Facebook and the French: Some Tension Perhaps?
January 15, 2021
For the first time Facebook is calling out a individuals connected to a Western military for conducting a propaganda campaign on its platforms. CNN reports, “Facebook Accuses People Tied to French Military of Running Troll Accounts.” Even more intriguing, the accounts resembled and interacted with similar Russian troll accounts. Reporter Donie O’Sullivan writes:
“The deceptive tactics allegedly used, which include using Facebook to pose as locals in the targeted countries, mirror misinformation campaigns run by the Russian government. … According to Facebook, the operations targeted the ‘Central African Republic and Mali, and to a lesser extent Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Chad.’ Facebook removed the accounts and also announced on Tuesday that it had removed accounts, also posing as Africans, that were linked to Russian troll group. In some cases, Facebook said, the fake French and Russian accounts even interacted with each other.”
Though it is not new to see influence campaigns target the same regions, their actively engaging each other is. Facebook says it found the two sides commenting on each other’s posts, befriending each other, and denouncing each other for being fake. Russian trolls operating in Africa, we’re told, are connected to the group that allegedly acted to influence the 2016 US presidential election. O’Sullivan continues:
“Facebook said the alleged French accounts ‘posted primarily in French and Arabic about news and current events including France’s policies in Francophone Africa, the security situation in various African countries, claims of potential Russian interference in the election in the Central African Republic (CAR), supportive commentary about French military, and criticism of Russia’s involvement in CAR.’ Elections are due to take place in CAR later this month. One post in French read, ‘The Russian imperialists are a gangrene on Mali! Watch out for the tsarist lobotomy!’ The alleged Russian accounts, in turn, criticized the French.”
Wow—gangrene imperialists and tsarist lobotomies! I suppose trolls are not known for their subtlety. Facebook has removed about 100 Facebook and Instagram accounts, with a total of about 5,000 followers, tied to the alleged French operation. It also shuttered two networks of pages linked to Russia, which had about 6 million followers. For its part, the French Defense Ministry neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. Russia continues to deny it has ever engaged in such tactics.
Cynthia Murrell, January 15, 2021
Google: Big Is Good. Huge Is Better.
January 15, 2021
I spotted an interesting datum factoid. The title of the article gives away the “reveal” as thumbtypers are prone to say. “Google Trained a Trillion-Parameter AI Language Model” does not reference the controversial “draft research paper” by a former Google smart software person named Timnit Gebru. The point at issue is that smart software can be trained using available content. Bingo, the smart software reflects the biases in the source content.
Pumping up numbers is interesting and begs the question, “Why is Google shifting into used car sales person mode?” The company has never been adept at communicating or marketing in a clear, coherent manner. How many blog posts about Google’s overlapping services have I seen in the last 20 years? The answer is, “A heck of a lot.”
I circled this passage in the write up:
Google researchers developed and benchmarked techniques they claim enabled them to train a language model containing more than a trillion parameters. They say their 1.6-trillion-parameter model, which appears to be the largest of its size to date, achieved an up to 4 times speedup over the previously largest Google-developed language model (T5-XXL).
Got that?
Like supremacy, the trillion parameter AI language model” revolutionizes big.
Google? What’s with the marketing push for the really expensive and money losing DeepMind thing? Big numbers too.
Stephen E Arnold, January 15, 2021
College Book Popularity: Thumbtyper Research
January 14, 2021
I am not sure how to interpret the information in “The Most Popular College Books.” First, there is a difference between reading a book and including the book on a list. How many thumbtypers have read De La Démocratie en Amérique? I remember seeing most of the students in my class in American history with those cheerful summaries available at the bookstore near the campus. There were a couple of people with the one volume abridged edition. Should I name the student who had the two volume edition in French? Nope, not making this write up about me.
A list is something easy to digest; for example, a list of Tesla models. The approach in the write up is to convert lists into wonky panels of thumbnails and narrative passages. If you have the time and thumbtypers’ skill at navigating most illegible icons, you will love this write up.
