Read on Twitter
"We need to adopt a broader view of what it will take to fix the brokenness of the social web"
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/12/facebook-doomsday-machine/617384/
This article is definitely worth a read. I want to take a moment to use it as a jumping off point for a notoriously hard question:
What *is* Facebook?
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https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/12/facebook-doomsday-machine/617384/
This article is definitely worth a read. I want to take a moment to use it as a jumping off point for a notoriously hard question:
What *is* Facebook?
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How we think about Facebook is important because it affects how we imagine solutions to the problems it causes and exacerbates
And just asking the question of "What is Facebook?" really shows the complexity of the problems and why we or they haven't figured it all out yet
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And just asking the question of "What is Facebook?" really shows the complexity of the problems and why we or they haven't figured it all out yet
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The ways we imagine Facebook are reflected in the metaphors we use to describe it
And we use a lot
The article uses a lot of these metaphors, but everyone I know--myself included--uses all sorts of combinations of them all the time
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And we use a lot
The article uses a lot of these metaphors, but everyone I know--myself included--uses all sorts of combinations of them all the time
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Facebook is a business
If we frame Facebook as a company, what kinds of solutions does that make us imagine?
Regulation, antitrust, consumer protections, laws against data selling, nationalizing social media, treating it like a utility
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If we frame Facebook as a company, what kinds of solutions does that make us imagine?
Regulation, antitrust, consumer protections, laws against data selling, nationalizing social media, treating it like a utility
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Facebook is its algorithm, it’s a machine, it operates outside the control of humans
What kind of solutions does that imply?
Technical fixes. If only we could get the right unbiased data / algorithm / loss function / UI design then it'd be ok
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What kind of solutions does that imply?
Technical fixes. If only we could get the right unbiased data / algorithm / loss function / UI design then it'd be ok
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Facebook is a vessel for information
This makes us think of information flow, the freedom of information, the marketplace of ideas
If you're coming only from this point of view, you might not even want solutions because they all look like censorship
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This makes us think of information flow, the freedom of information, the marketplace of ideas
If you're coming only from this point of view, you might not even want solutions because they all look like censorship
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Facebook is a weapon, Facebook is a tool
This view of Facebook sees it as a conduit used for genocide, misinfo, terrorism. Similar to the machine and vessel metaphors in that it emphasizes FB as a thing that is used
This makes us think of disarming or neutralizing it
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This view of Facebook sees it as a conduit used for genocide, misinfo, terrorism. Similar to the machine and vessel metaphors in that it emphasizes FB as a thing that is used
This makes us think of disarming or neutralizing it
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Facebook is a battleground, the frontline of info warfare
Here FB isn't the weapon, it's the space where the battle is being fought
What solutions does that evoke?
Cybersecurity, corporate-government partnership, counter info operations, virtual offense and defense
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Here FB isn't the weapon, it's the space where the battle is being fought
What solutions does that evoke?
Cybersecurity, corporate-government partnership, counter info operations, virtual offense and defense
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Facebook is a nation-state
There's at least two ways to interpret this one.
If we think about what that means for governments to interact with FB, then solutions are related to negotiations, treaties, diplomacy
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There's at least two ways to interpret this one.
If we think about what that means for governments to interact with FB, then solutions are related to negotiations, treaties, diplomacy
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Or when we say Facebook is a nation-state, we could be implying something about its own civic structure
So the solutions we'll propose are related to different forms of internal platform governance like judiciary procedures, democratic voice, leadership
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So the solutions we'll propose are related to different forms of internal platform governance like judiciary procedures, democratic voice, leadership
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Facebook is a collection of communities
If we picture FB as a constellation of communities, then the solutions we'll imagine for its problems will be socially focused
Things like community norms, self-moderation, anti-harassment tools, blocking, banning
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If we picture FB as a constellation of communities, then the solutions we'll imagine for its problems will be socially focused
Things like community norms, self-moderation, anti-harassment tools, blocking, banning
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Facebook is a social network
Makes us think of relationships, network interventions, similarities to other networks
The focus on "a" social network makes us think of a single network, probably the friend graph. Loses focus of networks of pages, groups, ads, hashtags, etc
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Makes us think of relationships, network interventions, similarities to other networks
The focus on "a" social network makes us think of a single network, probably the friend graph. Loses focus of networks of pages, groups, ads, hashtags, etc
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I could keep going but I think it's clear that we use a lot of metaphors for describing Facebook
So what *is* it?
And that's the problem because it's all of these things at once!
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So what *is* it?
And that's the problem because it's all of these things at once!
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Because it's all of these things to varying amounts all at once, it implies that all the different types of solutions for addressing Facebook's problems are necessary
There's no magic bullet. It's going to be a long haul. With a lots of things we need to fix and reimagine
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There's no magic bullet. It's going to be a long haul. With a lots of things we need to fix and reimagine
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What's tough is keeping all of these metaphors and solutions straight in our heads all the time
And it's hard because it's an incredibly complex social system
But we all need to be more careful about pulling rhetorical sleights of hand when bouncing between metaphors
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And it's hard because it's an incredibly complex social system
But we all need to be more careful about pulling rhetorical sleights of hand when bouncing between metaphors
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I have not fully fleshed out *any* of these metaphors, so apologies if I poorly described your preferred way of thinking about FB
Also I haven't done justice to how these metaphors intersect with marginalized groups on platforms. Probably a whole other thread there
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Also I haven't done justice to how these metaphors intersect with marginalized groups on platforms. Probably a whole other thread there
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If you've made it this, @natematias's thread on the article is great https://twitter.com/natematias/status/1338912665209622528
As is @evelyndouek's short thread https://twitter.com/evelyndouek/status/1338920822199758849
