Former Reddit CEO Decries 'Rage-Induced Interactions' on Facebook and Twitter (wired.com)

Were the creators of Facebook and Twitter oblivious to how social networks could be abused? "I struggle to believe that these brilliant product CEOs, who have created social media services used by millions of people worldwide, are actually naive," writes Ellen Pao, the former CEO of Reddit. "It's a lot more likely that they simply don't care." [S]ocial media companies and the leaders who run them are rewarded for focusing on reach and engagement, not for positive impact or for protecting subsets of users from harm. They're rewarded for keeping costs down, which encourages the free-for-all, anything-goes approach misnomered "free speech." If they don't need to monitor their platforms, they don't need to come up with real policies -- and avoid paying for all the people and tools required to implement them....

In the earliest days, it wasn't always obvious what these platforms were doing and what they would become -- even to insiders. But at a certain point, it became clear that money was the driving factor, and dopamine- or rage-induced interactions meant more money.... CEOs should just forget about hiding behind "naivete" and "free speech," and instead remind themselves they can take actions that will meaningfully change the direction of the future. The first step is acknowledging the problem... You've solved for increasing engagement; now it's time to make real, positive interactions a priority.
The next time a CEO claims ignorance, "we must hold them accountable," the essay argues, complaining that right now there's a vacuum of leadership.

So instead, "Everyone's holding hands on the road to hell."

Comments

I gotta be honest

[rsilvergun]

it's hard not to rage sometimes. I've got friends and family who stuggle daily to get the healthcare they need (one of whom's a type-I diabetic). I'm paying through the nose for my kid's college (she's in for medicine, her books in year 3 for 1 semester were $1400). Meanwhile people keep telling me she should just be a welder a few make $26/hr ignoring that's only the top 10% and they're doing dangerous work.

It'd be one thing if I couldn't use the Internet to see how the rest of the world solved all these problems with ease, or if America was a poor country, but again, I've got the Internet. I know better.

Hell, 70% of Americans want Medicare for All and even if the Dems take the House it won't even get a vote there. Nancy Pelosi will shut it down for her corporate masters. She won her primary against a challenger that wanted Medicare for All.

So yeah, I rage a lot. I rage because I keep seeing the same damn mistakes for no good reason and people voting not just against their interests, but litterally against policies they support. How am I not supposed to get angry?