Facebook

The Data Collectors’ Book (The Face That Drove You Mad)

~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

Mark Zuckerberg is a guy that puts a lot of work into how the company he founded is perceived. His version and other people’s versions tend to diverge on some rather relevant issues, and now at least some of the horrible truth is becoming more obvious to the general user of the Facebook, and Facebook are having to scramble to re-invent the services they offer, as well as alter the demographic they target for their attentions, in an effort to keep the sinking ship afloat. Social media giants like Facebook have all sorts of dirty tricks up their sleeves to keep users on board, and the psychology of marketing isn’t the only source of their power, as they hold such huge sway over our behaviour, so it stands to reason that they have many friends in high places too. How can we ever truly be free, if we don’t really take a hard look at what these platforms’ purposes are (and like all my posts, I must point out that I don’t endorse uncritically everything that’s proposed in the following video, as I’m an individual, with my own views, and not a demographic, but I do think the video frames the discussion points, which could be explored further by users of social media)?

Remember the official story of how Facebook started? It all sounded so cosy and friendly, didn’t it? People coming together, and sharing, with Mark the bright spark helping us all to shine.

Sorry Zucky, but your lies suck, and you blow. This isn’t real life, as we know it, and you ain’t the captain of our ship. More and more long time users of Facebook have jumped ship, and are swimming for shore.

We hoping you sink with the ship, and all the rats below deck drown with you. We see you, trying to bail the ship out with buckets, and we hope your true toxic face becomes more obvious to the new users you are trying to drive mad, by pretending to be their bestest friend ever, arranging to meet them in other places at a convenient time, a helpful app, providing a hug in the form of a thumbs up. Well, it’s a Thumbs Down to you, with no hug, from us. We’re so sorry Mark. Honest.

Managing The Conversation – The Hidden Persuaders

Alex Bikfalvi's Flickr image 'Pinocchio for sale'
~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

How can marketers pull our strings from behind the scenes to manipulate our emotions, manage the conversation, and effect outcomes in ways we often aren’t even aware of? This short documentary from Channel 4 News on Cambridge Analytics is a tale of how marketers pull the strings to manipulate reality.

Sometimes the truth is hard to distinguish from all the lies that we are presented with in the media. An alternative view of the same news story is presented by Alex Jones. We like to have a choice; we tend towards cognitive dissonance when we have more than one choice, and don’t know which one to believe. Most people prefer to pick a side, and polarised positions result. The media love this too, because they  can feed like vampires off the fear and anxiety created by the uncertainty, and start working on their next story to give us all our next fix.

Marketers and producers in news and social media networks  are experts in keeping us going around in circles, never getting anywhere further in deciphering what the news really means. Obsfucation and misdirection is very much the point of much of the media, who want us to be kept in a confused state (i.e. easier to control and herd in a particular direction), with occasional intelligence-insulting payoffs in the form of flattery from people we don’t even know. One would think this stuff would be hard to fall for, but the truth is, it’s hard-wired into our brains to need a pay-off, to need certainty. We’re only human, after all.