Surveillance Capitalism

[The Duke]

That’s basically what I said ED. But I don’t get how brexit or trump (for example ) gamed the system.

All they got was lists of people that fit the the demo they was after .just to target them with campaign adds. Basically they got to see where best to spend their energy.

You yourself could do something very similar right now with FB own add tools. Tho what cambridge analicts done seems to be scrapped FB for more info than FB makes public, but all they (trump brexit) could of got out of it, is a more acreate picture of where to spend energy, at a lower cost to ill presume.

The original 1+1 team famously said there marking for the plus1 was about £200 of target fb adds to geeks, they let the geeks market the device for free. Same concept.

It seems FB is in more trouble today, they seem to of been storing all calls and SMS texts of users that use the FB messaging app as there default msg app.

I’d imagine millions of people do use the FB app in that way, so they will have a gold mine to search. Though I dont know if its full body text or just metadata. I’m not that interested in FB it look too closely.

I would like to see some more investigation work into how encrypted and secure Whats app really is. I use that often because of its claimed privacy and ease of use.  There is more secure way to text, bit they usually involve set up. I cant be arsed or even want  to walk a client or someone through it. So WA is a good privacy vs ease option. Or I thought it was. But now im not to sure.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/29/facebook-logged-sms-text-phone-calls-users-complain

[Ed P]

Via Hacker News, this Nieman Lab article gives an insight on how the alleged Trump/Facebook election influencing actually worked. For those too lazy/busy to read the lot it was the Netflix film rating system on steroids.

Give it a try, its an easy read and quite interesting what can be accomplished by a relatively simple technique, and a warning for the future.

[Richard]

I might have misread the item but once more it appeared to be a herd identifying tool that was then used to too what appeared to be slightly appropriate morsels in the direction of those herds thought or found most susceptible to the content. It was never, so far as I could see aimed on the basis of personal markers for particular people. So not a ‘I see Mr Smith you like this so you should vote for Trump and stop that criminal Clinton’, or even a more furtive ‘Mr Smith remember to like Trump so much nicer than the criminal Clinton’. Clearly the message about ‘criminal Clinton’ would be most likely to resonate with certain view holders, so could be and was pushed to the greatest extent but mainly on a semi targetted basis.The ‘message’ that ‘criminal Trump’ is now bashing Amazon in the hope of helping his old business buddies with their rumbling real estate is not yet being pushed so successfully.

[Ed P]

Just to kick a man when he is down (and who better than the InfoZucker). It now emerges that Facebook saved EVERYTHING that ever reached their platform including stuff you never published or even deleted!

Moral, never trust an InfoZucker.

link

[edit] btw I agree with Richard’s analysis. The alleged election manipulation was based on grouping people into herds, then throwing morsels at those herds who presumably were sitting on the election fence in an attempt to make some move towards the desired side.

As utilised It appears to be slightly less crude targetted ‘advertising’ but the ability to group individuals into specific herds and only messaging those individuals means that this can be done without necessarily alerting the opposition and rousing them to refute the presented ‘facts’,.

[Richard]

Well I tried three times to respond and nothing ‘took’.

Ed, I very much agree, though I wonder how much long term hard will have been done to the digital slave market.

Perhaps some will wake up to the fact that so called targetted marketing is hardly better than scatter guns and so narrow their remit to everyone’s benefit.

[Wheels-Of-Fire]

I don’t really get any targeted ads based on analytics. I do get ads that follow me for a bit based on cookies but clearing those out usually stops them.

What i would like to know though is why so many board housewives aparently want to meet me for sex !

[Tippon]

Wheels-Of-Fire wrote:

What i would like to know though is why so many board housewives aparently want to meet me for sex !

Aren’t most ads based on your search history? ??

[Wheels-Of-Fire]

You would think but I REALLY dont visit dating websites. Maybe analytics has worked out I should !

[Ed P]

Brexit Trump Time. You will not read about this in the Daily Wail! Ars Link

[Richard]

Ed, the spat has been all over the place as FB squirm on the end of their own baited line. I saw nothing of any adverts – I do not  use FB. To me anything that was done was scarcely different to the usual stuff that clutters up physical as well as electronic boxes. The biggest problem is that even more so in the electronic age mud that sticks on an ever wider scale. I almost* feel sorry for the Canadian outfit for the way they have been muddied. I do not feel any sorrow for the vindictive multicoloured one, Chris Wylie who clearly holds an intense grudge.

