screwtape wrote: ↑Sat Feb 16, 2019 7:48 am
Steersman wrote: ↑Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:37 am
But certainly something of a "mephitic" mess there in Twitter Support. Though I periodically wonder to what extent that is due more to imperfect algorithms than explicit bias - even if that bias may affect to some degree, intentionally or not, the development of those algorithms.
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But definitely have to give Dorsey a great deal of credit for taking the bull by the horns, for admitting the nature of the problem and expending a not inconsiderable amount of effort trying to fix it. Even if it may be motivated in part by an eye on Twitter's bottom line.
I have resisted all temptation to do anything with Twitter and Facebook. I don't really understand the point of 'social media' for anyone who wants to keep their dopamine-reward system functional. Otherwise it's simply weaponizing part of your brain on behalf of advertisers.
:-) Yea - they certainly do give that "reward system" a workout. But also think they - Twitter more so than Facebook I think - are a form of direct democracy, a realignment of publisher-peon relationship. While it was true that the power of the press belonged to those who owned one, now with WordPress everyone is on a more or less equal footing - so to speak.
But while Twitter certainly can be frustrating, kind of think that that is where the "battle for hearts and minds" is to be won - or lost. All fine and dandy for academics to be pontificating from their ivory towers, but some slogging in the trenches is still a requirement for victory .... As for "advertisers" - kind of the nature of the beast; have to give the devil his - or her or its - due given they are paying for the infrastructure. If "we" don't pay for it directly then the other main "model" is that of the BBC - or the CBC; still a bit peeved at the latter as they seem to have as many commercials as CTV & the like despite our ponying-up of a billion bucks or so for a "People's Network".
In any case, to kill the proverbial two birds, I thought that that was a nice thumbnail overview of yours of the SNC-Lavalin scandal; you may need to update it a bit, what with all of the Liberal Butts - so to speak - being thrown under the bus these days. Though of course the Conservatives are not immune to pork-barrel politics - just in the midst of reading Pierre Burton's The Last Spike on the building of the CPR - highly recommended, fascinating bits of early Canada - which details some of the shenanigans that the Conservative government of MacDonald engaged in to get the CPR built.
Omelettes and eggs and all that, but more than a bit of evidence that the CPR in particular shafted more than a few working-class Canadians in their pursuit of that vision of a Canadian railway. All sorts of speculators, for example, who probably made "ill-gotten" fortunes then that are probably still having "deleterious" effects.
Have periodically suggested that there is maybe some value to the Big-Brother-Is-Watching idea; iPhone Apps & all that. But catching Smollet's partners-in-crime being a prime case-in-point. Some "problematic" dimensions to the idea though:
Apple tells app developers to disclose or remove screen recording code