I can tell you that as an administrator of 2 Facebook pages and groups, and as a subscriber of Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and Tumblr, I just do NOT see how social media presently can be a tool for decision-making and policy or even for diverse, wide-reaching political debate for 2 reasons. First, the policies of many social media networks have restricted freedom of information. Take Facebook for example. By using complex algorithms and tracking your activity, every post you make is only visible (i.e., present on your News Feed) to a highly select group of your Friends that have already Liked or commented from similar posts in the past. The only ways your post can be viewed more equitably is to either pay money to advertise, or hope that your Friends find it. This is why, despite how you have under 150 Friends and I have over 1,100, if we were to post the same news article on our Wall, we would both receive little to NO Likes or Comments. These individualizing policies contribute to the narcissism described by critics of social media, as users see, hear and share info that they only want to know about. Facebook has little educative value in exposing its users to news, ideas or cultures that deviate from their viewing habits or preferences. Second, social media networks (and the Internet more broadly) ultimately obey the current powers-that-be. No technology exists in a vacuum, and behind this glorious web are the flesh-and-brick corporate executives, bureaucrats and legislators that authorize its existence. And I think we both know too well why most of us are unable to confront them. Take the FCC for example. Just today, I signed the umpteenth petition online regarding Tom Wheelers deal to kill net neutrality. Wheeler has received over 3 million comments from the FCC website over the last 4 months, demanding that he lead an open internet. (this also manifested in two online days of action worldwide and a physical occupation outside the FCC federal building in DC) Despite all this, he continues to jeopardize public interest by being ambivalent to Big Telecom. - Daniel Hong, Occupy Activist and One of Several Administrators of the Occupy Portland Facebook Page
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:49:34 +0000
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