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As someone who runs a regional newspaper, I very much doubt that the future of healthy journalism is in the hands of a big company such as Google. We are alread

by zoul 9y ago

As someone who runs a regional newspaper, I very much doubt that the future of healthy journalism is in the hands of a big company such as Google. We are already thinking hard what to do with the Facebook monopoly, we would be crazy to voluntarily stick our neck into another one.

yousifa 9y ago
Can you pls email me (in my profile)... have some questions that I’d like to ask privately
awakeasleep 9y ago
First, I'm the type of person that thinks the concentration of power from monopolies could be the most pressing issue facing the USA-- But can you explain how having another choice is dangerous? It seems like it'd be a gasp of air in the face of facebook's suffocating presence.
- smacktoward 9y ago
  The hens in the hen-house can be forgiven for not being excited that there are two wolves outside now instead of one.
- zoul 9y ago
  It’s not much of a choice if we can’t easily change our minds later. It’s more like a long-term investment, and if we are to make a long-term investment, we’d rather invest in a direct relationship with our readers.
- open-source-ux 9y ago
  But can you explain how having another choice is dangerous? Don't forget that Google also tracks online behaviour on an industrial scale. It doesn't matter if that information is only collated in aggregated form or "anonymised" (a meaningless term), we don't know how that information could be mined with AI or machine learning either now or in the future. In fact, I suspect that even Google hasn't figure all the possible uses of the enormous quantity of user behaviour it has captured and continues to capture. And that ubiquitous data capture starts right from school, where millions of students use a cloud-based OS called ChromeOS that records everything they do. The tech community's response to Google's online tracking and data capture is not scrutiny or questioning, but silence (or a rush to defend them).
- ENGNR 9y ago
  1. Seize distribution (facebook likes, subscribe with google) 2. Muddy the waters over who's user it is (FB instant articles / AMP, FB news feed / AMP carousel) 3. Start taking higher percentages of the ad revenue 4. Laugh when the publishers try to negotiate some back with no leverage 5. Do a big song and dance about how sad it is that publishing has lost all of it's revenue 6. Rinse and repeat (instagram / google news initiative)
Slansitartop 9y ago
> I very much doubt that the future of healthy journalism is in the hands of a big company such as Google. Especially one that's shown a willingness to try to silence narratives that are against its corporate interests: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-america-fires-antitrust-researcher-critical-of-google-2017-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/new-america-fires-antitrust-r...: > Barry Lynn, formerly the director of the antitrust-focused Open Markets program at New America, charged Wednesday that Google pressured the think tank to fire him and drop his program after he wrote a statement in June praising European regulators for fining the search giant $2.7 billion for abusing its market power. In that statement, Lynn said Google's "market power is one of the most most critical challenges for competition policymakers in the world today." > After Lynn published the statement, Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet, Google's parent company, contacted New America, and "communicated his displeasure," Lynn told the New York Times on Wednesday. > "Google is very aggressive in throwing its money around Washington and Brussels, and then pulling the strings," Lynn told the Times. "People are so afraid of Google now."
- pyoung 9y ago
  Think tanks are basically lobbyist/pr firms in disguise. While I am not necessarily disagreeing with your main point, I don't think this particular incident is all that controversial. When companies hire lobbyists, they expect them to represent their interests. Same goes for think tanks.

by zoul 9y ago

yousifa 9y ago

Can you pls email me (in my profile)... have some questions that I’d like to ask privately

awakeasleep 9y ago

First, I'm the type of person that thinks the concentration of power from monopolies could be the most pressing issue facing the USA-- But can you explain how having another choice is dangerous? It seems like it'd be a gasp of air in the face of facebook's suffocating presence.

smacktoward 9y ago
The hens in the hen-house can be forgiven for not being excited that there are two wolves outside now instead of one.
zoul 9y ago
It’s not much of a choice if we can’t easily change our minds later. It’s more like a long-term investment, and if we are to make a long-term investment, we’d rather invest in a direct relationship with our readers.
open-source-ux 9y ago
But can you explain how having another choice is dangerous? Don't forget that Google also tracks online behaviour on an industrial scale. It doesn't matter if that information is only collated in aggregated form or "anonymised" (a meaningless term), we don't know how that information could be mined with AI or machine learning either now or in the future. In fact, I suspect that even Google hasn't figure all the possible uses of the enormous quantity of user behaviour it has captured and continues to capture. And that ubiquitous data capture starts right from school, where millions of students use a cloud-based OS called ChromeOS that records everything they do. The tech community's response to Google's online tracking and data capture is not scrutiny or questioning, but silence (or a rush to defend them).
ENGNR 9y ago
1. Seize distribution (facebook likes, subscribe with google) 2. Muddy the waters over who's user it is (FB instant articles / AMP, FB news feed / AMP carousel) 3. Start taking higher percentages of the ad revenue 4. Laugh when the publishers try to negotiate some back with no leverage 5. Do a big song and dance about how sad it is that publishing has lost all of it's revenue 6. Rinse and repeat (instagram / google news initiative)

Slansitartop 9y ago

> I very much doubt that the future of healthy journalism is in the hands of a big company such as Google. Especially one that's shown a willingness to try to silence narratives that are against its corporate interests: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-america-fires-antitrust-researcher-critical-of-google-2017-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/new-america-fires-antitrust-r...: > Barry Lynn, formerly the director of the antitrust-focused Open Markets program at New America, charged Wednesday that Google pressured the think tank to fire him and drop his program after he wrote a statement in June praising European regulators for fining the search giant $2.7 billion for abusing its market power. In that statement, Lynn said Google's "market power is one of the most most critical challenges for competition policymakers in the world today." > After Lynn published the statement, Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet, Google's parent company, contacted New America, and "communicated his displeasure," Lynn told the New York Times on Wednesday. > "Google is very aggressive in throwing its money around Washington and Brussels, and then pulling the strings," Lynn told the Times. "People are so afraid of Google now."

pyoung 9y ago
Think tanks are basically lobbyist/pr firms in disguise. While I am not necessarily disagreeing with your main point, I don't think this particular incident is all that controversial. When companies hire lobbyists, they expect them to represent their interests. Same goes for think tanks.