You might see more of me here in the coming days and weeks.
Now, I've said that before, and it didn't happen, did it? Nooooo. So I haven't suddenly gotten religion about writing in this space on a regular basis.
But I did quit Facebook. Cold turkey with cucumbers, tomato and cranberry mayo. So I will need a place to write regularly ... and this is the place. Glad to be back.
I hear you. Quit Facebook? Now why'd he go and do a thing like that? Next thing you know, he'll say he's not on Twitter. Luddite!
Well first of all, it was becoming apparent to me that I was tuning into Facebook too much. It was becoming a distraction. No, check that, it had already become a distraction and if there's one thing I don't need in my life, it's more distractions. So I simplified. (Thoreau might be pleased. But then he'd hit me up for five bucks.)
Second, I read a fair amount last week about what Mark Zuckerberg has in mind for the place.
For those of you with experience with corporate takeovers or change in landlords, you know how this goes. New boss comes in, kicks the tires, thinks "Ya know, I need a return on my investment" and suddenly, the yearly bonus and the holiday party disappear, the laundry machines now cost $2.00 per load, whispers about outsourcing and layoffs start making the rounds, the rent jumps by $50 but the snow never gets shoveled off the sidewalk, the co-pay shoots up, and so it goes...
When I first signed up for Facebook, I thought "cool. One-stop shopping to connect with family and friends." And yes there were spammy applications and targeted ads, and yes there were cautionary tales about what to share and not share, but for the most part, if you were smart, you could ignore the nonsense and use the thing as you wanted: To communicate and stay in touch. And it was pretty cool.
But now, like the new landlord, MZ has decided he needs to monetize his assets even more. And with the latest changes, the intent is now clearer than ever before: MZ sees me and every other user as an unpaid advertising research monkey and unwitting marketing assistant. And it's all on that damned ticker on the right, because you know your friends want to know you're listening to that great new album or that funny online video. Who knows where that ends.
And MZ knows it's addictive and MZ knows you don't want to leave because your friends and relatives and photos are all there and MZ knows if he can get you to stay, he can keep you not only in front of all that nifty content, but generating more content for their machinery. And if you've used the new app to create this "timeline" of your life, MZ can hone in on your life experiences to create an even more exact picture of who you are so he can sell even more stuff to you, which you will turn and sell to people who share your interests, university, ideology, DNA or some or all of the above.
" ... and now you do what they told ya! ... and now you do what they told ya!"
Not me. And you and the FCC know how that song ends.
I hear you again, At length.
"Sukiennik, for crying out loud, you work in the media. You've spent nearly 20 years there. And you work not in just any part of the media, but for a very, very, very large multimedia giant. And your little corner of said multimedia giant consists of six domestic cable networks, 41 international networks, a radio network and the most awesome website ever (non-dancing hamster division), all of which can be accessed on phones, handheld devices and tablets. Your little corner of said multimedia giant enjoys outrageous brand recognition and brand loyalty worldwide. You can pay your mortgage, drive a newish car, eat well, stay warm and afford school string lessons for your child because the content you help generate is used to sell advertising across multiple platforms. You can't honestly criticize this as if it's some new outrage."
Well, OK. All that is true.
But here's my reply.
When you don't to watch or listen to television or radio advertising, what do you do? You turn the channel or turn it off.
When you see ads in the newspaper, no one makes you read them. You can turn the page.
In none of those examples are you tuning in or turning the page thinking you won't find advertising. (Even those pre- and post-show sponsor messages on NPR and PBS.) You know the deal when you turn the switch. Sure, facebook always had advertising, but it was off to the side and largely avoidable.
And in none of those above examples are you and your virtual friends actually being used to create the market research and targeted advertising. In real time.
So, forget that. (And I mean forget in the Cee-Lo Green radio edit sense of the word.)
And no, you won't find me on Twitter or Google +. (I tried Twitter. It banned me after six hours, claiming -- falsely -- that I "created serial accounts." I have somehow managed to live without it since.)
But you will hopefully find more of me here, in North Stepford Falls, Connecticut.
* Because I haven't subscribed to Spotify. And I already own "Bringing It All Back Home," anyway.
