Comments by "Peter deWolf" (@StoneShards) on "The Hill Accidentally Admits What is Happening in Portland is Rioting, not Protesting" video.

  1. I really think all this "google has the power to change election results" stuff sounds like so much self-serving clap-trap: there are just TOO MANY VARIABLES that figure into such a calculation to respect this "FEAR US" bullshit. The main faulty presumption is that people SERIOUSLY CONSIDER their votes! "He looks nice, I'll vote for him", "I'm a democrat, so I'll vote for the democrat", "I don't like his name"...Advertising has developed as it has for a simple reason: people don't know themselves, and, so, are persuadable against their own best interests by subliminal appeal to their emotions. Adopting an advertising approach that respects people's intelligence would be a big efficiency step backwards, from the business viewpoint! These people are dreaming...TV is the technology of dreaming...
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  2.  @brianosterman456  <--Did you know most of your, above, comment is missing?! My email notification has the full text. Anyway...I understand all that you explained in your reply. Let me quote the part that's missing, above: "by bombarding them at every turn with whatever view google could potentially want. Now because part of this is driven by algorithms you will get recommendations based on what you consume, but even I have noticed that I routinely get Vox and vice articles pushed to my phone and their videos recommended on youtube. To say their power (or potential for power) isnt dangerous is just ignoring what they do to make money. Not saying you are ignoring it, I am just saying that their power is a very real thing that should concern every american if not every nation. Especially since they only really answer to themselves." That's a cogent sentiment, but a turn of mind, a shift of perspective, can render the "information" into different "impressions". People are becoming painfully aware of the significance of what they've been ignoring for a long time: the long term fallout of social media behavior (both companies and customers). The internet was a "cool tool" for a long time; that impression is changing! It can now be seen more obviously that it is a cesspool of deception and exploitation. This is the kind of learning experience that is necessary for the "information age" to mature. We're still on the bubble between the Industrial and Information, or Digital, Ages; transitions are by nature disruptive...the more destructive the longer we wait to engage them (i.e. the transitions). People need to have their skepticism honed by real life experience, so, here we are...
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