When a giant sucks up all the oxygen in the room you either have to learn to breathe with its rhythm or suffocate. Facebook and Google perhaps should not be the dominant force in global media (I think "social media" may be a passé term now, this is the mainstream media today), but they are. It's kind of like political parties. Is there one that represents my point of view thoroughly and accurately. No, not even close. Is there a practical alternative to voting for one of them anyway? Not that I've found yet.
I can relate. Facebook's journalism funds have woven their way into my income stream, too.
My way of looking at it: a big company is investing in "good" ideas. Maybe we should let it.
We can't psychoanalyze a company -- it's not a person. We shouldn't pretend a company has a single intent, either -- it's an ocean of ideas. A company can do "bad" and "good" at the same time.
I liken this to British Petrol. BP excavates unfathomable amounts of carbon -- wreaking havoc on our climate. BP has also committed to carbon neutrality in 2050. Let's not boycott BP's "good" energy, just because we don't like its "bad" energy.
Facebook has harmed newsrooms. I'm glad Facebook is investing in helping them, too.
Sharing this comment from Owen McDermott in response to this newsletter (pasting from a Twitter DM with his consent):
FB...Twitter...Google...are publishers with incredible power...and...are represent a very small group of websites people will visit on a daily basis...thereby shaping their opinions and attitudes. The fact that so much $$$$ is going to these monopolies in ad dollars...further exasperates the situation. To be "on" these platforms..."during these times" is to be embraced by these platforms and their ideology. In an incendiary always on new cycle...with algorithms trending articles on these platforms...well, again these can trend in ways that might benefit investor bottom lines and ad buys. Thus, IMO, Jornalists / ism should remain detached from these organizations (although any article can be shared by users). In the end...journalism must serve the people.
When a giant sucks up all the oxygen in the room you either have to learn to breathe with its rhythm or suffocate. Facebook and Google perhaps should not be the dominant force in global media (I think "social media" may be a passé term now, this is the mainstream media today), but they are. It's kind of like political parties. Is there one that represents my point of view thoroughly and accurately. No, not even close. Is there a practical alternative to voting for one of them anyway? Not that I've found yet.
I can relate. Facebook's journalism funds have woven their way into my income stream, too.
My way of looking at it: a big company is investing in "good" ideas. Maybe we should let it.
We can't psychoanalyze a company -- it's not a person. We shouldn't pretend a company has a single intent, either -- it's an ocean of ideas. A company can do "bad" and "good" at the same time.
I liken this to British Petrol. BP excavates unfathomable amounts of carbon -- wreaking havoc on our climate. BP has also committed to carbon neutrality in 2050. Let's not boycott BP's "good" energy, just because we don't like its "bad" energy.
Facebook has harmed newsrooms. I'm glad Facebook is investing in helping them, too.
Sharing this comment from Owen McDermott in response to this newsletter (pasting from a Twitter DM with his consent):
FB...Twitter...Google...are publishers with incredible power...and...are represent a very small group of websites people will visit on a daily basis...thereby shaping their opinions and attitudes. The fact that so much $$$$ is going to these monopolies in ad dollars...further exasperates the situation. To be "on" these platforms..."during these times" is to be embraced by these platforms and their ideology. In an incendiary always on new cycle...with algorithms trending articles on these platforms...well, again these can trend in ways that might benefit investor bottom lines and ad buys. Thus, IMO, Jornalists / ism should remain detached from these organizations (although any article can be shared by users). In the end...journalism must serve the people.