Via Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg, June 28, 2017: “As of this morning, the Facebook community is now officially 2 billion people!” In a little over 13 years Facebook has steadily and exponentially increased users to a number is impressive regardless of the competition. The challenges for the company to continue to add users in such huge numbers in no small measure are related to lack of internet connectivity and China’s ban on using the services (blocking 700 million potential users according to Record). Facebook is looking to innovative ways to leverage service including delivering internet services to populations via drones. One cannot help but recognize the incongruity of technological developments in use of social media as opposed to access to health care, clean water, regular nutritious meals for children, fair and affordable housing and freedom of speech (to name but a few issues from a list of many more that are applicable to those in America and people around the world). Stepping off tiny soap box – with one last thought – compare the acceleration in the development and use of gadgets, gizmos and devices to the slow pace of change and improvement in infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, subways, buses) in our country.

• And via YouTube’s CEO – “…I’m pleased to announce that we crossed a big threshold: 1.5 billion logged in viewers visit YouTube every single month.”
• See also ProPublica – A trove of internal documents sheds light on the algorithms that Facebook’s censors use to differentiate between hate speech and legitimate political expression.