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For Social Media Platforms New Doors Are OpeningGreat theorists of business and product cycles are rarely proven wrong. There is always a beginning and an end. Innovation is the typical starting point. Death, or bankruptcy, is the end. In between, these ideas just go through enhancements. Virtual conferencing app Zoom is a good example of innovation born of perceived necessity. Its success could be transient, like the hula hoop. The printed newspaper, therefore, is taking the long, slow crawl toward obscurity. Newspapers have been around for a couple of centuries.
The path all these products and categories follow is generally predicated on the tug between innovation and inertia within the free market. But, there are those fault lines, described by Geoffrey Moore in Living On The Fault Line (2000). Everything, he said, must be managed to enhance shareholder value but certain unexpected fault lines can appear to upset the march to more money. Certain weedkillers have been banned from use because they also kill people. US president Donald Trump aimed a legally dubious executive order at social media platforms, generally, and Twitter more specifically. It is a common tactic for the Twitter-lashing president Trump who regularly serves up unfounded conspiracy theories salted with insults on the platform. In quick succession over several days last week, two Trump posts were flagged - but not deleted - for further fact checking (May 26). President Trump, the next day, yelped about censorship and free speech with ambiguous threats to Twitter. The next day came the executive order “to fight online censorship by big tech corporations, including social media platforms.” As the week also included the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis, Minneapolis police officer and the resulting protests, president Trump let fly another tweet complaining about the protests that quoted a racist Miami, Florida sheriff. Twitter also flagged - but did not delete - that one as “violating rules about glorifying violence.” The decisions from Twitter to flag entries from president Trump with links to fact checks were certainly not taken lightly. And so Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey was further pitched into a fray simmering with the US right-wing about any criticism of president Trump. The first lawsuit questioning the executive order was filed (June 2) by civil liberties advocate Center for Democracy and Technology. There will be others. On the other end of the divide, Facebook chairman Mark Zuckerberg forcefully reiterated that his platform - he is the controlling shareholder - would not be flagging any posting or reposting from president Trump or his faithful followers. “I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online,” he said to right-wing Fox News (May 27). At the end of last week Mr. Zuckerberg held a (semi) private telephone conversation with president Trump in which, according to Axios (May 29), he relayed to the president that he was putting “Facebook in a difficult position.” This week several - maybe 50 - Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout. The European Commission is readying drafts for a Digital Services Act to deal with “illegal or questionable online content.” Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton indicated support for Mr. Dorsey’s position. "Recent events in the US show that we have to find the right answers to difficult questions,” he said, quoted by German business daily Handelsblatt (June 2). Earlier, French Digital Affairs Minister Cedric O invited Twitter to move to France “in case of instability,” quoted by Bloomberg (May 31). The French Parliament recently passed legislation forcing social media platforms to “lean on” hate speech posts. Germany’s Commissioner for the Digital Industry and Start-ups Thomas Jarzombek also issued an invitation. "Here you are free to criticize the government as well as to fight fake news,” reported Reuters (May 28). “We have a great startup and tech ecosystem, your company would be a perfect fit and I will open any doors for you!" This may not be, precisely, the fault line Geoffrey Moore described but it does shine on the inevitable. The free market will not determine the future dimensions - or longevity - of social media platforms. Popular support for better managing hate speech and misinformation is growing. The fix is both simple and costly. The no-rules libertarian Silicon Valley ethos could be tested. Maybe they can all join Elon Musk on Mars. See also... |
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Media in Spain - Diverse and Challenged – newMedia in Spain is steeped in tradition. yet challenged by diversity. Publishers hold great influence, broadcasters competing. New media has been slow to rise and business models for all are under stress. Rich in language and culture, Spain's media is reaching into the future and finding more than expected. 123 pages, PDF. January 2018 The Campaign Is On - Elections and MediaElections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017) Fake News, Hate Speech and PropagandaThe institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017) More ftm Knowledge files hereBecome an ftm Individual or Corporate Member to order Knowledge Files at no charge. JOIN HERE! |
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Social media - and the companies that provide them - are 21st century innovations that borrowed heavily - literally and figuratively - on two late 20th century innovations; internet and mobile technologies and venture capital. Social media platforms early on seemed innocuous enough to spur consumer curiosity without frightening anybody. The business model appealed to the VCs; we’ll sell advertising. Given time, certain fault lines appeared.