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I feel like early FB culture had quite a few of the signs of a cult. Like legit, almost religious, cult.
Not just “early”. If you talk to FB employees they do really seem to believe they’re “changing the world”, and that their product is a gift to mankind rather than an abomination.
The rise of nationalist populism, although something I still disagree quite contentiously with, really begins making more sense when opinions like this start leaking out.
It goes counter to the idea of a globally connected internet though. Without a degree of oppression of free speech you can't stop the flow of culture and ideas no matter how big of a wall you build.
Quote from the article: Cambridge Analytica is a scandal that isn’t a scandal: Everyone who has ever worked on or with the Facebook platform knew that for several years, the platform made data available to third-party developers by design. Why is this news and a problem now? What made the sky fall? If everyone knew, then why has someone been picked to be the bad guy now ?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/technology/privacy-resear...
More generally, it's quite difficult to present a problem as compelling when there are no bodies on the ground. Take a look around you at any particular piece of safety equipment, process, practice, regulation, etc., and realise that that price was paid, in blood if not souls.
An example I've recently learnt of was of oderised natural gas. That "gas" smell you know is not the smell of methane, which is, in fact, oderless, but a special oderiser, Mercaptan, which as been added to it.[1] The reason it's been added is New London School, New London, Texas. In depression-era 1937, the school found an inexpensive source of heating by way of a local "wet" gas line, related to oil production, that ran near the school.
The gas leaked. The explosion killed 295 students and teachers, and is still the deadliest school disaster in the U.S., 81 years later.
Texas, a state known for its reluctance to government regulation, required the addition of mercaptan to all gas supplies within weeks of the accident.
That's just one of many such stories you'll find in the world of industrial and engineering safety.
A significant aspect of unintended consequences is that they are non-apparent consequences. It takes time, and evidence, and quite often bodies, to make the point.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London_School_explosion
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Notes:
1. The scent is exceptionally notable and detectable at low levels. Mercaptans are part of the hazard warning system in mines, environments in which visual or audio signals might not be readily apparent.
I feel like early FB culture had quite a few of the signs of a cult. Like legit, almost religious, cult.
consider the hoodie: https://www.google.ca/search?safe=off&tbm=isch&q=zuckerberg+...
I've heard the same thing from him and his apparatchiks consistently - and in his written testimony to Congress: "My top priority has always been our social mission of connecting people, building community and bringing the world closer together."
The scary thing is - some kid in Silicon Valley has decided that he will wield his power in this way. Government is bad. Monolithic companies are good. Community is about getting behind your smartphone and liking a picture and posting a meme (hyperbole - but ultimately the vast majority of online interactions are such...)
It's always good to challenge the status quo - especially so if its about how the world works and how people interact. But the underlying capitalist values of Facebook denigrate any of those ideals.
I feel like early FB culture had quite a few of the signs of a cult. Like legit, almost religious, cult.
Hardly unique to Facebook though. Isn't it a bit of a Valley cliché to be on a mission to change the world? To ask employees to believe in the company, not just to work there?
To ask employees to ACT LIKE they believe in the company
"My PhD in maths helped me increase click conversion rate by 1%!! #soexcited "
...and then your employees leave after 1 year.
Quote from the article: Cambridge Analytica is a scandal that isn’t a scandal: Everyone who has ever worked on or with the Facebook platform knew that for several years, the platform made data available to third-party developers by design. Why is this news and a problem now? What made the sky fall? If everyone knew, then why has someone been picked to be the bad guy now ?
I think part of it is the public lack of understanding of technology. A layman won't understand the phrase "Facebook API allowed access to data" as opposed to "There was a breach".
But what/who do we blame? Is it the education systems staggering lack of ability to prepare people for modern, tech-enabled society in any sort of privacy-as-a-right context.
The rise of nationalist populism, although something I still disagree quite contentiously with, really begins making more sense when opinions like this start leaking out.
It goes counter to the idea of a globally connected internet though. Without a degree of oppression of free speech you can't stop the flow of culture and ideas no matter how big of a wall you build.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
consider the hoodie: https://www.google.ca/search?safe=off&tbm=isch&q=zuckerberg+...
Looks like any other company hoodie? Or are we trending into conspiracy subreddit territory now?
> why should the world trust Facebook or Zuckerberg to shape and manage this new global meta-society? Could Zuckerberg, who wields considerable power over Facebook’s share structure, develop the self-awareness and responsibility to manage it? > it’s time to set real limits on Facebook’s power Makes me wonder: who will be setting those limits, and how can we know they will have the "self-awareness and responsibility"…
Crucially, individuals need to be willing to sacrifice something -- usually a moderate amount of money or safety -- or it's not ever going to work.