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Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

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Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#121

Post by ishjoh »

dontbenebby wrote: post #51

Is this really surprising? The strength of a network is n^2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe's_law It makes sense that the more people leaving a network then the utility of said network will decline. What seems odd is why they care if people move to Insta or WhatsApp, since FB owna both.

They probably make more money with the amount of advertising they have on FB as compared to Instagram. That will probably change over time but is likely true today, hence why they are worried about a FB exudes.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#122

Post by sharatvir »

apazzolini wrote: post #109
deanclatworthy wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy insta while it lasts. They are having more and more sponsored posts creep into the feed. I don’t expect this trend to reverse. It’s how they make money.

If you have a content blocker turned on in iOS, install the PWA version of Instagram - it will remove all sponsored posts. The PWA version is almost as good as the native app. It lacks a pull to refresh feature as far as I can tell, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Great suggestion. It’s actually a pretty solid experience. Only other difference is that it does not auto play videos on feed or story.

Maybe that’s a feature for some though.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#123

Post by RandallBrown »

about_help wrote: post #107
8ytecoder wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have mentioned this before here - instagram ads are a bit too creepy. I have had multiple personal ads that were eerily accurate and I hadn’t even discussed these things over any written form. I’m not paranoid to think they are listening to the microphone but the coincidence is super uncanny. It crossed the line for me twice in the past few months alone.

You should be, the Facebook app explicitly does listen to the mic unless you opt out. It has also come out that Google and Amazon are storing people's personal voice requests, and aside from that the mics are always on waiting to hear the trigger words. This means by default that the apps are listening and analyzing everything, though how much of the non word-triggered speech gets recorded is unknown. Facebook's init…

The Facebook app, on iPhone at least, requires you to opt in to giving it microphone access.

I've seen the myth that Facebook is targeting ads based on what it hears debunked several times. Do you have a source that shows that it is in fact listening?

I think it's more likely that the same reason someone is talking about something (they're in a demographic interested in that thing) is the reason that Facebook gives you ads for that thing. Add in the Baader-Meinhof effect and it seems like Facebook is listening to your conversations.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#124

Post by colbyh »

about_help wrote: post #107
8ytecoder wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have mentioned this before here - instagram ads are a bit too creepy. I have had multiple personal ads that were eerily accurate and I hadn’t even discussed these things over any written form. I’m not paranoid to think they are listening to the microphone but the coincidence is super uncanny. It crossed the line for me twice in the past few months alone.

You should be, the Facebook app explicitly does listen to the mic unless you opt out. It has also come out that Google and Amazon are storing people's personal voice requests, and aside from that the mics are always on waiting to hear the trigger words. This means by default that the apps are listening and analyzing everything, though how much of the non word-triggered speech gets recorded is unknown. Facebook's init…

"You should be, the Facebook app explicitly does listen to the mic unless you opt out."

Evidence? Every time someone claims this it gets debunked.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#125

Post by newscracker »

apazzolini wrote: post #109
deanclatworthy wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy insta while it lasts. They are having more and more sponsored posts creep into the feed. I don’t expect this trend to reverse. It’s how they make money.

If you have a content blocker turned on in iOS, install the PWA version of Instagram - it will remove all sponsored posts. The PWA version is almost as good as the native app. It lacks a pull to refresh feature as far as I can tell, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

What I would love on iOS would be an isolated container like the Multi-account Containers on Firefox desktop. With a PWA, how are the cookies (and local storage) stored and handled? Do they all live with Safari's cookies? Or do they have their own cookie container that's isolated from the rest of the system? If it were the former, I wouldn't want that.

I regularly use Firefox Focus (which is also the system wide content blocker for me), but it doesn't seem like its blocking rules are updated often. Not sure if that's because of some limit in the number of rules allowed per blocking extension.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#126

Post by logfromblammo »

jiggliemon wrote: post #71
deanclatworthy wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy insta while it lasts. They are having more and more sponsored posts creep into the feed. I don’t expect this trend to reverse. It’s how they make money.

Confirmed. Last time I checked, every 6th post was an ad. Just checked and it’s now every 5th. There’s several large magazines that are 50% ad content. I bet that’s the ceiling.

For a print publication, maybe.

If you go above 50% ads, some print pages will be ads on both sides, and both may easily be ripped out and discarded--the earliest ad-blocker tech.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#127

Post by bhk »

8ytecoder wrote: post #76
deanclatworthy wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy insta while it lasts. They are having more and more sponsored posts creep into the feed. I don’t expect this trend to reverse. It’s how they make money.

I have mentioned this before here - instagram ads are a bit too creepy. I have had multiple personal ads that were eerily accurate and I hadn’t even discussed these things over any written form. I’m not paranoid to think they are listening to the microphone but the coincidence is super uncanny. It crossed the line for me twice in the past few months alone.

Perhaps other people have been discussing your personal issues in written form?

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#128

Post by RaptorJ »

brokensegue wrote: post #105
untog wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Internal doesn't necessarily mean "not public" though. "Private" is perhaps a better term.

people don't typically call reports "internal" if they are released to the public. what would "internal" mean in that context?

the intended audience is inside the company. A US Gov GAO report on (eg) transport spending might be called 'internal' to the govt since its primarily public policy recommendations generated by and for the govt, but the report still has to be publicly accessible

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#129

Post by mountainofdeath »

deanclatworthy wrote: post #56
Zak wrote: post #55

I can say what has reduced my Facebook use, if anybody in a relevant position at the company is reading. It's the content Facebook shows me. A decade or so ago, most of the content I saw on Facebook was original content from people I know. Most posts were either text written by someone I knew, or a photo taken by someone I knew. Perhaps not everybody shares this position, but what I most want from Facebook is to keep…

Enjoy insta while it lasts. They are having more and more sponsored posts creep into the feed. I don’t expect this trend to reverse. It’s how they make money.

Indeed it seems that half the things I see are sponsored posts when just a year or two, they were few and far between. Also, the quality of the content has decreased dramatically.

Re: Facebook Research Warned of ‘Tipping Point’ Threat to Core App

#130

Post by spc476 »

jiggliemon wrote: post #71
deanclatworthy wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy insta while it lasts. They are having more and more sponsored posts creep into the feed. I don’t expect this trend to reverse. It’s how they make money.

Confirmed. Last time I checked, every 6th post was an ad. Just checked and it’s now every 5th. There’s several large magazines that are 50% ad content. I bet that’s the ceiling.

Back in the late 80s and 90s, there was the magazine Computer Shopper that was easily 90%+ advertising. It was incredibly popular.
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