Facebook breaks out the Jugglers, Clowns, & Lobbyist for Libra

When I first got in the computer industry in Silicon Valley it was quite common to visit a convention. After a while we knew when we started to see the jugglers & clowns, there will be no more technical information. And for that matter getting any real information on the product will henceforth be almost impossible to get.


Coingeek.com reports

Lobbying firm FS Vector LLC has registered as having a relationship with Facebook as their customer since August 5, 2019. This can be confirmed on ProPublica, a lobbying disclosure database website. They specifically listed their reason for lobbying for Facebook as "Issues related to blockchain policy," with John Collins as their representative.

By that token, lobbyists generally provide two services.

1. Talk in the ear of legislators.
2. Make stealth donations to the campaign legislators.

As the article sort-of confirms

While public opinion also doesn’t seem to be on Libra’s side, getting a few key members of congress to suddenly “change their mind,” with the help of a savvy lobbyist, could make for a big change in momentum. Considering the billions Facebook has to gain from Libra should it ever happen, spending a few million on lobbying right now is a worthwhile expense.

 If you see Rep Maxine Waters change her mind, you'll know why.

SOURCES

Facebook hires lobbying firm to save Libra
https://coingeek.com/facebook-hires-lobbying-firm-to-save-libra/
by Derek Tonin - 27 August 2019

Facebook & My Prediction: Dummies Guide to Facebook Depression

Years back I had a friend tell me how wonderful Facebook was. The response was, ~it's nothing more than a self-publishing platform like we've had for decades - with features.~

So now more than a decade after he told me that and everone's cousin is on Facebook, we are starting to hear the expected stories.

• Facebook manipulates and is dangerous
• Your depression is because of Facebook
• Facebook Depression: A Simple (But Complete) Guide 

The last is a real article, and it makes a sound statement:

It is merely a tool. And like any tool, it can be used for good reasons, and for bad ones.

I must then ask, how long before we see:

Dummies Guide to Facebook Depression.

I can tell you now, it won't be long.

Consider what this article states

Research suggests that excessive social media use can cause people to feel depressed and isolated, have low self-esteem, and feel envious of others. There’s even an unofficial term for this. It’s called "Facebook Depression." It’s not an official diagnosis, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a real thing.

To be clear, this isn’t the same thing as clinical depression, (...). Facebook Depression is more about depressed mood, negative thoughts, irritability, anger, and a compromised sense of self-worth.

The expected remedies are the same we saw 20+ years ago for AOL & Compuserve.

• Set a time limit.
• Spend more time with actual people.
• Don't be afraid of a social media detox.
  
• Get some fresh air!
• Do some writing or artwork.
• Take a few minutes to meditate.
• Reconnect with your inner child.
   

Crayons anyone?

SOURCES

Facebook Depression: A Simple (But Complete) Guide
https://goodmenproject.com/guy-talk/facebook-depression-a-simple-but-complete-guide/ 
by Randy Withers - August 26, 2019

EU Regulators, Trump Admin, & Congress put the screws on Facebook over Libra and the Libra Association

Foxbusiness described the issue as

Antitrust regulators in the European Union launched a probe into Libra earlier this week to examine whether the payments service could hurt competition and grant an unfair advantage over rivals. The move followed a bipartisan backlash to Libra in the United States, where President Trump, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., are just a few leading officials to raise questions about Libra’s potential to harm the U.S. economy.

When POTUS Trump & Maxine Waters are on the same page, you know something is up. We could say Rep Waters as the Chair the House Banking Committee is corrupt, but that would be unfair — self-serving sure, corrupt we could not qualify.

None the less, the parties enjoining int he critzim of Facebook and their finacial allies is impressive.

The allies being, as Foxbusiness (who referenced Financial Times) said

members of the Libra Association, a Switzerland-based organization composed of 28 entities, including Visa, Uber and Spotify, who are set to invest in the cryptocurrency platform and oversee its operations

Why worry about this?

The first reason is obvious. Setting up in Switzerland should raise anyone's flags. Granted it would be worse if it happened some random third-world countries that nobody thinks about like Trinidad, but all these companies are publicily traded. So as you guessed it, this is the new game.

A company in Trinidad apparently sold ballpoint pens to a sister company for $8,500 (£6,600) apiece, resulting in more profit booked in low-tax Trinidad and less in higher-tax regimes elsewhere. - BBC

The second reason is not as obvious to everyone. Libra, like a lot of the public crypto-currencies keeps a public ledger. This means if anyone knew your "public crypto-key" they would know it was you. And in Facebook's case, they have all your public information.

---

SOURCES

Facebook Libra backers consider dropping out of project amid regulatory scrutiny: Report
 https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/facebook-libra-backers-consider-dropping-out 
By Thomas Barrabi - August 23, 2019

How much of the world's wealth is hidden offshore? https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40442595 By Tim Harford - 31 July 2017

A company in Trinidad apparently sold ballpoint pens to a sister company for $8,500 (£6,600) apiece, resulting in more profit booked in low-tax Trinidad and less in higher-tax regimes elsewhere.

PC Culture and a "tism" Mix for Bad Business Practices

To be as fair as we can be with Facebook, they have a policy to hire local. That is, when they go into a country, they hire people that live in that country, and those people work at all level within the company. Outsider are usually brought in to oversee what is going on — but not correct issue. As such, self-policing has never been a priority - but virtue-signalling is.

