DL Open Thread: Friday, November 11, 2022
The Death Of Social Media? Can’t come soon enough for me. Good article, including a history of how we (well, not me) got to where we are:
It’s over. Facebook is in decline, Twitter in chaos. Mark Zuckerberg’s empire has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in value and laid off 11,000 people, with its ad business in peril and its metaverse fantasy in irons. Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has caused advertisers to pull spending and power users to shun the platform (or at least to tweet a lot about doing so). It’s never felt more plausible that the age of social media might end—and soon.
Now that we’ve washed up on this unexpected shore, we can look back at the shipwreck that left us here with fresh eyes. Perhaps we can find some relief: Social media was never a natural way to work, play, and socialize, though it did become second nature. The practice evolved via a weird mutation, one so subtle that it was difficult to spot happening in the moment.
The shift began 20 years ago or so, when networked computers became sufficiently ubiquitous that people began using them to build and manage relationships. Social networking had its problems—collecting friends instead of, well, being friendly with them, for example—but they were modest compared with what followed. Slowly and without fanfare, around the end of the aughts, social media took its place. The change was almost invisible, but it had enormous consequences. Instead of facilitating the modest use of existing connections—largely for offline life (to organize a birthday party, say)—social software turned those connections into a latent broadcast channel. All at once, billions of people saw themselves as celebrities, pundits, and tastemakers.
I hope that’s sufficiently whetted your curiosity. Read–then comment.
The Shape Of Florida’s Coastline Changes Inexorably And Inevitably. Hurricanes Ian and Nicole have only hastened the changes:
The full extent of the damage left behind by Nicole is still not known because the storm has left some homes and condo buildings teetering on the edge of collapse.
Nicole came ashore as a hurricane Thursday in Florida and quickly moved across the state. At least two people died after being electrocuted.
Powerful waves ate away at vulnerable beaches already damaged by Hurricane Ian, causing some homes to collapse. Officials in one county have declared 49 structures — homes and condo and hotel buildings — unsafe for occupants.
Russia Abandons Kherson Without A Fight. Maybe Putin was demoralized from the election results:
The retreat from Kherson is a bitter blow for the Kremlin, and if Ukrainian forces can gain full control of the city, it would be one of the most significant accomplishments of the Ukrainian military since Russia invaded in late February. Kherson was the only provincial capital Russia had captured since invading, and it was a major link in Russia’s effort to control the southern coastline along the Black Sea.
Russia’s announcement this week that it was retreating from parts of the Kherson region has been cast in doubt, as events have been obfuscated by the fog of war and concern rose in Kyiv that the Kremlin might be bluffing in an effort to draw Ukrainian troops into a trap.
But on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said that Russian troops were indeed withdrawing from some areas they had controlled along the front line in southern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said dozens of towns and villages had been retaken.
Biden Goes After Methane. Initiative to be announced today:
Biden was set to announce on Friday a supplemental rule cracking down on emissions of methane — a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming and packs a stronger short-term punch than even carbon dioxide — as he attends a global climate conference in Egypt.
The new rule by the Environmental Protection Agency follows up on a methane rule Biden announced last year at a United Nations climate summit in Scotland. The 2021 rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells as previous EPA regulations have done.
The new rule goes a step further and takes aim at all drilling sites, including smaller wells that emit less than 3 tons (2.7 metric tonnes) of methane per year. Small wells currently are subject to an initial inspection but are rarely checked again for leaks.
The proposal also requires operators to respond to credible third-party reports of high-volume methane leaks.
Was gonna post the News-Journal article on Return Day. But, IMO, the tradition is so lame. And we’re not lamestream.
What do you want to talk about?
Social media (and email) should be a public utility or at least paid subscriber based and regulated.
“Free accounts” social media simply means that the “user” and the user’s data is the product. When you are the product you have no rights and the company’s sole responsibility is to the advertisers who are the actual customers.
If Musk has burned this model down and hastened its demise, that’s fucking great. But I don’t think the model will just go away organically.
I have said for years that after organized religion, social media is the worst thing to happen to our civilization. tax the churches and get rid of social media
I believe in the “Internet” – have been involved since it was “text” based and you had to use a dial up modem on a landline to access.
For example I use Instagram, You Tube and Facebook to learn from and connect with people sharing their research and ideas on the following subjects – fitness, golf, nutrition, health, do it yourself, interior design, product reviews – the list goes on. I have been able to do my own plumbing, electrical, auto and appliance repairs and other house maintenance from the countless videos availabe.
I understand that my data is being collected, but I am OK with that – it is a Tradeoff. I would rather put up with advertisements, than have to pay a subscription fee.
There are plenty of methods and tools to mitigate the impact to me from the data gathering going on and to protect my privacy. For example – I have multiple gmail accounts – an Account I only use when interacting with financial institutions I deal with; An account I only use for personal use (i.e. interacting with friends and family; and other accounts I use when interacting with “social media”. Another idea is to use Google voice for a “virtual” phone number when interacting with websites when ordering stuff online etc.
I am also aware that there are plenty of people using social media to push conspiracy theories and spread hate etc. I fully support those social media sites in regulating content that is posted. I am OK with advertisers choosing which websites are able to be utilized to reach their target audience. It is on us, the consumers of information, to reject and not support “bad actors”.
As you note (or at least imply), personal data is being gathered every time you use the internet. I have no social media accounts, but I use Google, so they’ve got all they need to know about me.
However, the point about them collecting the data isn’t that they’re tracking you. The societal concern isn’t about your privacy; that’s everybody’s personal concern, but that’s not the biggest danger to the rest of us. It’s that they know how to target people with material most likely to engage them and keep them clicking.
“It’s on us” is, I fear, a rather naive way of looking at propaganda. If everybody could resist it, it wouldn’t work. They don’t, and it does, and in a democracy if more than 50% don’t, we all lose.
The context of my statement – “it’s on us” is not naive. Rather it implies an “activist” role in neutralizing the “propaganda”.
How?
The issue with social media is t “propaganda”it’s the directed attacks of individuals/groups/bots that can destroy lives because of the overwhelming pressure and stress created on them.
That’s not the problem at the moderated sites. That’s 4chan stuff.
As we live so shalt we die, as we learn so shall we forget. Learn to love and need thy not the past as thy discovers the present and joy of living. Learn to sing, and so shalt the joy be present, and ever with but a song in thy heart.
Florida can’t sink beneath the waves soon enough for me. Please don’t spend money in Florida. It is appalling how many Democrats covet vacations and property in red Florida.
I think it is time that Florida has to fend for itself…..they have to be told that the Feds can’t underwrite each climate disaster that slams the state nor can we keep it from sinking into the ocean. The state government must provide its own resources and planning.
Cut off federal subsidies for flood insurance. Problem solved.