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Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

nytimes.com

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Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#271

Post by 0xcafecafe »

sumoboy wrote: post #131

If people knew the amount of info collected and sold they would abandon everything. Even 7 months before your born, someone has a profile on you. What CA did leveraging data for targeting is just the beginning, ML applied to data in the future will make what CA did look like amateur hour. Like others have said with elections, this all started long ago with social, CA just happened to do it better this time. Even with…

While you make a valid point, my pet peeve of late has been people using "your" in place of "you're" since it makes me reread the sentence.

Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#272

Post by jjuel »

cyberferret wrote: post #13

The question is - will this be just a minor blip to Facebook and then normal services will resume after the indignation wears off? Or will it the beginning of the end of the social media dominance of the platform? For me personally, I use FB primarily to keep in touch with friends, family and old colleagues who are spread all over the world. It is purely a contact tool, and not really used to market products of servi…

I mean do we really think Facebook is the only company with data problems? Is switching to something different really going to make a difference? Deleting your Facebook won't get rid of your data. Google, Microsoft, Twitter, your ISP, your cell carrier all have so much data on you. At this point you are out there in someone's database somewhere. Unless you haven't been on the grid at all which clearly anyone on HN is on the grid. So not sure what we think #DeleteFacebook will really do?

Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#274

Post by alekratz »

jjuel wrote: post #272
cyberferret wrote: post #13

The question is - will this be just a minor blip to Facebook and then normal services will resume after the indignation wears off? Or will it the beginning of the end of the social media dominance of the platform? For me personally, I use FB primarily to keep in touch with friends, family and old colleagues who are spread all over the world. It is purely a contact tool, and not really used to market products of servi…

I mean do we really think Facebook is the only company with data problems? Is switching to something different really going to make a difference? Deleting your Facebook won't get rid of your data. Google, Microsoft, Twitter, your ISP, your cell carrier all have so much data on you. At this point you are out there in someone's database somewhere. Unless you haven't been on the grid at all which clearly anyone on HN is…

It annoys me that you're getting downvoted with no replies. I completely agree with you. The only way to stop your data from being spread across the web is to never put it there in the first place. I feel like federated systems (Mastodon, Diaspora*, et al) will only make it more difficult to remove your data, because now it's spread across 100 individual servers in 100 individual countries with 100 individuals doing their own thing. It ends up being even MORE permanent in the end, IMO.

Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#276

Post by patorjk »

cyberferret wrote: post #13

The question is - will this be just a minor blip to Facebook and then normal services will resume after the indignation wears off? Or will it the beginning of the end of the social media dominance of the platform? For me personally, I use FB primarily to keep in touch with friends, family and old colleagues who are spread all over the world. It is purely a contact tool, and not really used to market products of servi…

I think it will be a minor blip. There's been such a drum beat about FB being bad for privacy over the years that most users probably don't care. I know it's just one data point, but none of my friends have mentioned this latest episode.

Additionally, re-building a social presence on another network would be a lot of work for many users. There's a certain dopamine rush to making a post and getting a ton of likes. In the short term, users are not going to get that kind of engagement if they move shop to another platform.

Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#277

Post by agentofoblivion »

If you’re worried about privacy, there’s an alternative strategy to removing data/tracking, and that’s obscuring your data by burying it in the noise of fake data. I’ve installed plugins that automatically issue searches, crawl pages, and click on ads. Clicking on irrelevant ads destroys the value of ads themselves. This pleases me.

Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#278

Post by mancerayder »

agentofoblivion wrote: post #277

If you’re worried about privacy, there’s an alternative strategy to removing data/tracking, and that’s obscuring your data by burying it in the noise of fake data. I’ve installed plugins that automatically issue searches, crawl pages, and click on ads. Clicking on irrelevant ads destroys the value of ads themselves. This pleases me.

Any specific browser plugin recommendations?

I use Firefox with uBlock and a few others, but Google has me by my mobile device.

Re: Users Abandon Facebook After Cambridge Analytica Findings

#279

Post by diego_moita »

This will fade away. Facebook will thrive. (Disclaimer: I closed my FB account 4 years ago).

The majority of people behave by classical Pavlovian conditioning: they'll get addicted for what gives them immediate pleasure even if it brings them pain in the long run. That's why we have so much obesity, tobacco, cocaine and opioids. This is why FB will keep thriving.

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