FACEBOOK humbled

Rum, beer, movies, nice websites, gaming, etc., without interrupting the flow of martial threads.

FACEBOOK humbled

Postby KEND on Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:20 am

I find the present turmoil over Facebook somewhat disingenuous, anybody who thinks that their personal data is sacrosanct is, to say the least, naive. In the past whenever a bank, company or state agency had your personal data, it was assumed they would sell it. I have always been surprised that the site is considered good for advertising. When they issued an IPO[stock was around 20 at the time] I didn't think it would be a money making project, I was wrong, the stock increased 8 times its original price. The distribution of the information on the other hand appeared to have little oversight and one of its recipients was a sleazy UK company that was known for its 'dirty tricks'. This is not new, remember Lee Atwood and his clones a decade ago. Anyway personally I am not ditching Facebook, its convenience outweighs its risks, I will just be extremely careful about what data I post
KEND
Great Old One
 
Posts: 1857
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 5:32 pm

Re: FACEBOOK humbled

Postby everything on Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:54 pm

undermining democratic process is one thing.

getting "your data" in order to target some ads is an entirely different thing. so someone wants to send you an ad. do you have to do anything? you can block ads, you can use anonymous surfing. you don't even need to throw away junk physical mail. amazon is different as they already know what you browse and buy. but then, you probably are fine with that because literally you want to buy stuff via amazon.

the ads are pretty stupid. i posted a photo of shoes on instagram and now get shoe ads. not interested at all. but then what ads would interest me? it's hard to think of any, really. I opted in to receive some emails that are basically ads. most of this is a colossal waste of time and money. it's still true that 50% of your marketing budget is useful but you have no idea which 50%. It's really because people have some "disposable income", want to spend it, and some advertiser wants you to spend that money on their useless stuff rather than other useless stuff. At least it provides some jobs, I guess.
amateur practices til gets right pro til can't get wrong
/ better approx answer to right q than exact answer to wrong q which can be made precise /
“most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. Source of all true art & science
User avatar
everything
Wuji
 
Posts: 8262
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 7:22 pm
Location: USA

Re: FACEBOOK humbled

Postby grzegorz on Wed Mar 28, 2018 2:24 pm

I shut my FB account awhile ago and it was the best decision I ever made.

Now I have an extra half an hour a day to myself which is much more valuable than anything FB was offering.

As far as selling your info, yes not new but what is new is that people are profiling you and using that profile to play to your hopes and fears. (See Sweden immigration policy.)

Personally I quit facebook because I think it is 85% garbage. Breitbart, hate and fear thrive on FB and not to mention all the outrage over everything and anything on the news. Why would I want to be on FB? I hear all the same dumb assery I hear on FB already in real life so why would I want to hear even more of that stuff?

And last but not least FB is an addiction. But once you break that addiction and you remember that your life before FB your life was actually pretty good the main difference is that back then you were not alway looking down on your phone.
Last edited by grzegorz on Wed Mar 28, 2018 8:11 pm, edited 5 times in total.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
User avatar
grzegorz
Wuji
 
Posts: 6933
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:42 pm
Location: America great yet?

Re: FACEBOOK humbled

Postby grzegorz on Wed Mar 28, 2018 7:27 pm

I mentioned this on the Cambridge Analytica thread.

Is Facebook playing a part in the Rohingya genocide?




INFORMATION WAR

Is Facebook playing a part in the Rohingya genocide?

By Robert Huish and Patrick Balazo, Dalhousie University

January 03, 2018


New technology can have profound impacts on society in ways never intended.

The radio carried codes during the First World War, but later became a household fixture. Early telephones were leased in pairs but after Western Union, a telegraph company, adopted “exchanges,” it led to rapid long-distance communication. Likewise, mobile phones have evolved from bulky “walkie-talkies” to small supercomputers.

And now Facebook, originally a connection platform for university students, conjoins one in four people. But today, in Myanmar, Facebook is helping fuel a genocide against the Rohingya people.

Based on our research in Myanmar and in Cuba, we argue that internet usage in Myanmar is dangerous. Unbridled connection to Facebook creates what we call a “virtual coercive,” a digital space that bolsters coercion. We suggest that Cuba’s internet model may provide lessons to manage social media amid political chaos.

