Damien Venuto: Is Facebook good for the world?

Ime Archibong faced the challenge of talking about Facebook's value to the world. Photo / Supplied

COMMENT:

That was the question Facebook took it upon itself to answer at last week's AdWeek event in Sydney.

The unenviable task fell to the company's charismatic vice president of partnerships, Ime Archibong, who looked more suited to appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair than on a humble stage at Sydney's Luna Park.

From this end of the world, it would be impossible to pose the question of Facebook's worth to the world without mentioning the Christchurch terror attack – and Archibong didn't veer away from the issue.

In broaching the subject of Christchurch, he invoked the ideas of the writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in warning against the danger of having complex issues represented by a single story that excludes other perspectives.

He explained that in the aftermath of the attack, Facebook's darker side took over and obscured any of the good that was happening on the site.

"The weaponised technology that spread hate and intolerance is the same technology that was used by the PM of New Zealand to spread a message that said we would not stand for that hate and intolerance," he said.

And while Facebook has its dark corners, Archibong said the technology was also being used to shine a light on some of the more worrying ideas being spread around the internet.

But that's not to say that Archibong was satisfied with the status quo.

"We have to recognise that there are people who will try to use our technology for bad. We have to address that. We have to step up to it," he said.

To show the platform's good side, Archibong invited onto the stage three Facebook group owners who were each using it to combat bullying, ocean pollution and the stigma of HIV.

Admittedly, each of the stories was inspirational. But for every example on stage, anyone in the audience could have pinpointed examples that showcased the opposite, darker side of Facebook that always festers under the surface.

Archibong did as good a job as he could of telling stories that showcased the fact that Facebook was more layered than a single evil narrative - which in itself was an impressive feat of PR wizardry.

But it also felt a bit like the panel was perhaps asking the wrong question.

If Facebook is simply the digital manifestation of the good and evil in human beings, then asking whether the company is good for the world is like asking whether humans are good for the world.

A better question would be whether we are okay with the worst of humanity being amplified across the platform every day. And if not, where should we draw the line and how far should we go to make sure it's never crossed?

Perhaps Archibong can answer that in a follow-up next year.

What's your Netflix breaking point?

The decision by Netflix to hike its subscription price by as much as 19 per cent was met with swift threats from consumers that they would be leaving the service.

Despite all the strong words, it's questionable how many customers will actually go through the rigmarole of cancelling their accounts over having to pay a dollar or two extra per month.

The underlying reality is that $16.99 still looks like a really good deal, given the sheer volume of content made available through the platform – especially when viewed in the broader historical context of Sky's subscription costs.

Netflix's decision to enter the market at a relatively low price point has given it sufficient wriggle room to implement sporadic cost increases without incurring too much customer churn.

Netflix has done a good job of getting Kiwis hooked, but can it keep them on the service? Photo / Getty Images

NZ on Air's audience report from last year found that about a third of New Zealanders watch an international online subscription video-on-demand service on a weekly basis, and that is likely to be even higher today.

With its low subscription fees and almost ludicrously high volume of content, Netflix has steadily integrated its way into New Zealand society and managed to get users hooked on the service.

That said, even addicts have a breaking point when it comes to how much they pay for their chosen drug. A good analogy is found in a study of smokers by the British Medical Journal, which showed that the single best way to get people to quit the cancer sticks is to raise the prices. As prices increase, more and more smokers steadily reach their breaking point and decide to quit.

The point here is that Netflix can continue to raise prices as long as it doesn't reach that point where a large enough portion of the population decides to call it quits.

Which is to say that the biggest threat to the company's subscriber numbers at this stage isn't the monthly cost of its service, but rather the growing tide of competition starting to sweep over the streaming market.

Gossip gets it wrong

Gossip has abounded for a number of years about Ogilvy boss Greg Partington cashing in and leaving the industry.

But this week he finally silenced the rumour mill by going all-in and buying back the whole business from holding company WPP and relaunching it as Stanley St.

Greg Partington has taken the unusual step of buying his business back. Photo / Supplied

While some might see it as a risky move to reinvest your nest egg back into the business, a regular industry source told the Herald that Partington is sitting on a solid business with a good reputation and a core set of decent accounts.

Chief among these is the company's long-running partnership with Briscoe Group, which the source said remained rock solid.

Biscoe Group boss Rod Duke and Partington have long worked closely together – and since neither executive has shown any indication of waning ambition, the partnership seems set to continue for the foreseeable future.

And while Briscoe's relatively dry brand of advertising might not fill Stanley St's trophy cabinet with industry rewards, Partington is unlikely to lose any sleep over that.