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Getting All Your News From Facebook Is Like Eating Only Potato Chips, Flipboard CEO Says (recode.net)

Posted by msmash on from the analogies dept.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mike McCue, CEO of news curator app Flipboard, talked about how -- and from where -- people get their news nowadays and how it shapes their worldview. From a report: McCue said getting all your news from either friends or algorithms is "challenging and semi-dangerous" because today's social platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, favor content that people engage with, driving "extremist" content to the top. Hence, he argues, the "fake news" epidemic, which McCue believes had an effect on the 2016 election. "Sometimes I think of news feeds as the 'mystery meat' of your information diet," he said. "It's not like you finish reading your Facebook feed, after half an hour, and feel like, 'That was a great use of time!' It's like if you ate potato chips all day long."

15 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Incorrect by easyTree · · Score: 2, Informative

    Potatoes have nutritional value.

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
  2. Where is the like button? by HaaPoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    i cannot find the like button on this story.

  3. Curated News? Bullshit. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "News curator app"?

    No.

    News aggregator. And the person doing the work is not a "news curator", he/she is what's known as an "editor" - the thing that people complain Slashdot does not have. Or maybe Slashdot has "story curators", and since they don't exist, stories don't get "curated" at Slashdot...

    The "curator" business is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Curated News? Bullshit. by hey! · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, "necessary", "sufficient", and "useful" are all distinct concepts.

      In the heyday of the print newspaper, editorial functions included a kind of curation: assigning reporters to stories or "beats", and choosing the mix stories that make up the day's edition.

      Clearly, curatorial work is useful -- both in service of the truth and in the service of falsehood. And because it can be used both ways, it is clearly not sufficient for obtaining the truth. However curation (at the very least by you) of your information sources is probably necessary.

      The goal of curating your information sources shouldn't be a capital T Truth, it should be to be informed. That means having enough of the Truth from enough different sources to be able to make better decisions. If you find yourself too much in agreement with the opinions of the news sources you trust, you aren't getting enough information to think for yourself. Nobody who thinks for himself can ever be entirely comfortable with the opinions of others.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  4. Re:Is google as bad as facebook? by bulled · · Score: 2

    It is, google tailors what stories percolate to the top and what sources it highlights based on what it knows about you. It is the same informational echo chamber as a Facebook feed.

  5. Well duh by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 4, Interesting

    News aggregation (including Flipboard, nice slashvertisemnet) will always show what it thinks people want to see. And as much as people "want" to be challenged when asked, in reality, it's mentally exhausting and they don't. Therefore, all new aggregation will trend towards echo chamber status. The only defense against echo chambers is actively trying to break out, and that's a difficult task.

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  6. Am I the only one? by DickBreath · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't have FaceTwit. Are there any others?

    It is possible to get news from multiple sources. BBC. Jerusalem Post. Al Jazeera. RT. And others.

    But aren't they all biased? Yes, they are. Just like CNN, MSNBC or FoxNews.

    Are we grown up enough to read through the bias if presented with multiple points of view?

    That remains to be seen.

    Maybe that is like eating more than just potato chips? But I still like chips, even though I don't have FaceTwit.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    1. Re:Am I the only one? by pslytely+psycho · · Score: 2

      This! 100%.
      When I drove truck FB came into existence. It was a great and convenient way to connect with family and friends for an hour or so before hitting the hay.
      When I had to quit driving it was useful for keeping in touch with friends I had made across the country.
      Now I painfully log in about once every few months just to say "I'm not dead." Most everyone seems to re-post the meme of the week, crackpot conspiracy theories, chain mails and partisan lies in all stripes.
      If I log in, I want to know about YOU, your life, not your political opinions.
      Adblock used to make it bearable, not so much anymore but I'm afraid to see what it might be without it active!

      --
      Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable
  7. Monocultures are bad by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You could say the same thing about any single news source. My father-in-law gets all his news from the paper version of the wall street journal and whatever nonsense the local evening news is spouting off that day plus a bit of Rush Limbaugh. Needless to say he has a rather narrow and unhealthy world view because he never hears any ideas that contradict what he already believes. Getting your news from a single source or even a narrow group of sources is almost certain to result is a very weird view of how the world should work.

    1. Re:Monocultures are bad by geek · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You could say the same thing about any single news source. My father-in-law gets all his news from the paper version of the wall street journal and whatever nonsense the local evening news is spouting off that day plus a bit of Rush Limbaugh. Needless to say he has a rather narrow and unhealthy world view because he never hears any ideas that contradict what he already believes. Getting your news from a single source or even a narrow group of sources is almost certain to result is a very weird view of how the world should work.

      But what if your belief is right and the others are wrong? What do you gain from listening to stupidity? I have no use for CNN for example. I actually liked CNN back in the 90's, they were still a tad bit biased but they at least had some journalistic integrity. Today? None, zero, ziltch.

      I have 4 or 5 news sites bookmarked that I visit on a regular basis. I trust them. I don't always agree with them but I trust they are not intentionally lying to me. Why would I go outside of that?

    2. Re:Monocultures are bad by Kergan · · Score: 2

      Then again, why should anyone waste their time reading "news" written by crack pots in the name of, what again?

      Personally speaking I've little interest in reading the sewers that your father is reading (no offense) in the name of trying to comprehend their worldview, beyond an article here and there to get a feel of how below the belt they stand.

      IMO the real issue is the American (and increasingly European) belief that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which is all too often understood as meaning that everyone is entitled their own facts, and which purportedly suggest that all opinions (and facts) have merit. They don't.

      In their willingness to avoid confrontation that might hurt another's feeling, or their decision that life's too short for jerks, Americans end up behaving like a toothless, neutered herd. Shrugging instead of calling out crap when you see crap is fine for inane topics at the end of the day. It's not for topics that affect you.

  8. Re:No use for FaceBook personally by Xenographic · · Score: 2

    Same here. I don't have a Facebook and I doubt I ever will.

  9. Some people use the proper tool for the job by Excelcia · · Score: 2

    No. I use RSS feeds into live bookmarks straight to my browser's bookmark toolbar. I have done this for years, it's a wonderful technology you can use with virtually all news sites, and you can then easily pick and choose the articles you want from updated drop down folders on your toolbar.

    For Mozilla or (better yet) PaleMoon browsers you just click on the link above, then on the resultant page click Subscribe Now into Live Bookmarks. I suspect Chrome is similar. This will buy you automatically updated headlines from multiple respected news outlets with different viewpoints in dropdown menus. Why anyone would use Facebook for news is beyond me. If you ask me, anyone who does go to Facebook for news deserves what they get. Facebook is a sewer of trolls initiating social malware for the kick it gives them to see their garbage repeated. Go to news sources for news. Go to facebook to try and make yourself feel better about how well liked you are.

  10. WTF? by OrangeTide · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Who the hell is getting any of their news from Facebook? It doesn't even offer news as a service.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  11. Shouldn't get your news from ONE source by p51d007 · · Score: 2

    I'm conservative...have been all my life, but, I do not watch Fox News Channel...99% of it is just opinion driven, as is MSNBC, CNN et al. I get my news from various places & websites, INCLUDING some extremely liberal sites. I find some of the best sources for news for where I live, the USA, come from OUTSIDE my country. Some of the Asian, European & Russian sites, along with Australia & Japan, can offer a different opinion/spin/story than inside the USA. I like to form my own opinion, based on my belief system, but I will listen to a different opinion, just to see if there might be something of interest. The problem is, on BOTH sides of the political isle, the "rabid" types want to shut you down, if you differ from them, regardless if it is a left or right issue.