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The problem is that if you wanted to gather all the publicly available info on businesses, you had to write a very complex piece of software to do it (screen sc
by jbob2000 8y ago
The problem is that if you wanted to gather all the publicly available info on businesses, you had to write a very complex piece of software to do it (screen scrapers + web crawling).
But Facebook wrapped that all up into a tidy APi. You can gather information about the world for a nominal amount. The Russians did it for a couple hundred grand.
It’s not about what the Facebook API serves, but about the ease of use and scope of information. There’s a reason Google Maps delays satellite imagery by years, we need the same when it comes to other forms of global data.
- rosser 8y agoCan you explain how this is responsive to the question of whose interest siloing this information serves? If I want to take on the complexity of aggregating it, that's my choice. Facebook isn't doing me some kind of favor by "helping" me not fall down that rabbit-hole...
- jbob2000 8y agoSure, they silo’d it to protect national interests. Which in a way, protects Facebook interests because countries would ban them if they didn’t take action on this. If you want to take on that complexity, go for it. Facebook was never trying to help you with that.
- freehunter 8y agoYoga Night at the Brewery is not a national security concern and you know it.
- diggernet 8y agoGoogle's imagery updates can be mighty slow, but it's not because they are delaying the imagery by years. Last year they did an update of northern California within a few weeks of the fires in Santa Rosa which included the fire damage.