Social Media Profit Driven Enterprises

While using social media we need to remember that it isn’t run for our benefit, but to make as much profit as possible for the shareholders. This makes certain operations better because they are more profitable. 

It's one of the reasons I really don't like some algorithm making decisions about what and in what order I see things. The algorithm for any of these services is based not on what I want to see, but what the company will keep me on the site for the longest time and make them the most money. It's interesting, I don't really mind having ads in my timeline. I just ignore them. It's the fact that the order in which things are shown aren't based on anything that I care about.

I really like to have my entries presented in (reverse) chronological order. If you put an add between some entries, that's OK with me. Just don't muck with the entries that I want to see.

Thinking about Facebook, Twitter, and the others as profit-making entities helps keep me from getting too worked up about things. After all, I grew up with broadcast television and am used to the add-based model. As long as the ads aren't obtrusive I'm OK. I don't really like pop-up ads because they get in the way of my actual interest. Ads that start playing the minute I hit a page cause me to immediately get off the site. If I want to hear your pitch, I will click on your ad. Don't shove it in my face.

I'm also unlikely to pay for things on social media sites. I already pay for streaming and I don't want to pay for reading articles just to avoid the ads or let people that I'm me.

I think that users need to realize that corporations are greedy. They will work to get every ounce of profit from their enterprises. Media outlets are no different. It we want to fight greed in social media, we need to make it more profitable for them to give us what we want and shun those outlets that don't do that. 

Fight with your pocket book and hit them in the only place that they care about -- THEIR pocketbooks.

Moving to Streaming

 We have dropped our cable television and now have only 1GIG Internet service from Fidium. This will reduce our bills and provide us with service. 

We have adopted Roku equipment for our televisions. We don't have all the new-fangled smart TV's, but have added Roku streaming devices.

We still like some local TV, so we have adopted YouTube TV. We also have Amazon Prime and Paramont+. Have nad Amazon Prime for some years and use it to make purchsses, music streaming, movies and original programming. We go a free year of Paramont+ from T-Mobile and decided to keep it after the free period.

It's early, but so far, things seem to be working well. The streaming also has some other advantages, for example today I am writing this on the laptop while watching the Youtube TV on the large monitor. This is something I couldn't do before. You can probably tell that we don't have a lot of the latest technology and really don't want it. But, we are moving into the future.

The objective of this move is to reduce costs so I don't think we will be adding any additional services although we may change services as we use those we have. So far, the setup of services seems to be OK for an old retired guy and his younger and still employed wife.

More as we gain more experience with this setup.

Another Mastodon Update

 

Here I am again after spending even more time on Mastodon. (breedlov@mastodon.sdf.org to be specific). I'm finding it entertaining. As you probably know, I abandoned Twitter the day that Musk announced his intention to buy it. I felt it would be the shit-show that it has become and I didn't trust the rich kid to make it any better. In fact, from what I read it is quickly sliding to the right to join the other "T" social media site backed by Little Lying Donald.

I'm still getting the hang of it and I don't spend a great deal of time there, but it is most definitely becoming one of my "Other Places". Interestingly enough, I like the web interface better than the IOS interface (sorry, don't have Android to check it out.) The web interface seems to be more flushed out and allows me to do more with the site.

So far, I don't really have a theme to the 200+ posts I have made. Mostly, I respond to things and post articles with comments that I have found on Feedly. But, that is the same pattern that I follow on other sites. I'm a bit of a news junky and like to see what's going on in the world (yes, I follow more than US News). In fact, I like to have different views than the US press and talking heads. I track the UK, Germany, and Al Jazeera among others just for that reason.

I have added many of these sources to Mastodon for tracking, but I suspect that I will get most of the information from them on feedly. I like the interface and it allows me to see pictures and get the gist of articles easily without having to read the whole thing.

On the topic of following, I have not unfollowed anyone so far and have followed a larger number of individuals than I did on Twitter. Not sure why this is. I'm just trying things out to see what works best for me. So far, things are working the way I thought and are holding my interest. I'm not sure, however, how many toots I am missing because they scroll by. 

I did go to "slow mode" to keep things from scrolling off the screen when I am on the site as I like to #Explore and view the #Federated posts (they really whiz by).  As you can see from the picture I probably still miss some toots because of the sheer volume at tome times.

I'm just getting into following hash-tags. I'm trying out the advanced interface on the web version to see if this helps. It will take some time to see just what works best.

More later.

Mastodon Update

I have spent a bit more time on mastodon and I'm thinking it will be a good place to be. Definitely better than Twitter under Musk. I have even been through a problem which wiped out my entire account. Everything is back to normal -- whatever that is -- and I'm starting to post and read more. I'm looking forward to spending more time there.

One thing I would like to see changed is the way images are handled. I'd like the ability to size the image and control its placement. We'll see how things progress.
 

Twitter Advertisers not happy with Ad Placement

https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/7/23497928/twitter-advertisers-brand-safety-unbanned-accounts-white-nationalists

Ads for around 40 high-profile brands and organizations have been spotted on the Twitter pages of white nationalists, according to a report from The Washington Post. Ads from brands including Amazon, Uber, Snap, and GoDaddy, media companies like USA Today and Morning Brew, and even one government organization, the US Department of Health and Human Services, were seen on the offending Twitter pages.

I can understand this and I commend advertisers for hitting back at Musk where it counts--in his pocketbook. This is the only place where egos like Musk's feel any affect. The "T" media (Twitter, Truth Social) need to understand that, if they choose to go violently to the right that they will face consequences and the only consequences that they care about are their wallets.

