The privatized public square
The internet is largely a set of private fiefdoms, and both society and policymakers have yet to grapple with the effects.
Sree’s newsletter is produced w/ Zach Peterson (@zachprague). The anti-mask, anti-vaccine crowd has lots of excuses these days. The above image is a joke, but these sentiments are helping make the pandemic worse.
Scroll down for Read Something; Watch Something; a weekly tech tip from Robert S. Anthony (@newyorkbob), and much more.
TUNE IN: #NYTReadalong - our guest this week is Todd S. Purdum, longtime political and diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.
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We’ve seen the power of Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. A week in which we get a new president and no Trump tweets is a big deal by any measure, but Big Tech was way late to the party on this one, and the status quo has proven untenable.
Over the last 15 years especially, what we consider “the public square” has completely transformed. It’s gone online and coalesced around a limited set of networks — social media, search, private chat apps, and for-profit media. All of these things require resources to participate, all are owned by private companies, and none of them are really regulated at all.
Joshua Foust (@jr_foust) and Simon Frankel Pratt (@Simon_the_Pratt) wrote a fantastic piece on this for Foreign Policy this week, the title of which, “Social Media Finally Broke the Public Sphere”, speaks for itself. This bit strikes me as exactly right:
Social media platforms are not like coffee shops or salons. Facebook and Twitter are not a public sphere in any sense of the term. They are ostensibly inclusive—at least until individual members are driven away by threats—but not dedicated to good faith argumentation; they make no commitment toward constructive discussion. This is an intentional design choice, as shown by the domination of outrage content, or the campaigns of harassment that target women and minorities with particular ferocity. Privately owned and in command of vast powers of surveillance and control over what and how users communicate, they are even now reluctant to use those powers to create a healthy public sphere.
“This is an intentional design choice.” It is, and that’s the problem. The business models that gave rise to the social media giants, the Googles, the Craigslists, etc, of the world are exactly the same forces that starved news and media organizations big and small of crucial revenue.
Now, trust in media and news is at all-time lows, and there can be little doubt of the correlation. Information is diffuse, partisan media has found its lane online, and reliable reporting is increasingly behind a paywall because advertising no longer pays the bills. It’s easy to be optimistic when you see the digital subscription numbers for The New York Times and Washington Post, but there are a lot of people who simply cannot swing $100 per year for two reliable newspapers. We all lose in this scenario.
News consumers go online, fall prey to the algorithms, and we end up with shockingly low levels of trust in the news as shown in this recent Edelman report:
The trust crisis is not limited to news organizations — people simply don’t trust the things they see online. From the Reuters Institute:
This is not sustainable, and I confess to not really knowing what the solution is. Treating online publishing platforms, and maybe the internet more widely, like utilities may be a start. Antitrust actions may be another. But I can’t help but feel like the die is cast, and online information tribalism isn’t really going anywhere.
In the short and medium term, we all need to be responsible news consumers, and we need to spread the word. If you’re reading this, you have at least one relative or close friend who went down the QAnon (or something similar) rabbit hole over the last couple of years. Helping them out of that is no small task, but if you can do it, try.
One small thing you can do is make a point to sort of validate news articles you share online, both public and private — especially stories that have very glaring political throughlines. Share the link, say your piece, and then add a line or two about why the reporting is trustworthy. It’s been fact-checked, edited, gone through the wringer, and we know these are the facts.
It will cost you a few minutes, and a few characters, but it’s important that the truth be allowed to reclaim some sort of high ground, and that starts with acknowledging the simple fact that the truth exists.
- Sree
Read Something
The lost year. Our children — all over the world — have had a hell of a year. Imagine running around with your pals all day, every day, and then… lockdown. The pressure on students, parents, teachers, and school administrators, and the amazing resolve so many of them have shown, is astounding.
The Road Back to Work Starts to Open Up - Slowly
By Robert S. Anthony
Each week, veteran tech journalist Robert S. Anthony shares a tech tip you don’t want to miss. Follow him on @newyorkbob.
As the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel slowly comes into focus thanks to the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines, many of us will start to make our ways back to offices, schools and other locations out of the home. But how can we do so safely?
Many exhibitors at the recently concluded virtual CES consumer electronics show showed off tech gear aimed at protecting health during what amounts to a gray period between now and when it becomes safe to move around freely again.
Targus introduced its UV-C LED Disinfection Light ($299), which looks like a standard fluorescent desk lamp, but uses ultraviolet light to destroy microorganisms on a desk or any computer gear within range of its beam. The unit, which garnered a CES 2021 Innovation Award, automatically turns on for five minutes per hour, but also has a motion detector which prevents it from activating if anyone is at the desk or nearby.
Targus also unveiled its 2Office Antimicrobial Backpack ($120), a multipocketed laptop case with “an antimicrobial infused protective finish” which prevents the growth of microorganisms. Both Targus product will be available in the spring.
The LUFT Duo portable air purifier from LUFTQI ($149) uses a combination of UV light and photocatalytic technology to both filter and purify air as it passes through the small unit, which can be powered with a phone charger and used at a home or office or in a car.
According to Taiwan-based LUFTQI, the unit can filter out allergens and other pollutants in a 240-square foot area and noted that “Coronavirus cannot survive in the air for more than one hour when near a LUFT Duo, compared to its usual 21-hour airborne lifespan.”
Yes, we may have to wait until summer before work and home life start to resemble something normal, but at least we’ll be able to ease back into reality safely with a little smartly placed tech.
Listen to Something
Joe Biden started his presidency with a lot of very refreshing policy announcements. Somewhat surprisingly (in a good way), immigration reform — substantial reform — is also on his agenda. This episode of “The Takeaway” with Tanzina Vega (@tanzinavega) is a good look at the politics of it all.
Watch Something
The optimism of vaccine announcements has faded into anxiety about supplies and confusion about how to get a shot and where. The problem hits especially hard in rural areas, so I had Dr. Christy Nielsen, a vaccine manager for a rural hospital in eastern Washington, on my show to discuss the issue and what needs to happen to fix it. Thanks, as always to my producers, Rose Horowitz (@rosehorowitz) and Vandana Menon (@vandana_menon), for working on 260 issues of our global Covid show. The best way to know when I’m on the air and see all my archived shows, is to subscribe to my YouTube channel or my Whatsapp alerts.
Threads to Follow
Wearing a mask is so easy, and the benefits of doing so are absolutely clear. This is a heartbreaking thread.
Odds & Ends
🗞 Sunday #NYTReadalong w/ Todd S. Purdum, longtime political and diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.
The Readalong is followed, on Sundays at 11 am-noon ET, by a new medical show I’m co-executive producing with surgeons Sujana Chandrasekhar, M.D. (@DrSujanaENT), and Marina Kurian, M.D. (@MarinaKurian), called She’s On Call (watch live or later).
After 250 episodes in 250 days, my global show has moved from daily episodes to 1-2 times a week. The best way to know when I’m on the air and see all my archived shows, is to subscribe to my YouTube channel or my Whatsapp alerts.
The Sunday #NYTReadalong is sponsored by Muck Rack. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email sree@digimentors.group and neil@digimentors.group.
🎧 Every Saturday, I host a call-in show on WBAI 99.5FM (@wbai) - "Coping with Covid19" - focused on being helpful, hopeful, and focusing on the pandemic's effects on society’s most vulnerable. Listen live Saturdays from 12-1pm ET, or later. And, of course, call in or tweet questions for us using the #wbaisree hashtag. Listen to a recent episode here!
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