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Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

foreignpolicy.com

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Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#81

Post by Retric »

FreakyT wrote: post #27
john2x wrote: post #7

My idea for a quick fix is to remove likes/dislikes/emoji reactions. If people can't see how others feel about a post/article in an instant, they might have to read and decide for themselves how to feel.

Upvotes on HN/Reddit do essentially the same thing. I don't have the user statistics, but I'd imagine the typical HN reader only reads a sampling of the top-voted comments, which essentially allows them "to see how others feel about a post/article in an instant." If you want an example of the opposite approach, you can always look at 2009-era YouTube, when all comments shown were in a strict "newest" order. If you re…

As you point you Up votes are a useful filter. However "Like" only voting allows things to go viral that piss off large chunks of your readership. Readers end up being assaulted with emotional appeals devoid of content which many people disagree with but without down votes they simply don't count.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#82

Post by heurist »

john2x wrote: post #7

My idea for a quick fix is to remove likes/dislikes/emoji reactions. If people can't see how others feel about a post/article in an instant, they might have to read and decide for themselves how to feel.

I think they should remove the media content they add to external links and only show URLs. If people had to click a link to see the title, summary, images, or other clickbait meta content they'd be less likely to share links thoughtlessly. They might also see that the URL is untrusted and choose not to click through. Facebook could charge brands to show their content alongside click bait media. It would be a lot easier to verify the authenticity of ten thousand brands than every random link that's shared.

Wouldn't solve all the issues but it would be a start.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#83

Post by Sytten »

castle-bravo wrote: post #51
__s wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, did that, next?

So begins the slow descent into Luddism. Seriously now: I think there needs to be a grassroots push for a vety selective approach to technology adoption as described by Kevin Kelly in his book What Technology Wants . If people generally treated new apps and devices with a skeptical 'what does this do for me?' attitude, there might be more herd immunity against abuses of power by large tech firms (Google's stealing lo…

Though we have to say many Eng. don't respect that oath and are not held responsible... For example civil eng. firms giving money to political parties to have contracts.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#84

Post by jondubois »

b0rsuk wrote: post #21
richardknop wrote: post #12

Facebook has to be broken down to pieces. I think it has reached a state where it cannot be allowed to continue as a single company being able to observe/monitor public and private communication / social interaction of so many people and not being regulated and controlled by the government.

I'm afraid it won't work well without extra regulation laws. Even if Facebook is broken, it has shown the way. Before, it was MySpace (although it was never so popular). If someone breaks FB, the strongest competitor living in its shadow will step up. I think it is the nature of certain services to centralize. Search engines, social networks. Unless someone forces them to inter-operate, it's winner takes all.

The US government should take possession of all Facebook shares and use the profits to fund universal basic income. I don't think anyone would complain... Except a tiny percent of the population who owned Facebook shares but who cares, they're evil/morally bankrupt anyway.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#85

Post by Retric »

jorvi wrote: post #56
FreakyT wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upvotes on HN/Reddit do essentially the same thing. I don't have the user statistics, but I'd imagine the typical HN reader only reads a sampling of the top-voted comments, which essentially allows them "to see how others feel about a post/article in an instant." If you want an example of the opposite approach, you can always look at 2009-era YouTube, when all comments shown were in a strict "newest" order. If you re…

What I've noticed a lot on sites like HN and Reddit is that there's always heavy 'tilting'. If any comment ever drops below +1 (or below that of a different viewpoint, so +10 vs +1), people just blindly start ramming the downvote button without any thought, as if they aren't capable of analyzing the comment on its own merit because 'the crowd' has already decided for them and they take the path of least resistance in…

I am not sure how true that is. I have had many comments go negative and still end up positive.

I think people are more likely to think about voting when they see a downvoted post.

PS: I also feel some net negative posts are a good sign that someone is not simply voicing the crowd's opinions.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#86

Post by MereInterest »

saas_co_de wrote: post #62
SomeStupidPoint wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unless someone forces them to inter-operate, it's winner takes all. So you mandate inter-operation at the same time you break up the biggest, just like we've done with every other natural monopoly.

I find it interesting that phone number portability was introduced long ago but no email or social profile portability.

This is one of the main reasons why I have a custom domain for personal email. Right now, it forwards everything to gmail. In the future, I can have it forward to a different provider, or a mail server that I run (if I feel particularly masochistic). All of this without having to tell everyone I know to start using a different email address.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#87

Post by 3131s »

lithos wrote: post #9

It's gotta feel bad for the local reporters that are literally risking their lives reporting news in Cambodia, to then have their views go down 80%. Because Facebook decided to experiment and implement the Timeline feature. Facebook is barely even tied to the fate or all that concerned, since it's only 18million users.

This article was published three weeks ago, so it doesn't mention the recent forced dissolution of the main opposition party in Cambodia, the CNRP. That has pretty much landed Cambodia unequivocally in the category of dictatorship, though most younger Cambodians would tell you it was never anything else.

I also believe I know who the unnamed Cambodian blogger quoted in the article is. She is known for discussing progressive issues and has well-deserved popularity among young Cambodian people, but apparently circulation of her posts and videos took a huge hit after these changes in the algorithm.

It is a little ironic that the Cambodia Daily is having its "second life" online -- they were so embittered by the impact of online journalism on traditional print journalism that there was an editorial policy against even posting links or URLs in any article on their website. Of course, I'm not cheering for their demise, given the need for a free press here. I know a number of people who work at the Phnom Penh Post, the other big Cambodian newspaper, who have plainly said in recent weeks that they can't / won't write anything critical of the government. The political climate is feeling more and more volatile here by the moment. In the days before the CNRP was dissolved, we even had military police going through every stairwell of every tiny alley, including my own, on some made-up pretense but really as a cheap intimidation tactic. As the election approaches there will be squads of heavily armed military police posted on nearly every corner of many districts in Phnom Penh.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#88

Post by dqpb »

lithos wrote: post #9

It's gotta feel bad for the local reporters that are literally risking their lives reporting news in Cambodia, to then have their views go down 80%. Because Facebook decided to experiment and implement the Timeline feature. Facebook is barely even tied to the fate or all that concerned, since it's only 18million users.

So do you think that once a service has a certain number of users it should cease all changes?

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#89

Post by jimmies »

have_faith wrote: post #39
FreakyT wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upvotes on HN/Reddit do essentially the same thing. I don't have the user statistics, but I'd imagine the typical HN reader only reads a sampling of the top-voted comments, which essentially allows them "to see how others feel about a post/article in an instant." If you want an example of the opposite approach, you can always look at 2009-era YouTube, when all comments shown were in a strict "newest" order. If you re…

> YouTube had a bit of reputation for some of the lowest-quality comment sections anywhere Has this reputation changed much?

I found top Youtube comments to be more or less funny/enjoyable now. The shitty comments got downvoted so I no longer see them unless I delibrately try to see them, they don't appear. It's very different from youtube comments back then. But then they are still mostly unhelpful/uninformative.

Re: Facebook Can’t Cope with the World It’s Created

#90

Post by duckMuppet »

beautifulfreak wrote: post #49

>Facebook can no longer deny its moral responsibility to try to understand how cyberspace, law, and politics collide in each of the countries where it operates, nor its responsibility to do something about it. That sentence doesn't make sense. Do something about what? How those things collide? It's very unclear what the author thinks Facebook is supposed to do, or what he thinks Facebook is actually responsible for.…

Exactly. Ironically, China's has the best method of preventing all these horrific problems of speech..
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