterial labor: labor producing informational and cultural conent of the commodity. Theorist Maurizio Lazzaroti makes a distinction between the informational and cultural content. As explained in these terms, he indicates that the informational content is related to the workflow of the workers. Nowadays, in the modern world, the labor   are increasingly following the   automated work processes trend meaning machines replace human labor. More work is done on or by   the computer and there is less hand work. Examples of occupations in this manner include journalist, bank employees, and many more. What these professions have in common is that they produce nothing physical. Both the form of work   and the final product is intangible. The cultural content is related to the nature of the work. Lazzarato describes the cultural content of immaterial labor as a collection of activities that are not immediately seen as work, but are actually are. An example is creating a public opinion, or   measuring cultural standards. A characteristic of immaterial labor in both the informational content and the cultural contemt is the increasing importance of the   individual subjectivity of the worker in employment. This in contrast to employment in the period of Fordism, where a strict separation between people who believed and those who performed was highly measurable. For example if you were a employee working in factory, you just had to   produce and not think. Nowadays labor is more focused on factory without walls   Tronti   describes this term as the social factory.   He means that the whole society has become a kind of factory. The process of production is not only done in factories, but production is decentralized.   Products are not only mad in factory. []the whole of society becomes an articulation of power; in other words, the whole of society exists as a function of the factory and the factory extends its exclusive domination over the whole of society.[5] The information flow on the Internet can be used to understand what is meant by Social Factory. With the rise of the Internet and the digital economy, labor is decentralized. People do not longer work in one place. Society and production facility become one, making the difference between work and leasure activity very low. People use their free time to work.   During working times they can do things as a consumer buyinm products from internet. The boundary between work and non-work is no longer clear. People can be employees, the producers, while being a consumer at the same time. A clear example is freelance. They work during their free time, or they have free time during their work, the difference between work and non-work has largely faded. Another characteristic of immaterial labor described by the Italian autonomists is the idea that consumption no longer leads to destruction. Earlier, during Fordism,   the life cycle of produced goods was simple. Something was produced and was then consumed. During the process of consuming the product was and some products more slowly than others destroyed. Today, consumption lead to a new form of production. Lazzarato writes: The particularity of the commodity produced through immaterial labor [] consists in the fact that it is not destroyed in the act of consumption, but rather it enlarges, transforms, and creates the ideological and cultural environment of the consumer. This commodity does not produce the physical capacity of labor power; instead, it transforms the person who uses it. Immaterial labor produces first and foremost a social relationship.[6] The consumption of something does not automatically means the end product. If you consume information as a consumer this leads to the production of new information. Examples of cases involving consumer consumption which leads to production of new information can be seen on popular websites that use popularity ratings. On the video site YouTube, for example, you can   track how many people have looked at some clips. After viewing a certain clip the view rating will rise in this way youtube can produce best viewd clips day/week/month/year. So when you view a clip( consumption) you produce information ( +1 in viewed ). With this information websites such as Youtube, Twitter and many more can make money by offering this most viewed clips as a potential market for a promotion tools. A compnay knows exactly how many people will see the advert if they play a advert before this popular clip. The popular the clip(youtube example) the more a company has to pay in order to promote the product s. Companies are not the only ones who are broadcasting   on Twitter. Company are partly dependent on other Twitter users.   These other twitters will retweet information to the other users in positive or negative way, They also can ask question regaring certain products/services. Twitter users can also simultaneously produce and consume information. Through Retweet (RTs) making a new Tweet from a old Tweet.   For example company A offers new kind of holiday packages Tweeter A consume the information and Retweets on the old tweet regarding the package holiday by mentioning other compnays offering same/better services( Producing new information while consuming the old one) Consumption on twitter leads to production. Describing Lazzaratos theory of immaterial labor in previous chapter, producing content for the Internet such as Tweets on Twitter – can be seen as immaterial labor. However, it can also be seen as what Terranova appoint in her article: Free Labor. This type of work is characterized by two things, first, the work with no money in return( free as costless),   and secondly its not an forced work, people do it because they like it (free as volentary). Especially in the early days of the internet, this form of labor was very popular. People were   building communities and sites filled with certain content. Now the proportions are slightly different In the overdeveloped countries, the end of the factory has spelled out the obsolescence of the old working class, but it has also produced generations of workers who have been repeatedly addressed as active consumers of meaningful commodities. Free labor is the moment where this knowledgeable consumption of culture is translated into productive activities that are pleasurably embraced and at the same time often shamelessly exploited.