Some of the data in the list is downright amazing. The potboiler “Story of an Hour” is “the most assigned work of literature.” Okay. A spin on an O. Henry story call “The Gift of the Magi.” But American literature’s best? Sure.
I worked on an advanced degree at a Jesuit college. Let me tell you that most of the graduate students I encountered had never read Nicomachean Ethics in any form. Today it’s moving up the popularity list. Believe it or not. Ethics: Definitely a hot topic today. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe the answer is in De La Démocratie en Amérique or “Story of an Hour.”
Stephen E Arnold, January 14, 2021
Real Journalism, an Example of High School Science Club Management, or Just Bad Judgment?
January 14, 2021
I read “A Proud Boy in Disguise Helped Lead the Insurrection at the Capitol.” The content of the write up was not what caught my attention. I noted one throwaway paragraph which I found suggestive, maybe insight inducing. Here’s the passage:
(Gavin McInnes was a co-founder of VICE. He left the company in 2008 and has had no involvement since then. He later founded the Proud Boys in 2016.)
I asked myself:
- Does this provide some helpful background about the Vice operational base?
- Are other individuals involved with the organization in the gravitational pull of the identified individual?
- Has the “real” journalism generated by the Vice entity been influenced by the founder’s precepts?
I don’t know. I found the inclusion in the interest of “full disclosure” fascinating. Why now? Posturing, TikTok style handwaving, or looking good? Perhaps a whiz kid MBA will crunch big data and generate useful information?
Stephen E Arnold, January 14, 2021
The Many Ways Police Can Access User Data
January 14, 2021
We hope that by now, dear reader, you understand digital privacy is an illusion. For those curious about the relationship between big tech, personal data, and law enforcement, we suggest “How Your Digital Trials Wind Up in the Hands of the Police,” shared by Ars Technica. The article, originally published by Wired, begins by describing how police used a Google keyword warrant to track down one high-profile suspect. We’re reminded that data gathered for one ostensible purpose, like building an online profile, can be repurposed as evidence. From the smart speakers and wearable devices that record us to apps that track location and other data, users are increasingly signing away their privacy rights. Writer Sidney Fussell notes:
“The problem isn’t just any individual app, but an over-complicated, under-scrutinized system of data collection. In December, Apple began requiring developers to disclose key details about privacy policies in a ‘nutritional label’ for apps. Users ‘consent’ to most forms of data collection when they click ‘Agree’ after downloading an app, but privacy policies are notoriously incomprehensible, and people often don’t know what they’re agreeing to. An easy-to-read summary like Apple’s nutrition label is useful, but not even developers know where the data their apps collect will eventually end up.”
Amid protests over policing and racial profiling, several tech companies are reevaluating their cooperation with law enforcement. Amazon hit pause on sales of facial recognition tech to police even as it noted an increase in requests for user data by law enforcement. Google vowed to focus on better representation, education, and support for the Black community. Even so, it continues to supply police with data in response to geofence warrants. These requests are being made of Google and other firms more and more often. Fussell writes:
“As with keyword warrants, police get anonymized data on a large group of people for whom no tailored warrant has been filed. Between 2017 and 2018, Google reported a 1,500 percent increase in geofence requests. Apple, Uber, and Snapchat also have received similar requests for the data of a large group of anonymous users. … These warrants allow police to rapidly accelerate their ability to access our private information. In some cases, the way apps collect data on us turns them into surveillance tools that rival what police could collect even if they were bound to traditional warrants.”
Civil rights groups are pushing back on these practices. Meanwhile, users would do well to pause and consider before hitting “Agree.”
