Tracking Facebook: The Job of a Real Journalist Is Stressful, Alarming
September 30, 2018
Want to know what the life of a “real” journalist is like? Navigate to “Exposing Cambridge Analytica: ‘It’s Been Exhausting, Exhilarating, and Slightly Terrifying.” Here in Harrod’s Creek we believe everything we read online, whether from Facebook, the GOOG, or the Guardian.
The write up is unusual because on one hand, the virtues of being curious and asking questions leads to “terrifying” experiences. On the other hand, the Guardian is just a tiny bit proud that it made the information available.
I learned:
Cadwalladr’s reporting led to the downfall of Cambridge Analytica and a public apology from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who was forced to testify before congress. Facebook has since lost $120 billion from its share price.
That’s nosing into Elon Musk Tweet territory.
I knew social media was a force, but these are big numbers. Perhaps newspaper advertising will reach these heights with “stressful, alarming” assignments for the “real” journalists?
I learned:
It’s got easier every time I’ve published – sunlight is the best disinfectant etc.
Interesting idea in a world which seems to be emulating the fiction of 1984.
I learned what lubricant allowed the “real” journalist to move forward:
I have to say that the support of readers was absolutely crucial and was one of the things that enabled me to carry on. Not just because it helped give me the confidence to keep going, but also because it helped give the organization confidence. It takes a huge amount of resources and resolve for a news organization to keep publishing in the face of the kind of threats we were facing, and the support of the readers for the story and what we were trying to do really did help give my editors confidence, I think. And I’m really grateful for that.
Does this mean that the “real” newspaper was the motive force?
If so, then “real” newspapers are positive forces in today’s world and not conduits for popular culture, sports, and informed opinion.
My thought was, “I wonder if the Babylonian clay tablet brigade voiced similar sentiments when writing on sheepskin became the rage.”
Probably not.
Rah rah for the “real” journalist. Rah rah for the newspaper.
Any rah rahs for Facebook? Nah. Bro culture. Security laughing stock. Sillycon Valley.
But Cambridge Analytica? Yeah, British with a lifeline from some interesting Americans.
Stephen E Arnold, September 30, 2018
Facebook: Interesting Real News Filtering
September 29, 2018
Here in Harrod’s Creek, it is difficult to determine what is accurate and what is not. For example, allegedly a university president fiddled his pay. Then we had rumors of a novel way to recruit basketball players. News about these events were filtered because, hey, basketball is a big deal along with interesting real estate deals in River City.
We read “Facebook Users Unable to Post Story about Huge Facebook Hack on Facebook.” A real news outfit in London noticed that stories about Facebook’s most recent security lapse were not appearing on Facebook.
Another real news outfit reported that some Facebook users saw this message:
“Action Blocked: Our security systems have detected that a lot of people are posting the same content, which could mean that it’s spam. Please try a different post.”
Facebook fans suggested that Facebook was not blocking a story which might put Facebook in a bad light.
Here in rural Kentucky we know that no Silicon Valley company would filter news about its own security problems.
Facebook is a fine outfit. Obviously the news about the security lapse was fake; otherwise, why would the information be blocked?
Just a misunderstanding which the 50 million plus people affected are certain to understand. What’s the big deal with regaining access to one’s account?
The Facebook service is free and just wonderful. Really wonderful.
Stephen E Arnold, September 29, 2018
Google: Just the Digital Version of Honest Abe and His Cabin
September 28, 2018
I read “You Can Now Explore Google’s Original Garage Headquarters in Street View.” The image in the write up and the virtual tour reminded me of my first visit to Abraham Lincoln’s cabin. Now the Lincoln cabin was modest, and, despite the fact that I was a wee lad, I recall:
- It looked pretty tidy for a log cabin
- I had an ice cream bar
- There were lots of people.
I assume that the virtual tour of Google’s “first” office, excluding the dorm room and Stanford computer lab, the garage is authentic.
There are some differences:
- Clicks are tracked
- The scene is antiseptic, tidy, clean, and organized for a tiny garage
- No ice cream.
Enjoy the tour. Animatronics may be coming to a Disney theme park soon. History is “realer” when it is digital.
