Saturday, April 20

Tag: platform

Comments About Twitter By Elon Musk Don’t Square With The Social Media’s Platform Reality
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IN OTHER NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Comments About Twitter By Elon Musk Don’t Square With The Social Media’s Platform Reality

On April 25, 2022, Twitter’s board of directors accepted Elon Musk’s US$44 billion hostile takeover bid. Twitter’s statement announcing the deal included comments from the Tesla and SpaceX CEO: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.” The problem with Musk’s statement is that it fundamentally misunderstands speech, algorithms and bots and human authentication. As a researcher who studies social media, I believe that if anything is cause for concern about this transaction, it is this ...
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Is Art A Wise Investment? A New Platform Lets You Buy Shares Of Blue-Chip Paintings
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CULTURE

Is Art A Wise Investment? A New Platform Lets You Buy Shares Of Blue-Chip Paintings

Kathryn Graddy, Brandeis University In the fall of 2018, a Banksy work, “Love is in the Bin,” sold for US$1.4 million. Now the original buyer has put the work up for sale, and it’s expected to fetch over $5 million – that would amount to a return of more than 250% on the original investment. What if, instead of the art market’s being the sole purview of the deep-pocketed, everyday people could buy shares of a pricy piece of art and sell the shares as they please? That’s exactly what a new platform, Masterworks, seeks to do. Art investment funds have existed for over a century. Masterworks, however, has put a new twist on an old practice, in that the platform allows individuals to buy shares of specific artworks in $20 increments. Investors can then sell these shares in an easy-to-use ...
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The 4 Components To Building An Author Platform
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BOOKS

The 4 Components To Building An Author Platform

What is an author platform? An author platform focuses on who you are as the author, and how many people you influence. It is what you represent. It is what comes to mind when people hear your name. There are four components to building a platform as an author. Authors should think of themselves in the same way as celebrities do. Becoming famous does not happen overnight. In fact, you don't become famous without having a following. And you can't have a following without first having a presence. People have to come to know you as an author. They must encounter your brand in order to get to you. Many new authors tend to believe that the only thing they need to focus on is writing the book; when that is so far from the truth. As an author, yes, you must write books; but, you also have ...
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Parler The Social Media Platform Attracts Millions Of Trump Supporters, Bringing Together Mainstream Conservatives, Anti-Semites And White Supremacists
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Parler The Social Media Platform Attracts Millions Of Trump Supporters, Bringing Together Mainstream Conservatives, Anti-Semites And White Supremacists

Since the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Parler has caught on among right-wing politicians and “influencers” – people with large online followings – as a social media platform where they can share and promote ideas without worrying about the company blocking or flagging their posts for being dangerous or misleading. However, the website has become a haven for far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who are now interacting with the mainstream conservatives flocking to the platform. As the three highest-profile social media companies – YouTube, Facebook and Twitter – continue to take action to mitigate the spread of extremism and disinformation, Parler has welcomed the ensuing exodus of right-wing users. It has exploded in popularity, doubling its members to 10 million during the mo...
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Even after blocking an ex on Facebook, the platform promotes painful reminders
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Even after blocking an ex on Facebook, the platform promotes painful reminders

Anthony Pinter, a Ph.D. student in information science at the University of Colorado Boulder, recently completed a study on people’s experiences with upsetting and unexpected reminders of an ex on Facebook. His team’s findings are examples of algorithmic cruelty – instances in which algorithms are designed to do something and do it well, but end up backfiring because they can’t fully grasp the nuances of human relationships and behavior. How has social media made breakups more difficult? Anthony Pinter: Breaking up with a loved one has always meant making difficult choices: who gets the couch, who gets the fridge, who gets the cat. Anthony Pinter. Author provided                                ...
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