Cynthia Murrell, January 14, 2021
With Amazon Reviews, Look Beyond the Stars
January 14, 2021
We have covered Amazon’s persistent problem with fake reviews for products on its platform. Ars Technica discusses a slightly different issue in, “Amazon Still Hasn’t Fixed Its Problem with Bait-and-Switch Reviews.” Writer Timothy B. Lee describes his effort to find a good drone for his kids. A certain selection enjoyed thousands of five-star reviews—great! Many shoppers would stop there, hit “add to cart,” and be on their way. However, Lee actually checked out the text of the best reviews and discovered they were singing the praises of a certain brand of honey. Honey! How one would confuse the rich, golden sweetener with a flying head-bonker is beyond us. Lee writes:
“When I sorted the reviews by date, I saw that the most recent reviewers actually had bought a drone and they were overwhelmingly not giving it five stars. ‘Bought this for my Grandson,’ a customer wrote on December 26. ‘He played with it for 2 hours before it broke and is no longer working.’ He gave the drone one star. But the older reviews were for honey. Apparently, the manufacturer had tricked Amazon into displaying thousands of reviews for an unrelated product below its drone, helping the drone to unfairly rise to the top of Amazon’s search results. The story was similar for the second and third results in my drone search. Both had thousands of reviews with five-star averages. In both cases, many of the five-star reviews were obviously for other products—including a bottle of vodka, a bracelet, and a box of Christmas cards. In both cases, the most recent reviews were almost all negative reviews from customers who had actually bought the drones. One reviewer claimed that a drone had scratched their son’s face.”
Ay, Caramba! This sellers’ scam has been going on for some time now; we’re reminded Buzzfeed covered it over two years ago. We doubt Amazon will ever raise a finger to fix the problem—that would cost money, which they would prefer to avoid. As much as the company blusters about putting the customer first, it is really the bottom line at the top of its agenda.
Cynthia Murrell, January 14, 2021
Selling Technology in a Tough Market Roasting in Solar Waves
January 13, 2021
I read a post on Hacker’s News. You may be able to locate it at this link: http://solarleaks.net/. I don’t know if this is a scam or the answer to the question “Where’s the beef?” The message states:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA256 Happy new year! Welcome to solarleaks.net (mirror: 5bpasg2kotxllmzsv6swwydbojnfuvfb7d6363pwe5wrzhjyn2ptvdqd.onion) We are putting data found during our recent adventure for sale. [Microsoft Windows (partial) source code and various Microsoft repositories] price: 600,000 USD data: msft.tgz.enc (2.6G) link: https://mega.nz/file/1ehgSSpD#nrtzQwh-qyCaUHBXo2qQ1dNbWiyVHCvg8J0As8VjrX0
The Solar Leaks’ post then provides information about the cost of the MSFT, Cisco, and FireEye, et al software. Prices begin at $50,000 for some alleged FireEye goodies and soar to $600,000 for the Microsoft crown jewels.
What’s important, however, is the post-SolarWinds’ misstep marketing environment. Sales professionals of products that provide enhanced cyber security, threat alerts, and the assorted jargon enhanced assertions have to close deals.
Just in time is a helpful write up from Entrepreneur Magazine called “8 Psychological Tricks to Increase Conversion Rates for SaaS Startups.” That’s on time and on target.
I am tempted to summarize the ideas with references to Machiavelli, Al Capone, and high school lovers promising to be together forever. But I will not. I will highlight three of the ideas, and you can pony up some cash to read the full entrepreneurial check list yourself.
Suggestion 1:
Offer fewer choices.
Okay, Amazon, Microsoft, and others offering secure cloud environments, are you listening? Fewer choices. The point of offering choices is to create an opportunity to confuse a customer and allow MBAs with spreadsheet fever to cook up pricing options guaranteed to lead to big surprises when the system is up and running. Cross that threshold and beyond the invoice! Outstanding.
Suggestion 2:
Introduce a third product.
You have to read the article to appreciate the wonderfulness of offering a print subscription, a digital subscription, and a com9bo subscription or an option that forces the “brain to focus on the two closest options.” I am confident that this is backed by an MBA-type book called “Thinking Slow and Slower.”
Suggestion 3:
Increase quantities rather than reduce the price.
Ah, yes, buy five packages of cookies and get an extra 20 percent discount. That’s okay, but I don’t have any place to put extra bags of cookies in my one bedroom trailer parked in Sunrise Acres in Bullet County, Kentucky. More, more, more. Yes, bullet proof. No pun intended.
