Whatchya Think About This? Do You Even Know?

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This is gonna be a very short blog ... cos it really is an appeal for your attention and opinions! Stay with me now, it's mighty important to your online biz, seriously, this is not only a social dilemma, it's also a potential threat or massive strength / advantage to everything we do online! So, don't forget the initial questions Whatchya Think About This? Do You Even Know?

How I Arrived At This Space

Don't worry, I ain't gonna preach at ya, this is just to explain where I am at.

My church conference started on Thursday, this is an annual event with much anticipation and build up. Being an annual event, it is also quite intense - the time it takes (Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday 9am until 2pm, Sunday morning and night) and the amount of information we receive from international speakers. It's very exciting and can be exhausting too.

In keeping with Lockdown Level 1, we are still social distancing and the entire event is online ... even so, we manage to make it a big praise party! Yeah, I am one of those "happy clappers" - a term of endearment from my brothers, lol!

Anyways, you can see why I am in need of downtime.

This evening I stocked up on some treats and decided to relax and take in a cool Netflix movie, you know, something not very taxing, maybe a romantic comedy ...

The Social Dilemma

On logging into Netflix I land on a documentary, not previously known to me. It tweaks my interest ... why?

Have a look at the trailer on YouTube, the link is provided via the image below.

Perhaps you agree that the statement "The Dark Side Of Social Media" is somewhat intriguing too.

But more than that, this documentary involves a number of people who have held senior posts at the main players ... Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google and more.

One of the many alarming and important statements made was "Fake news travels 6 times faster than true news".

Other statements like "social media is polarizing society" and the suggestion of "civil war" are also worth paying attention to.

Not only that ... there is the allegation that Google provides different answers depending where in the world you are searching from. Now that is a hair raising thought - especially on matters of importance .. you'll see when you watch it.

Note that the trailer has 128K likes and 1.8K dislikes - it's going to be an interesting space to watch, that is for certain.

Not being one to spoil a good show, I shall not reveal anymore on the documentary than I have already.

I do encourage you to go and watch it. Once you have, please, please ... oh pretty please, come back and leave your feedback. I would love to hear your opinion of the documentary.

More than that, I would love to know how you believe the future of social media is going to impact our businesses. Positively and negatively. When I say Social Media, Google is also included ... this platform is raised as a powerful player in The Social Dilemma.

Don't Be Shy Now

Oh my goodness, just too much cuteness in one photo!

On a serious note though, please don't be shy. Pop over to YouTube & watch the trailer. Even better, pop over to Netflix and take in the whole doccie.

If you are anything like me, your head will be spinning after, and even with another full and busy day ahead of me tomorrow, I suspect sleep may just elude me tonight!

I look forward to hearing from ya all! I really, really wanna know whatchya think about his? And, do you even know?

You could also include some ideas of strategic contingency plans we may want to be working on for our online businesses.

Blessings always

Louise

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Recent Comments

30

In my opinion I don't think that this will affect our online business any time soon. There's too many people profiting from this to just shut it down.
Maybe one day when Earth citizen wake up and realize that IE is really taking over then, and only then they will fight back. But LouiseBT I think we good for the next 10yrs.

On a more serious note - this is really an eye opener- That changes the way I let my kid use her electronics- (she's 16 not sure I'm having any impact but just knowing that she is aware makes me feel better)

Again thanks LouisBT - I'll be looking out for more of your blog-very interesting and educational

Hi Edwina

Thank you for weighing in on this, I really appreciate your time and opinion.

Hopefully documentaries like the social dilemma will open peoples' eyes and help us all to be more savvy about what we share and believe. It's quite a delicate balance when the algorithm feeds biased information as a result of something we clicked on or spent time reading before.

It's interesting to note that the people high up in the social media world do not allow their kids access to technology. My daughter is a young adult now (22), if I had the opportunity to do things all over again, I certainly would restrict her access. Always 20/20 in hindsight.

Blessings
Louise

I will be watching this and do have netflix luckily. Truthfully, there is probably a 'dark side' in everything, its up to you in managing at the end of the day.
That baby elephant is too cute for words! I just want to pick him up and put inside my pocket, doubt it'll fit in.
Many thanks for the info:)

Hi Farah
I ago with you about the "dark side". The challenge is the outcomes associated with this one. The more I have thought about it, everything makes complete sense. Without prompting though, I may never have even given it though and that too is the challenge with most people I suspect.
Glad you enjoyed the baby ele :-)
Than you so much for stopping to read and comment. Pop back when you've watched the doccie, I would love to hear your response.
Blessings always
Louise

Hi my friend!
It's been a long time!
I find this documentary to be full of disturbing truths and important to learn. We must not hide our heads in the sand like an ostrich,(but there are no ostriches in Switzerland!) as we say in my country. Social media and Google are a blessing for a lot of reasons, but there is always a downside and the willful or unintentional manipulation of people's minds is one of them. I will definitely watch.

Even if social distancing is compulsory, I hang you in my arms and give you a big virtual kiss!
Friendly!
Ingrid

Hiya gorgeous Ingrid!
It has been too long!
Haha! We have ostriches, can I hide my head in the sand then? lol!
As you say, there are many blessings and opportunities available to us because of technology, who would have thought the down side would be so powerful though!
Sending you a big hug and virtual kiss too my friend.
Blessings, lovely.
Louise x

I would like to see this but I don't have Netflix. I know, I'm probably the only one in the world but I just don't have time for it. This DOES sound interesting though especially where Google gives different answers to you based on where you are????? That's obsurd!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

~Debbi

Hi Debbi

I haven't had Netflix for long either, the lockdown brought it on, lol!
These days I watch a lot less because we are on Level 1 in South Africa and are not so restricted in our movements.

The Social Dilemma is definitely well worth watching, it helps us understand why the world has become so polarised - the extremism is being fed because of the way algorthims are designed.

The extreme reactions to the virus are an indicator of the outcomes. Violent demonstrations, extremist groups etc. The screenshot I shared about climate change is a case in point. As you will see, Google prompts "is a hoax" and a few other options. This changes depending on where in the world you are from. If the searches for "hoax" are more frequent in your area, Google then follows that prompt and offers more insight about the "hoax". Some parts of the world do believe it is a hoax whilst others are populated with activists. Where there are more activists, the results will be relevant to them.

And that is just one example of how the algorithms skew the results and information. No doubt the same is happening for information about different political parties. It is very concerning.

The design of the algorithms were not to skew the results this way, it was to feed information relevant to the search. Unfortunately there is a flip side to that and it becomes indoctrination.

Maybe ask around and see if someone you know has Netflix and will share their membership with you so you can watch this doccie.
Blessings as always
Louise

Wow. Thank you for sharing that. I really want to see it. I'll check with my kids. Good idea. Thanks again, Louise.

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