Stephen E Arnold, September 28, 2018
The European Commission: On the Job with Fake News
September 28, 2018
Yes, I wondered if the giant Thomson Reuters was a victim of fake news when I read “Tech Companies Agree to Take Measures to Tackle Fake News.” Of course, TR would not fall victim to fake news; therefore, the information in the write up is spot on.
I noted this statement:
Tech companies have agreed to measures to tackle fake news and concerns that it can influence elections, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
Okay, but what “tech companies.” The TR article pointed to this story titled “Tech Companies Agree to Measures to Tackle Fake News.” Is there a list of tech companies at the link destination? Nope, it’s the same story.
So the report about fake news refers to itself.
Not fake news, but it does raise these questions:
- What companies agreed to fight fake news?
- How will the companies fight fake news?
- What is fake news?
Obviously self referential information is not fake, right. What’s good for traffic is definitely “real” and countable.
Stephen E Arnold, September 28, 2018
Amazon: Accommodating Big Chunks of Data
September 28, 2018
Our research into Amazon’s capabilities caused us to note the information in “Amazon Rolls Out High Memory Instances for In-Memory Databases.” Many companies want to munch on Big Data. I would point out that certain US government organization have a healthy appetite for the capability as well.
I noted this statement:
The new High Memory EC2 instances offer a choice of 6, 9 and 12 terabytes of memory, with 18TB and 24TB options to arrive next year.
The individual offering this information is Amazonian Jeff Barr, one of the people providing insight into what the Bezos machine is doing. These announcements typically come after the innovation is up and running and productized.
Why is this important?
The announcement snaps into the policeware and intelligence services offerings which Amazon has available now.
Next move is up to IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. Procurement time is fast approaching as is the announcement of the new Amazon headquarters.
Stephen E Arnold, September 28, 2018
Smart Software: There Are Only a Few Algorithms
September 27, 2018
I love simplicity. The write up “The Algorithms That Are Currently Fueling the Deep Learning Revolution” certainly makes deep learning much simpler. Hey, learn these methods and you too can fire up your laptop and chop Big Data down to size. Put digital data into the digital juicer and extract wisdom.
Ah, simplicity.
The write up explains that there are four algorithms that make deep learning tick. I like this approach because it does not require one to know that “deep learning” means. That’s a plus.
The algorithms are:
- Back propagation
- Deep Q Learning
- Generative adversarial network
- Long short term memory
Are these algorithms or are these suitcase words?
The view from Harrod’s Creek is that once one looks closely at these phrase one will discover multiple procedures, systems and methods, and math slightly more complex than tapping the calculator on one’s iPhone to get a sum. There is, of course, the issue of data validation, bandwidth, computational resources, and a couple of other no-big-deal things.
Be a deep learning expert. Easy. Just four algorithms.
Stephen E Arnold, September 27, 2018
Amazon and Its Star Approach to Popularity
September 27, 2018
I suggest you read “Introducing Amazon 4-Star.” Ignore the explanation of using purchaser data to determine what to put in a retail store. Read the article in this context:
What advantage will Amazon have in its policeware business if it offers lower cost, easier to use versions of policeware and intelligence centric software, solutions, and services?
Here in Harrod’s Creek, we have been monitoring Amazon’s move into the law enforcement and intelligence support markets. The rumors of the new Amazon’s headquarters in the DC area are interesting.
Net net?
We think that Amazon’s hoisting of systems like Palantir Gotham and many other US and non US policeware systems will provide data which gives Amazon an opportunity.
We explore some of the larger issues in our four part series about Amazon policeware which will be in the form of DarkCyber videos. These programs become available at the end of October 2018. Watch for details.
In the meantime, think about four star popularity applied to government procurement. Nifty, right?
Stephen E Arnold, September 27, 2018
Search Revisionism: Alive and Well
September 27, 2018
I read “The Google Graveyard: Remembering Three Dead Search Engines.” I find it interesting how the reality perceived today seems to differ from the reality that existed in the 1990s. The write up answers the question, “Yo, dudes, what happened to three search engines?”
The three dead search engines explained or sort of described in the article are AskJeeves, Dogpile, and AltaVista.
The write up states:
Google is so ingrained in online culture that it feels as if it’s always been there.
I like feelings. Although after working at Halliburton Nuclear, I am not sure I am quite so warm and cuddly. Definitely Google was not “always” there.
