Posted on 06/02/2011 4:54:06 PM PDT by Starman417
In what is an astonishing development, Mark Zuckerberg's social media sensation, Facebook, has been slowly and quietly clamping down on the use of the site for political purposes. Kellen Giuda, an architect who started the NY Tea Party, has a column today in The Daily Caller to expose the Facebook hypocrisy, and to announce an alternative social medium to replace the FB void after a series of policy and site changes that are designed to limit the scope of use of Facebook related to political purposes.
What makes an American entrepreneur's blood run cold is the quote from Facebook's Adam Conner to the Wall Street Journal last month:
Meanwhile, Facebook is talking with potential Chinese partners about entering the huge China market, where the government has been cracking down on dissidents. That crackdown has come in response to the uprisings shaking authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes, movements that have used U.S.-based social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter as organizing tools."Maybe we will block content in some countries, but not others," Adam Conner, a Facebook lobbyist, told the Journal. "We are occasionally held in uncomfortable positions because now we're allowing too much, maybe, free speech in countries that haven't experienced it before," he said.
"Right now we're studying and learning about China but have made no decisions about if, or how, we will approach it," said Debbie Frost, Facebook's director of international communications.
It's chilling enough that a social medium that has played such a high profile role in political interaction decides that one country is "experienced" enough to be allowed free speech, and another isn't. But considering Facebook's attitude towards the Tea Party, this begs the question of Mr. Conner... just what part of America, and our founding based on free speech, requires nanny censorship by a self appointed arbiter?
Facebook isn't foolish enough to outright lay on political censorship. As Guida points out, it's been a series of steps that unmistakenly is aimed at political use of the medium. And he further suggests that the overt ties to liberal political beliefs may play a large part in thwarting Tea Party organization.
The company has changed the way Facebooks group, newsfeed and event features work, and it has restricted the ability of users to communicate with people (via messages and wall posts) who are outside of their real-life social networks.Whats more, its become clear that Facebook itself is dominated by liberals:
98% of political donations from Facebook employees went to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
Chris Hughes, one of Facebooks co-founders, headed up Barack Obamas successful website during the 2008 campaign. In 2009, he was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine as The kid who made Obama president: how Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes unleashed Baracks base and changed politics and marketing forever.
Facebooks former attorney for privacy issues, Chris Kelly, ran for attorney general of California in 2010 on a far-left platform.
Many Americans and Tea Party organizers are waking up to this liberal culture at Facebook, which was on display at the recent Facebook townhall where Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg fawned over each other.
And speaking of this new a'political philosphy, if Facebook is so all fired dedicated to free speech and staying away from politics, why the heck are they interviewing the POTUS on political issues, and livestreaming it on Facebook anyway?
And what happens to all those Congressional owned Facebook accounts? Aren't they entirely political in nature? Or is it only "organizing" they seem to oppose?
What becomes more ironic about FB's attempted control and tiptoe away from politics is the very political nature of both the company, and of Conner himself... who is one of Facebook's lobbyists on staff.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
I guess Zuckerberg only wants Facebook used for such noble causes as flash-mobbing and looting. Young rich and derelict, how nice.
>> Or is it only “organizing” they seem to oppose?
Zuckerberg should give all the stock in his company to homeless people to “share the wealth”.
[... just what part of America, and our founding
based on free speech, requires nanny censorship by
a self appointed arbiter? ...]
I may be over Facebook.
Ah, bejesus, I think Marky Zuk been kissin Baraks Irish Arse. Me hopes it be tastin good, Marky.
How interesting! Our local newspaper here in SW Washington just converted all of their online news commentary so that you must have a facebook account in order to comment at all.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jun/02/columbian-facebook-comments-faq/
The Columbian is testing a new system that requires readers who wish to comment on Columbian.com stories to use their Facebook account. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the change, so far, and our responses. Technical questions are near the top and questions about the reasons behind the switch or our comment moderation are down below.
How do I report a fake Facebook account?
It’s against Facebook’s terms of service to provide false personal information on a Facebook account. You may report a fake account by clicking on the user’s profile, then clicking “Report/ Block this person” at the bottom left of the page.
