Is Big Tech Ruining Trust?

By Dave Sobel, The Business Of Tech Podcast

In the lead up to March 2020 and the pandemic we live in, Big Tech has dominated the news for the last decade. First, with a promise of connecting people and making the world a smaller place the big companies grew quickly and drove tremendous stockholder value. Then, those with less idealistic goals leveraged these tools and algorithms and changed the conversation. Where once digital technology was viewed as a positive, it is often discussed in much more negative tones.

Nearly overnight, that changed. When social distancing and work from home orders shifted society, these tools became valuable in new ways. The leadership at these companies moved quickly to show a steady hand and the foresight to be at the front by establishing a path. Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, in particular, have shown leadership in establishing norms for businesses to follow, provided tools to connect people, and fought misinformation.

This is commendable and worthy of praise.

The underlying mistrust they established is still there, however. NATO StratCom recently conducted a test of the ability of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram to detect malicious activity by purchasing engagement on 105 different posts across the networks. Over a four-month testing period, researchers were able to document that 4 in 5 purchased interactions were still online, and three weeks after a sample of fake accounts was reported, 95 percent of the accounts were still active.

Even now, misinformation is a problem online, and even more so, new privacy and security concerns are being raised within the realm of our new “normal”. The New York Attorney General is even now investigating security and privacy concerns at Zoom, given its new popularity. With technology so forced upon society, there is also the strong possibility for resentment because of this dependence.

All is not without opportunity. In this whirlwind of controversy, there is a path to leverage this to success by embracing a clear ethical approach to business. While the vast majority of companies do intend to do the right thing, going further to embracing those as core principles, and then helping customers do the same thing with technology, is now a potentially valuable and lucrative avenue, aligning closely with customer needs.

The first step is to leverage a framework for guidance. The good news is that the work has been already started. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has launched “the Contract for the Web”, which is a set of principles designed to fix the internet and prevent society from sliding into a “digital dystopia.”

The contract, posted at contractfortheweb.org, lists nine core principles for governments, companies, and individuals to adhere to.  Those who back the contract must demonstrate they are implementing the principles and working on solutions or be removed from the list of endorsers.

For companies, the principles are to “Make the internet affordable and accessible to everyone”, “Respect and protect people’s privacy and personal data to build online trust”, and “Develop technologies that support the best in humanity and challenge the worst.”

For citizens, “be creators and collaborators on the web”, “Build strong communities that respect civil discourse and human dignity”, and “fight for the web”.

These principles give companies and individuals a clear framework to leverage.   We already see the dependency on technology that our new situation has caused making these principles important. With students forced to learn online, accessibility matters more than ever.  With communication happening online, privacy and trust are critically important.

For those questioning if this is worthwhile, however, let’s look at how a different approach to business can create better businesses.

What can we learn from this? Here are three takeaways.

First, customers want to address data management. Security is good but managing data effectively and ethically is better. Data security is very product and infrastructure driven, but thinking about how data can be managed effectively, minimally, and in a way that protects the value of the data is a significantly higher value business case.

Second, consider business tactics that focus on a larger community. Already we see how collaboration and community drive better business outcomes, building stronger companies that last longer.

Finally, use this perspective to measure business outcomes. There is a clear framework for helping businesses and individuals, and as always, customers are looking to their providers to help guide and implement. There is an opportunity here. Applying these principles to businesses who also commit to these ideas will be a very powerful – and profitable – offering.

About The Author

Dave is regarded as a leading expert in the delivery of technology services, with broad experience in both technology and business.    He owned and operated an IT Solution Provider and MSP for over a decade, both acquiring other organizations and eventually being acquired.  This firm was a winner of multiple awards, including Kaseya’s Cutting Edge and ConnectWise’s Best New Idea, as well as being a finalist for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner of the Year in the Small Business Specialist category.    After his MSP experience, he has worked for multiple vendors at such companies as Level Platforms, GFI, LogicNow, and Solarwinds, leading community, event, marketing, and product strategies, as well as several M&A activities.  

As a technologist, Dave is the host of the podcast “The Business of Tech” and co-host of the podcast “Killing IT”, and authored the book Virtualization: Defined. He was named a CRN Channel Chief multiple times, to the CRN UK A-List, as a Channel Futures Circle of Excellence winner, to Channel Pro’s 20/20 Visionaries, and has been an MSPmentor 250 member for multiple years  Dave has been recognized as one of the top virtualization experts globally as a Microsoft MVP for Virtualization.  Dave has served on the executive council for Managed Services and Emerging Technologies, the Vendor Advisory Council, as founding Chair for the Mobility Community for CompTIA.

Dave holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary. He is a dynamic voice within the IT community, a former member and facilitator for Heartland Technology Groups and passionate about collaborating with clients and peers on utilizing technology to advance organizations.    He lives just outside Washington DC with his wife and two cats.   His interests include travel and food, cheering the Washington Nationals and Capitals, smoking barbeque, enjoying craft beers, and collecting and playing retro and modern video games among others.