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> we got a plague of click-bait tabloids, echo chambers, walled gardens, algorithmic gatekeepers, and television that you don't need a cable subscription for.
by FilterSweep 9y ago
> we got a plague of click-bait tabloids, echo chambers, walled gardens, algorithmic gatekeepers, and television that you don't need a cable subscription for.
Exactly. It was a decision made for Internet users, on behalf of Internet users, _but not BY Internet Users_.
It appears there was debate in the 90s/00s going on, far above our heads whether any given connection to the Internet is to be considered a highly-modularm, highly-democratized "Terminal" or the individual "Pseudonym". Where "Pseudonym" here is the ever-growing bag of personal data, fingerprinting, ISP info, History, Cookies, etc. etc. that distinguishes you from your twin brother/sister).
Instead of Advertising Industry crafting a better message that appeals to the User of any given Terminal, Advertising Industry instead decided to collect as much data on everyone as possible, and infect their pages with invasive malware peddling wares they (usually) don't even need.
Mark Z. made his stance absurdly clear with his identity talks, and generally the rest of the Big Players followed.
And analytic and advertising systems being built upon the "Pseudonym" approach creates a plethora of unsustainable clickbait drivel.
- pmoriarty 9y agoAdvertisers were tracking users on the web ever since the cookie was invented, which was long before Mark Z came on the scene. He's just been particularly flagrant and open about his contempt for privacy -- or rather, for the privacy of his company's users. I'm sure he still wants and and can buy privacy for himself, his family, and others he cares about.
- rafiki6 9y agoI really don't get the facebook hate...the internet != facebook. You can opt out of using Facebook. You can use private connections and browsers to make sure you aren't being tracked by facebook. Facebook is non-essential. If you are worried about your privacy don't use it. The rest of the World Wide Web is still there.
- pmoriarty 9y agoYou underestimate how central communication over Facebook has become for some segments of the population. All their friends are on FB. All their family is on FB. Business associates are on FB. Their hobbies and news are on Facebook, and on and on and on. Sure. They could opt out of that, just as some people opted out of having a telephone in their homes back when it was the primary mode of communication -- but they were so few that one was considered strange for not having one. Of course, the objections to using Facebook are much stronger than they've ever been for having even a television, nevermind a telephone. Yet most people can't seem to tear themselves away. Not that they'd want to. They've got everything they need on Facebook, don't they?