Questions and Answers of Information Systems

What was Beacon? Why was it initially thought to be a good idea? What were the benefits to firm partners, recommenders, recommendation recipients, and Facebook? Who were Beacon's partners, and what
Who is Facebook's responsibilities, COO? What are their role, and accomplishments?
Which firms have seen Facebook enter their markets as a potential disruptor? What factors have allowed the firm to gain share in these markets at the expense of established firms? In what ways does
Examine Facebook's current user privacy tools. Do you feel this is adequate? Search online to identify the Facebook tool that can be used to download the information that Facebook has collected about
How are most display ads billed? What acronym is used to describe the pricing of most display ads?
Describe the biggest problem with Beacon. Would you use Beacon? Why or why not?
Firms' values fluctuate over time. How much is Facebook "worth" today? Has the firm's value gone up or down since this writing? Why? Was investing in Facebook at IPO a move that paid off or that has
Research the Facebook dating app. If you are (or imagine you were) unattached, would you use this feature? Why or why not? What steps has Facebook rolled out to try to protect privacy and make this
What competitive asset does the application platform initiative help Facebook strengthen? For example, how do apps make Facebook stronger when compared with rivals?
How are most text ads on Google billed? What's the appeal for advertisers?
How might Facebook and its partners have avoided the problems with Beacon? Could the effort be restructured while still delivering on its initial promise? Why or why not?
Some have stated that Facebook's appeal is waning. Has your Facebook use remained more, less, or the same over time? What trends do you observe in others (parents, older or younger friends and
How does competition in services delivered in the browser on desktop computers differ from those delivered via smartphone app?
If a firm removed user social media content because it was offensive to an advertiser, what kinds of problems might this create? When (if ever) should a firm remove or take down user content?
Beacon shows the risk in being a pioneer-are there risks in being too cautious and not pioneering with innovative, ground-floor marketing efforts? What kinds of benefits might a firm miss out on? Is
Snapchat has also reportedly received lucrative buyout offers (including reportedly rejecting a $3 billion offer from Facebook). Do you think Snapchat was wise to resist Facebook and become an
Consider Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR. Was the firm smart to make these acquisitions, and did it pay a reasonable price? What were the risks in not acting?
Leverage your experience or conduct additional research. Are there developers who you feel have abused the Facebook app network? Why? What is Facebook's responsibility (if any) to control such abuse?
Has Facebook been improving the organic reach of brands online or reducing this reach? What are the implications for brands with fan pages and for Facebook?
What is the motivation behind the spread of fake news? Where does it come from and why has it been shared?
Why study Facebook? Who cares if it succeeds? Why is it useful for managers and management students to study Facebook?
Large firms in the tech industry are constantly making new acquisitions. Conduct some additional research online: Have Facebook or its rivals recently acquired firms that have the potential to alter
Why might some e-commerce firms be inclined to use Facebook Messenger to overcome limitations in e-mail? Explain.
Describe an innovative marketing campaign that has leveraged Facebook or other social networking sites. What factors made this campaign work? Are all firms likely to have this sort of success? Why or
Have you seen fake news on Facebook? Were you able to tell it was fake news at the time? Have you seen others share fake news?
What is the "deep Web," and why is it potentially an asset to Facebook? Why is Google threatened by Facebook's deep Web? How is Facebook harnessing the deep Web to provide potentially valuable search
How are global messaging apps like WeChat and Line behaving like platforms? Do additional research (online, with your own experience if you've used these services, or by interviewing a colleague who
Have advertisers ever targeted you when displaying ads on Facebook? How were you targeted? What did you think of the effort?
What problems has Facebook experienced when trying to address the problem of fake news? How is it using human beings and technology to address the problem? Investigate the firm's current attempts to
Try Graph Search. Do you find it useful? When would you use it, or why wouldn't you use it? Can Facebook turn Graph Search into a money maker? How could it do this, or why won't it accomplish this
How is Facebook Messenger evolving into a platform? Do you think they are doing a good job at this? Why or why not?