[7] Content produced by individuals on the Internet, have been shamelessly exploited by large media companies. These include using content of their visitors to get more people on their website.Having more visitors, means more revenue from advertising. Indirectly the work of indivuals using free labor will be used to make money. Video Site YouTube.com is an example of a website which works this way. The site consists of movies made ​​by individuals. But the only ones who are   making money are the owners of YouTube, Google. Later in this dessertetion an further analyse of   operating principle exploitation of free labor wil be discsusses. Finding and discusions To explore ways Twitter is used by companies for marketing and selling purposes and to analyze how they make use of the immaterial labor of individual tweeters, a more detailed description of number of ways twitter is use by company will be described in this chapter. This will be grouped in the ways company use twitter and in each sub section a feed back will be created to notion of immaterial labour. Firstly   there is a clear distinction between two major ways Twitter is used.   Some forms of Twitter use are clear, but its usually one direction, others are seen as a dialogue, two sided. Companies that use Twitter as a one-way marketing tools are most similar to old media, which only broadcast.   Ã‚  Tweets   are   broadcasted or Tweets are read, the information transfer is one way here. Other companies are more interactive. They respond to tweets of others, mix with poeple in online conversations and answer questions. Twitter als one-way marketinginstrument Company use Twitter   in the same way as they are using the old media like television, radio and print: as one-way instrument. It is intended to deliver a certain message through the media to the end consumer. Companies hope to get the attention of customers, because attention can lead to revenue. The concept of attention is defined in management terms as;  ´ [] focused mental engagement on a particular item of information. Items come into our awareness, we attend to a particular item, and then we decide whether to act’.[8] Eventually companys hope offcourse that customer will recognise the product and decide to act on it and in many cases buy the product.   With the concept of audience commodity Smythe explains that people are actually working, while not being at work, they are employed by the advertisers. On television, on the streets and now the Internet, they are constantly exposed to information and ads. It also deals with audience: ‘because audience power is produced, sold, purchased and consumed, it commands a price and is a commodity’.[9] As everyone now easily own contents and information on the Internet because of the easy   use of putting information online,   there is more information than you can pay attention to as an individual. Attention has become scarce, demand is greater than supply. This is the reason for companys to employ special people who can highlight the companies products/advertisement on   the Internet. all kinds of different platforms are used here: websites, advertisements, virals and social media. According to media scholar Andrew Keen   the era of social media and   in general   the rise of Twitter has been charctarised   by attention economy, Twitters ascent marks the end of the Web 2.0 period (1999-2009) and the beginning of [] what i would call the attention economy. He argues this view by stating that Twitter is all about attention, people want to be followed by many people as possible and like it when their message are viewed by many twitter users. Many Company use twitter to ask the opinion of the audience, trough the broadcast model ( from 1 sender to many recievers). Example of twitter account using this method are; John Lewis, Social party, bbc channel and many more. Examples of Tweets used by these companys are; As a MemberoftheJohn lewis you will   get10% discountonourcosmetics! Besidessavingyourpointsformore fun stuffsoon Reminder: TonightonChannel 2, 22:50 pm TheBattle ofBrussels. Dexterat 23:00hoursonchannel. 3andat 23:20hoursCannesFilmJournalon channel. 1! What really highlights this tweets is the use of the so called old patron of broadcasting.   