Financial Outfits As Publishers: News? Objectivity? You Have to Be Kidding
June 21, 2021
I read “Andreessen Horowitz and the Future of Media.” Intriguing. I noted this statement in the write up: (Note that I did not use the word essay, news, report, or analysis.)
First, here’s my view on Future. It’s a bunch of essays. They’re not competing with reporters.
Correct.
I noted this statement too:
I have another concern: non-cooperation makes it harder for the media to get the facts right and to follow the reporting.
I like the phrase “non cooperation.” Certain businesses thrive on non cooperation. There is a caveat; that is, unless one is an insider. Need an example? How about the intelware business? These are firms which you may struggle to figure out exactly what they do and for whom. Let me name one for you. How about Utimaco? I have a list of a number of these outfits. Non cooperation is a business precept.
Here’s the conclusion to the “Future of Media” write up:
While Andreessen’s new publication might have a more optimistic point of view, Future is pumping out a form of content that the internet is already chock-full of these days — takes.
I like the word “take.”
Now here’s what I think is going on:
First, financial outfits have been publishers for many, many years. Check out Investext. The purpose of these documents has been to facilitate churn in order to generate money. Sure, the wolf is wearing an MBA robe, and the truth has never been hidden. People just don’t think about the content pumped out by the money biz. Future is nothing new in my opinion.
Second, content marketing distorts perception. The outputs of financial institutions are designed to shape one’s viewpoint, the “frame” of a topic, product, service, etc. Thus, a financial institution generating content addresses two issues: Control of the message and generation of churn. (Moving money from one place to another with an intermediary or market maker in the middle.)
Third, the excitement a Silicon Valley outfit is generating by packaging its outputs for others than high net worth individuals, institutional investors, and insiders is like Clubhouse. This is a PR, marketing, and attention play.
Madison Avenue meets Silicon Valley in a world of reformation, information, disinformation, and misinformation. I would use the phrase “green journalism” to describe these financial media efforts, but instead of greenbacks, the word evokes wind turbines and solar panels.
I am going to go with content marketing and move on.
Stephen E Arnold, June 21, 2021
First, a Cabinet, Then a Laptop? Quantum Computing Hype Escalates
June 21, 2021
I read “Compact Quantum Computer for Server Centers.” The write up explains:
“Our quantum computing experiments usually fill 30- to 50-square-meter laboratories,” says Thomas Monz of the University of Innsbruck. “We were now looking to fit the technologies developed here in Innsbruck into the smallest possible space while meeting standards commonly used in industry.” The new device aims to show that quantum computers will soon be ready for use in data centers. “We were able to show that compactness does not have to come at the expense of functionality,” adds Christian Marciniak from the Innsbruck team.
I think this is an interesting idea. The big radio in homes in the 1920s became the micro circuits in a mobile phone. Tiny is better. Quantum computers are going to become smaller too. A desktop device? Maybe a laptop? How about a mobile phone?
Is it important to skip over issues like software and applications, error rates, and figuring out how to know exactly what the constantly vibrating tiny things are doing?
Trivial issues obviously.
The write up explains that the ion trap in the vacuum chamber has been made smaller. That’s good. What happens if someone gives the device a hard knock? Heat? No problema. Commercial use cases? Certainly. How about word processing or calculating whether it will rain this weekend? Absolutely.
What this write up said to me was, “We are doing good stuff and we need more funding.” How many other EU quantum wizards will cite this work and generate non reproducible and non verifiable results? What? Academics fudging stuff? Never.
Stephen E Arnold, June 21, 2021
Clear Signals of Deeper, Less Visible Flaws, Carelessness, and Corner Cuts
June 21, 2021
I read “State of the Windows: How Many Layers of UI Inconsistencies Are in Windows 10?” I found the listing of visual anomalies interesting. I don’t care much about Windows. We run a couple of applications and upgrade to new versions once the point releases and bugs have been identified and mostly driven into dark holes.
The write up points out:
As you may know, Microsoft is planning on overhauling the UI of Windows with their “Sun Valley” update, which aims to unify the design of the OS. However, as we can see, Windows is one behemoth of an operating system. Will their efforts to finally make a cohesive user experience succeed?
My answer to this question is that Microsoft has embraced processes which tolerate inconsistencies. I see this as a strategic or embedded function of the company’s management attitude: Good enough. If a company cannot make interfaces consistent, what about getting security issues, software update processes, and code quality under control.
I want to mention the allegation that Microsoft may have been signing malicious drivers. For more on this interesting assertion, navigate to Gossi The Dog at this link. One hopes the information in this sequence of messages and screenshots is fabricated. But if there are on the money, well …
If you can’t see it, perhaps “good enough” becomes “who cares.” Obviously some at Microsoft hold both of these strategic principles dear.
Stephen E Arnold, June 21, 2021
ByteDance Versus Begging for Dollars
June 18, 2021
I have noticed more and more “real” news sites begging for dollars. The blandishments come in many forms. Be a patron, subscribe, buy a T shirt, spit out an email so that info can be sold to a broker, and/or pay to get “premium” content. These outfits are in the same pickle barrel that most newspapers and traditional TV stations find themselves: Lots of pickles, rancid environment, and not too many consumers standing on line to get an old fashioned 1850s dwarf cucumber.
