Free Thinking Lets Fake News Run Wild - August 9 2021
Social media platforms have been roundly disparaged for failing to curb misinformation, fake news and hate speech. It is an expensive proposition for them, risking profits and share prices. The other risk, negative consumer opinion, can also be costly, particularly when lawmakers add to the rain on their parade. That free speech defense collapses when real lives are at risk from disinformation. When advertisers and telecoms, the financial backbone, are unwilling to put their own brands at risk social media platforms hit the brakes.

Sacrificing Soul, Stumbling For Power - March 17 2021
Deep in human pre-history communication within tribes was delivered by drums. Tribal members understood the messages. The sound of the drums carried for considerable distances, considering the times, surprising early colonists. Drums called tribe members to celebrations, feasts and, even, war. Neighboring tribes also understood, having their own drum beats. It was all quite efficient.

Social Media Standing Up To Dictators; Time Will Tell - February 22 2021
The news isn’t good and it isn’t fun. Yes, some people still read. Others watch and listen. What everybody does, says the conventional wisdom, is share, like and such. There isn’t a conversation like the post-modernist journalists want. They still expect peace, freedom, togetherness and the free flow of information. It’s a transaction that exacts a price.

Don’t Be Fooled, Editors Are Beating The Trolls - February 1 2021
The invisible hands behind journalism are editors. News consumers rarely consider - less understand - the role, it’s generally felt. Big name reporters and, certainly, wild-eyed opinion columnists and show hosts get the attention. Editors, even top editors, are viewed as the nameless crew who correct punctuation or spelling errors. That may be less the case now, suggests new research on the behavior of news consumers.

Social Media Platforms Are Better At Minding Their Business - January 20 2021
Big Tech is not a kind and gentle bunch. It is, after all, big business. They take the insults and threats while churning out the money. They offer to share, within limits. They cut users a lot of slack in what gets posted, within limits. But there are limits beyond which comes the ultimate hammer: deplatforming.

Hand Washing And The Shrinking Mind - January 17 2021
The brightest minds, at least the busiest, continue to explore the decline of trust in, well, everything. Institutions are regularly named and shamed. Media is not spared. A level deeper are classes and races. Voices of doom chide the very idea of society. Not very pleasant stuff and those looking most deeply into it all are stuck for solutions.

Politicians Have Temper Tantrum As Social Media Deletes Disinformation - January 13 2021
Elections are intended to bring out the best. All pretence of this ended this century as elections have become disruptive, chaotic and violent as well as indecisive. Villains have been located. It’s the news media. It’s the internet. Authoritarians agree.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Social Media Matures (...believe it or not...)

Hundreds of millions use social media, billions even. It has spawned revolutions, excited investors and confounded traditional media. With all that attention a business model remains unclear or it's simply so different many can't see it. What is clear is that there's no turning back. 114 pages, PDF (July 2016)

Order here

The Privacy Issue

The privacy issue touches every aspect of media. From consumer protection and the rights of individuals to news coverage privacy is hotly debated. New media and old media stumble and the courts decide. ftm offers views from every side of the Privacy Issue. 68 pages. PDF (July 2014)

Order Here