Message ahs been transmitted by 1 sender and has been received by many receiver, there is no further interaction. Twitter as a source of news/ people opinion Twitter can be used as a medium to broadcast a certain message, similar to the old model of broadcastting like television. But Twitter can also work in other ways; for instance, it can also be used as a source for other media. This is shown by the example of the BBC broadcast following the egypt situation on 15/03/2011. In this broadcast the preliminary results are reported, there was reporting from the country, and the results were analyzed. So it was a traditional report analysation. BBC also used a seperarte part of the broadcast by reading some interestting tweets, in a so called BBC Cube ineternet. Internet Editors talks about certain interesting tweets twittered by other people rergarding the situation in egypt. What was new however, is that there is a cube internet was broadcasted. Internet Editor Jerome Johnson talked about the tweets send by twitter user regrarding egyptian revolts. Johnson and BBC use tweeter as a medium to get the people opinions about certain objects and information. Italian autonomists would describe this as Twitters general intellect. When the workers are freed from spending all their time at the assembly line, new forms of subjectivity and knowledge arises – the general intellect – creating [] ‘mass intellectuality’, a â€Å"repository of knowledges indivisible from living subjects and from their linguistic co–operation†[10] The idea of ​​general intellect is originally originated from Marx, who predicted the development towards a capitalist system where the subjectivity of the worker and his knowledge would increasingly be a major aspect. The development of fixed capital indicates to what degree general social knowledge has become a direct force of production, and to what degree, hence, the conditions of the process of social life itself have come under the control of the general intellect and been transformed in accordance with it.[11] BBC is not the only news channel using twitter in broadcast session. In a news report of CNN tweeter plays a important role for a very long time now.   Both on the website of CNN as   in the news bulletins on TV   CNN refers to Tweets. On television the internet editor reports the news, while he treats a specific item on its display, tweets are being sended by the general twitters regarding this subject the CNN internet editor trys to highlight and report couple of interesting tweets sended by twitter users. A good example of such an item is in Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010. Because of tweeter many local haiti people could describe the situation in haiti in tweeter sending tweets to BBC as a video link, or text comments. According earthquake expert Earle Twitter is a ideal social medium to collectively share   experiences with each other. Increasingly tweets are being reported before major news channels gets the informations regarding a certain event. Also in the case of Egyptian revolt, Tweeter was the first internet medium to highlight this issue. Many tweets were sended by eye witnesses to BBC, CNN and any other news channels explaining the current situation in egypt. CNN took advantage of that   by implementing this idea to the main CNN website now yiu can read tweets on cnn website in a so called eyewitnesses reports, this is a great idea for people who dont have a twitter account. CNN is monitoring tweets and other messages from people in Egypt and reports from those who said they have been in touch with friends and family. CNN has not been able to able to [sic] verify this material.[12] Example of a Tweets sended by a anonymous tweeetwer user to CNN : Felt that, loud and clear. Were in Cap Haitien. House (really the whole world) shook for about 30 seconds From Twitter user firesideint (Luke Renner) at 5:20 p.m. ET Just experienced a MAJOR earthquake here in Port au Prince walls were falling down. we are ALL fine pray for those in the slums From Twitter user troylivesay in Port-au-Prince, Haiti at 5:24 p.m. ET The remarkable thing is   that CNN uses Twitter as a source of   eyewitness testimonys rather than   a platform with views of the people, as did the BBC during the broadcast on the Egyptian revolt.   A feature that CNN and the BBC have in common is usage of immaterial labor of the   individual tweeters. Twitter users tweeting message at home in their free time and on their own initiative, create value for the news channels, without actually felling being a employee and perfomring a certain task. This fits the description that Lazzarato gives on immaterial labor, the idea that the immaterial labor does not feels   like real work. Terranova   would argue with the fact that   CNN is exploiting the information gained from tweeter users, because CNN uses the information gained from   tweeter in theire news report without actually rewarding in monetary terms or in any other ways the author. Information Broadcasting is a way for CNN to make money, because they get more viewers if they provide good news coverage. The information they get from Twitter, they use that for the same viewers. CNN is creating value from the information on Twitter, without   providing the original author   something in return. Compared with traditional journalism is that in this new form of journalism, opinions and knowledge of the people in short, the wisdom of the crowd -plays a a greater role before the rise of Twitter. Before the rise of tweeter the opinions of normal people only were dealt within television programs which were easily accessible. In news reports the opinions were only given by correspondents, reporters and social elite. Non only news channels gained valuable information on tweeter, the faaous free newspaper Metro actually encourage people using tweeter and sending interest tweets to the editors. Metro mentions Twitter in their section Tweet Week: the modern readers letters section.   Tweets about the metro and   replys   regarding certain inetersting questions are put here. In this way of using twitter it is clear that   the idea of immaterial labor is characterized by the notion that production does not lead to destruction, but to new consumption. Especially in the example of the metro this is really highlighted. The first act of consumption, reading a magazine leads   to the production of tweets containing their views on a particular article. The editors of the Metro are consuming reading and react on this by publicing a certain section on this.   