Silicon Valley - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] How Ads Follow You Around the Internet

February 7, 2020

Targeted advertising has become the economic engine of the Internet for big companies like Facebook and Google that collect all sorts of data about their users. This video details how tech giants track people online in order to gather information for advertisers, a widespread practice that is nevertheless hugely controversial.

Questions:

How has the use of cookies changed from the early days of the Internet to today?
Do you think legislators should regulate how companies track people online for Continue reading →

Promotions, Advertising, Marketing, Facebook, Ethics, Security, Silicon Valley, Google, Privacy, Targeted Advertising

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

[VIDEO] Google and Amazon Are Now in the Oil Business

January 9, 2020

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

In recent years, many Silicon Valley tech firms have pledged to make sustainability a top priority. But as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft develop environmentally friendly operations, oil companies are also using their technology to extract more petrochemicals from the earth. The video below takes an in-depth look at the history of oil extraction and how modern tech companies are risking their reputations by getting involved with the fossil fuel industry.

Questions:

How does machine learning help tech companies become Continue reading →

Fossil Fuels, Natural Resources, Machine Learning, Amazon, Automation, Sustainability, Ethics, Silicon Valley, Oil, Google, Reputation, Microsoft

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Tech Giants Attempt to Break into Banking

November 15, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

This week, Google announced that it’s launching a banking service next year that will offer “smart checking” accounts to mobile-focused customers. Known as Cache, the program is the result of a collaboration between the search giant and two banks: Citigroup and Stanford Credit Union. Although details of the partnership remain limited at this time, Google eventually wants Cache to become an extension of its Google Pay app. The company also claims that customers will “benefit from useful insights and budgeting Continue reading →

California Passes Law to Protect Gig Economy Workers

September 19, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a landmark labor law that guarantees wage and benefit protections for gig economy workers. The primary targets of this legislation are the state’s many Uber and Lyft drivers who are currently classified as independent contractors. When the new law comes into effect next year, the state will reclassify these contracted workers as regular employees entitled to a minimum wage, sick days, and other benefits.

“Today the so-called gig companies present themselves as Continue reading →

Regulation, Ethics, Transportation, Labor Relations, Uber, Compensation, Lyft, Silicon Valley, Gig economy

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Why Making Apple iPhones in America Is So Hard

September 13, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

As the trade war with China heats up, Apple is starting to move some of its production to other nations throughout its global supplier network. But don’t expect the tech giant to return home to the U.S. anytime soon. This video shows how difficult it would be for Apple to manufacture its most popular products domestically and explores how the company could approach this problem in the future.

Questions:

Why did Apple move production of the 2013 Mac Pro to Continue reading →

Apple, Trade War, Global, Silicon Valley, China, Product Distribution, Production

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution

Legislators Announce Google Antitrust Investigation

September 12, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

On Monday, attorneys general for 50 U.S. states and territories announced that Google would face a broad and bipartisan antitrust investigation. Lawmakers said the search giant’s domination of “all aspects of advertising on the Internet and searching on the Internet” could be harmful to consumers as well as the web at large. Google currently captures 75 percent of all spending on search ads in the U.S., leading to more than $48 billion in revenue from ads alone.

According to lawmakers, Continue reading →

Monopolies, Ethics, Silicon Valley, Google, Regulation, Advertising

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Google Accused of Stealing Content from Lyrics Website

July 25, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Since 2009 the website Genius has provided music lovers with a reliable source for lyrics to countless songs. A few years ago, though, the company noticed that someone else was exploring the site along with its usual batch of curious fans. The situation started when Genius published the lyrics to the hit song “Panda” by Desiigner with help from the artist himself. Since the company received assistance directly from the source, their lyrics served as the only accurate transcription of Continue reading →

Silicon Valley, Antitrust, Google, Product Development, Ethics, Regulation, Entrepreneurship, Startups

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The Latest Apple Event Focused on Services, Not Gadgets

March 26, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

On Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook stepped onto a big stage at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, to make some important announcements. Events like these are meant to remind Apple fans of the times when late founder Steve Jobs stepped on the same stage to reveal world-changing products like the iPhone and iPad. Unlike on those occasions, however, Cook didn’t unveil any new or updated gadgets at Monday’s event. Instead, celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey Continue reading →

Product Development, Entertainment, Marketing, Streaming, Silicon Valley, Smartphones, Product Distribution, Apple, Leadership, Services

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Houseparty Plans to Be an Ad-Free Social Network

January 25, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Since launching in 2016, the group video chat app Houseparty has attracted a dedicated userbase of young people looking to talk with their friends wherever they please. “Houseparty is basically the third place for Generation Z and young millennials,” said co-founder Sima Sistani. “What they’re doing there is hanging out in the way we used to in the backyard, the basement, or in my case — the Waffle House.” And unlike many other Silicon Valley startups, Houseparty doesn’t plan to Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Houseparty, Marketing, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Social Media, Promotions, Silicon Valley, Advertising, Facebook

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Apple Stock Drops after iPhone Sales Slow in China

January 8, 2019

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Apple started the new year on the wrong foot following a surprise announcement that last quarter’s iPhone sales will likely fall short of projections. While the company had originally planned to bring in between $89 billion and $93 billion, CEO Tim Cook said last week that overall revenue would likely tally at just $85 billion. “Lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China, accounts for all of our revenue shortfall,” Cook wrote in a letter to investors. As a Continue reading →

China, Global, Smartphones, Silicon Valley, Product Distribution, Apple, Product Development, Pricing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media