Given the topic of this post, some of you will know exactly why this still, from the 1978 Steve McQueen movie An Enemy of the People, is relevant. If you don’t know, head here. Admittedly, I was getting far more hits on this blog when I was exposing Facebook and Google for their misdeeds. […]
Read More… from It takes 10 years (and sometimes 50) for the establishment to wake up
Above: I must report and block dozens of Instagram accounts a day, not unlike getting over the 200-a-day mark on Facebook in 2014. For the last few days, I made my Twitter private. It was the only time in 11 years of being on the service where I felt I needed that level of […]
Via Adeline Chua: I see Elon Musk has apologized to Vernon Unsworth. But it smacks of the apology a child would give after being compelled by his teacher to do so. Translation: ‘I wouldn’t have said anything if the Vern didn’t push me. It’s all Vern’s fault.’ Or, ‘Vern made me do it.’ […]
Read More… from Musk apologies to Unsworth, only because teacher told him to
Elijah van der Giessen/Open Media/Creative Commons That’s it for ’net neutrality in the US. The FCC has changed the rules, so their ISPs can throttle certain sites’ traffic. They can conceivably charge more for Americans visiting certain websites, too. It’s not a most pessimistic scenario: ISPs have attempted this behaviour before. It’s another step […]
Read More… from The end of US ’net neutrality: another step toward the corporate internet
Tristan Schmurr/Creative Commons Welcome to another of my “I told you they were dodgy” posts. This time, it’s not about Facebook or Google (which, finally, are receiving the coverage that should have been metered out years ago), but Wikipedia. The latest is on a Wikipedia editor called ‘Philip Cross’, a story which Craig Murray […]
Either Mark Zuckerberg is woefully ignorant of what happens at his company or he lied during his testimony to US lawmakers last week. As reported by Chris Griffith in the Murdoch Press, Zuckerberg said, ‘Anyone can turn off and opt out of any data collection for ads, whether they use our services or not.’ […]
You have to wonder if the online census this year has been intentionally bad so that the powers that be can call it a flop and use it as an excuse to delay online voting, thereby disenfranchising younger voters. It’s the Sunday before the census and I await my access code: none was delivered, […]
Read More… from It’s as though Statistics New Zealand set up this year’s census to fail
Wallula, shared via Creative Commons The following status update was posted on my Facebook wall to some of my friends earlier tonight, though of course the links have been added here. I realize there’s some irony in posting this on Facebook. Some of you will have noticed that I haven’t been updating as frequently. […]
Read More… from After 10 years, it’s time to reduce Facebook sharing even more
Above: The Intercept is well respected, yet Google cozying up to corporate media meant its traffic has suffered, according to Alternet. There’s a select group of countries where media outlets are losing traffic, all because Facebook is experimenting with moving all news items out of the news feed and on to a separate page. […]
Read More… from Saving the internet from itself—Sir Tim Berners-Lee sees the same dangers
Above: A reputable Las Vegas newspaper, the Las Vegas Review–Journal. I’m not going to weigh in on the debate surrounding the US Second Amendment today, but what I will say is whether we like their politicians or not, the victims in Las Vegas didn’t deserve their fates. My thoughts and prayers go to them and […]