Finally the readers consumer   it again by reading the section of the magazine. Twitter to create a hype In the two previous ways of using Twitter, the message was always one sided: companies use twitter as a form of advertising on the Web, the message is send to   large group of people or companiies use messages from individual Twitter users for themselves, opinions or news value that can be used by other media. But Twitter can also be used in complex ways. Companies can offer both their (advertising) message to send to their followers, and immediately ensure that Twitter users spread the certain message to others in different ways such as re-tweets or face to face advertising. When a company wants to distribute Tweets they want to be ensured that their message gets to as many people as possible. To circulate the company name and message as much as possible,   the companies are largely dependent on the willingness of individual twitter users to perform immaterial labor. This immaterial labor takes form of re-tweets, company A send information to the followers, the followers re-tweet( resend) the message to other tweeter users. This is form of a immaterial labour. For some companies, the purpose of their activities on Twitter is to create a hype/buzz around their companys name or product. Creating a hype or a buzz is a powerfull marketing way to advertise. Instead of trying to send a certain message to each potential customers many customers use a hype marketing, by trying to achieve a situation when customers promote the companys products by sending messages to each other. Research shows that 78% of consumers believe other consumers when it comes to companies and products, while only 14% of consumers find advertising reliable. Hyping or buzzing is explained by as Thomas Jr. as buzzing. ‘[] the amplification of initial marketing efforts by third parties through their passive or active influence .[13] Buzz or hype is a form of face to face or worrd to word advertising. According to Grewal this is an important source of information for consumers. Face to face influence   how people think about a product. It also appeared that word-of-mouth advertising has more impact than information which is printed, and generally considered as the most reliable form of advertising. An example of a company that has unleashed a so-called buzz, is the Donald Duck magazine. Since early February 2010, they created fictitious accounts on Twitter for some Duck city residents, like Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck and Mickey Mouse Twitter. Through these accounts, they put out story lines and let them Duck city Residents interact between each other. Meanwhile the figures are followed by thousands of people. According to editor Jim van der Weele   the participation of Donald Duck on Twitter a great success and many of their messages are beein re-tweeted. Also newsworthy messages can spread rapidly on Twitter using the immaterial labor of tweeters. A recent example is from Green lands 28 September, 2011. Then there was the official Twitter account of the Green lands   festival reported the following: The requalir tickets to the grean lands festival has been sold out, however the combo tickets are still available, visit greenlands.nl for further information [14] A day later, there was a mistake made ​​at the ticket sales, according to the following tweet. THERE WAS AN ERROR IN TICKET SYSTEM: 10,000 CJP MAPS WERE DOUBLE LOCKED. THEY ARE NOW AVAILABLE AGAIN. SEE SITE # LL10[15] This tweet was re-tweeted   by nearly 100 people, who all had their own followers. The effect was noticeable within one day the remaining 10,000 tickets were sold out. Because of twitter Green lands tweet was spread to huge potential customers base. Because   of all of   those tweeters voluntarily and on their own initiative the message was sent by Lowlands of their followers, they made ​​sure that many tickets were sold. To some extent, they created their value so geretweet Lowlands. This can be seen as a form of exploitation from Lowlands seen. The organization used the free laborof their followers to make money on ticket sales. They all reported benefit from the willingness of their followers to do work, in this case the tweeting of information to their followers. According to the popularity of adding feature # fail in Twitter. A company can be discussed by individuals in tweeter in positive or negative way. If people are unhappy with   a company, Twitter is a popular medium to discuss those complaints. Such an addition, which is called hashtag, are been used by tweeter users when they are not happy with a certain information. On the night of 25th January 2011 when the egyptian revolt took place. Many tweeter users where unhappy with the information provided by certain news channel. People found that this news channel did not provied accurate news, and let it know toeach other. There were many negative reports about   this news channel in Twitter. Due to the immaterial labor performed by tweeter users and, even those who criticize others re-tweet, this certain newschannel recived a bad reputaion in Twitter and was described as poorly news channel. There was a negative buzz about the broadcasting and provided information. Tthese three examples shows   you can not control, direct or change   the buzz and being buzzed as a company.   