How do I know this?
I read “TikTok Owner ByteDance Sees Its Earnings Double in 2020.” Here’s the passage I noted:
An internal memo released to staff showed that the firm’s total revenue jumped by 111% to $34.3bn (£24.7bn) for 2020.
And this:
ByteDance also saw its annual gross profit rise by 93% to to $19bn, while it recorded a net loss of $45bn for the same period. The net loss was attributed to a one-off accounting adjustment and not related to the company’s operations.
And this:
The memo also showed that ByteDance had around 1.9bn monthly active users across all of its platforms as of December last year.
Net net: Good numbers or bad numbers? Begging for dollars? Not yet. There’s data in them thar American eyeballs. And if ByteDance needs cash? Perhaps the Chinese government will provide some assistance. Meanwhile, US content providers have to ask, “Is begging for dollars a viable approach when the percentage of people who will pay is modest.
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2021
Google: What Is the Value of Fake News? What Did You Say?
June 18, 2021
I read a story which may be hogwash. (If you have ever cleaned a pig, you can recall the delights of that exercise on a 90 degree day in Poland China territory. Note to thumbtypers. Poland China is another name for a Warren County hog.)
The title of the write certainly caught my attention:
Nearly Half of All Ads on Fake News Sites Come from Google, Study Finds
Let’s be clear I am pointing you a second hand write up from a research outfit’s “study.” Frankly I can’t believe that the estimable Google, former employer of Timnit Gebru, and owner of the real artificial intelligence methodology would be engaged in this type of activity. Goodness.
The outfit doing the study was the University of Mich8igan School of Information. Didn’t one of the founders of the Google attend this institution? Here’s a sampling of data from the outfit which spawned really annoying pop up surveys on government Web sites in the 2000s:
- 48% of ad traffic on “fake” news publishers is served by Google
- 32% of “low credibility sites” like Breitbart, Drudge Report, and Sputnik News were delivered by Google
- “The top-10 credible ad servers, like Lockerdome and Outbrain, make up 66.7% of fake and 55.6% of low-quality ad traffic.”
May I repeat what Google has oft repeated when the unpleasant but profitable subject of using whatever gets clicks to produce revenue? Here goes:
the search engine told Marketing Brew in a statement that the company removed ads from “more than 1.3 billion pages that breached” its policies in 2020. “We have strict publisher policies against promoting dangerous and misrepresentative claims,” it said.
Several questions:
- Will Google provide more funding to the Ann Arbor institution in order to provide input into research project plans before the study and the results are made public by real news outfits like Marketing Brew?
- Will Larry Page spend time on campus chatting with researchers and students about the importance of the Google and how to get an insider track to a job at the online ad mom and pop store?
- Will some MBA with time on his or her hands convert these percentages to revenue?
I, on the other hand, will continue to believe in the commitment to ethical business practices, ethical content filtering, and ethical AI just like the Google.
One final question: Will Marketing Brew experience an uptick in its Google “quality” score?
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2021
Restraining Strategic Tech Acquisitions in the EU
June 18, 2021
Anti-big-tech or anti-American? Is there a difference? The Macau News Agency reports, “Germany, France Want to Curb ‘Killer’ Big Tech Deals.” Left out of the headline is the Netherlands, which joins those larger powers in their desire to stop companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon from making “killer acquisitions.” These are deals in which tech giants snap up budding startups before they can bloom into competitors. We learn:
“EU regulators believe that Facebook’s buyouts of Instagram or WhatsApp, or Google’s purchase of Fitbit, are potential examples of big companies buying out a high-potential startup before it developed into a rival. The EU ministers were discussing the Digital Markets Act, a law being hammered out at European Parliament and among the 27 member states that will take years to come into force. It would create a list of special rules for the handful of big technology companies on how they can operate, including stricter obligations on informing regulators of their buyouts and mergers. At the meeting, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager insisted that existing rules already offered ways to intervene quickly against such buyouts when they are notified by national authorities. This was the case most recently with Facebook’s acquisition of software provider Kustomer even though that deal is below the EU’s thresholds for notification. The ministers also discussed the Digital Services Act that could force Big Tech into providing more transparency on algorithms and better policing of illegal content.”
The EU currently abides by the country-of-origin principle, wherein the country in which a company’s European operation is based handles enforcement. However, since it feels Ireland bungled the oversight of big tech firms, France suggests the EU re-evaluate that principle. The specific rules it will propose remain to be seen.
Cynthia Murrell, June 18, 2021
Google Tracking: Not Too Obvious Angle, Right?
June 18, 2021
Apple is the privacy outfit. Remember? Google wants to do away with third party cookies, right? Apple was sufficiently unaware to know that the company was providing a user’s information. Now Google has added a new, super duper free service. I learned about this wonderful freebie in “Google Workspace Is Now Free for Everyone — Here’s How to Get It.” I noted this paragraph:
Anyone with a Google account can use the integrated platform (formerly known as G Suite) to collaborate on the search giant’s productivity apps.
Free. Register. Agree to the terms.