I certainly wouldn't want my ad next to any right-wing radical. I don't even want to be on Twitter once Musk announced that he was buying it. So I can imagine trying to make money on the platform -- unless, of course the company condones the actions of these right-wingers. If they do, I assure you they won't get my business.

I am always amazed that any corporation who wants to sell to women, minorities, liberals, any decent human being would want to advertise on a site like the "T" sites. I just can't understand their support for these radicals and their hatred and bigotry.

Yeah, I know, I'm an old white dude and as such, should be more right leaning. But, that portrayal of old white guys is off, at least in my case. I grew up in the 60's and am actually pretty liberal. Just take a look at my previous post to understand where I'm coming from.

The Places have Changed

 
When Elon Musk announced that he was going to buy Twitter, I quit. Just like that. I figured the site would become a shit-show and, from what I read, my feelings are justified. We'll see. As an alternative,

I have moved to Mastodon. You can find me at @breedlov@mastodon.sdf.org. I'm still evaluating the site, but, so far, it has to be preferable to the new Twitter under Elon. It seems to me that social media sites starting with "T" -- Twitter, Truth Social -- are sinking deeply into the right-wing radical swamp. DEFINITELY not places that I want to hang.

Will Mastodon be a place where I will want to hang for long? We'll see as I spend more time there.

Coronavirus: Where are you?

I'm at home. Where you should be, by the way. (OK, this isn't really my house, just an illustration.) Except for walking around the neighborhood, it's about the extent of my travels since this whole thing began. But, physical location not what I mean.

I'm retired, so I spend my days around the house anyway. But many of you are either laid off or working from home. I feel bad for those of you who are laid off and I wish you the best. For those of you working from home, keep up the good work. What I'm interested here is where are you online? Are you watching television, listening to the radio, streaming -- how are you coping with being at home and avoiding contact with other people, at least physically?

I grew up as an only child and am pretty much an introvert, so this isn't as bad as it might be for those of you who get a lot of social contact regularly. I did work for over 50 years and breaking the habit of not going into work starting in January with a bit jarring, but the isolation of this coronavirus situation is adding to that feeling even for me.

I find myself in several "places". Let me first say that I'm physically in Sacramento, CA, USA. But, electronically, I'm all over the world. I text my grown kids and my wife is still going to work during the day, but I do see her at night. I check up on my neighbors and call friends a bit more often, but generally I find myself around the house alone. Yard work and other chores occupy some time and I walk around the neighborhood for exercise and just to get away. But I spend much of my other time online. Here are just a few "places" I find myself, with my comments.

Regular "Places"

Here are some of my regular places. I guess you can say I'm a news junkie. I like to get perspectives from a number of sources around the world.

Feedly

I like this RSS application. I use Feedly as a replacement for the morning newspaper. I have several sources from across the world. I find it interesting to see news and commentary from other countries. I also like the fact that I can configure the app to show me stories in chronological order and skip the order that some algorithm thinks I should see. As I have said many times before, I really don't care what's popular or trending. I will decide what's important for me and view that. Lay things out in order and let me choose what to read.

Facebook

Yeah, I know, I'm an old guy. But, I'm here. Again, I set things up to show the latest posts and read the things I want to read, not some things arranged by some AI. I also post most comments here. Facebook allows for more options when commenting and stating my feelings about stories. I will also place things from Feedly here with my thoughts.

Twitter

I do a quick scan of the latest tweets especially when there is breaking news. The usual latest order rather than what someone else thinks is important to me. I tend to follow most of the same news sources that I find on the other services, but I also follow local politicians and thinkers from various points of view. I sometimes check Tweetdeck during breaking stories. However, if you put in #coronavirus, the posts fly by so fast that you can't really make sense of them. The same thing has happened with other breaking news. I tend to keep my home source, Sacramento, Northern California, and Boise. These are places I'm interested in and it helps me see what people are saying in and about these areas.

SmartNews

I have this on my phone an tablet. It allows me to pick up some additional sources without having to have them constantly in my news feed on either Facebook or Twitter. I generally look at this once a day to see if there's anything else that I might be missing. There generally isn't anything, but, like I said, I'm a bit of a junkie.

GoComics

When I got a regular physical newspaper, I read the comics every day. This site gives me the same experience. You can select specific comments to follow so that you see the ones that make you laugh and ease the day. I follow mostly the old classics, but I do follow at least one political cartoonist.

Sometimes I find something to post to Facebook. Lately, it has been the political cartoons because of things going on with the whole virus situation.

I find that I need this comic break each day. It's something like meditation to keep me away from all the bad news that comes through websites and news feeds.

Reddit

I have had a Reddit account for many years. I have spent little time there, but have recently started to check it daily. I'm looking for any odd information and, especially for something humorous to lighten the day. I find that one must keep their sense of humor in these times. I look for light things, but, steer clear of anything mean or malicious which might be posted.

Other "Places"

I also have other places that I occasionally. For example, I have an Instagram account, but I really don't spend a lot of time there. I don't take selfies and have little to post there. I also have a LinkedIn account. But, since I have retired, I only visit that place every week or so. I really am not looking for a job as I'm sure you can understand.

Just in case it seems that I spend my whole day in these "places", now that I walk, ride the stationary bike, bicycle outside, read books, work around the house, take care of the yard, and, yes, even watch television. As much as possible, I try to maintain my regular life. I am a lot more cautious and don't go to stores or drive to other communities to work as I used to. But, I find the routine calming and the exercise beneficial.

I wish you all the best.