The buzz can be an unforeseen side effect for companies. Companies using   twitters users network A famous addition in tweeter is the Please RT. This stands for Please Retweet. This means that those who send the Tweet ask all the readers to re-tweet the message to theire followers. This can be a very easy way to get your message read by many people. Author and media expert Erwin Blom experienced this when he lauched his new bookHandbook Communities in twitter with posting   comment asking his followers to retweet his message about his new book. On his site he writes what happened with his message: I have a small base of 6,000 followers. Within that group the message   was re-sent sent by many other people. This so-called re-tweets made ​it ​sure that my message did not only reched the people who follow me, but it also reached a majority of my followers followers. In recent   8days   [sic] a small number of   959 tweets was placed regarding the   Handbook communities. Through Tweetreach I have calculated that I reached a audience of 117,497 people[sic] with no marketing budget, no traditional media, simply through the power of the network. With a Tweet and mouth to mouth advertising, more than one hundred thousand people have been reached! Word-of-mouth advertising that Barnes is talking about, or so called word to mouse   exists only because of the immaterial labor tweeter users perform. Some of the 6000 followers   of Blom performd labor by re-tweeting his message to there followers. Those people   obviously do not feel this as work, they did almost nothing. Yet they created value for the writer, and also indirectly for the publisher and bookstores. But there is another aspect that emerges here, by using Twitter Blom generated value from the network of people. Because of the people who re-tweet post to all their own networks of friends, colleagues and acquaintances, the information can spread widely. If people would not have such network, the message would not reach many people had so the message would had little value. This network of acquaintances Bourdieu described as social capital: The total existing of potential resources arising from the possession of a more or less institutionalized sustainable network of relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition [] that each of its members is a so called spine in the collective capital. Using Twitter you   generate value from the contacts people have between each other their social capital is utilized. Hardt and Negri suggest that instead of the assembly line in the factory now the network has become the organizational model of production. Another interesting fact of using users twitter network, shows us that it actually   pays off to have a large social capital, in this case in the form of many followers. Reporter GeenStijl TV Rutger Castricum tweeted on february 18, 2011: Buy youre tickets from trnsavia, GREAT DEALS A few minutes later a re- tweet from Rutger, Haha, my holiday pack to ibiza is free, just before my first message transavia called me to put tweet   Buy youre tickets from trnsavia, GREAT DEALS on my porifle page and re twet to all my followers, in exchange they prmoised me free holiday to ibiza, GREAT. At that time Rutger Castricum had 8617 followers, the Transavia advertising was already   seen by rutgers 8617 followers. Airline Transavia knows popular people will have a large amount of followers thus there social capital is fairly high. Transavia used his popularity in their advertising campagne. As the second Tweet show, they sought contact with Rutger Castricum and asked him to post the first message on Twitter. Transavia asked rutger castrcum to perfom immaterial labor. Rutger Castricum did not think putting a tweet as performing labour, but still he perfomed labour which adds value to transavia. ListenRead phoneticallyBesides, in this case Castricum had a reward in a from of a free flight – from transavia. But this is very uncommon in twitter world. Allmost all the immaterial labour perform on twitter is with no reward in any forms. Generally people are tweeting without asking anything in return. This fits the description of Terra Nova Free Labor. At the moment when people produce something, such as information or knowledge, it can be exploited by large companies, who   basically   earn money by immaterial labor supplied by individuals. Terranova explains this as follows: If knowledge is inherently collective, it is even more so in the case of the postmodern cultural economy: music, fashion, and information are all produced collectively but are selectively compensated.[16] Companys are the actual earners earning money from immatrial labor perfomred on the net. People themselves often get nothing in return. This may be one reason why companies are active on Twitter. Firstly, there are many individuals who can help others with a certain message to get, and secondly it costs a company no money, they use the free labor of tweeters. Twitter as helpdesk Many people use Twitter as a guide or help desk.   All   the random questions of all kinds of subjects can be found on twitter. The reason why twitter is such a good source media is because , among others twitter has a very   large amount of people   using it. It appears that there is always someone who knows the answer   to a certain question. Basically this is the idea of wisdom of the crowd, or collective intelligence. In science, there is a disagreement about the usefulness and quality of collective intelligence. According to Surowiecki, the mass has a greater intelligence compared to   isolated individuals. With more people   you have a greater degree of knowledge. Twitter is an ideal medium for information, because with the increased mass there is a great knwldege to be found. A famous feature in Tweeter is the co salled daretoask. People who have a question, put in the   # daretoask in their Tweet question.   