The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz • Hacker News Board

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#21

Post by jerf » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 5:07 AM UTC

Rapzid wrote: post #4

sean_patel wrote: post #2

> If Mr. Zuckerberg takes seriously his oft-stated commitments to diversity and openness, he must grapple honestly with the fact that Facebook is no longer just a social network. It’s an advertising medium that’s now dangerously easy to weaponize. The story is chilling. It more or less proves that Trump campaign and the Billionaire Republican donor who owns the Data Analytics site used Facebook to profile people and…

I'm not sure how the Dem's will compete with this going forward. Maybe it will become taboo and they won't have to. Maybe they already are.. I hope they don't go too deep into the mud on this. It's almost impressive though how well the Republicans, and Trump specifically, are employing these, IMHO shady, tactics. Is it scandalous how little scandal is made of all this(the FUD, populist rhetoric, phycological manipula…

Going forward?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/17/obama-digital-...

Obviously, this is not identical, but many of the same principles are in play. You can argue around the edges of who understood exactly who was getting what data but I pretty much guarantee you the bulk of the people didn't know exactly what they had just done then, either.

I also do not mean this as a partisan attack, because everyone's gonna do it, and do it better every election cycle, until something major stops them. In 2012 it was widely believed the Republicans simply had no good digital ground game, so I can't really link you to articles about theirs, or I would. And I'm having a hard time imagining what will stop this, short of total internet collapse.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#22

Post by legodt » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 5:14 AM UTC

Rapzid wrote: post #4

sean_patel wrote: post #2

> If Mr. Zuckerberg takes seriously his oft-stated commitments to diversity and openness, he must grapple honestly with the fact that Facebook is no longer just a social network. It’s an advertising medium that’s now dangerously easy to weaponize. The story is chilling. It more or less proves that Trump campaign and the Billionaire Republican donor who owns the Data Analytics site used Facebook to profile people and…

I'm not sure how the Dem's will compete with this going forward. Maybe it will become taboo and they won't have to. Maybe they already are.. I hope they don't go too deep into the mud on this. It's almost impressive though how well the Republicans, and Trump specifically, are employing these, IMHO shady, tactics. Is it scandalous how little scandal is made of all this(the FUD, populist rhetoric, phycological manipula…

I think the fact that the Dems ran Clinton despite more support in key demos for Bernie shows that as of right now they aren't very interested in following data if it conflicts with their other agendas.

If this trend continues and extends down to congressional elections, etc. for both parties as it is now (Republicans ready to follow data to build campaigns, Democrats playing out of an opaque narrative), this could spell bad news for the future of the American Democratic party.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#23

Post by ChuckMcM » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 5:23 AM UTC

ENTP wrote: post #3

I'd suspected for years about such quizzes. Initially, I assumed the posts to calculate your (porn/movie/etc) name was a low grade phishing exercise as it asked you to mix personal data that are often used in security questions (eg first pet name plus mothers maiden name). This is a whole new level, but entirely unsurprising. Facebook is a data mining platform. Remembering that is nothing but a good thing.

Especially quizzes like "where was your first job?" or "what's your favorite movie?" all sounded like phishing for security question answers.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#24

Post by notyourwork » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 5:43 AM UTC

divbit wrote: post #20

Seriously. Why do we allow this kind of data collection. This is ridiculous. Edit: the commenter who responded has pointed out that this is phrased fairly accusatory. Should the fact that there is probably a data cloud out there about me being used to manipulate me through subliminal type messaging not be upsetting? I don't think I have ever signed up for a service with the expectation that whatever information is co…

Can I re-phrase your question?

"Why do we allow people to voluntarily hand over their own information at their own will?"

