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Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

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Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#81

That is excluding China...So it is more impressive if we do the calculation, 2B out of 6B population if we assume the current world population is 7.5B.

FB is blocked in China?

yes, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat, Picasa, WordPress.com, Blogspot, Blogger, Flickr, SoundCloud, Google+, Google Hangouts, Hootsuite are all blocked according to [1] 1. http://www.saporedicina.com/english/list-of-blocked-websites...

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#82
post #53

It is both amazing and deeply concerning that one corporation has influence over 1/4 of the world's population. It is even more concerning when you consider the outsized voting power of 1 person at that company.

Facebook is a platform. They don't do a lot of attempting to influence, as far as I can tell. Consider Google as well, which probably reaches even more of the world's population. Or Microsoft. Apple might be getting close, too. Or plenty of non-tech companies, as the sibling commenter points out. Coke, Samsung, Frito-Lay, etc.

I think they have plenty of influence just using the power of showing/not showing people specific things.

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#83
post #49

I think Facebook counts you as active even if you're logged in, never go to the site, but see any site with a like button. I've blocked Facebook using both Safari Content blockers and my `/etc/hosts` file, but I wonder if they have other ways of attempting to count me in.

They do not: http://www.adweek.com/digital/monthly-active-users-definitio...

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#85
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook is a platform. They don't do a lot of attempting to influence, as far as I can tell. Consider Google as well, which probably reaches even more of the world's population. Or Microsoft. Apple might be getting close, too. Or plenty of non-tech companies, as the sibling commenter points out. Coke, Samsung, Frito-Lay, etc.

> Facebook is a platform. They don't do a lot of attempting to influence, as far as I can tell. Ahem: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinke...

What point are you trying to make? Can you elaborate? "Ahem" and a link don't do a good job of forming or supporting a specific point.

Edit: Why do people think these are unreasonable questions? Does Google attempt to influence by ordering search results? How can any publisher avoid attempting to influence when any difference in content is potentially influential?

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#86
post #68
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think the comparison is valid?

I believe his point is that a company's size should be irrelevant to this discussion.

I disagree. The question he asks seems to me to be about how much influence FB has. Size doesn't seem to figure in his comment.

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#87
post #37

Ok. So, how many of these are Facebook Ghost profile users? https://spideroak.com/articles/facebook-shadow-profiles-a-pr... Oh yeah, you think you're safe because you don't have a Fb account, or closed it when it was popular to do so. Guess again... Your "friends" will keep posting you and they keep building a profile. Better yet, I suggest people keep their Fb account, and pollute it and lock it down. Don't install…

One of the most frustrating (and shady) things I have seen Facebook do is ask your friends personal information about you. I have very little personal info on my profile, but I know that Facebook has all of it. Because I have seen little popups saying things like "Where did your friend so and so go to highschool?"

Then later, you will see a question on your profile like, "Did you go to ... High?" So you know they are storing it whether you confirm or not.

They will also ask "security" questions to people trying to reset their password. They seem to include a few things that are in Facebook and then a few items that are not. This gathering even more details about my personal life that I did not choose to share with Facebook.

I try to frequently seed it with false information. But I know plenty of people are out there just merrily giving up all my personal information to this beast.

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#88
It's hard not to barf at all the "community" and "progress" and "connecting" and (worst of all) "journey" going on. (One of these days, can everything stop being a "journey" please?)

You know who talks like that? The inexperienced earnest, the zen master, and the liar. The ones who can say life truly is just a profound journey of progress and connecting with the community, are those who have never messed up, or had their lives ruined, or truly lived, on the one hand, or those who have worked for a lifetime to master a spiritual outlook on the other hand. And then throw in the liars - the people camouflaging themselves behind all that, to conceal something else they're doing. If I had to guess I would say Mark Zuckerberg might be some weird mix of "inexperienced earnest" and "liar" (including self-liar). But it's only a guess.

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do they though? I consume Coca Cola, and so do approx 2B other earthing. Does Coca Cola have influence over me?

When you buy a coke, is there an email from coke in your inbox the next day? When you interact with coke does it gently tailor what you see and what you do not see, month after month? If you cannot understand how people are influenced, maybe you'll never see the influencing happening. That doesn't make you immune, on the contrary...

No, but it does make me want to drink a coke the next day and maybe more than one a day. I don't have the same problem with broccoli.

Re: Facebook Hits 2 Billion Users

#90
post #49

I think Facebook counts you as active even if you're logged in, never go to the site, but see any site with a like button. I've blocked Facebook using both Safari Content blockers and my `/etc/hosts` file, but I wonder if they have other ways of attempting to count me in.

They don't need to fake count you as active. It would not be beneficial to misrepresent your own stats, because if your engagement numbers don't reflect that to advertisers then you're in trouble.
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