Bingo. Magical, stateful opportunities for any vendor using this unbeatable approach. Need more? The Google will have a premium experience on offer soon.
Cookies? Nope. Better method I posit. And if there is some Fancy Dan tracking? Apple did not know some stuff, and I might wager Google won’t either.
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2021
TikTok: What Is the Problem? None to Sillycon Valley Pundits.
June 18, 2021
I remember making a comment in a DarkCyber video about the lack of risk TikTok posed to its users. I think I heard a couple of Sillycon Valley pundits suggest that TikTok is no big deal. Chinese links? Hey, so what. These are short videos. Harmless.
Individuals like this are lost in clouds of unknowing with a dusting of gold and silver naive sparkles.
“TikTok Has Started Collecting Your ‘Faceprints’ and ‘Voiceprints.’ Here’s What It Could Do With Them” provides some color for parents whose children are probably tracked, mapped, and imaged:
Recently, TikTok made a change to its U.S. privacy policy,allowing the company to “automatically” collect new types of biometric data, including what it describes as “faceprints” and “voiceprints.” TikTok’s unclear intent, the permanence of the biometric data and potential future uses for it have caused concern
Well, gee whiz. The write up is pretty good, but there are a couple of uses of these types of data left out of the write up:
- Cross correlate the images with other data about a minor, young adult, college student, or aging lurker
- Feed the data into analytic systems so that predictions can be made about the “flexibility” of certain individuals
- Cluster young people into egg cartons so fellow travelers and their weakness could be exploited for nefarious or really good purposes.
Will the Sillycon Valley real journalists get the message? Maybe if I convert this to a TikTok video.
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2021
The Myth, the Man: Sundar Sundararajan
June 17, 2021
Want to know about the young Sundararajan? Navigate to “5 Stories Shared By Sundar Pichai From His IIT Days That Will Make Engineers Miss Their College.” Here’s the menu of biographical morsels in the write up:
- Changed name and misused an epithet. More info here, including the shutting down of a four star eatery.
- Met wife and confessed love in the final year of their engineering.
- Wrote with “big hand”. Like Donald Trump’s signature maybe?
- Persecuted or “ragged” by those older than he.
- Studied metallurgical engineering, played cricket, and ate Maggi which looks like a vendor of essentials like instant noodles.
Now you know about the Young Sundar. As some say about cricket, “When you are out, you are in. When you are in, you are out.”
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2021
Amazon Burgoo: A Recipe from the Baedeker of Zuckland
June 17, 2021
“Amazon Blames Social Media for Struggle with Fake Reviews” sparked a thought I had not entertained previously. Amazon is taking a page from the Zuck Baedeker to Disingenuousness. This is a collection of aphorisms, precepts, and management tips which I imagine is provided to each Facebook employee. Whether it is a Facebook senior manager explaining how Facebook is a contributor to cohesiveness or another top puppy leaning in on Cambridge Analytic-type matters, I visualize this top secret compendium as the Book. A Facebooker’s success depends on learning by rote the hows and whys of Facebooking.
This image is from a Kentucky inspired cook who knows about burgoo. The dark meat in the mish mash of what’s in the fridge is squirrel and maybe other critters. Reviews of burgoo suggest it is the best possible meal for a hungry person with a pile of dead squirrels.
Now, it is possible, that this Baedeker has fallen into the hands of Amazon’s senior managers. The write up “Amazon Blames Social Media” reports:
Amazon has blamed social media companies for its failure to remove fake reviews from its website, arguing that “bad actors” turn to social networks to buy and sell fake product reviews outside the reach of its own technology.
I interpret this as meaning “not our fault.” It is a variation on the type of thinking which allegedly sparked this observation by the social media top dog:
A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa.
The write up “Amazon Blames Social Media” includes this passage, allegedly from the Bezos bulldozer’s exhaust pipes:
Amazon says the blame for those organizations should lie with social media companies, who it says are slow to act when warned that fake reviews are being solicited on their platforms. “In the first three months of 2020, we reported more than 300 groups to social media companies, who then took a median time of 45 days to shut down those groups from using their service to perpetrate abuse,” an unsigned Amazon blog post said. “In the first three months of 2021 we reported more than 1,000 such groups, with social media services taking a median time of five days to take them down. “While we appreciate that some social media companies have become much faster at responding, to address this problem at scale it is imperative for social media companies to invest adequately in proactive controls to detect and enforce fake reviews ahead of our reporting the issue to them.”
Delicious. One possible monopoly blaming another possible monopoly using the type of logic employed by other monopolies.
Okay, who is to blame? Obviously not Amazon. Those reviews, however, can be tomfoolery, but they are indexable. And in the quest to grow one’s share of the product search market, words are needed. Bulkage is good.
Trimming the wordage benefits not the bulldozer. Facebook-type outfits seek engagement. Remember the dying squirrel? Ponder the squirrel as a creature who wants truth, accuracy, and integrity to prevail in the forest. How’s that working out for the squirrel and modern business practices? Just great for some. For others, burgoo. Now try to take the carrots, beans, and dead squirrel out of the pot and uncook them. Tough job, right?
Stephen E Arnold, June 17, 2021
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