This @alexismadrigal piece on FB is characteristically excellent. theatlantic.com/technology/arc…
Facebook started from the assumption that people are basically earnest in their posting. It still clings to that assumption.
Facebook started from the assumption that people are basically earnest in their posting. It still clings to that assumption.
It relates to a theme in this piece a coauthored with @AshleyHedrick and @kreissdaniel, “the earnest internet vs the ambivalent Internet.”
ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc…
(Which is a review of @wphillips49 and Ryan Milner’s excellent books)
ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc…
(Which is a review of @wphillips49 and Ryan Milner’s excellent books)
Here, I think the particularly interesting part is the problem of late-bigness.
The earnestness assumption was probably reasonable for most of FB’s history.
But as FB’s share of the information marketplace increases, it attracts the trolls and the misinformation campaigns.
The earnestness assumption was probably reasonable for most of FB’s history.
But as FB’s share of the information marketplace increases, it attracts the trolls and the misinformation campaigns.
You can assume good intentions when you’re small. (If trolls target you... you’ll know.)
Getting big doesn’t just change the companies opportunities. It also demands a rethinking of fundamental assumptions.
Getting big doesn’t just change the companies opportunities. It also demands a rethinking of fundamental assumptions.
