The Register – “Significant uptick in visibility for Musk, Republican account posts from July 13 – A pair of researchers say they’ve determined that July 13 was likely the day that X, formerly known as Twitter, made platform-level algorithm changes that increased the visibility of posts made by Elon Musk and Republican-leaning accounts in the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Social Media
This Bluesky Tool Makes It Easy to Find Accounts You’ll Want to Follow
Lifehacker: “Bluesky Network Analyzer looks at the people you’re already following, and then looks at the people they’re following to give you personalized recommendations…As I’ve also previously noted, the value you’ll get out of Bluesky is wholly based on who you follow there, since it isn’t really powered by an algorithm trying desperately to keep… Continue Reading
Is it Over Now (Social Media Version)?
The Scholarly Kitchen: “…For many years now, Twitter has been our leading social media source of referrals of readers. But over the last year, LinkedIn has started to catch up, and over the last 90 days, LinkedIn referrals surpassed those from Twitter, and are now bringing us 1.65 times as many readers. Bluesky remains far… Continue Reading
The rise of Bluesky, and the splintering of social
MIT Technology Review: “..Last year, we put “Twitter killers” on our list of 10 breakthrough technologies. But the breakthrough technology wasn’t the rise of one service or the decline of another. It was decentralization. At the time, I wrote: “Decentralized, or federated, social media allows for communication across independently hosted servers or platforms, using networking… Continue Reading
America’s News Influencers
The creators and consumers in the world of news and information on social media – In the heat of the 2024 election, news influencers seemed to be everywhere. Both Republicans and Democrats credentialed content creators to cover their conventions – and encouraged influencers to share their political messages. Influencers also interviewed the candidates and held fundraisers… Continue Reading
The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kill Us Long Before AI
Joan Westenberg: “…In the bite-sized content and viral media age, too many of us have lost — or are losing — the focus and patience for lengthy, complex texts. We skim and scan instead of closely reading. Our attention spans have shrunk to mere seconds. While technology has enabled the wide dissemination of information, it has also fragmented our… Continue Reading
Americans Are More Likely to Choose News That Supports Their Beliefs
This New Study Reveals Why. [The Debrief]: “A new study published in Communication Research suggests that people often prefer news that aligns with their existing beliefs, a tendency known as “selective exposure.” According to the new research, this habit is particularly noticeable in the United States, where partisan divides and “echo chambers” are becoming more… Continue Reading
A computational analysis of potential algorithmic bias on platform X during the 2024 US election
A computational analysis of potential algorithmic bias on platform X during the 2024 US election. [Working Paper] (Unpublished) – This technical report presents findings from a two-phase analysis investigating potential algorithmic bias in engagement metrics on X (formerly Twitter) by examining Elon Musk’s account against a group of prominent users and subsequently comparing Republican-leaning versus… Continue Reading
Now’s the Time to Grab Your Bluesky Handle Before It’s Gone
How To Geek: “Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform heavily inspired by Twitter (now known as X), which should come as no surprise since both platforms were created at least in part by Jack Dorsey. While Bluesky shares Twitter’s tight character limit and clean design language, it differs in its decentralized nature along with… Continue Reading
Social Media Fact Sheet
Pew Research – “Many Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape. Which social media platforms are most common? YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Half of U.S. adults say they use… Continue Reading
Voted in America? This Site Doxed You
404 Media: “If you voted in the U.S. presidential election [November 5, 2024] in which Donald Trump won comfortably, or a previous election, a website powered by a right-wing group is probably doxing you. VoteRef makes it trivial for anyone to search the name, physical address, age, party affiliation, and whether someone voted that year… Continue Reading
For Teens Online, Conspiracy Theories Are Commonplace
News:iterary Project: News Literacy in America: A survey of teen information attitudes, habits and skills (2024). “American teens spend hours each day scrolling social media platforms, immersing themselves in an often-confusing stream of entertainment, ads, news, rumors and conspiracy theories. Young people need the knowledge, skills and habits of mind to assess the credibility and… Continue Reading
