4 ms·

Facebook is an ad company that monetizes social interaction and manipulates the social sharing of information for profit. It isn’t just about people interacting

by cirgue 5y ago

Facebook is an ad company that monetizes social interaction and manipulates the social sharing of information for profit. It isn’t just about people interacting negatively, it’s that negative interactions are directly profitable to facebook, they know this, and they act on it.

mcntsh 5y ago
Then what makes Facebook different than any other social network? If this is what makes a company evil, then why aren't people up-in-arms about Reddit?
- diegoveralli 5y ago
  The argument is usually that non-linear effects of the size of their network make the potential or actual harm Facebook do much greater than anyone else, therefore it makes sense to focus on them. Calling them "evil" can be useful to mobilise people, but it clearly makes the conversation a lot less nuanced than it needs to be, and it's unfortunate that people often use that type of language.
- OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
  Because Reddit and Facebook really aren't all that similar. Facebook is like the "book club" that is really a front for gossiping and drinking. You probably know the people you're talking to personally and it's more a conversation with them (that other people might be able to see). Reddit is like a community message board. You don't know these people personally, so you get an inbuilt skepticism to what they say. It's mainly about sharing links to somewhere else and you can interact with it without reading anyone's comments. Social media as an umbrella term really doesn't work because Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, etc all have different ways you interact with them. It would be like saying network TV, the newspaper, the community message board and a guy with a megaphone on the corner are all the same.
  - mcntsh 5y ago
    I'd disagree with the notion that people treat discussions on Reddit with more skepticism than Facebook. This is coming from someone who was a daily user for over a decade. Due to its low bar to entry and anonymous accounts it's probably astroturfed more than Facebook and such accounts are harder to distinguish.
    - OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
      You're probably right about astroturfing. It's part of the reason the Hail Corporate subreddit exists. I'd be interested to see the ratio of lurkers to posters. Reddit is a link aggregator, it's primary utility is unrelated to the comments. This isn't the case with Facebook.
- bodge5000 5y ago
  None of them (or none of the big ones at least) are any good. Truth be told, I think a lot of the people up in arms over Facebook and are quiet about Reddit and Twitter use both Reddit and Twitter and don't want to stop using them, whereas they don't use Facebook. Its easier to stand on the soapbox when it has no affect on you personally. That all being said, that still doesn't make Facebook good, or not evil. It's perhaps the worst offender of the lot

by cirgue 5y ago

mcntsh 5y ago

Then what makes Facebook different than any other social network? If this is what makes a company evil, then why aren't people up-in-arms about Reddit?

diegoveralli 5y ago
The argument is usually that non-linear effects of the size of their network make the potential or actual harm Facebook do much greater than anyone else, therefore it makes sense to focus on them. Calling them "evil" can be useful to mobilise people, but it clearly makes the conversation a lot less nuanced than it needs to be, and it's unfortunate that people often use that type of language.
OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
Because Reddit and Facebook really aren't all that similar. Facebook is like the "book club" that is really a front for gossiping and drinking. You probably know the people you're talking to personally and it's more a conversation with them (that other people might be able to see). Reddit is like a community message board. You don't know these people personally, so you get an inbuilt skepticism to what they say. It's mainly about sharing links to somewhere else and you can interact with it without reading anyone's comments. Social media as an umbrella term really doesn't work because Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, etc all have different ways you interact with them. It would be like saying network TV, the newspaper, the community message board and a guy with a megaphone on the corner are all the same.
- mcntsh 5y ago
  I'd disagree with the notion that people treat discussions on Reddit with more skepticism than Facebook. This is coming from someone who was a daily user for over a decade. Due to its low bar to entry and anonymous accounts it's probably astroturfed more than Facebook and such accounts are harder to distinguish.
  - OldTimeCoffee 5y ago
    You're probably right about astroturfing. It's part of the reason the Hail Corporate subreddit exists. I'd be interested to see the ratio of lurkers to posters. Reddit is a link aggregator, it's primary utility is unrelated to the comments. This isn't the case with Facebook.
bodge5000 5y ago
None of them (or none of the big ones at least) are any good. Truth be told, I think a lot of the people up in arms over Facebook and are quiet about Reddit and Twitter use both Reddit and Twitter and don't want to stop using them, whereas they don't use Facebook. Its easier to stand on the soapbox when it has no affect on you personally. That all being said, that still doesn't make Facebook good, or not evil. It's perhaps the worst offender of the lot