Not all photos are uploaded to Twitter using the correct specs to optimize display on Twitter. For example ...
Twitter apparently taught its algorithm to find the most interesting / relevant parts of of photos, then display a cropped version of those pics such that the most relevant part shows up as a thumbnail.
This gets around the problem of just picking the top, or middle, of a photo such that you'd just see a sky (or torso) as the thumbnail.
So, @bascule uploaded two oversized pics as an experiment. He used two different faces, placed in different locations, in oversized images. Question: What would Twitter prioritize?
.@bascule's experiment appears to show Twitter taught its algorithms understand and recognize faces uses White faces. Which brings me back to the beginning of this thread. We need more diversity in tech.
Because, really, the experiment isn't really just about faces. It's about how algorithms are formed and developed. It's about who's in the room when decisions are made, and who's not included.
The implications of this are wider than how faces display across Twitter. See also: My thread about the role of analysts. #STEM#STEAM#Tech#Data
Good morning, loves! ❤️ Here are a few wisdom droplets for you: To state the obvious, every member of congress who aided & abetted last Wednesday's attack is a traitor to this country. #NatSec
If you've seen photos & listened to reports from congresspeople who were inside the Capitol during the attack, you know certain Republicans gave rioters pre-attack recognizance tours.
They also first-pumped to cheer attackers on as they trashed the Capitol, tweeted out the location of the fellow congress members' hiding spaces & one literally said (about the mob) "those are my people." Watch this entire video. #NatSec instagram.com/tv/CJ-OkgNAO1N…
By definition, they require imagination and expanding one's mind. For example, when you see an actor, you're picturing them as the person they're depicting — not solely thinking: "Hey, that's ____!" #StarringRole
Usually, "unwanted" is a dated term to describe an untimed, or unexpected, pregnancy. #SRHR#SexualHealth
Usually, it covers a lot of agency on the part of the person who became pregnant. In other words, someone who is able to become pregnant had a consensual sexual encounter, and that encounter resulted in an unexpected — or "unwanted" — pregnancy.
We have to stay up. Stay focused. Stay happy. Stay optimistic.
Thank you, @silverbranchus for hosting an outdoor, physically distanced #Oktoberfest event. Spirits need lifting right now, and you're providing that service. #RIPRBG ❤
Tonight I restore my soul. 🍻 Tomorrow, I get back to work.
The New York Times did this, back in 2016. Though, with Trump supporters and Duck Dynasty (vis-a-vis shows like Modern Family & Empire). nytimes.com/interactive/20…
It's the premise of #BigData. To riff off Aristotle's "give me a child until he is 7, and I will show you the man", in modern times, it's: "Give me your data, and I will show you who I believe you are, and push you in the direction of who I want you to be."
As an example, if you're getting election-related calls, texts, Facebook ads, etc., you're getting them because you're on a list. Data decided which list(s) you should be on.
How quickly some forget. Journal articles, research reports, oral histories, and crimes stats all document upticks in anti-Muslim sentiment and violence in the aftermath of 9/11.
We must tell our stories — because others attempt to tell them (incorrectly) about us. It's one of the many reasons why I love oral histories. Talk, and listen, to people who've actually lived the experience. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs#September11
If you're interested in oral accounts of 9/11 — from folks who were there — you can read stuff like Chief Robert Gray (from Arlington County Fire Department) talk about leading a rescue team in search of people trapped at the Pentagon. 911memorial.org