And for those unfamiliar with the commercial databases like Chemical Abstracts and other commercial research services, I find this statement a bit disconcerting:
Google holds humanity’s knowledge in its search bar, and it has the ability to shape conversations on a massive scale. Imagine the internet as a million-volume collection of books, each one densely packed with essential information (and cat pictures).
Quite a statement. But people who use “always” often look for point and click solutions which require little or no attention.
You can skim the explanations of each the three search engines. I would like to offer additional information.
AskJeeves
This was a rule based system. Rules were written by humans. The AskJeeves’ system looked at a query, matched it to the rules, and offered an answer. Humans were and are expensive. Humans have to write and modify rules. AskJeeves’ death had little to do with Google and everything to do with the ineffectiveness of the system, its costs, and the resources required to come up with answers to those questions. A version of the service lives on and it is a “diller.” Sorry, dilly.
Dogpile
This services was a metasearch engine, and for a few years, a reasonable one. A user entered a query. Dogpile sent the query to other Web search engines and displayed results. The service ended up in the hands of InfoSpace, and the Dogpile engaged in some legal excitement and ended up the modern version of a one stop shop. In short, Dogpile is not yet dead.
AltaVista
Now that’s an interesting case. AltaVista was a demo of the DEC Alpha. Search was and is a complicated application. Compaq bought DEC. HP bought Compaq. HP, the management wizards, left AltaVista high and dry. Messrs. Brin and Page hired several interesting people from AltaVista; for example, Jeff Dean, Simon Tong, et al. AltaVista disappeared because HP was not exactly on the ball. Alums of AltaVista went on to set up Exalead, now a unit of Dassault Systèmes. The Exalead search system is still online at www.exalead.com/search.
NetNet
AskJeeves was not a Web search engine. Dogpile was a metasearch engine and did little original crawling and indexing. AltaVista is embedded in certain technological ways in the Google system. And, by the way, Google is not the place to go if your child has been poisoned and your doctor needs an antidote.
Even those who do not understand information can figure out the limits of ad supported, free information. At least I hope so.
Stephen E Arnold, September 27, 2018
Google Creates Analytical Office Suite
September 26, 2018
Enterprise office systems are big investments for companies. During their yearly budget meetings, they need to justify expenses and one way to do that is with analytics. According to CNBC, “Google Will Now Show Bosses If Employees Are Actually Using Its Apps.” Google has a new tool for its G Suite office productivity apps. The new tool allows companies to record how the productivity apps are being used. The G Suite features Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. It is very similar to Office 365 or Open Office. The new G Suite tool is called “Work Insights” and shows how employees are using an app and if some products require more training.
“The tool will track adoption at a team level (aggregated at 10 people or more), so an admin can see which business groups are using which tools: Admins will also be able to see which teams are collaborating, whether through overlapping usage of documents, or meetings held through Google’s Hangouts chat and video tool. ‘This insight can help executives identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration and reduce silos,’ Google says in a blog post introducing the tool.”
Currently the “Work Insights” feature is only in beta and is similar to Microsoft’s own Workplace Analytics feature. Google’s G Suite has four million users compared to Microsoft’s Office 365, 135 million users. Google has a long way to go to gain further adoption into businesses, but if they offer a cheaper plan and better insights into technology adoption and how it is being used. Is Google copying Microsoft? Yes, but not enough to cause a copyright violation.
Whitney Grace, September 26, 2018
Technology Giants and Incentive: No Payoff in Bias
September 26, 2018
I read “Google, Facebook, Twitter Have No Incentive to Inject Bias, Tech Industry Group Says.” Interesting write up because the Information Technology and innovative Foundation or ITIF seems like an objective outfit. I noted this statement in the write up:
The Justice Department should back off its unseemly political attacks on social media platforms. Policymakers should continue to employ a light touch regulatory approach so consumers can benefit from the platforms’ continued growth and innovation.
Sounds reasonable. The timing is, of course, coincidental. Why would the information appear before hearings about privacy and security take place.
Here in Harrod’s Creek we trust social media companies and we think that the technology supported non profit is even more trustworthy. Get with the program, one old geezer here in rural Kentucky said. But that person believes in self regulation even thought the fellow struggles to control his bourbon intake.
Unseemly for sure.
Stephen E Arnold, September 26, 2018
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
