Elite Arrogance And The Demise Of American Tech Giants

The Demise of American Tech Giants: Web Accessibility, Privacy, And General Customer Indifference

I recently posted a link for an article - Is #Pinterest Still Alive & How Are #Brands Using It?
https://bit.ly/Pinterest_Dead_Or_Alive  In my view, Pinterest - is More Dead Than Alive. I explain below.

The author of that article made the assertion that "Pinterest is most certainly alive &, actually, it’s growing—even if it’s not getting as much press as it was getting."

This article is very puzzling to me. With over 80 boards on Pinterest, I am considering moving on, or at least limiting my time there.

Why? The arrogance of elitism! This seems to be the case with American tech giants, especially the big four social media giants. It got me to thinking about this globally.

Pinterest's arrogant refusal to add more board categories to make it more relevant severely limits its benefits. It's a draconian strategy! You would think Pinterest would let you add your own Topic Categories, or at the very least, expand their own Topic Categories. But in the years I have been using them, nothing has changed.

This is the kind of arrogant elitism that is going to bring down America's tech giants. It is the same reason they are being hounded all over the world by countries objecting to their heavy handed, we will do what we want, privacy and civil rights violations. Related Stories:

Why the World Is Drawing Battle Lines Against American Tech Giants

“My assumption is that this is only the beginning,” said Dongsheng Zang, director of the Asian Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law. “We’ll be seeing more of these governments make their own demands, and the problem is a fragmentation of the global tech companies.” He added, “This could be a problem for America in the 21st century.”

"Their collective powers are a source of pride and fear for Americans. These companies thoroughly dominate the news and entertainment industries, they rule advertising and retail sales, and they are pushing into health care, energy and automobiles."

China Quietly Targets U.S. Tech Companies in Security Reviews

HONG KONG — Chinese authorities are quietly scrutinizing technology products sold in China by Apple and other big foreign companies, focusing on whether they pose potential security threats to the country and its consumers and opening up a new front in an already tense relationship with Washington over digital security.

The owners of the American tech giants - the big four social media companies plus Google, may be able to buy their way out of trouble in the US. Their money makes them above the law here. But not so in the many other countries who are suing them again and again for privacy and civil rights violations

Getting back to Pinterest for a moment, here are some examples of how that arrogance is bringing about the sure demise of Pinterest.

Where would you put Content Marketing? No Category! Where would you put Business News? No Category! Where would you put Advertising or Marketing? No Category! Where would you put Social Media? No Category! Where would you put Tourism? No Category!

Ok, let's be a little more general. say Blogging. Where would you put Blogging? No Category! Okay, but surely you could put blogging under writing. Nope. No Category for Writing either! See for yourself how "extremely limited" Pinterest categories are here: https://www.pinterest.com/categories/

That is a critical problem for Pinterest. I kept hoping they would add more Topic Categories. I have asked them to. But still they refuse. They have never really told me why. Are they so cash-strapped that they cannot afford the extra server space?

Or is it simply the arrogance of the rich elite who think they are the gods of technology and social media who alone know what is best for their lowly subjects. Unfortunately, I believe the latter is the most likely since the big four social media companies: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn all suffer from the same elite arrogance.

Unless there are changes made, and made soon, to a more customer centric and supportive approach, I believe all four of these media elites, including Facebook, will be replaced.

Facebook is perhaps the most blatant in trying to advance the owner's far left-wing agendas. They have come under fire recently after being caught manipulating the news to advance their agendas. As one headline recently read: " WHEN TECH GIANTS DELIVER THE NEWS, THEY DECIDE WHAT NEWS IS". That is especially true in Facebook's case since they are the worst, and most aggressive, in forcing their agendas on their members.

I have already left Facebook because of their Anti-Family, Anti-Christian, Anti-Conservative, and Anti-Business policies. While it was once my only social network, it is now barely existing on my radar. I only keep a page there for search engine rankings. After all, the Elite stick together to support each other.

I began using WAYN.com (Where Are You Now) the social network for travelers to replace Facebook. I have also joined Germany's Xing.com and the Russian VK.com to cover Western and Eastern Europe. I will soon be establishing a presence in China. American tech giants are NOT the only game in town, however arrogantly they may want to think they are invaluable, or irreplaceable, they are not.

Twitter is still up in the air for me. I never thought they would increase the character limit to 10,000. That would have been ridiculous. But I am hoping they make at least the modest changes they announced of not counting URL's in the character count. That will help, as will meeting accessibility laws.