people wanting to answer a certain question can search with the # daretoask option. In this way, Twitter can be seen as a place where demand and supply of information meets each other. The reason why this certain way of twittering has become so popular is that it is very easy to tweet your question. You type in the question, you press send and within a few minutes you can expect some asnwers from other twitter users. Answering questions is immaterial labor, as it happens in peoples leisure time. It does not feel like work, but despite that there is something produced, people produce information for each other. Some companies have recognised   the simpliltiy of twitters option as a question and answer   for consumers . This is reflected in accounts of companies like T-Mobile, UPC and KLM. The Twitter Employees of these companies provide paid – immaterial labour and webcare. According to Social Media expert Blom, webcare can shortly be described as Listen. Monitor whats being said about you and respond, explain, help . When in december 2011 the coldest winter in recent years hits Netherlands and in other parts of Europe allot of   travellers stranded at airports around the world and it was chaos at airports. KLM received many questions over the phone and could not initially provide good service. The company decided to deploy social media, and it started to help people through Twitter and Face book. On their Twitter account www.twitter.com/klm they answered questions, provided information and tried to help people by getting them a replacement flight. The employees of KLM web care   performed immaterial labor on Twitter by putting information on Twitter and interact with their customers. After the situation was stable again, People started twittering positive tweets about KLM and their service. KLM   basically did not use the immaterial labor of those other tweeters, rather it was an unforeseen consequence of their service. But the principle remains the same. When a company provides a good service this can be twittered by individual tweeters. The immaterial labour they perform provide a positive buzz and name recognition, and so it added value to the company Other forms of twitter use As described in prvious chapter Apart from the five main ways twitter can be used by companies. Twitter can also be used in many other ways. The main reason why this dessertetion focuses on the main five reason as described above is   becausse of   the   extensive use of the intangible work of individual tweeters in above mentioned forms of twitter use by companies. For some companies selling is not the priorety. Slightly more than half of European companies keep an record about the brand image over past years, to effectively   measure this many companys choose to use twitter, 45 percent of EU companies are using social media to improve interaction between the company and the customer. And with the rising number of talk shows using twitter as a enetertaiment source, its important to remark briefly the other ways of twiiter use by companies. Celebrities Famous celebrities were largely the reason for the popularity of Twitter worldwide. When a celebrity twitters a interesting information all the major talk shows and or magazines will use this in there broadcast and or magazine as a entertainment source for potential customers. Politicians There are also politicians who twitter, some even very fanatic. The leader of Groen links ( Dutch politician party) , Femke Halsema, is very well known politici who use twitter. She   has about 50,000 followers Femke Halseme does not use tweitter only discusiing Politics but she is also using it for private life. Its a new trend for politicians people to talk about there personal life in twitter. Twitter Actions Companies like Dell and United Airlines have such a large number of followers that they offer special promotions on twitter. United Airlines promotes several airtickets to different destination only for the United airlines followers on twitter, they do this to get more followers, which will mean a well known image in future. One of the tweets United airlines wrote; ‘Canada Tware! Floridians†¦ looking to get out of the sun? Head up north with our Canada Tware! See details @ http://tinyurl.com/yexolla’[17] The word tware is a combination between Twitter and Fare. Meanwhile it has become a familiar term in Twitter world. Computer manufacturer Dell claims to earned over 6.5 million U.S. dollars in 2009 with twares. From Free Labor to Voluntary Immaterial Labor Much has been written about the exploitation of labor by companies in todays digital economy. In the article Loser Generated Content: From Participation to Exploitation Petersen gives a list of examples of the different ways social media websites make money based on the immaterial labor of their users. Also writers like Terra Nova and Scholz emphasize that everything at work is performed on social media sites operated by large companies. Terra Nova does that with her notion of Free Labor and Scholtz suggest that: [] forty percent of all web traffic is concentrated on ten websites [] Most of these sites owe their popularity to the wealth of content generated by the visiting net publics that spend significant amounts of time on these very, very few sites thus creating wealth for a handful of corporate owners.[18] this a very pessimistic way of economic thinking which is too much focused on the commercial activities of the companies making money on immaterial labor on the Web. It may well be that money is for individuals who work, but the approach of theorists described above   one-sided view. A Marxist Analysis of Free Labor on the Internet as Schultz describes, implies that ther is a underlying plan behind Twitter for companies to earn money. Petersen also implicitly says that when he talks about the emergence of Web 2.0 in ITS early commercial stage, the Internet Proved bad at selling commodities, but really good at creating opportunities hype and economic bubbles. Something else was needed though, and subtler forms of creating surplus evolved in Web 2.0’.