They Say / I Blog

Masters of their own fate: Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie on why social media companies should self-regulate

For all the good that social media platforms provide – connection, innovation, a panoply of perspectives – there is also a darker side, evident in online harassment, deep fake video and audio manipulations, and the widespread circulation of disinformation and conspiracy theories. What responsibility should social media companies take for the content hosted on their sites? In their January 2021 Harvard Business Review essay, Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie argue that it is time for social media companies to self-regulate their platforms to secure “their long-term survival and success.”

Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie, "Social Media Companies Should Self-Regulate. Now." Harvard Business Review, 15 January 2021

 

Disrupting the gender binary: Barbara J. King on gender fluidity and queer rights

In this August 2020 essay, Barbara J. King, a biological anthropologist and professor emerita at the College of William and Mary, shares the story of her child Sarah, who is nonbinary and agender. King pulls from her perspective as both a biological anthropologist and a mother to explore the cultural and linguistic resistance to nonbinary gender identity and presentation.

Barbara J. King, "My Nonbinary Child," Sapiens, 21 August 2020