With cyber security delivered via the cloud in the great SaaS approach, the trick to making sales is to shift from professional sales person to a street hustler offering “original” watches as tourists exit the bus from a tour of the Forbidden City.
What about clarity, factual information, and services which work, well, maybe just mostly work.
Good enough.
Stephen E Arnold, January 13, 2021
TikTok: The Fluttering Sound Is Hand Waving
January 13, 2021
I read “TikTok: All Under-16s’ Accounts Made Private.” The write up explains:
TikTok users aged under 16 will have their accounts automatically set to private, as the app introduces a series of measures to improve child safety. Approved followers only can comment on videos from these accounts. Users will also be prevented from downloading any videos created by under-16s. TikTok said it hoped the changes would encourage young users to “actively engage in their online privacy journey”.
That sounds good. But is it the sound of hand waving in the thick atmosphere of appearing to do something when nothing is really being done?
Questions the Beeb’s write up sparked are:
- How will TikTok know the verifiable age of a new user?
- How will TikTok know if an over age user pays an under age user to create an account?
- How will TikTok verify that “all” accounts are made private?
- Won’t system administrators and others have access to these data?
Flutter, flutter, flutter.
Stephen E Arnold, January 13, 2021
SEO Trends for the New Year
January 13, 2021
Here at Beyond Search, we are quite skeptical of search engine optimization. In fact, our toothless leader, says, “SEO is a way to get struggling search engine optimization experts to become Google ad sales reps.” True or false, that’s what the old goose says.
Here are the latest pearls of wisdom from the search engine optimization world. Hackernoon discusses the “Top SEO Trends Every Digital Marketer Should Know in 2021.” Writer Muhammad Waleed Siddiqui specifies four factors to be aware of: the importance of mobile-first indexing, the impact of Google’s EAT algorithm, the changes brought by voice search, and the ascension of search intent over keywords. We actually welcome point number two, which ideally will result in more good information and less junk online. Siddiqui writes:
“The E.A.T. word stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trust. The concept itself covers the idea of a copywriter/writer being an original and proven professional in the industry he or she works in. Google will only accept that publicly available content that has no negative impact on people’s lives. With E.A.T. implemented in 2021, Google will genuinely look for quality and authentic content. One best way to succeed with this E.A.T. algorithm is to get good reviews from the customers and the community. If Google finds positive feedback about your website and services, your business will be considered an expert that authorized users can trust. For the SEO geeks, having high quality backlinks will help in this case. Pro-tip: If you can disavow all the bad or suspicious backlinks, it will help build up your E.A.T. score to Google.”
Anything that discourages dummy articles is a step in the right direction, we believe. Navigate to the article for details on the move away from desktop toward mobile, the difference between voiced and typed searches, and searcher intent vs. keywords.
Cynthia Murrell, January 13, 2021
Google: Doing the Travel Agent Thing
January 13, 2021
Just a brief honk to draw our dear readers’ attention to in interesting development. India’s Zee News tells us, “Now, Book Vistara Flight Ticket Directly from Google.” Yes, one can now purchase a ticket for Vistara, an airline that operates in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, directly from one’s Google search. The succinct write-up reports:
“Vistara customers can directly search and book Vistara flights on Google through the integrated ‘Book on Google’ feature. Recently the airline adopted the New Distribution Capability (NDC), through a technology partnership with Amadeus, passengers will now be able to book Vistara flights while searching for them on Google. The biggest advantage is that now customers will be able to search and book air tickets, without getting redirected to any other website. Vistara airline is a joint venture of Tata and Singapore airlines.”
Amadeus is a travel technology company and NDC is an XML-based data transmission standard created specifically for airline ticket distribution. Users must log into their Google account to book their flights, which the service uses to manage contact and payment information. Naturally, one also chooses optional upgrades, baggage allowances, and seat selections here. Just one more way Google aims to save users a few clicks—and collect more of their data in the process.
Here’s an idea. Why not do an AirBnB / VBO mash up with some Google secret spices?
Cynthia Murrell, January 13, 2021
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