*’Almost’, because I still think of the advertising mob as an off colour bunch of carpet baggers and snake oil sellers. I would not trust them to hit a barn door at 50 centimetres.

[Ed P]

The InfoZucker has started his testimony to the US House of Representatives. The pdf in the link is in essence one big ‘mea culpa’. I’m afraid that this is all too little and too late and it looks like Facebook is now toast as Steve Wozniak joins a list of high profile people deleting their Facebook accounts.

[The Duke]

It will soon be forgotten about. I can’t see FB going anywhere. I’ve spoken to many ‘normal folk’ and non are bothered at all.

For most it’s now the defacto place to communicate. Normal folk won’t give it up as they are too scared on what they will miss.

They will lose some numbers, but I’d guess it won’t be more than 10% of pre this current shit storm.

I don’t use it, but I’m the only person I know, bar my FiL who doesn’t count, everyone is on it. Tho since last quarter last year (iirc) FB unique monthly visits was down for the first time ever.

Probably down to an algorithm tweak rather than real people leaving

[Richard]

Steve, I agree with you for all the reasons you state. I honestly believe there few of the great mass who will change anything as a result of this ‘minor’ upset. Many do not really understand the fuss and even more do not care. A lot might well say who are these ‘high profile’ users. When I hear some of the ‘bloggers’ talking about their promotional activities for hotels, ‘clubs’, bars, make-up, etc. I wonder if space aliens really have landed.

[Ed P]

As you say the sheep follow the herd without thought, however the real impact will come if the Corporates fear that they will become tainted by FaceBook. If they walk a lot of the attraction for the herd disappears.

[The Duke]

Ed P wrote:

As you say the sheep follow the herd without thought, however the real impact will come if the Corporates fear that they will become tainted by FaceBook. If they walk a lot of the attraction for the herd disappears.

I think the oppersite will happen Ed. People don’t go to fb because big business is there, most couldn’t care less. As long as their circles are they they will stay.

Now if big biz does abandon fb then fb may struggle to keep the lights in, however if the people don’t leave, neither will big biz and it’s advertising.

[Ed P]

Maybe Steve, but where does Facebook get its money?

[The Duke]

That was my point. If they [biz] do leave then FB may struggle, but unless the people leave on mass, biz won’t leave, you have a captive market that is cheap to target.

It’s a chicken and egg situation in revers. The people need to leave before the advertises will go. Fb is that big, iirc over 1blillion individual monthly unique visitors. That’s almost the entire online world goes there once a month. That’s one frigging huge boat to stop.

I think FB could just about get away with anything at this point. Which is a very scary thought indeed.

[Richard]

Corporates do worry about their corporate name and any associations with undesirable material that could damage the name. They frequently stand away from suspect items and lean on ‘publishers’ to restrict such material. They will take what they believe is a balanced, will being associated with and part funding with dodgy outfit do more harm in their addict base or will cutting the umbilical cord of finance cause more upset? Only they can call that one. However, should enough money not (l)users walk, then the FB finances would take a hit, but I have no angle on that one, I don’t care much either way. Who needs a lot of junk designed to inspire jealousy anyway? I do not.

[Richard]

Steve, no you are missing the issue, are the billion all users of a corporation’s product? If the advertising is marginal at best and if the adverts push the 0,00001% who are real customers off ‘ by association’, then is it worth a candle anyway?

[The Duke]

I don’t know what you’re referring to Richard. All the billion unique are users, there may be some bits in there, but I think they cleared alot our end of last year.

I just checked on the FB monthly unique and it’s up from last quarter to 2.2billion up from 2b. So it’s still growing, just not as fast.

I’m amazed by the figures. That is basically everyone in the world with access to the net. All easily targetable.

FB marketing tools are brilliant. You can target down to the finest degree. Like, males 30-35, from area x, certain education and job, that’s single with interest in cars. There is no other platform that gives the advertiser so much control to target only the people it wants too.

This keeps costs down and gives are far better rate of return. If the people stay, the business stay. As an advertiser there is no better place to spend your pennies.

As to being tarnished by fb, fb itself is hardly tarnished. The mass public don’t care. they should and the media is telling folk they should, but the reality is, no one actually does.

Plus today’s headlines are tomorrow’s chip wrappings. There I will be another scandal tomorrow that will make everyone soon forget about this.

I think memory span for such things it’s 6 weeks. I’m sure it’s the fbi maybe cia, that said they need a ‘big display’  evey 6 weeks to say in the publics mind.

[Author]

Posts