The utility of inventions can be unpredictable, and so too can the social impacts be catastrophic.

Distracted driving is an unforeseen consequence of mobile phones that kills or maims thousands each year. Dealing with distracted driving involves better driver education, curbing usage behind the wheel, and penalties for stupidity.

Radio enabled unimaginable horrors during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

“Blood on hands”

But in conditions of genocide, can a technology like radio be limited or restricted? It’s an essential service, but with blood on its hands. That’s a burden Facebook now shares.

In 2010, Myanmar had 130,000 heavily restricted internet users. In seven years, SIM card prices plunged from more than $3,000 to $1. The government also relaxed censorship laws, allowing Facebook to attract 30 million Burmese users. Many of them view Facebook as the internet.

Beginning in late August, Burmese security forces pursued a scorched-earth campaign against the Rohingya. Some 6,700 were killed and 645,000 were forced to to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

Along with ultra-nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu, a host of Facebook pages spread hate speech. This vitriolic propaganda further vilifies the already marginalized and much-maligned Rohingya.

Anti-Rohingya content includes explicitly racist political cartoons, falsified images, and staged news reports. This content goes viral, normalizing hate speech and shaping public perception. Violence against Rohingya people is increasingly welcomed, and then celebrated online. This virtual coercive serves the Myanmar military’s interests.

The military junta’s monopoly on information has provided little arena to foster media literacy. Such propaganda in this virtual coercive of anti-Rohingya propaganda preys upon the ill-informed. For many, the misinformation spread through Facebook justifies what the United Nations has dubbed a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar citizens now have unbridled access to low-cost internet on their mobile devices. Freedom of speech advocates will laud this. But this open information pipeline reinforces Facebook’s dark side of self-reaffirmation with limited perspective.

This is to the Burmese military’s advantage. Just as radio fuelled genocide in the 1990s, Facebook is making it happen in Myanmar today.

Fiction becomes reality

Facebook’s virtual coercive is one of division, competing realities, and a lack of mutual acceptance. In Facebook’s virtual coercive, fiction is reality and lies can validate.

Considering this, we argue that constant Facebook use in Myanmar is too risky to ignore. Societies require spaces for tolerance of differing ideas, trade, negotiation, volunteerism, and face-to-face dynamics. This is lacking in Myanmar.

Cuba may be an important example in this discussion.

The nature of internet access in Cuba has not led to the abusive coercion or divisive politics. Protests through social media that are common in other parts of the world do not exist in Cuba.

Why?

Internet in Cuba is, simply put, expensive. Spending $3 for an hour of WiFi in internet parks is about 10% of a Cuban’s monthly earnings. With only limited time to be online, Facebook’s bandwidth-clogging bulk makes it unpopular in Cuba. Instead, other SMS and chat apps such as IMO, a direct video chat service, is preferred.

Cubans access internet in small doses

Cuba has only limited capacity to monitor its internet traffic, and the government worries about unbridled access.

And so Facebook cannot be accessed during working hours in most government and university settings in Cuba. It creates a disincentive to rely on Facebook for news and connections.

Cubans surf the net in small doses and often in public spaces. This breaks the virtual coercive through face-to-face interactions.

The shortcomings of Cuba’s model are obvious given it creates a barrier to information. Free-speech advocates will be quick to dismiss the idea of limiting the time spent online, never mind the dangers of a state having the responsibility to curtail social media.

But is unbridled access to Facebook really a pillar of free speech if the platform can be harnessed for the purpose of eliminating an entire population?

It’s time to entertain disconnecting from the virtual coercive in order to engage in real space. Maybe in this way, Facebook’s dark side can be kept at bay while still serving its original purpose of connecting people and enriching, not destroying, lives.

Robert Huish, associate professor in International Development Studies, Dalhousie University, and Patrick Balazo, researcher, Dalhousie University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. We welcome your comments at [email protected].


https://qz.com/1170111/is-facebook-play ... -genocide/


Last edited by grzegorz on Wed Mar 28, 2018 7:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
User avatar
grzegorz
Wuji
 
Posts: 6933
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:42 pm
Location: America great yet?


Return to Off the Topic

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests