Fuck-Ups at Facebook Jeopardize Democracy Itself

••• today's entry continues here below •••

I know that this seems obvious now .. only too obvious. I bet that Stephanie would agree with me here. And Savannnah, too.

If you are only going admit to problems after they have been revealed to the world .. then we can get a twelve-year-old to do that job, who will gladly work for much less.

I bet that Sandy Parakilas would agree with me here.

You need to be an adult who inspires trust in your users. You need to be transparent about these things .. these important things. Things like democracy itself.

Evan Osnos knows what I am talking about. Seth Klarman knows what I am talking about. Sam Wooley knows what I am talking about.

I have never opened a Facebook account. I might be the only one. This is one of the nice aspects about running your own site, off of your own domain, and on your own server .. that you yourself administrate.

Now I am glad that I didnt open a Facebook account and that I have kept social media platforms .. even though that's obviously where the action is.

Does not Sheryl's responses make it clear that Facebook cares only about the money?

The values that are expressed by her actions are part of what is wrong with America today. They are so quick to sell their soul to the highest bidder .. regardless the expressed intentions behind the bidder.

And they are so eager to sell out those who they value much less than they should.

I wonder what Yuri thinks of all this.

He probably thinks that young Zuckerberg was played for a sap. Easily played.

I wonder what Aleksandr Kogan thinks of that.

At t=8:20 he says,

"There is now a big responsibility for tech companies to turn around and do something about it [ the privacy of their user's data ]. But it's difficult when you've built your (entire) business model, fundamentally, on the idea that we're going to grab as much (user) data as we can and use it for whatever purpose we want because THAT'S THE WAY WE $ELL AD$. So I think that they (Facebook) have a really big challenge ahead of themselves."

I see no social ethics at work here .. at this social networking company. Do you?

How about you, Kara? Thank you for helping our friends there in the Valley. Where have you been all my life?

» We Are All Paying the Price for Fuck-Ups at Facebook

Speaking of a lack of social ethics .. this piece by Kara Swisher titled » The Expensive Education of Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley (2 Aug 2018) presents a fascinating insight into Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.

It is subtitled » They have weaponized social media, and we are all paying the price.

» Designed to be Weaponized for the Highest Bidder

She says that »

Malevolent actors continue to game the platforms and there's still no real solution in sight anytime soon, because they were built to work exactly this way.

That is a gigantic statement that she is making. You might need to think about that for minute. Take your time.

I like her style. She pays a compliment where a compliment is due, and she calls bullshit on bullshit. She is remarkably plain-spoken. She is obviously not trying to endear herself to anybody.

I can see why people value her opinion. (Wikipedia.)

I took particular note where she mentions the quirks of various people:

Taking walks was (and still is) his [ Zuckerberg's ] odd signature thing; every tech founder has one. (Jeff Bezos: doors for desks and that laugh; Sergey Brin: yoga pants and weird shoes; Elon Musk: so, so many, and all quite inventive.)

This speaks to me.

» Impressive Priscilla

This is off-topic, yet related » Priscilla Chan is Zuckerberg's wife .. featured in a piece titled » Priscilla Chan is trying to change the fate of an entire generation.

I cannot say that I have ever seen her before. But I am totally impressed .. for a number of reasons. That was one of the most remarkable things I have seen in a long time.

It almost makes me want to cut Facebook some slack.

» A Force of Nature

At the very beginning of that video about Priscilla, a guy says, "She is a force of nature," .. which is big thing to say about anybody .. and usually accompanied by some degree of hyperbole.

At the end of the video, I thought, "Wow .. she is a force of nature."

A force of nature is exactly what America needs right now. I bet that Kara would concur. Notice where she writes:

Far too much of the money social media companies are using to host thugs like Mr. Sayoc and Mr. Bowers was paid for by thugs like Prince Mohammed. And, other than some tut-tutting about the horror of it all, there are no signs that the industry that considers itself the most woke on the planet is thinking of giving the money back or talking about not taking it in the future.

Ouch.That's gotta hurt. They are woke to a point .. the point where decisions involove money.

If you are not woke past the point where decisions involve dollars .. then, I would argue, that you are not really woke.

You are just pretending to be woke.

You cannot enabling things that threaten our very democracy .. and then take some terminal kids on vacation to Disneyland .. in order to atone.

No .. rather you must address and confront the mechanisms by which you are threatening our Democracy.

In the Nuclear industry, as someone is licensed by the govenment to operate and maintain a reactor plant .. one of the ethos that becomes pervasive ..

