Why Use Social Media?

I was an early Facebook user, back when I was still at MIT. I can from time to time see what is happening via my grandson's portal to Facebook. Not that I understand any of it. You see, social media has become a clutter of concatenated comments by people who have not the faintest idea about what they are commenting on.

Now here comes the comment police, the algorithms from Silicon Valley types who believe that they hold the key to societal and cultural norms. At least that seems to be the gist of the NY Times piece. The article states:

... fighting obscenity can be good for business. Impermium, a Silicon Valley company that helps Web sites deal with unwanted reader comments, has begun marketing technology that identifies “all kinds of harmful content — such as violence, racism, flagrant profanity, and hate speech — and allows site owners to act on it in real-time, before it reaches readers.” Impermium will police the readers — but who will police Impermium? 

Interesting. This is from California, not known for anything much other than entertainment, some high tech, high taxes, and well a few other strange things. They will now establish our cultural norms in a social media context. But this really poses the question on how do we get our ideas out there. I often wondered about this, I even wrote a paper on it a few decades ago, pre-Web.

But I have made several observations:

1. In my blog, you may be reading it now, about 50% of my ever increasing readers are from outside the US. This is unlike so many other blogs which tend to focus on local issues or concerns.

2. I decided to no allow comments on my blog. The reason, if someone wanted to comment send it to me and I will reply. I will even post the comment and reply if worth the effort. Well just look at Facebook, are any of the comments of any value, many are just automatic additions. If someone thinks through an issue it is clearly worth a discussion.

3. On my company site I have taken to posting updated drafts of books. One of them had had 20,000 downloads! For a relatively obscure site I often wonder how anyone has gotten there. From time to time I get comments.

4. The Web Police as of this time do not seem to be out sanitizing blogs or company sites. But if one reads this article perhaps they soon will be doing so as well. You see this blog is a free gift of Google, nice of them but it does give them editorial rights. What if I said something they do not approve of? Will they edit what I say? They did so apparently for the Chinese at one time.

This article raises many interesting issues, but mostly it raises the issue of social media. What use is it? If you can be edited, and if so much detritus ends up posted on it, what is the value? Or frankly was there ever any value. I have been off Facebook for a few years now. Never missed it for a second. Never really found any value, before censoring.