?? Newsletter #78: State of Crypto | Social Media Censorship | TikTok
Welcome to issue #78 of Wiser!, a weekly newsletter with over 11,000 subscribers. This is the LinkedIn edition of the?weekly email that was posted to email subscribers on Friday 20th May.
This week:?I'm covering the state of the crypto economy, new data on the impact of social media on society, and some data on TikTok ???? in the attention economy. Plus other snippets of insight and information from the tech economy.
PLUS: Episode 2 of the Big Tech Little Tech podcast is out now...
"Love the show, You're the new Ant and Dec" - says Simon from West Bromwich
w/SocialMedia
77% of Americans Believe Social Media Intentionally Censors Political Viewpoints
They're wrong, of course...
The research found that roughly three-quarters of Americans (77%) now think “it is very or somewhat likely that social media sites intentionally censor political viewpoints they find objectionable”.
The research shows that the belief that social media engages in political censorship spans both sides of the political fence. The key difference is that those on the right believe it more than those on the left.
Around nine-in-ten Republicans (92%) say social media sites intentionally censor political viewpoints that they find objectionable, compared with less than seven-in-ten (66%) amongst Democrats.
Here’s the thing:?the narrative that social media is run by liberal lefties is an unfounded belief.
It is true that social media platforms take down content, but not for political views. They take it down because the content is about drugs, guns, self-harm, sex and nudity, spam and fake accounts, and bullying and harassment.
Think about it:?Social media make money by selling ads. Their business model depends upon users, like you and me, staying on the platform for longer.
They know that content that enrages us keeps us on the platform longer. Differences of opinion on ANY subject are a 100% guaranteed mechanism to keep us online.
It’s not in social media’s interest to censor political views. It’s dumb to think otherwise (that’s a cue to trigger you to write a comment and tell me I’m wrong ??).
What we know about Facebook
Transparency: Every quarter Facebook publish a report about enforcing their community standards. It’s part of their larger push to open their kimono and be transparent.
The report shows us what types of content Facebook remove. It also is a telling indicator that they primarily remove material because it’s good for business, not because they want to censor political views.
NSFW: Universally, the ad based social media platforms have found that users, in the main (there are always exceptions), do not want to see nudity, spam content, gore and individual harrasement. This type of content?drives them away.
One of my biggest criticisms of Twitter is that it is full of this type of content, with no filters to stop you finding it. The other day I was innocently searching for tractors and …..??
The point is: social media firms want you to stay, not drive you away.
This is interesting:?The Facebook shows that removing too many posts also drives users away.
For a more detailed read on this issue by the excellent Casey Newton,?read this issue of Platformer.
w/Further Reading
The horrible mass killing of black people by a young white male last weekend threw the spotlight back on to the role of social media and the rise in hate crimes.
It crosses into the debate on free speech (back to Elon and Twitter again). And will be further exacerbated by the new law in Texas that will make it harder for social media to take down content of any kind.
I wrote about it here...
w/Crypto
The State of Crypto and Why They're Wrong
Back story:?Last Nov, the price of Bitcoin hit an all time hime of $69k. Today it’s hovering around $29-30k, that’s a 60% decline in 6 months or so. The market cap for all cryptocurrencies has gone from being bigger than the GDP of India (5th largest economy in the world) to the size of Mexico (the 15th largest economy).
The point is that because Bitcoin is so dominant in crypto, making up around 45% of the entire market, when Bitcoin sneezes, all other cryptos catch a cold.
Here’s the thing:?there’s a lot talk of crypto carnage and the inevitable demise of Bitcoin. Lets face it, the sceptics are having a field day. And they may be right, who actually knows where this will end?
But…But….when you look at the history of Bitcoin all the way back to 2009 (only 13 years ago!), the trend is only going one way, and that’s up.
My point is:?all markets follow a natural cycle of ups and downs, even the most mature ones. When it comes to Bitcoin, this is the 4th time that we've seen a big downturn (not the first, as many would have you believe).
领英推荐
We saw it before in 2011, 2013 and 2017. Now 2022.
Think about this: An oft-used analogy when talking about emerging technologies is the internet of the 1990s. Remember, before the dot.com boom and bust of 2000. Before the iPhone. When connecting to the Internet was slow and cumbersome. When the likes of Warren Buffett said he wouldn't invest in the Internet because he didn't understand it.
That’s the point:?crypto in 2022 is like the internet in 1992.
?? VC firm A16Z just released its first-ever report on the crypto economy. Called the State of Crypto, it's a 56-page bull case for Web3, DeFi and cryptocurrencies.
There's a ton of data and analysis and opinion in here that not everyone will agree with. It depends on your perspective when it comes to crypto.
w/Podcast
Big Tech Little Tech
"Love the show, You're the new Ant and Dec" - says Simon from West Bromwich
Episode #2 - Bitcoin, TikTok, deepfakes, iPod
Rick Huckstep and Shaun Weston talk about cryptocurrency and the status of Bitcoin, Cleaview I and what’s good and bad about facial recognition, and who does the best deepfakes? Plus, Google AR glasses, TikTok, Burt Reynolds as James Bond, the iPod (RIP), and what pixel pressure means.
We also talk apps we're using regularly, including Matter (for reading), Craft (for documents and notes), and Command (for researching), plus Rick talks about Google's augmented reality glasses.
Many thanks to Catherine, Craig and Dave for your feedback about the first episode. ??
"Love the show, You're the new Ant and Dec" - says Simon from West Bromwich
Listen to Episode 2 on Spotify or Apple here ?? ...or join our Discord server here.
w/TikTok
Users Spend an Average 26 Hours a Month on TikTok
Prof G:??College professor and entrepreneur Scott Galloway has a YouTube channel. Every week he posts a Chart of the Week. They’re 1 or 2 minute in length, aka "shorts". This week, the Chart is about TikTok.
Galloway’s point is that 4 years ago users spent an average of roughly 8 hours a month on the app. By 2021, that had grown by a third to 26 hours a month.
That’s more than 3 working days a month and is more than usage on Facebook and Instagram combined
This growing level of addiction to TikTok is being driven by its 1 billion users, who are all producing the content for free. And that’s the point…Netflix spends around $17 billion a year to produce content for its 225 million subscribers, whereas TikTok spends nothing.
w/Further Reading
w/Snippets of Insight and Information
w/About Wiser!
Support Wiser! with a Donation
???Wiser! is a free newsletter thanks to the donations of readers like you. It is easy and quick to make a small contribution to the costs of running Wiser!
Use this link to BuyMeACoffee.??
Join the Mailing List and NEVER Miss An Issue
The only that YOU can be sure you get every issue and update and news story is to?Join the Mailing List. Every Friday, I will email the latest issue of the newsletter into your Inbox. It's the only sure-fire way that you will never miss out...otherwise, you're at the mercy of the algorithms that decide what you get to see (they decide, not you).