Month: September 2018

Facebook’s Goal is to Monetize and Weaponize Your Data

If you search for the goal of Facebook, this is one result you will get, “Facebook is a business that has a purpose of creating revenue, enriching investors and providing jobs. Because it does not charge users for having Facebook pages, it needs to generate revenue from other sources. Facebook produces most of its revenue from advertising, including ads for both large and small advertisers.”

Let’s be honest here, Facebook has one objective, to enhance shareholder value. They do this by advertising and by monetizing and weaponizing your data. Their desire is your data, your pictures and your user content sold to the highest bidder.

Take for example the 2016 election run up. Cambridge Analytica received contracts from the Trump campaign and many other prominent Republicans for “microtargeting” which according to CA marketing materials where CA brags that “they were able to design and deploy messages tailored to these audiences according to their particular psychographic profiles.” Profiles developed from Facebook user data and supposedly Russian military intelligence.

Current national security advisor John Bolton’s SuperPAC paid for almost 1.2 million dollars of CA services from 2014 through 2016. Sources

The Trump campaign paid for almost 6 million dollars of CA services, Ted Cruz for president campaign paid 5.8 million dollars. At the tail end of the list of Republicans was Roy Blunt, famed child molester, who paid 12,000 for CA services. Data that originated from Facebook.

From a story just this Friday on CNET Facebook said a breach affecting 50 million users was discovered. The breach utilized the “view as” feature which allows people to see what their profiles look like to other people. Attackers exploited code associated with the feature that allowed them to steal “access tokens” that could be used to take over people’s accounts. The breach also impacted Instagram accounts as well.

My personal recommendation is to delete your Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts after you utilize the download your data feature. Be advised that while your data will be deleted, your account with your friends remains deactivated until you decide (as they hope) that you can’t live without Facebook. Don’t do it.

Story Review: Unhappy Endings and Trainwreck by Michael James Calder

In writing Unhappy Endings, Mr. Calder has written a finely crafted work. He has a clear talent for dialogue and in this story we see this on display. Michael makes us feel the sounds of battle and consequently, the sounds of death. You are left wondering if the hill eventually does fall to the barbarians. I see this story as a preface to a larger work that focuses on that very battle.

Trainwreck is a different kind of story that centers on a young man who has known such great loss that he attempts to take his life in horrific fashion. Trainwreck is equally as well written with great dialogue. The last scene is his girlfriend trying to save his life. This could also be a preface to a larger scope of novel that focuses on his redemption and the journey he takes.

Michael James Calder is a unique and talented writer and I see great things for him. He is currently working on his first novel while attending university in the Uk. He is also working on another short story called Odyssey and the Dragon.

His website is here: https://michaelcalderwriter.com

Book Review: A Twisted Wisdom by Stephanie Colbert

This was an extremely difficult book to read. Not because it isn’t well written but because it’s a very personal book. It is indeed not about mental illness as Ms. Colbert states but I believe it’s about an extremely resilient woman who suffers through 21:years of hospitalizations, family tribulations and a struggle to find the right medications to help her. Ms. Colbert has crafted a testament to one amazing individual who never quits. By the time you get to the end, you are rooting for Susan. From personal experience, suicide is NOT a cowardly act but the result of brain chemistry. No more, no less. I am thankful Ms. Colbert worked so hard with this story. It needed to be told. I highly recommend A Twisted Wisdom. It is a well written masterpiece.

Stephanie Colbert is one talented writer. She is currently working on her latest novel to be released soon. Also from personal experience, Stephanie is an amazing short story artist. Visit her website HERE and she will send you a book free as thanks for visiting her site. She understands the generosity that is important for writers today. I encourage you to read everything she has written. She is simply amazing.

In Honor of John McCain

With thanks to Meghan McCain, one of the most inspirational eulogies I have ever heard.

“My father gone. My father is gone and my sorrow is immense, but I know his life, and I know it was great because it was good. And as much as I hate to see him go, I do know how it ended. I know that on the afternoon of August 25th in front of Oak Creek in Arizona, surrounded by the family he loved so much, an old man shook off the scars of battle one last time and arose a new man to pilot one last flight up and up and up, busting clouds left and right, straight on through to the kingdom of heaven. And he slipped the earthly bonds, put out his hand, and touched the face of god.

I love you, dad.”