.. is the notion that, if you do not do your job there proficiently and well and skillfully .. that people will come from Washington and look over your shoulder and tell you what to do, and how to do it.

So there is always the thought in the back of the nuclear mind that says, "I need to do this job in a thoughtful and conscientious manner .. so nobody will need to come from Washington and tell me how to do it."

Even without necessarily having to do particular things, small betterments, I know that, even without being directly supervised .. I still want to do a job that bears up under the closest of scrutiny.

You feel me.

While I was learning about the Facebook Fiasco that threatens our very democracy .. I thought, "They do not have a nuclear mindset .. or even a democratic mindset. They are all about the money."

"All about the money," .. some people might use the term greed here.

No?

» Delay, Deny and Deflect

Didnt I tell you that Sheryl Sandberg doesnt have what it takes to run Facebook? Check out this reporting (14 Nov 2018).

It is even worse than we thought.

I bet that Nick Confessore knows what I am talking about.

I like him. He is a Princeton dude. He has been looking rather spiffy lately.

I titled a trio of entries based on something he had said.

1. » Part One (20 Jan 2017)
2. » Part Two (19 Oct 2017)
3. » Part Three (12 Dec 2017)

Sometimes other people are able to say things better.

» Blaming S-berg while Giving Z-berg a Free Pass

I saw this piece you wrote titled » Lean Out (24 Nov 2018), subtilted:

Perhaps it's only fair that, as women like Sheryl Sandberg rise to power, they pay the price for failure. But why is everyone so ready to forgive the man who really runs Facebook?

I meant to comment on this piece ever since I read it .. because you make a valid point. But my energy levels were simply not up to it.

I actually thought about this very point that you make while I was writing this page .. and I caught myself wondering about if I was doing some of the things that you say people are doing in regard to the situation at Facebook. (They should hire you as a consultant.)

Some of my thoughts on the subject while I was writing this page:

1. 1. Sheryl's title is » Chief OPERATING Officer.
   2. Zuckerberg's title is » Technology Entrepreneur

So I naturally thought that she was the one who ran the show .. and who made most of the key busine$$ decisions there.

I admit that I was not familiar enough with the nature of their roles to know exactly who performed what functions.

I saw it as Sheryl running the show and Zuckerberg smoking cigars and playing golf and tele-conferencing here-n-there as necessary.

But I admit that I gave it very little thought. It is always fascinating to me how the dynamics plays out .. the dynamics of personality and of quirks in these personalities.

As you rise up the ladder, so to speak, the egos tend to become (not always) more and more unhinged (« good term) from the person behind the ego. This has been my experience along these lines .. which is considerable, I would say.

I assumed that Z-berg was more of a figurehead .. the way that business-savvy Tim Cook was brought in to run Apple.

It is clear that Sheryl is 15 years older than Mark, who reminds me more of a fratboy than an executive type .. expecially after I saw the way he was portrayed in the movie.

Please send along my apologies to Ms. Sandberg for mischaracterizing her. (Did you know that her middle name is the same as your first name? I bet you did.)

But you must admit that the stakes are high .. far above that of growing their stock's price.

I am always impressed with the things you write. I can actually feel my respect for you.

I particularly appreciate your no-bullshit, straightforward style .. and your insight into the industry. Kudos to you.

This is one of the reasons why I took so long to respond to your piece, which seemed directed at me, and others who had opinions similar to mine. I didnt want to respond flippantly.

» Greed Takes Priority Above All Else

Speaking of respect .. do you know this guy Charlie Warzel?

That's a cool name. I like him already. I couldnt help but notice where he wrote:

The original sin isn't all that complicated; it's the prioritization of growth -- above all else and at the expense of those of us who use the services.

"All else" would include, it seems, democracy itself.

» A Federal Grand Jury Criminal Investigation?

And what about this » federal grand jury investigation? (13 March 2019)

This can't be good for the folks there at Facebook.

» Being the Focus of Numerous Criminal Investigations

All this talk of being the target of a criminal investigation

I have been the focus of a number of criminal investigations myself. Everyone of them was found to be 'unfounded' by the investigating authority of that particular city. (Laguna Bch. Newport Bch. Costa Mesa.)

Even though a dozen-or-so of these false accusations were deemed 'unfounded' .. this did not stop them from yanking my driver's license for a decade and counting .. and sending me to jail multiple times.

Does this not strike you as something of an injustice?

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