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Virtual Zuck Fails To Connect (bbc.com)
Rory Cellan-Jones, writing for BBC: It must have seemed like a good idea. As a taster for a big announcement about Oculus VR on Wednesday, send Mark Zuckerberg on a little virtual reality trip, including a stop in Puerto Rico. But the reviews are in -- and they are not good. The sight of Mr Zuckerberg using VR to survey the devastation of an island still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria may have been meant to convey Facebook's empathy with the victims. The fact that he was there in the form of a cartoon seemed to many the perfect visual metaphor for the gulf in understanding between Silicon Valley and the real world. Sure, he was talking about all the activities which his company had initiated to help the island, from helping people tell their families they were ok using Safety Check to sending Facebook employees to help restore connectivity. But cartoon Zuck showing us a 360 degree view of a flooded street before zipping back to a virtual California just seemed a little, well, crass. Is Facebook really concerned about the plight of Puerto Rico, or is it merely a handy backdrop to promote Oculus, whose sales have so far proved disappointing?
The real cool part was lost because the message delivery felt like a PR stunt using devastation in PR.
What this really is good for:
Using Oculus like this is a way that professional relief planners and project managers can determine optimum load-out of emergency supplies before leaving the warehouse location, when it's much easier to add/remove/change the loadout on short notice.
There's nothing quite like *seeing* the environment. back-pack street-view cameras on dirt bikes comes to mind...
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Is Facebook really concerned about the plight of Puerto Rico
I think we all have come to realize that the SJWs out there are really more concerned with signaling virtue more than actually solving problems.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
He's become one of these people who live in a bubble surrounded by sycophants who blow smoke up his ass all day about how great and meaningful he and Facebook is to the world, despite the fact that if Facebook actually did disappear overnight the only real effect on the world is probably greater productivity and some unemployed Facebook workers who will be needing new jobs. And this guy is coyly hinting he might want to run for President. I personally believe he'd be just as bad as Trump for mainly similar reasons - both think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Though where Trump harms by malice, Zuck would harm by out of touch ignorance.
I think it is fair to say that most technical leaders of our time don't really understand anything about people in general. Oh they know how to make a buck off of them, but beyond that they are very out of touch.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Here's a link to the video: https://www.facebook.com/zuck/videos/vb.4/10104094186863501/
Also, none of the articles I looked at on this topic included a link to the video. What is it with "news" no longer linking to their sources? C'mon people!
</getoffmylawn></rant>
"Cartoon" and "Death Toll" should not be applicable to the same media presentation.
I actually think the problem here wasn't actual insensitivity, but rather failure to anticipate a shortcoming of the avatar technology employed. Zuck's cartoon representation doesn't reproduce any emotional expression, just the kind of upbeat, non-Duchenne smile you get from a hotel receptionist greeting you as the 100th guest that morning. The jolly Zuck cartoon figure surveying scenes of horrific devastation gives the inescapable impression of sociopathy.
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Was the video a bit in poor taste? sure. Should they have had a more serious demeanor when showing people's loss? probably. Especially the Rachel character.. Zuck had a much better demeanor IMHO she sounded more like she was marketing making sure they kept talking about the VR.
All that being said: The efforts they highlighted are real efforts that are working towards real results in helping the people of Puerto Rico. I'll give them a lot of leeway when it comes to squeezing a bit of PR out of PR when the the efforts are more than just fluff. I only hope some of that generosity is going to the USVI and other island nations as well as they are in as bad or worse shape and now out of the spotlight since Puerto Rico is a more visible aide target.
...that zero zucks were given.
I'll show myself out.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Social justice warriors change the world for the better by fighting oppression and inequality.
I think this is how social justice warriors see themselves.
The rest of us mostly see them as tilting at windmills for their own gratification and/or local social standing.
It's surprisingly easy to see them that way from the outside. But the person you hear about tends to be the one with the loudest voice, not the typical one, much less the one you should take as representative of what the movement aspires to. There are lots of people who dedicate their lives to making the world better because they like helping people. While there are some noisemakers who do it for social standing (among SJWs just like in pretty much every other population), there are also lots of great people just working hard to help people in pain.
Real lawyers write in C++