The automatic weapons of social media

 

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It’s time for the platforms to admit their response is flawed, and work together to protect our civil discourse.

This is not an easy essay to write, because I have believed that technology companies are a force for good for more than 30 years. And for the past ten years, I’ve been an unabashed optimist when it comes to the impact of social platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and even Facebook. I want to believe they create more good than bad in our world. But recently I’ve lost that faith.

What’s changed my mind is the recalcitrant posture of these companies in the face of overwhelming evidence that their platforms are being intentionally manipulated to undermine our democracy. This is an existential crisis, both for civil society and for the health of the businesses being manipulated. But to date the response from the platforms is the equivalent of politicians’ “hopes and prayers” after a school shooting: Soothing murmurs, evasion of truly hard conversations, and a refusal to acknowledge the core problem: Their automated business models.

Continue reading… “The automatic weapons of social media”

The 5 trends that will change how social media is used in 2015

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According to a recent Duke University study, social media spending at companies, currently represents 9% of marketing budgets, and that’s forecast to rise to nearly 25% within five years, but half of marketers interviewed said they couldn’t show what impact social media had on their business – at all.   Continue reading… “The 5 trends that will change how social media is used in 2015”

Millennials: keeping up with the news is important, but without paying for it

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According to a report released today by the Media Insight Project, a collaboration between the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, most millennials don’t seek out news on social media, but the vast majority of them get news from social networks once they see it there.   Continue reading… “Millennials: keeping up with the news is important, but without paying for it”

Elon Musk tweets about space elevators and more

 

An Earth based space elevator would be around 62,000 miles long, or about 2.5 times the circumference of the earth.  It would take about 7.5 days to reach the GEO level traveling at 200 kph. Continue reading… “Elon Musk tweets about space elevators and more”

Top 7 social media psychology studies that will make us better marketers

Social media is changing the way we relate to each other.

Social media is still a young and new form of communication. It’s too early to take anything as a given, so we’re all experimenting, testing and learning together. New studies and research are showing us more about how social media is changing the way we relate to one another, share information and even form our identities.

 

 

Continue reading… “Top 7 social media psychology studies that will make us better marketers”

Conversnitch: Listening device planted in public locations post straight to Twitter

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Conversnitch

Everyone eavesdrops but few people will admit to it. However, two artists decided to bring the popular pastime into the digital age, with a lamp that can listen in on conversations and post the juiciest details straight to Twitter. Kyle McDonald and Brian House created Conversnitch to raise the issue of privacy in a world where internet-connected mobile devices make it so easy to share other people’s secrets.

 

Continue reading… “Conversnitch: Listening device planted in public locations post straight to Twitter”

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