How do you feel about Facebook allowing third-party databases to be used for ad targeting on the firm's site? Does this concern you? Why or why not? What is the upside and potential downside for
How did Facebook localize its site so quickly in various different regions of the world?
What privacy concerns are raised with Graph Search and other Facebook features? Do you think these concerns will hinder Facebook's ability to build new businesses using user data?
Cite effective examples you've seen of Facebook features being incorporated into other websites (or if you haven't seen any, do some background research to uncover such efforts). Why do the efforts
What were the concerns with Facebook and mobile advertising, and how have Facebook mobile ads been performing for the firm?
What factors encourage firms to grow an international user base as quickly as possible? Why is this a risk, and what is the so-called international paradox? What sorts of firms are at more risk than
As Facebook grows, what kinds of investments continue to be necessary? What are the trends in these costs over time? Do you think Facebook should wait in making these investments? Why or why not?
What risks does running a platform open up to a platform owner like Facebook? What challenges has it encountered, and how did it deal with these challenges?
Why do ads in feeds perform better than conventional display ads?
List the pros, cons, and unknowns if Facebook were to seek a way for the Chinese government to allow its expansion into China. What are the risks if the firm remains out of the country? What do you
How have media attitudes toward their copyrighted content changed over the past decade? Why is Facebook a potentially significant partner for firms like the New York Times? What does the New York
Why have Facebook and Twitter been erecting walls that block users from integrating these services? What is the free rider problem? Give real examples of this phenomenon in social networks and
How has Facebook leveraged "Econ 101" to improve the user experience while improving ad profitability?
How is Facebook seeking to reach the next billion Internet users? What technologies and service offerings is the firm hoping to leverage? How might the firm make money off of such users?
Research Facebook's smartphone apps. Which ones are successful and which have struggled or been shut down? Try those that are available on your own smartphone (or ask a friend to work with you to
What is a walled garden? Facebook has been called a walled garden. Name other firms that might also be described in this term. In your opinion, is Facebook a walled garden? Why or why not? What might
What are the benefits of Facebook hosting and serving content via "Instant Articles" and video caching? What are the concerns?
Do you agree with Mark Zuckerberg that "connectivity is a human right"? Why or why not? What goal do governments and the private sector aim for in helping empower disenfranchised populations?
Some are skeptical on the future of bots (watch the YouTube video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=G8z--x5tFOI from The Verge, mentioning the failure of Microsoft's "Tay" and questioning the
Why do some speculate that the Facebook Audience Network advertising network is potentially better at targeting users than Google's ad network?
What are the benefits of offering Internet.org to low-income users worldwide? What are the concerns? Do you think Internet.org should be welcomed, halted, or limited with constraints? Be prepared to
What problems have accompanied Zuckerberg's initially promising goals for Internet.org? Investigate the current state of what Facebook is doing to curtail its use as a platform to spread violence. Is
So you've had a chance to learn about Facebook, its model, growth, outlook, strategic assets, and competitive environment. Do you think the firm will dominate in the future or be swept aside by
What sorts of customers was Rent the Runway designed to appeal to? Do you think these are the only customers who would find the model appealing? Why or why not?
How did the founders of Rent the Runway go about testing their original idea? Why was their approach especially efficient and useful when compared to building and deploying a website ready for a full
Why is mobile especially important to Rent the Runway? How are customers using mobile devices to engage with the firm?
In what ways is data collected at Rent the Runway?
How does technology help Rent the Runway prioritize items to be sent out?
What is Rent the Runway Unlimited? Would you use this? Why or why not?
Why do you suppose so few women are involved in entrepreneurship and technology? What can industries, firms, universities, and other entities do to improve this situation?
What challenges do you think the entrepreneurs faced in going from idea to implementation? What challenges are customer-focused? Which are supplier-focused?
What unknowns and concerns existed with respect to customer engagement with the concept? How did Rent the Runway's founders dispel these concerns?
How has the rise of social media helped Rent the Runway?
