Is Zillow.com TM and its product offerings just- 123docz.net

PRIVACY CONCERNS AND CRM

1. Is Zillow.com TM and its product offerings just a form of online advertising?

2. Are there customer relationships in this type of online transaction?

Technology-Driven Marketing

C r i t i c a l T h i n k i n g C a s e

You’ve been ICED!

Scholars at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C.

(USA) are hoping to organize and ac- celerate the adoption of computer games for policy education and exploration. The Serious Games Initiative is a building block in an effort to engage a new field of computer and video games applied to non-entertainment purposes.

Games for Change (G4C) is a subgroup of the Serious Games Initiative that hopes to develop videogame projects by connecting scholars, nonprofit groups, government organizations, companies in the games industry, and indi- vidual game developers/artists. Through this network of players, G4C hopes to support new uses for digital gaming.

One such video game receiving considerable attention is

“ICED!” which is a play on the acronym for the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. “ICED! I Can End Deportation” is a downloadable, inter- active 3D role-playing video. Targeted to high school and college age students, ICED! allows players to become engaged actively in the immigration debate by experiencing life as an immigrant who has run afoul of the U.S. immigration system.

The game was created and designed by Heidi Boisvert and Natalia Rodriguez (MFA students in the Integrated Media Arts Program at Hunter College and the Performance and Interac- tive Media Arts Program at Brooklyn College respectively) in partnership with Breakthrough (a New York based human rights organization).

The goal of ICED! is to condemn the 1996 U.S. immigration laws. The game attempts to teach players that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) passed in 1996 is too harsh and denies due process while violating fundamental human rights. As such, ICED! gamers can play as one of several immigrant characters, all of whom were created based on real situ- ations. Each of the characters has different immigration status and ethnicity so as to dispel ideas that the majority of immigrants are Mexican and that only undocumented immigrants are being detained and deported. ICED! gamers can become a Japanese computer science student who loses his student visa because he fails to take a full load of university classes, a 10th-grade Indian girl who has a green card but is detained because of the high school essay she wrote on the Department of Homeland Security, a 16-year old New York girl from Guinea accused of plan-

ning a suicide bombing and detained for six weeks before the charges were dropped, a Haitian war veteran facing deportation after turning to a life of alcohol and crime upon returning from Iraq, or a Mexican who graduated from high school in the United States but whose family over-

stayed its visa.

The game, which takes anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to play, has two levels. In the

first level, the city, the player is given 100 points. Points are gained by

answering myth/fact questions about immigration correctly and by doing good deeds in the community, all while avoiding immigration officers.

Not only do incorrect answers result in a loss of points, incorrect answers also mean that the player is chased by more and more immigration officers. Earning points can delay detention, but once a player reaches level two of the game, detention is inevitable. In detention, the player has to answer more myth/fact questions and is con- fronted by moral choices (e.g., Do you jump the turnstile at the subway or pay the fare?). Again, wrong decisions result in a loss of points and, ultimately, deportation.

As a human rights organization, Breakthrough believes that immigration laws are arbitrary. Through the ICED! online game, Breakthrough seeks to promote its own agenda and influence public opinion. Other organizations are also using video games to highlight particular causes:

• “Darfur is Dying” simulates a Sudanese refugee camp.

• “La Migra” portrays an immigration agent who either receives praise for stopping illegal border crossing or a termination notice if too many illegals cross over.

• “Peacemaker” allows players to act as both Israeli and Palestinian leaders seeking to diffuse tension in the Middle East.

But, is there a market for games that explain social and political issues? And if so, do nonprofit organizations have the resources to gain widespread distribution? Will computer and video games such as these displace board games on family game night or popular games of the Halo genre? Is there a true marketplace opportunity here, or will the games merely supplement the tools used currently for advocacy and educational causes?

Q u e s t i o n s

1. Are there any privacy concerns related to capturing user information via cause-related online computer games?

2. What type of competition do these advocacy-based games face?

1 Customer-centric site fosters enthusiasm for the sport.

2 Offi cial NBA footage provides exciting games for fans worldwide.

Customer Relations Decision

Sports Team

A N AT O M Y O F A

The National Basketball Association uses its YouTube channel as a touchpoint to engage with fans.

3 Fans subscribe and submit their own videos, sharing their information with the NBA.

4 Link to NBA.com encourages further interaction and the purchase of offi cial gear.