If you've been wondering why footballers get racially abused online all the time, why some people make disgusting death threats on social networks, or why presumably otherwise sensible celebrities say offensive things in their tweets about other people, a new book may well provide the light bulb of clarity you've been seeking. It's certainly something I've wondered about: why, in the past few years, has there been such a significant and notable increase in vile behaviours online where people … [Read more...] about Unpicking the vicious cycle of anger, hostility, and outrage on social networks
Politics
FIR 208: A timely PR stunt at the G7
Shel and I had such a rich selection of topics to discuss in the June episode of The Hobson & Holtz Report podcast, aka FIR 208 - recorded during the weekend of the G7 meeting - that it was quite a job to assemble the order of discussion! As always each of us provides three topics, making six in total for discussion in each episode. Here's the final list for June: Half of U.S. adults consider who publishes it as the key factor in assessing a story’s trustworthinessColgate launches its … [Read more...] about FIR 208: A timely PR stunt at the G7
Travel in a time of Covid-19
I've been hearing increasing numbers of social media friends talking on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter about getting back to the normality of travelling again for business. Most of the comments I've seen are by friends who haven't travelled since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the commenters speak of their apprehension at travelling again, venturing literally into the unknown. Others worry about ongoing exposure to infection risks. And others speak of the challenges at this time, … [Read more...] about Travel in a time of Covid-19
SDF 45: The vaccination mess in Europe
When Sam, Thomas and I recorded the 45th episode of our Small Data Forum podcast two weeks ago, who would have imagined that the major topic for us then - the EU's COVID vaccination mess - would continue to be a major topic today, one that's evolved and morphed into something even more alarming than it was then. We were pretty critical of the European Commission, how it is managing the vaccine rollout across the 27 member states, and its communication. The World Health Organisation calls it … [Read more...] about SDF 45: The vaccination mess in Europe
SDF 44: Facebook and the robber barons are at it again
Last week Facebook announced that it had decided to up the ante in its fracas with the Australian government and ban mainstream media news on its platform. The move meant that all Facebook users - not just Australians - would not be able to share or view news on Australian news Pages on Facebook. This move by Facebook was in response to the Australian government introducing a new law that would force Big Tech to pay media companies a fee to include their news in their users' news … [Read more...] about SDF 44: Facebook and the robber barons are at it again
FIR 203: Insurrection and Sea Shanties
'Trust' was the major theme for discussion in the January episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report podcast aka FIR 203 that Shel and I recorded last weekend and published on Monday. It underpinned all other topics we discussed as we started the episode reviewing the key analysis in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 - the report concludes that there is a 'crisis of leadership' with a growing trust gap and declines in trust worldwide; and without a trusted leadership source to look to, people … [Read more...] about FIR 203: Insurrection and Sea Shanties
SDF 43: The wearing away of trust
In the first episode in 2021 of our monthly Small Data Forum podcast, Thomas, Sam, and I discussed the big picture of Trump and what's next for him, Joe Biden and America post-Trump, and in the context of our predictions in episode 42 in December. Those predictions weren't that shabby, as it turns out. We considered what social media is: platform, publisher, or leech, which provoked some lively and trenchant opinion. We pondered the consequences and outcomes of the Capitol riots or … [Read more...] about SDF 43: The wearing away of trust
Post Trump, a better system must start in America
The eye-opening scenes of hundreds of people storming the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday January 6 - broadcast live and shown on television screens around the world - will have significant effects in the long term on society in general in ways that are hard to immediately imagine or understand. In the US, outrage at what happened that day is growing as greater clarity emerges on those events that many see as encouraged by President Trump. 'Insurrection' and 'sedition' are two … [Read more...] about Post Trump, a better system must start in America