Giants Of The Earth
August 10, 2017
Facebook, Google+, How About a Bit More Room for Competition?, monopolies in tech industry, Paula Dwyer, robots2 Comments
On several occasions, I’ve blogged about technological advances in robotics and how androids could disrupt our society. What I hadn’t considered was the way large tech companies could become a threat in themselves. I’m talking about monopolies. Not the traditional kind, like
Continue Reading →You Can Talk But Fat Cats Are Indifferent
June 15, 2017
corporate contracts, data driven economy, Erin Griffith, Facebook, Google+, Ingrham's publishing company, Ingrham's publishingcompany, pulishing, We Changed the World! OOPS., why social media is free to users
Ingrham’s, a large publishing and distribution company for writers’ works, sent me an email yesterday. They were raising rates for their services. The attachment was a long, single spaced document with several pages of contract changes. I am careful about material like thi
Continue Reading →The Firehose Isn’t Just For Putting Out Fires
December 26, 2016
data collection and privacy, Facebook, firehose data collection, Geofedia, John Roberts, Now Trending, Twitter
A firehose isn’t the province of firefighters anymore. A firehose is the gush of information people provide via the internet, particularly on social media like Twitter and Facebook. Twitter makes a bonanza by selling access to its firehose to interested companies. Recent repor
Continue Reading →The Global Savings Glut And Privitization
June 16, 2016
asset-light industry, Ben Bernanke, Bob Dylan, Dell, Dodd-Frank, Facebook, Geoff Colvin, Google+, Private Desires, Safeway, Sarbanes-Oxley, Uber
As I wrote in an earlier blog, (Blog 5/26/16) the world is awash in personal savings accounts, what Ben Bernanke calls a “global savings glut.” (“Private Desires, by Geoff Colvin, Fortune, June, 2016, pg. 54.) In a recent essay, Geoff Colvin points out this sea of cash is chan
Continue Reading →Surveillance As Judge And Jury
April 20, 2016
computer facial recognitioni, dang'an, Facebook, Minority Report, NSA, Skynet, surveilance
Surveillance tools are everywhere. Another device is coming soon to a store near you: software that identifies individual faces in a crowd. Walk through Macy’s one afternoon and you may hear a message telling you your favorite cologne is on sale. And those greeters with their
Continue Reading →Tumblr, Pizza And The Neighborhood
April 04, 2016
Ellen DeGneres, Elspeth Reeve, Facebook, John Green, monetizing blog sites, Pizza, The Secret Lives Of Tumblr Teens
Tumblr is a social network site used by 10% of people who prowl the internet, according to the Pew Research Center, (“The Secret Lives Of Tumblr Teens,” by Elspeth Reeve, New Republic, March 2016, pg. 51) My blog first appeared there in 2010. The site was lively and I gained f
Continue Reading →Numbers That Don’t Count
June 01, 2015
account farms, click farms, Doug Bock Clark, Facebook, fake identities, Justin Bieber, The Bot Bubble
A Facebook friend requested that l like her Facebook fan page, the site where she promotes her books. She said she’d nearly reached 7,000 and hoped a few of us would put her over the top. My eyes popped when I saw the number. I have a fan page on Facebook. My likes stand at
Continue Reading →Facebook’s Brave New World
November 13, 2014
Alina Tugend, Facebook, Facebook's control over content, Jay Barman, Lil Ms. Hot Mess and Sister Roma and Heklina
We have a new reason “to despise Facebook,” says Jay Barmann of SFirst.com. (“Talking Points,” The Week, October 3. 2014 pg. 16) The company has long had a policy that requires users to subscribe under their real names. But what’s in a name some Drag Queens are beginni
Continue Reading →