The Columbian wants to ensure commenters are using their real names and identities. Please help us by reporting fake profiles to Facebook.
How do I report a violation of the community guidelines?
Columbian staff need your help monitoring comments for violations. Please send a message to Matt Wastradowski or Libby Tucker with the name of the user, the content of the comment and the story it was attached to.
Why is “Post to Facebook” the default setting for comments?
We are using the Facebook comments box social plugin, which offers us less control over default settings than we would have if we were using the open graph version of Facebook comments. This allows us to test the system before we commit more time to development.
Why can’t I see the comments?
Comments on our site are public. That means anyone can see the comments, even without a Facebook account, as long as the Facebook application is not blocked by their server — a common practice by government agencies and some private employers. If you can’t see the comments, ask your IT department if it blocks Facebook. But for most readers, it will not be a problem.
How do I change my Facebook privacy settings?
What others see when they click on your profile is determined by your Facebook privacy settings, Facebook has an in-depth page devoted to this topic.
How does the Facebook comments plugin work?
Facebook as a helpful FAQ that outlines exactly how plugins work with your Facebook profile.
How do I leave a comment if I don’t have a Facebook account?
Anyone wishing to comment on Columbian.com stories will need a Facebook account. If you dont have a Facebook account, you can sign up for one at http://www.facebook.com. Dont worry its free, quick and easy to do so.
We have also set up a section of Columbian.com for those who wish to continue conversation using their existing Columbian profile. You can find the forums by clicking on “News” and then “Forums” in the main navigation bar on the site.
Why the switch?
The new system holds commenters accountable by linking their comments to their Facebook account and, by extension, real name and face. Weve found that comments are generally cleaner and more informative on our Facebook page than on the site. This change hopefully will dissuade some troublesome commenters and keep things relatively clean for the rest of us.
Is The Columbian moderating these comments?
Yes. We will remove comments that don’t meet community discussion guidelines. And we will ban commenters that are using a fake Facebook account/ name to comment or repeatedly violate our community guidelines.
Whats in it for me?
The benefits for commenters are numerous. First and foremost: You won’t need to remember another login anymore.
You can also include your Facebook friends in the discussion. Commenters can post comments both below the story and to their Facebook newsfeed, and the commenters Facebook friends can respond on Facebook and Columbian.com.
I barely use mine anymore.
But if they decide to do something like this, I believe that it will definately create a severe negative feedback among their users and advertisers.
I see that going on at a lot of small newspapers now.
Much easier to keep all of the riff-raff out.
Conservatives haven’t left public schools, why would they use their freedom and leave FB?
I say they won’t. It be nice, but unlikely.
It’s being encouraged to make it easier to keep track of everyone’s online postings. That whole one login for the internet thing that Obama’s been pushing...
Bolsheviks on the march ping.
Apparently the Columbian hasn’t heard about all the fake profiles on Facebook.
It takes two weeks of never visiting FleeceBook to have an account permanently deleted. Try it....the relief at the end is priceless
Zuckerburg got his marching orders when he met with Obama at the White House.
Yes it keeps out the Riff-Raff, but that all depends on what your definition of Riff-Raff is.
I have a facebook account. I use it to keep in touch with my Daughter who is in Ft. Hood, and my new Son in law who just deployed to Iraq. He can post pics and comments to his account and the whole family in the area can share and enjoy them.
The very last thing I would do is open my facebook page to a newspaper, much less just another AP repeater service, much less a rag like the Columbian.
Leading up to this move, they got over 200 comments on the thread that announced it, most of them negative, and they did it anyway. Also, they just canned one of their local reporters, and he’s had quite a bit to say about the snide, nasty comments that are made continually in the Columbian’s newsroom about the people who commented on their site.
The dirty little secret is that they always knew who was posting there, because you had to provide them an e-mail address. The simple fact is that they could not moderate a rat fight if you held it in a rink made of cheese. Moving to facebook reflects professional laziness and a level of incompetence that demonstrates they have no fracking clue about how to run a website.
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