mmediate spark of this post (which has been brewing for over a week), is my deep concern about Google’s Sidewiki.Sidewiki, as I understand it, allows users who have the Google Toolbar installed to comment, unmoderated, in an area that appears on the left side of the webpage–but those comments are only visible to others who have the Toolbar installed! Among the many evils this can lead to: spamming, blocking site owners’ sources of revenue (or even replacing them with links that benefit those commenting), loss of control over one’s own website, black hat search technique, slander of site owners or contributors, unethical business practices such as deceptive advertising, and even something as simple as wrecking the aesthetic and content integrity of a carefully designed website
Entries Tagged as 'Ethics-International'
Sidewiki Makes Me Question Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” Mantra
October 7th, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics-International, Media Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, Uncategorized, Web 2.0/Social Media
Tags: censorship·don't be evil·google·intellectual property rights·privacy·sidewiki
Corruption Roundup: Many ‘Stories, One URL
August 14th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, Ethics-International, Ethics: General
Exactly how did Bernie Madoff steal his billions? Why are Halliburton’s hands so dirty? What happened with corruption cases in the rebuilding of Iraq? Following a link from EthicsWorld’s e-newsletter, I came to a single URL that has multiple stories on corruption: http://www.ethicsworld.org/publicsectorgovernance/corruptioninvestigations.php#sec. This is what we’re up against, those of us who believe in [...]
#FreeIran Campaign Turns to the Blogosphere
June 29th, 2009 · Comments Off · Democracy, Ethics-International, People Helping People, Politics
Like many others, I am appalled both by the apparently stolen election in Iran and by the repressive, violent response of the government to the mass protests. And like many bloggers today who want to be cheerleaders for democracy and (to use Martin Luther King’s wonderful phrase) “drum majors for justice,” I’m joining in a [...]
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Study: Ethics Matters A LOT to Employees
June 27th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business Ethics, Ethics-International, Uncategorized
I love it that just about every scientific study ever conducted validates the opinions I’ve been expressing (without research stats to back me up) for years. Here’s a fabulous study from Australia on whether ethics matters to employees. Conclusion: ethics does matter, big time: * 84% of individuals believe being responsible environmentally is included in [...]
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What Do Cause Marketing and Health Reform Have in Common?
June 17th, 2009 · View Comments · Abundance and Prosperity, Ethics-International, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Social and Economic Justice
Answer: I just read provocative articles on BNET on these two topics. First, Stacy Blackman, while supporting cause marketing, notes that these products are often more expensive, because the company has to cover the cost of the donation. However, I commented that a successful campaign would bring in enough extra sales volume that this shouldn’t [...]
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Outsourcing Pollution, With No Thought for Ethics
February 23rd, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics-International, Social and Economic Justice
Editor’s note: Holly McCarthy submitted this provocative guest post, and I’m running it in the hope of starting some dialogue. I share some of Holly’s concerns about outsourcing (particularly about using it to duck around environmental laws), but also believe there can be ethical ways to do it, and that when done properly, it can [...]
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What Is It About Politicians and Corruption?
November 14th, 2008 · View Comments · Ethics in Government, Ethics-International
From liberal Democrat State Senator Dianne Wilkerson of Massachusetts to Chen Shui-bian, the former President of Taiwan, there’s been another spate of politicians caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Some of these people, like Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, have had positions of public trust for decades. Isn’t it time we looked at this [...]
Wal-Mart Finally Moving Forward on China Labor Conditions
November 1st, 2008 · Comments Off · Business Ethics, Energy & Sustainability, Ethics-International, Social and Economic Justice
The company that so many of us love to hate has started addressing some of the reasons why I won’t do business with them. This short article by Mallen Baker shows progress on both labor standards and energy. Reprinted in full with Mallen’s generous permission. This is big news, as my understanding is a major [...]
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Pope Benedict XVI Addresses Financial Meltdown, Environmental Issues, and Poverty
July 11th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business Ethics, Ethics-International, General Commentary, Politics, Social and Economic Justice
Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical is a sweeping, 144-page document addressing and interlocking a wide range of social issues. He calls on the financial industry to tame its greed and turn to ethics, asks the United Nations and individual governments to address deep-rooted poverty issues–not only from economic development perspectives but also making sure these [...]
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Tags: allan holender·environmental issues·financial crisis·Pope Benedict XVI·poverty·social issues·worldwid eassociation of zentrepreneurs