How does data enhance the customer experience?
How does technology help the firm optimize shipping rates?
Conduct research online. Which firms are considered as doing an exceptional job in attracting underrepresented talent to the workplace? Why are these efforts working?
Have you or has anyone you know used Rent the Runway? If so, describe your experiences or interview a friend who has experience and share this with your class. If you can't find anyone who has used
What concerns did suppliers and designers have? How did Rent the Runway's founders dispel these concerns? Describe how the firm seeks to build deep and mutually beneficial industry partnerships.
What concerns do firms have when encouraging customers to socially share and publicly engage a brand online? Describe Rent the Runway's experience. Do you think this is typical or unique? Why?
How does data enhance firm operations? How does it help cut costs and improve efficiency?
In what ways are human beings still necessary to the process? How does technology help here, and how might new technology help more? Do you think the firm will need this many workers in another ten
Why did Rent the Runway choose the initial product categories to focus on when testing the Unlimited service?
How can firms increase the pipeline so that more people from underrepresented groups bring their minds to tech and entrepreneurship?
How does the subscription business complement the rental business? Does a customer for one increase or decrease the likelihood of using the other? How might CLV differ among these two business lines?
What other personal cloud products exist for vendors beyond Amazon?
Have you seen an Amazon physical bookstore or kiosk? If so, what was your experience like? If not, browse online to find videos or write-ups about these. Do you think these make sense? Why, why not,
Which firms does Amazon compete with?
In what ways is Amazon increasingly taking over its own shipping and logistics needs? When can a firm attempt such a move? Why does this move make economic sense for Amazon?
Roughly how big is Amazon's existing "media" business? What is happening to much of the physical media business?
When you walk into a conventional retailer, similar items are stacked next to each other. But Amazon tries not to do this in its warehouses. Why?
Investigate current uses of blockchain technology. Which seem successful? Have any failed? Build a list of industries that you think have a high likelihood of disruption by blockchain. If you were a
Conduct a search online and investigate the total currency value (market capitalization or market cap) for current leading cryptocurrencies. Which firms are the most widely used and most valuable?
Members of the MIT bitcoin club each received $100 to experiment with the technology. Perform some additional research. What have they done? Come to class prepared to discuss their results and the
Some say university education is about to be disrupted. Do you agree? Why or why not? What suggestions do you have for university administrators at your school for dealing with potential disruptions?
What can retailers do to encourage more customers to use cryptocurrencies?
Intuit seems to have successfully transitioned from a world of packaged software to one based in the cloud and in apps, and that includes some free products. Are there other firms that have failed to
To whom do cryptocurrencies appeal? Why? Do some exploring online. Where are bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies accepted? Have any of these firms commented on results (positive or negative) of
Once a firm can detect disruptive technologies, what techniques can it use to nurture and develop these technologies?
What's the status of bitcoin vs. the bitcoin cash fork? Who favored the fork and who opposed it? Why?
Why do leading firms fail to recognize and react to potentially disruptive innovations? How can a firm avoid the kind of blindness that leads to disruption?
Based on your experience in number 1, what will need to happen with bitcoin for it to gain mainstream consumer acceptance?
Make a list of recent disruptive innovations. List firms that dominated the old regime and firms that capitalized after disruption. Are any of the dominant firms from the previous era the same as
Bitcoin's technology is in flux. Investigate how to get dollars into bitcoin, where you can pay for things using bitcoin, and how to get money out. Did you try this out? Why or why not?
What are the two characteristics of disruptive innovations?
The "Internet of Things" makes for compelling commercials, but what needs to happen before a world of interconnected, coordinating devices can become a reality? What implications does this raise for
Research the impact of mobile phones on poor regions of the world. Come to class prepared to discuss examples that demonstrate the potential for fast/cheap technology to improve society, even for
How does Moore's Law impact production and inventory decisions?
How did Amazon utilize the steep decline in magnetic storage costs to its advantage?
What has been the impact of "faster, cheaper" on Apple's business lines?

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