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How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

washingtonmonthly.com

101–110 of 123 posts

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#101

Pretty long article that I doubt most will read in its entirety, if at all. It was, however, a good read about social engineering, and I've summarized the points made and the solutions proposed below: >Fear and anger produce a lot more engagement and sharing than joy. >The result is that the algorithms favor sensational content over substance. >Continuous reinforcement of existing beliefs tends to entrench those beli…

I suspect people worried about these issues are a bit more likely to make time & muster attention to read the articles on the topic. This article was at the very end of my one-sitting article-reading endurance, but it had enough of a flow for me to finish with only a bit of skimming near the end. Thank you for preparing a great summary :)

You're welcome!

After reading a few paragraphs I realized it was going to be largely anecdotal, so I figured paring it down would save some people ten or twenty minutes. I agree, however, that the flow made it more manageable to enjoy.

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#103
post #98

I quit Facebook around Christmas time. Felt weird at first, but overall it's been a position experience. The Chrome blocker plugin I use to enforce my quitting keeps a count of how many times I've attempted to visit it. I'm in the 40s now. If I spent 2 minutes per visit, then I've saved 80 so far!

I blocked reddit. I can still use it via incognito mode if it contains useful information while doing Google search result. What I've learned is that, I wasn't really addicted to reddit as much as my bored fingers were. I don't miss it. I also blocked cnn.com, and couple other sites that I habitually go to. I may even add HN to the list. Sure there are some gems to be found here, but I find myself coming here more to…

For me it was/is the same thing- bored fingers go cmd-t + faceb... + enter out of habit

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#104
post #6

"Dear diary, here is how I repeat what thousands of people have been saying about Facebook/Google/etc. for years." I am wondering how someone seemingly oblivious to what Facebook is can be a successful investor.

I'd agree, it was obvious what FB and Zuckerberg were from the beginning. But we all see what we want to and what we allow ourselves to see, so it's commendable that they are seeing it now and speaking against it.

It is human nature. We all grow up and regret mistakes. Most often in public for the sake of showing how we have grown.

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#106
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me of the popular opinion that all you need to do is recycle to stop global warming. Or don't buy a house you can't afford and there will be no giant credit bubble. Some form of regulation is clearly needed. Despite what the MBA's may have told you, fraud and deception is not good for the economy in the long run.

> "This reminds me of the popular opinion that all you need to do is recycle to stop global warming. Or don't buy a house you can't afford and there will be no giant credit bubble." I strongly doubt anyone believes that their actions alone can stop global warming or destructive financial cycles, however, there is still merit in individual actions. They do have an impact, though you have to consider these actions over…

Agreed, progress or risk mitigation was achieved via regulatory framework, in contrast to suggestion of parent comment, and general to General HN sentiment of free markets for Internet giants.

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#107
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>By some accounts the Russian fb spend was under $100k If true, that would indicate that these ads are dramatically under priced. If it was simply a matter of spending money on facebook, things will balance next election, as the price of those ads will go up dramatically Of course, the fact that Clinton spent so much more on facebook and still lost the electoral college would indicate that if the facebook ad campaign…

You're comparing apples to apples when this is an oranges and apples situation. Regular campaign advertising (like the stuff done by Clinton in the last election) is at least partly constrained by things like the truth and the semblance of accountability. I.e. if I run an ad saying "vote for me I went to harvard" there would likely be a major scandal because I did not in fact go to harvard. The words came from me, an…

There may be some accountability when it comes to what you say about yourself, but there doesn't seem to be much accountability when it comes to untrue things said about your opponent anymore, though I think it's still traditional to use a third party proxy to say those things:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whispering_campaign

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very unhelpful advice, as we are talking about a massively influential platform and the advice is ‘dont let it influence you.’ Our society has more dependencies than node.js, and the incentives in facebook’s world are skewed toward big payoffs for bad actors who will benefit at the expense of all others. I’d classify this comment as fitting a very common paradigm called ‘If I were the god this would be my sim…

I call this the "eat less and exercise" advice. That is, when some dismiss the obesity epidemic in the US by saying "people just need to eat less and exercise". Of course, this is nominally true, but at the same time, it's useless advice. People have been hearing that they need to eat less and exercise for decades, and Americans keep getting fatter. Unless you change something at a more fundamental level, "willpower"…

Except you need to eat. Facebook is cocaine.

Re: How to Fix Facebook Before It Fixes Us

#109

Quit using it. Let's go back to the way the internet used to be, y'know with instant messaging and a multitude of cultures that have their own ecosystems. Let's stop consolidating all of this information and wealth in the hands of people who don't give a shit about what makes us different (unless it sells an ad).

Go back to what, the AIM and Myspace domination? Before Facebook it was Myspace that was the juggernaut of the social media sphere. As the number of people that can freely access the internet grows, you see them focusing around a single social media platform. That's because social media strongly benefits from centralization, it's easier to talk to family and friends if you don't have to manage fifty different account…

No, one step further. To the world of interconnected blogs (see pingback), competing ICQ, AIM, MSN, actually working forums and IRC.
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