Social Networks Archives - NevilleHobson.com

Escape planning in case Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition succeeds

Ever since Elon Musk announced his bid to acquire full ownership of Twitter, the matter has become a huge topic of discussion in mainstream and social media alike. In the US, much of the narrative surrounds fears that Musk’s ownership of the social networking platform would signal the rise of extreme right-wing political activity, with currently-banned Donald Trump cited as a potential Twitter returnee. Trump, incidentally, says he has no plans to return as he has his own social network…

Lush shows it’s time for an anti social media policy

At the dawn of the social media age fifteen and more years ago, everything was about blogs. This was the time just before Facebook, before Twitter, even before YouTube, when blogs started to gain momentum from the early-to-mid 2000s when businesses began exploring this new media model and considered the opportunities and risks it presented as an additional communication channel. Take IBM, for example – a true early pioneer in encouraging employees to embrace a new communication medium. Often, though,…

Metaverse: how Facebook rebrand reflects a dangerous trend in growing power of tech monopolies

Facebook’s rebranding as Meta has been seen by many as the company’s latest attempt at corporate crisis control. The social media giant has been publicly attacked for creating an environment that fosters far-right extremism and violating individuals’ data privacy. Yet it also represents an attempt to rebrand the growing power of tech monopolies to shape all areas of our lives through social expansion. It points to a troubling new era of “metacapitalism” – or “capitalism on steroids” as Forbes called…

Unpicking the vicious cycle of anger, hostility, and outrage on social networks

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 say…

FIR 204: Won’t you Join Us in our Clubhouse?

How safe is Clubhouse? asks Wired magazine in the latest critical look at the social audio service that appeared in April 2020 – less than a year ago. It’s attracting huge attention globally. Alongside the hype and hyperbole that have been hallmarks of the perceived attractiveness and exclusivity of the invitation-only iOS app that passed ten million users in February – a five-fold growth since recording two million in January – there’s increasing scrutiny of how the app works and…