Following up on The Bill Gates Line, applying it to Twitter, and then why Facebook portability is a bad idea.
The Bill Gates Line
Understanding the differences between aggregators and platforms matters for companies interacting with them and also regulators considering antitrust.
Open, Closed, and Privacy
Just as encryption is only viable on closed systems, so it is that increased privacy regulations will only entrench walled gardens. That should affect thinking on regulation.
The Mueller Indictment, Russian Sophistication, Facebook Tweets
The Mueller investigation produced its first indictment, and the biggest takeaway was the degree of Russian sophistication. This was good news for Facebook, until an executive undid it all.
Facebook Adds Reputation Scores, Facebook’s Solution, The Unintended Consequences
Facebook will assign reputation scores to news sources, and the solution is far better than most of the company’s critics would have you think. There are, though, unintended consequences.
Meltdown, Spectre, and the State of Technology
Meltdown and especially Spectre are vexing vulnerabilities, precisely because processors are working as designed. All we can do is muddle through.
The Pollyannish Assumption
Moderating user-generated content is hard: it is easier, though, with a realistic understanding that the Internet reflects humanity — it is capable of both good and evil.
Oculus Connect 4, Russian Ads and the Law, Trump and Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at Oculus 4 gave the clearest indication yet why Facebook might be interested in Virtual Reality. Then, Trump challenges the first amendment, so why are folks eager for regulation of content? Plus, Facebook isn’t trustworthy either.
Trustworthy Networking
The problems Facebook are facing today are the result of running into the future without considering unintended consequences, much like Microsoft and the Internet. There are clear solutions for the ad problem, but the filter bubble issue is much more fraught.
The Super-Aggregators and the Russians
Facebook is in trouble — again — for Russian ads about the election; figuring out how to deal with them requires first understanding that Facebook, like Google, is a Super-Aggregator. It faces zero transaction costs in all parts of its business.