Too many bowl games?

I like football as much as the next guy -- OK, maybe not as much as some guys, but I watch it -- but there seem to be an inordinate number of college bowl games during December. In fact, so many that I lose interest in watching them. What about you?

Don't Decide the Order

HEY, Social media!

Don't use some fancy algorithm to decide the order in which I see things. I don't need any AI or other technology to decide what's important for me. I like to see things in the order in which they were posted--that's it.

If you want to insert an ad or promoted site, that's OK. I understand that your primary goal is not to provide me with information, but to make as much profit as you can. I can ignore those things easily.

But don't decide to rearrange the order of things just because I have looked up something or bought something. Because I buy toilet paper online, doesn't mean that I'm interested in toilet paper in any way other than it's utilitarian use. Just because I look at some electronic gadget, doesn't mean that I can afford or am even interested in some other similar gadget.

Just because I read an article about someone or something doesn't mean that I have a broad interest in some other thing that might be vaguely related to that article of make some corporation more profit.

Just keep the most recent things, the most recent. There is no need to rearrange things when I say I want to see the most recently posted articles. You won't get my dollar by doing that.

Don't mess with it.

Start a Video, Lose my view...

I have said it before and will say it again. If your site starts a video without any intervention from me, especially an ad, you will lose me. I may never return to your site or will really consider clicking on a link that leads there in the future.This is an issue with even some major sites like CNN. I HATE this, especially when I'm visiting your site while at work or in public.

If I want to view your damned video, I will click on it myself. DON"T DO IT! Enough said...

Context Collapse . . .

Facebook is working to combat a decline in people sharing original, personal content, the fuel that helps power the money machine at the heart of its social network, according to people familiar with the matter.
Overall sharing has remained strong, according to Facebook. However, people have been less willing to post updates about their lives as their lists of friends grow, the people said.
Instead, Facebook’s 1.6 billion users are posting more news and information from other websites. As Facebook ages, users may have more than a decade’s worth of acquaintances added as friends. People may not always feel comfortable checking into a local bar or sharing an anecdote from their lives, knowing these updates may not be relevant to all their connections.
According to one of the people familiar with the situation, Facebook employees working on the problem have a term for this decline in intimacy: "context collapse." Personal sharing has shifted to smaller audiences on Snapchat, Facebook’s Instagram and other messaging services.

[Source: Bloomberg]

So the question is, is this a bad thing? Do I really want to know that you went to the market, or got a haircut? Sure, if you get invited to the White House for a state dinner, I would like to know, but, other than that, I'm not interested. I should say that I got onto Facebook because of companies posting information there -- a work thing. I also see information from co-workers and other professional connections. But, I don't post information about myself. If you are interested it what I am doing, I can only say, get a life! Man is your existence that boring that you care what I do minute-to-minute? Put down the phone, get off the computer and go DO something. Just don't tell me about it.

Sure, I see that Facebook is really thinking that their profits go down in proportion to this type of thing. That's their REAL motivation, not your social interests. But, I just can't get excited about it.

Popularity

So, when did popularity become an indication of the importance of a news item? Stories about the Kardasians are popular among many people, but DEFINITELY aren't important stories. In fact that entire clan could be eliminated from the planet and it wouldn't be important. I think our media has succumbed to the ratings game and are trying everything they can to gain viewers, listeners, com mentors to  increase their ratings. It sucks.