Thanks for clarifying the matter, David. This is an object lesson for business leaders. Name and frame all such products with great care. And educate first.
But corporate policies change over time, e.g. Google’s “Don’t be evil” is debatable now. Public input is often disregarded for such changes. What’s to prevent Ring’s next CEO from selling out to Flock or any of its affiliates? Videos and installed hardware have a way of sticking around. If Ring goes bust eventually — as tech companies often do — what’s to prevent Flock et al. from scooping the remains up? These concerns are part of the specter raised by the Super Bowl ad.
David, I enjoyed your post and sent it as an attachment to an email to my involuntary recipients mailing list (symptomatic of the old man who lives alone and seeks companionship in the land of email, annoyingly), and I’m happy to report that I said the issues succinctly, something I seldom do, thusly.
Good job David. Danny Kahnman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow” came to mind when the ad blew up. Your article clearly shows Senator Markey’s response was pure Fast Thinking. The irony is the Senate is supposed to be comprised of Slow Thinkers who serve as a breakwater on the passions that ebb and flow in a republic.
David I love your writing and what you do for CBS Sunday morning. Maybe it’s because I’m Canadian ( who happened to be in the US at the time of the SuperBowl to see all the adds — doesn’t happen up in Toronto) and as a dog owner I had a totally different reaction — I thought what Ring was doing was brilliant. I wouldn’t mind losing my husband but my DOG!!! Well that’s a different matter. Thanks for interview — provided a great deal of insight into the CEO— I rather like him.
Maybe it's just me being paranoid, but I recently re-read "1984".
(Note: I do own a Ring doorbell cam, a Ring spotlight cam, and a portable Ring cam that we use in our RV to monitor our dog if we go out without her. I find them very helpful. Still, I worry how these devices could be somehow commandeered by a, ahem, malign regime. Maybe it's just me being paranoid.)
Great, in-depth analysis. I have both Ring and Nest (Google Home) cameras. I much prefer the UI and performance of the Rings. As an aside, I discovered their different approaches to security when I upgraded my FiOS network to 2-gig a few weeks ago. I was able to get the Ring devices back online fairly quickly. For the doorbell cam, the front plate needed to be removed to access the reset button. It was held on by a small torx screw. Is that maybe too easy? Anyone could remove that screw. For my Nest cameras, I needed to find the security code on the base of each, one of which was above my garage. I climbed a ladder with the temperature below 10º and 50 mph gusts blowing. Once I got the code and hit the reset button, it took multiple tries to get it back online. Not fun.
Thanks for clarifying the matter, David. This is an object lesson for business leaders. Name and frame all such products with great care. And educate first.
But corporate policies change over time, e.g. Google’s “Don’t be evil” is debatable now. Public input is often disregarded for such changes. What’s to prevent Ring’s next CEO from selling out to Flock or any of its affiliates? Videos and installed hardware have a way of sticking around. If Ring goes bust eventually — as tech companies often do — what’s to prevent Flock et al. from scooping the remains up? These concerns are part of the specter raised by the Super Bowl ad.
Oh man. EXCELLENT analysis. Yeah, the permanence of your doorbell just throws gasoline on the fires of suspicion here!
That’s hard to believe. Can you provide sources for this statement?
You’re right! I got that stat from Siminoff, having remembered seeing it somewhere. But the actual number is just over half. The 78% stat seems to be “how many people would be willing to pay more for a home with a security camera” (https://www.rubyhome.com/blog/smart-home-stats/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20smart%20home%20market,more%20for%20a%20smart%20home.).
Thanks for the heads-up—I shall fix it!
Thanks for clarifying. Great article, as always.
78 percent of Americans have home security cameras?
David, I enjoyed your post and sent it as an attachment to an email to my involuntary recipients mailing list (symptomatic of the old man who lives alone and seeks companionship in the land of email, annoyingly), and I’m happy to report that I said the issues succinctly, something I seldom do, thusly.
“Ring & Privacy — trade offs & questions — think and choose
Because choices have consequences.”
Good job David. Danny Kahnman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow” came to mind when the ad blew up. Your article clearly shows Senator Markey’s response was pure Fast Thinking. The irony is the Senate is supposed to be comprised of Slow Thinkers who serve as a breakwater on the passions that ebb and flow in a republic.
David I love your writing and what you do for CBS Sunday morning. Maybe it’s because I’m Canadian ( who happened to be in the US at the time of the SuperBowl to see all the adds — doesn’t happen up in Toronto) and as a dog owner I had a totally different reaction — I thought what Ring was doing was brilliant. I wouldn’t mind losing my husband but my DOG!!! Well that’s a different matter. Thanks for interview — provided a great deal of insight into the CEO— I rather like him.
Maybe it's just me being paranoid, but I recently re-read "1984".
(Note: I do own a Ring doorbell cam, a Ring spotlight cam, and a portable Ring cam that we use in our RV to monitor our dog if we go out without her. I find them very helpful. Still, I worry how these devices could be somehow commandeered by a, ahem, malign regime. Maybe it's just me being paranoid.)
Great, in-depth analysis. I have both Ring and Nest (Google Home) cameras. I much prefer the UI and performance of the Rings. As an aside, I discovered their different approaches to security when I upgraded my FiOS network to 2-gig a few weeks ago. I was able to get the Ring devices back online fairly quickly. For the doorbell cam, the front plate needed to be removed to access the reset button. It was held on by a small torx screw. Is that maybe too easy? Anyone could remove that screw. For my Nest cameras, I needed to find the security code on the base of each, one of which was above my garage. I climbed a ladder with the temperature below 10º and 50 mph gusts blowing. Once I got the code and hit the reset button, it took multiple tries to get it back online. Not fun.