Blogging Topic 4: Ethics and influence

This week we had a great guest speaker and we talked about social influence. He mentioned that at Google they are looking at people who have an array of influence skills and strategies. He also mentioned that, as a corporate entity, Google is fighting to maintain a positive public image. Related to that, here’s today’s blog topic: What is the difference between manipulation and influence? When does it become playing politics and misdirection? Where is the line between bad and good – and how do you find that line? As this class arms you with more “weapons” to influence others, we must also take into consideration our ethics. Can you use these "weapons" of mass influence and still stay true to your core values? And, if the easy answer is that it is okay to use these weapons if you are using them in the service of your values, do you need to take into account the people you are using these weapons on? For example, if Google were doing things with their search that influenced people, but for the people's own benefit, would that be okay?