Adjacent Possible – Steven Johnson: “…The first is that the follow/fan dynamic is not the only kind of stranger interaction that the social media age has greatly amplified. There has also been a staggering increase in casual, drive-by encounters with random people online—and most importantly, with the ideas and opinions of other people. Every single… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Social Media
How Facebook’s formula fostered rage and misinformation
Washington Post – “Five years ago, Facebook gave its users five new ways to react to a post in their news feed beyond the iconic “like” thumbs-up: “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad” and “angry.” Behind the scenes, Facebook programmed the algorithm that decides what people see in their news feeds to use the reaction emoji as… Continue Reading
Antitrust Needs to Be Simple
The Atlantic: “When violations of the law are hard to punish, authorities will usually give them a pass. Americans have gotten far too used to the idea that corporate behemoths are free to acquire any company they want, engage in predatory behavior, and bully, squeeze out, or demand kickbacks from smaller rivals. Indeed, the U.S.… Continue Reading
Frances Haugen took thousands of Facebook documents: This is how she did it
Washington Post – “The company’s documents were available on its internal social network, which resembles the Facebook used by billions..Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen left her job at the company earlier this year with thousands of pages of documents referencing a litany of societal harms. Haugen didn’t have to rummage through filing cabinets or secretly make… Continue Reading
New Deloitte report explains how Facebook and all tech companies have to change to be more ethical
Tech Republic: “A new report from Deloitte highlights the choice many tech companies are facing when it comes to business ethics. Is it possible to hold onto business as usual or is it time to make ethics at least as important as profits. The report released on Wednesday, “Beyond good intentions” spells out the contradictory… Continue Reading
A whistleblower’s power: Key takeaways from the Facebook Papers
Follow-up to previous posting – Whistleblower: Facebook is misleading the public on progress against hate speech, violence, misinformation – See Also the Washington Post – “Interviews with dozens of current and former employees and a trove of internal documents show how the social media company inflamed real-world harms.A trove of internal Facebook documents reveals that the… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 24, 2021
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 24, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading
People Aren’t Meant to Talk This Much
Ian Bogost in The Atlantic: People Aren’t Meant to Talk This Much. “A lot is wrong with the internet, but much of it boils down to this one problem: We are all constantly talking to one another. Take that in every sense. Before online tools, we talked less frequently, and with fewer people. The average… Continue Reading
Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name
The Verge: “Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The coming name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28th, but could unveil sooner,… Continue Reading
Google search redesign adds continuous scrolling
Fortune: “Google has adapted to social media’s topography. On mobile devices, its search results will now be displayed in one continuous scroll, rather than on multiple pages. According to Google’s announcement today, the new design is more “intuitive” for users and encourages curiosity in our Information Age. Google notes in a tweet however that “continuous… Continue Reading
Researchers show Facebook’s ad tools can target a single user
TechCrunch: “A new research paper written by a team of academics and computer scientists from Spain and Austria has demonstrated that it’s possible to use Facebook’s targeting tools to deliver an ad exclusively to a single individual if you know enough about the interests Facebook’s platform assigns them. The paper — entitled “Unique on Facebook:… Continue Reading
You’ve decided to quit Facebook. Here’s how to migrate your online life elsewhere
Washington Post: ‘Every time there’s a Facebook scandal, you may have thought about quitting the social network, and this time for real. But you run into the same problem every time: Where exactly should you go? After a rough month of revelations about Facebook’s business practices, culminating with a whistleblower testifying in front of lawmakers… Continue Reading
