[kictanet] Facebook's real risk

[Moses Karanja]

I think the biggest tragedy we face, not just as Kenyans but as humans,
is the behavior of teaming with only those we agree with.

This takes two levels.

*Consciously:* Some shares a news item on your timeline about a topic
you find disgusting. You unfriend or unfollow them.

*Unconsciously:* Social network algorithms study your behavior and show
you those things they think you 'like'.

The end result is you have a busy social media life but you are only
interacting with those who look like you.

We end up with very weak social genes thanks to 'digital in-breeding'.

Individuals can work on the first one - a very steep socialization
process though.

The issue is the second level; can social networks rewrite their
algorithms to bring diversity to their subscribers at the cost of
weakened business models that depend on engagement and personalization
of online experiences.


This is not a simple problem and even if Facebook fixes the 'Fake News'
problem, this 'digital in-breeding' will still lurk with us, not
forgetting that other social media platforms have a responsibility too.


-Moses


On 21/11/2016 18:14, kictanet-request at lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
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