Facebook “farms” its users for data: the more they produce – the more “user engagement” there is, in other words – the better. Consequently, there is an overriding commercial imperative to increase levels of engagement. And it turns out that some types of pernicious content are good for keeping user-engagement high: fake news and hate speech are pretty good triggers, for example. So the central problem with Facebook is its business model: the societal downsides we are experiencing are, as programmers say, a feature, not a bug.
Tag: 06.25.18
Can Libraries Run By Volunteers Be Sustainable?
Eight years ago, there were only a handful of libraries run by volunteers – around 10, estimates Public Libraries News. These days, 500 of the UK’s 3,800 libraries are operated by ordinary people, working for free in a role once regarded as a profession. The rise of volunteer libraries goes hand in hand with closures: in 2017 alone, 105 public libraries around the country closed, according to the Chartered institute of public finance and accountancy, bringing the total number of closures since they began counting in 2010 to almost 600.
How Simon Rattle Transformed The Berlin Philharmonic
It was “a period in which he helped transform the Berlin Philharmonic, one of Europe’s most venerable ensembles, into one of the 21st century’s most forward-thinking orchestras. He mounted ambitious educational extravaganzas, broadened its repertoire, reached out to Berlin’s diverse communities, and asked its musicians to embrace a different vision of what it means to play in an orchestra. It was a partnership that wound up succeeding despite occasional tensions, creative and otherwise, with the players — who self-govern the orchestra and hold the power to hire their chief.”
More Animation Jobs Than Ever, But Voice Talent Is Tough
“On camera, the crew is far away from you. But in voice-over, the executive is staring right at you from the other side of the glass, giving you feedback at a rapid-fire pace. And if you don’t do it correctly the first time, you’re replaced.”
For The First Time, UK Top Singles Charts Will Include Video Streaming Numbers
The times – and the methods for counting a song’s popularity – are changing: “As the market rapidly evolves, so too must the chart if it wants to cling to any vestige of relevance: the latest changes will see video streams added for the first time and a new weighting system applied to ‘premium’ streams (those on paid subscription services) and ‘free’ streams (those on ad-supported services like YouTube and the free tier of Spotify).”
Leonard Bernstein, As Remembered By His Daughter
As the daughters of great men go, Jamie Bernstein has had a happy fate: the existence of this well-written book, with its poignancy and its shuddery detail—her father’s fragrance in the morning—is a mark of sanity and survival. In telling his story, she got to write her own.