Sounds much different when its phrase properly and not accusatory.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#25

Post by zenkat » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 5:57 AM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #24

divbit wrote: post #20

Seriously. Why do we allow this kind of data collection. This is ridiculous. Edit: the commenter who responded has pointed out that this is phrased fairly accusatory. Should the fact that there is probably a data cloud out there about me being used to manipulate me through subliminal type messaging not be upsetting? I don't think I have ever signed up for a service with the expectation that whatever information is co…

Can I re-phrase your question? "Why do we allow people to voluntarily hand over their own information at their own will?" Sounds much different when its phrase properly and not accusatory.

Except the ways in which this data will be used is never disclosed, and in fact is deliberately obscured.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#26

Post by zenkat » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 5:57 AM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #24

divbit wrote: post #20

Seriously. Why do we allow this kind of data collection. This is ridiculous. Edit: the commenter who responded has pointed out that this is phrased fairly accusatory. Should the fact that there is probably a data cloud out there about me being used to manipulate me through subliminal type messaging not be upsetting? I don't think I have ever signed up for a service with the expectation that whatever information is co…

Can I re-phrase your question? "Why do we allow people to voluntarily hand over their own information at their own will?" Sounds much different when its phrase properly and not accusatory.

Except the ways in which this data will be used is never disclosed, and in fact is deliberately obscured.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#27

Post by divbit » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 6:00 AM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #24

divbit wrote: post #20

Seriously. Why do we allow this kind of data collection. This is ridiculous. Edit: the commenter who responded has pointed out that this is phrased fairly accusatory. Should the fact that there is probably a data cloud out there about me being used to manipulate me through subliminal type messaging not be upsetting? I don't think I have ever signed up for a service with the expectation that whatever information is co…

Can I re-phrase your question? "Why do we allow people to voluntarily hand over their own information at their own will?" Sounds much different when its phrase properly and not accusatory.

Let me quote what voluntarily handing over personal information means at the university level:

"Obtaining written informed consent from a potential participant is more than just a signature on a form. The consent document is to be used as a guide for the verbal explanation of the study. The consent document should be the basis for a meaningful exchange between the researcher and the participant. The participant's signature provides documentation of agreement to participate in a study, but is only one part of the consent process. The consent document must not serve as a substitute for discussion."

http://humansubjects.stanford.edu/new/resources/consent/inde...

Seems phrased fairly differently from the typical "terms of use" document we get when signing up for an online service. So I ask. Should these be vastly different things?

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#28

Post by jlarocco » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 6:20 AM UTC

sean_patel wrote: post #2

> If Mr. Zuckerberg takes seriously his oft-stated commitments to diversity and openness, he must grapple honestly with the fact that Facebook is no longer just a social network. It’s an advertising medium that’s now dangerously easy to weaponize. The story is chilling. It more or less proves that Trump campaign and the Billionaire Republican donor who owns the Data Analytics site used Facebook to profile people and…

It's pretty naive to think the democrats aren't doing the same thing. Maybe not with the same company, but I'm sure they're doing it to some extent.

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#29

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 6:22 AM UTC

divbit wrote: post #20

Seriously. Why do we allow this kind of data collection. This is ridiculous. Edit: the commenter who responded has pointed out that this is phrased fairly accusatory. Should the fact that there is probably a data cloud out there about me being used to manipulate me through subliminal type messaging not be upsetting? I don't think I have ever signed up for a service with the expectation that whatever information is co…

[deleted]

Re: The Secret Agenda of a Facebook Quiz

#30

Post by kalleboo » Sun, Jan 22, 2017, 6:24 AM UTC

notyourwork wrote: post #24

divbit wrote: post #20

Seriously. Why do we allow this kind of data collection. This is ridiculous. Edit: the commenter who responded has pointed out that this is phrased fairly accusatory. Should the fact that there is probably a data cloud out there about me being used to manipulate me through subliminal type messaging not be upsetting? I don't think I have ever signed up for a service with the expectation that whatever information is co…

Can I re-phrase your question? "Why do we allow people to voluntarily hand over their own information at their own will?" Sounds much different when its phrase properly and not accusatory.

If it said up-front "this data will be collated and eventually used to emotionally manipulate you", I'd agree with you that people give the information up of their own will.