[19]   In the case of Twitter it seems unlikely that there is such a preconceived plan because individuals are rather using twitter than companies. Only recently companies have discovered the power of Twitter, and only recently they use it for their marketing. Petersen concluded in his article by saying that we need to find a new theory of work. A theory on one side exploitting and includes the idea of free labor, and on the other side it also takes into the consedaration that people can experience the joy of contributing to certain sites. both factors are important in research into contemporary social media. However, doing qualitative research on twitter and twitter users, then it is more efficient not to involve exploitation side. The emphasis in the Schultz, Petersen and Terra Nova analysis is they focus too much on the capitalist system behind collaborative initiatives on the Internet. To research the motives of people who are active on Twitter, it is relevant to talk about an form of work that has nothing to do with money. In that kind of research or analysis its irrelevant who makes money from the labor perfomred by people on a certain website, that is rather a conseguqnece that a cause. Most people are not twitterin because they   want to make money: Twitter is completely independent of the capitalist system of profit and earn money for individuals. In Empire Hardt and Negri say that []t he cooperative aspect of immaterial labor [] from the outside [is] imposed or organized, as in earlier forms of work was. [] This fact has reservations about the old notion which labor power as variable capital is considered, ie, as a force that is activated and made ​​coherent only by capital. This, they indicate that the initiative for example to twittering comes from people themselves. It has nothing to do with the question whether companies persuade people to do work for them. People are   twittering because they like it or find it useful to get in touch with each other. In my opinion the term Free Labor   can be deleted   free labour implies an economic relationship between the employer and the employee. If you perform ​​Free Labor, you work for free for companies who make money out of youre free labour. Therfore in my opinion lazzaratos theory about Immaterial Labour, would be more accurate if its called voluntary immaterial labour. Twittering by individuals is totally voluntary, it has in terms of individual twitter nothing to do with economic relations. Voluntary Immaterial labor is seen as a form of immaterial labor in which there is no need to think about which individuals and businesses to earn money somewhere. The   immaterial labor perfomed by twitter users is done because they like it as a time killer or because it helps their social life in some way. According to Wilson and Musick work that has be done voluntarily – voluntary work is characterized with three things. First, it is a productive act, something is produced. This may be a physical product, but can be knowledge or care aswell. Therefore human capital is required: knowledge, skills and experience. Secondly, volunteering is always been   a certain degree of something collective. With Several people a goal is aimed. Therefore the social capital of voluntary immaterial labour of importantce. Finally, voluntary work is where people often assume   to show their ethical side. They want to do something good, and also show it to other people. Cultural capital have s certain importance in this case. This term comes from Bourdieu. He describes that any act of consumption is associated with showing your taste. In everything you consume you indicate what your preferences are. This also applies when you consume youre free time. By showing how you consume   your free time, you give actually describe   what kind of person you are. Wuthnow suggests that when someone does something voluntarily, he or she also immediately shows one of his/hers charactaristics   for example as someone who does something voluntarily. This allows the volunteer to see a sympathetic person. Doing Something voluntary in this case can contributae to someone status and prestige. In this way, Bourdieus concept of cultural capital help in finding the reason why people are twittering. These people do not naively stupid, ignorant that they are operated by companies, but using Bourdieus term is to argue that people are twittering their identity to propagate. That they want to show that they are good at the time, for example, or that they are engaged. In this way, Bourdieus concept of cultural capital can help in finding the reason why people are twittering. These people do not twitter because of stupidity,   now knowing that they are exploited   by companies, but using Bourdieus term it is clear   that people are twittering to   improve their identity. For example to show that they do care. In this analysis it is important to distinguish between the side of the business and the fact that content on the Internet has been exploited on the onehand and the reasons for poeple twittertinf on the other hand. These are two completely different aspects of Twitter, and can not reflect on the motives of someone to twitter with an constantly thoughtin the   mind as a Marxist voice is telling you   about shameless exploitation. You cant only associate twitter with volunatry immaterial labour, many social webiste such as Facebook, MSN and many more can be