To clear, the participants are NOT looking to virtue-signal - as say a hollywood actress might - but instead, they go by their college education and the advice of peers. And here is where the problem starts. Silicon Valley by enlarge hires via - for the lack of a better word - "alumnatism"

Alumnatism would be the hiring of individual who attened the same school as you as an important or determining fact.

So, it should shock no one that the level of incompetence shown in this story from Venture Beat is normal — for facebook.

In a blog post, Facebook said the actors behind the accounts include Myanmar’s military, which has been using the social media platform to target the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority group. One year ago, Facebook said it banned members of the Myanmar military, but it seems they found a way around those restrictions.

(...)

Facebook insisted that — despite appearances — it is “making progress” but said it’s hard to ensure its product is not being used as a tool to incite genocide and that further measures would take time.

So you got it? More people are going to die because Facebook doesn't know what to do.

---

SOURCES

Facebook admits it’s still being exploited to incite ethnic violence in Myanmar 
https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/22/facebook-admits-its-still-being-exploited-to-incite-ethnic-violence-in-myanmar/ 
Chris O'Brien - August 22, 2019 4:36 AM

Taking the "L" while Living within One's Own Technology Bubble of Internet Streaming Video

Taking the "L" = Taking the Loss

Facebook has been trying to break into the video streaming/video conferencing business for a while. Now it's looking to add hardware.

Attach the camera to a roving device, like a robot, and you can call it telepresence – however that's unlikely to happen. The reason is that "Oculus Founder" recently left facebook. He was the one person that might have been able to pull this off. (This might have been the reason he left, one day we will find out.)

To be clear, the market does not have a "proffitable business model" for either – video streaming, video conferencing, or telepresence. Certainly, if AT&T could not after 50+ years — with a dominant market position — what chances does Facebook have.

For clarity, let me also add - AT&T is now just a "brand-name", as it was purchased lock, stock and barrel by SBC in 2005 (with the merger finalized on November 18, 2005.)

Motely Fool writes

Facebook's take on the streaming box would include some of the same hardware features that define the company's Portal products -- namely, a camera and videoconferencing technology.

(...)

Facebook's reported move into the OTT streaming hardware market is unusual in part because it builds on a facet of Facebook's business that may not be doing all that well. Facebook hasn't released sales figures for Portal yet, but retailers have been offering steep discounts on the entry-level device's original $199 MSRP. Released in October of 2018, the entry-level Portal was available for 50% off by April of 2019.

This is just one tell, that they can NOT market, sell, or productize to make it worth rice & beans. This is because of the vassal nature of the Facebook product.

The other tells are spelled out by another Motley Fool article Reasons Facebook's (Video) Portal Is Doomed

In the article, there are two reasons for the

1. People have trust issues with Facebook 
2. There are better Alexa devices

This second reason is the biggest reason. Companies like Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Facebook, Twitter, Netflix are great at profit, when they can change sofware overnight, and Facebook has been the most adapt of all the software giants. However, hardware is Capital Intensive and requires long term Discipline — something Silicon Valley has not been able to do for decades.

---

SOURCES

Is There a Place for Facebook in This Market?
The social media giant is reportedly planning an internet-based video player as part of its line of Portal products.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/08/21/is-there-a-place-for-facebook-in-this-market.aspx
Stephen Lovely - Aug 21, 2019 at 6:41AM

Reasons Facebook's Portal Is Doomed
Does the social networking giant really think users are ready to put a Facebook camera in their homes?
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/10/09/2-reasons-facebooks-portal-is-doomed.aspx
Evan Niu, CFA - Oct 9, 2018 at 8:02PM


History of AT&T
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_AT%26T#2000%E2%80%932005:_One_national_brand,_and_acquisition_of_AT&T_Corporation


Vassal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassal

FB: F* YOU we're listen to your phone conversations

STARTING AGAIN: Sorry setting was wrong.

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Facebook: SQUIRREL!

From the story.

[A]ccording to third-party contractors who spoke to Bloomberg about the practice. [They] said that they were paid to listen in on countless, occasional vulgar conversations among Facebook Messenger users, though the company never explained to them why it needed the transcriptions.

Facebook later told Bloomberg that the human transcriptions were being used to test the performance of its speech-recognizing artificial intelligence - a troubling admission that the company regularly violates people's privacy.

SOURCE
Facebook Admits It Has Been Secretly Transcribing Users' Voice Conversations
https://www.sciencealert.com/did-you-hear-facebook-has-been-secretly-transcribing-your-voice-conversations
by Dan Robitzski - 14 AUG 2019

Facebook Just Lost Another Key Employee

From the story:

The first is that with the departure of Nate Mitchell, who co-founded Oculus and headed up virtual reality initiatives for Facebook, the founders of the company's biggest acquisitions, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus have all now left the company.

Some bittersweet news to share. After 7 incredible years at Oculus / Facebook, I'm moving on. It's been a privilege to be a part of the VR community, and I can't wait to see what comes next: https://t.co/M3XWASigvS pic.twitter.com/dhzPrdmpuP
https://twitter.com/natemitchell/status/1161320031407333377
-- Nate Mitchell (@natemitchell) August 13, 2019

SOURCE: https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/facebook-just-lost-another-key-employee-admitted-its-listening-to-users-heres-why-bad-news-keeps-getting-worse.html