Web accessibility is another area where we see not only the arrogance of elitism in ignoring consumers, but also discrimination against people with disabilities overall. For Twitter, the character limit was being circumvented by people creating infographics. The problem was that this in effect discriminated against the visually impaired who could not read the graphics. Requiring websites to meet web accessibility requirements isn't just good business, it is the law.

As I have heard before when I point out that Web Accessibility is the law, someone always brings up Section 508 to refute me claiming that Section 508 only pertains to the Federal Procurement process. Indeed, that is correct. "Contrary to what you may read on the web, Section 508 does not directly apply to private sector web sites or to public sites which are not U.S. Federal agency sites. It also does not (generally) apply to agencies or establishments using Federal funds."

However, those who quote this are doing so out of ignorance. The "law" requiring web accessibility is not from Section 508. It is via the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It is a Civil Rights Law! I will write an article about this topic soon.

The reason I bring this up is because of the legal consequences for sites like Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat et al. These sites are heavily image based and have little to no description of the graphics and images on their sites. This has to change. They are legally required to be web accessible. Lawsuits will ensure their compliance if in their arrogance they will not do so voluntarily.

"What Does It Mean to be "Accessible?"
"Basically, technology is accessible if it can be used as effectively by people with disabilities as by those without. This doesn't mean that a blind user will complete a task on a web site as fast as one who can see. Listening takes longer than looking at the screen and reading. But the processes must be comparable."

"The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires State and local governments and (places of public accommodation) to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities"

The elderly and the disabled are the most discriminated against groups anywhere, far more than alleged racial discrimination or a small but powerful particular group who control the agendas of the tech giants, especially the social media giants.

I am experiencing this first hand. I was unable for two years to get startup funding, even being laughed at for considering it. Why? Because I am 63, and disabled, which apparently counts as three strikes against me.

Because of the biases within traditional funding sources, I decided to go with Crowdfunding to get the public's support. Sadly, I am seeing the same arrogant elitism from the American public in general.

Out of repeated contacts with now over 15,000 people who are connected to me via social media, I have one donation for $50. Yet, there is a woman on the same crowdfunding site, showing off some impressive cleavage and big boobs, wearing very revealing, very short shorts who has raised $14,000 just for a vacation she wants to take. Another one wants to get an operation for her pet. I am all for helping with that. But she needed $4000. She now has over $10,000.

I find it morally reprehensible that people show such abject apathy toward the elderly and disabled. We just want to have the same opportunity as everyone else in the US to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

OK, that was a bit of a rabbit hole, but my point is that these companies think they can get away with not being web accessible. They arrogantly assume people with disabilities don't really matter. This is not true anymore. The disabled community has had enough, and we are fighting back as I did against Twitter.

Lack of accessibility, which is discrimination against those with disabilities, may well be the nail in the coffins of the big four. The big four, and in particular Facebook, are being sued and investigated all over the world for violations of privacy and civil rights violations, including against people with disabilities.

Would you like to see what it may look like if you get sued over your website not being web accessible? Here is an example of a large corporation:
https://www.ada.gov/hrb-cd.htm

It would behoove the big four social media companies, indeed all companies with websites, to keep their elite arrogance in check. None of the big four can survive on American customers alone. They can flaunt their arrogant elitism in the face of individuals, but when entire countries, even groups of countries are coming after them, they won't be able to pay the bills with their arrogance.

Times and attitudes are changing. American companies, most specifically our tech giants, had better re-think their place in the global marketplace, their global strategy and their treatment of their consumers.

Related: "Tech firms compete with foreign giants on unlevel playing field"

Rick Stoneking Sr
International Travel Reviews
ITR Autoresponder Info Sheet:  [email protected](AutoReplyOnly)

About Rick Stoneking Sr.
Rick Stoneking Sr, is a retired, disabled, veteran and minister. He is now the Founder/Owner of International Travel Reviews (ITR) He is dedicated to helping all people, no matter their disability or accessibility needs, to find safe, affordable, exciting, and accessible travel experiences. From Autistic children/adults, to wheelchair bound travelers, Rick supports safe and accessible travel for all people.

Header image is from the article mentioned above: Related: "Tech firms compete with foreign giants on unlevel playing field" Qwant.com  #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing #WebAccessibility #DisabilityRights #SocialMedia