associated with volunatry immaterial labour. When a facebook users post a comment on his friends home page, this has nothing to do with the economical relationship, not between the two users and also not between the user and the company, its volunatry imaterial labour. This dessretetion is not a result from a naive view of the commercial world. Its completeley logical that companies wants to make money from volunatry immaterial labout performed on twitter by users. I just believe that contuniously retain to the Marxist notion of Free Labor, sientist and researchers cannot researcg and analyse to the motivations of thosewho perfrom immaterial labour. Conclusie Twitter is used   in many different ways by different companys in their marketing campaigns there is no general way how Twitter can be used for a company, it seems that each company must figure out which way works best for them. What many companies have in common though is the fact that they are partially dependent on the willingness of their followers to perform immaterial labor. As is sometimes asked to re-tweet a message, by sending it to each other and sometimes tweeters deliver information or content to media companies. Alot is written by Italian autonomists about immatrial labour, this includes labor which   is characterized by the idea that the worker dont see the work as a job, it does not feel like labour. The reason for this is because nothing physical has been produced,   however it is more the production   of information and the cultural aspects. The main characteristis of immaterial labor is the increasing difficulty to distinguish work time and leisure.   Terranova describes free labour as perfomring labour while not getting a reward in financial and or any other terms. Inherent to Free Labor, the assumption is that companies earn money by the labour that has been performed. In my opinion it is not always necessary   to approach labour in this way. In fact, when youre constantly aware of the fact that others make money from your work,   it possibly reduce   the enjoyment people can   have while performing an voluntary work on the internet.   I therefore recommends to discuss voluntary labor, when research has been done into the user side of Twitter. This term is not about capitalist relations between workers and companies and it instantly shows   the reason why people do participate in Social Media platforms, because they themselves want to do this.   Apart from that I do think that the notion of free labor may be retained. In other cases it is still relevant is that labor is exploited. For a further investigation it may be interesting to examine whatever the   reasons are   people twittering. To investigate this, my idea of voluntary immaterial labor can useful. With an investigation in that direction it can alsodive more content to this term, to cllasify different forms of voluntary Immaterial labor. It is also interesting to see in further research how twitter can be sued by compnays in detailed way. Does it really generate money, such as computer maker Dell claims? And what way I have described above works best for business? in business this can be an interesting issue. Reference [1] Graham, Paula. ‘Web 2.0 and why?’. Fossbox. Slide 5. 18-5-2010 http://fossbox.org.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/1-what-why-how.pdf [2] Thomases, Hollis. Twitter Marketing: an hour a day. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, 2010: p. 39. [3] Thomases, Hollis. Twitter Marketing: an hour a day. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, 2010: p. 39. [4] Thomases 2010: p. 87. [5] In: Cotà ©, M. The Italian Foucault: Subjectivity, Valorization, and Communication. Politics and Culture, 2003, issue 3. 13-4-2010 politicsandculture.org/2003/07/08/mark-cote-the-italian-foucault-subjectivity-val. [6] Lazzarato 1996: p. 4. [7] Terranova 2000: p. 37. [8] Davenport, T.H., J.C. Beck. The attention economy: Understanding the new currency of business. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press, 2002: p. 20. [9] Smythe, Dallas W. ‘On the Audience Commodity and its Work’, in M.G. Durham and D.M. Kellner (red.) Media and Cultural Studies. Key Works. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001: p. 256. [10] Petersen, Sà ¸ren Mà ¸rk. ‘Loser Generated Content: From Participation to Exploitation’. First Monday, Vol. 13, Nr. 3 (3-3-2008). 21-4-2010 http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/ viewArticle/2141/1948 (Italics van de auteur, citaat komt van Dyer-Witheford, Nick. ‘Cyber–negri: General intellect and immaterial labor,’ In: T.S. Murphy and A.K. Mustapha, red. Resistance in practice: The philosophy of Antonio Negri. London: Pluto Press, 2005: p. 142) [11] In: Virno, Paolo. ‘General Intellect’. Vert. Arianna Bove. Generation Online, 2001. 22-4-2010 generation-online.org/p/fpvirno10.htm [12] ‘Haiti Earthquake. What we’re hearing’. 13-1-2010. CNN. 16-3-2010 cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/12/haiti.social.media/index.html [13] Thomas Jr., Greg. Building the buzz in the hive mind. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. 2004, Vol. 4 Issue 1, p 64. 17-5-2010 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/112587927/PDFSTART [14] bron: http://twitter.com/rapid_razor_bob/status/9782685646 [15] bron: http://twitter.com/rapid_razor_bob/status/9785482413 [16] Terranova 2000: p. 42. [17] Bron: http://twitter.com/UnitedAirlines/status/11104848684 [18] Scholtz, Trebor. ‘What the MySpace generation should know about working for  free’. 3-4-2007. Collectivate.net. 25-4-2010 collectivate.net/journalisms/2007/4/3/what-the-myspace-generation-should-know-about-working-for-free.html [19] Petersen, 2010.