I can see some use for a metaverse ( after all, several years ago, many teens and twenty-somethings were clamoring about an early version of the metaverse, #Second_Life ). I just don't think at this point that a single vendor's platform (and remember, they also own #Oculus, the company that makes their 3D goggles) is able to get enough mindshare ... and as far as I know, MFB's version doesn't interact with competing platforms.
But Musk is not alone in that or even the first. In 2019 Zuckerberg planned the same for Facebook with the introduction of the crypto-currency Libra.²
At that time Libra seemed to have gone nowhere as Visa, Mastercard, ebay, and PayPal pulled out of Libra project in 2019.³
Still, the fintech Libra Networks was registered in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2019 for Facebook (2,5 billion users in 2019) and its subsidaries Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger (each about 1 billion users).⁴
So the difference seems to be that whereas Zuckerberg in 2019 tried to establish financial services based on crypto-currency throughout his platforms, it is not clear whether Musk wants to rely on crypto as well (as crypto was one major reason the aforementioned Visa, Masertcard, PayPal pulled out of Libra).
But both projects planned to become an "online bank" of sorts. With the difference that as a fintech, by siphoning off user data, data of purchases, and behavioural statistics no bank is allowed to do, they can create financial products much faster and distribute them via their platofrms far more widespread than any bank could.⁵
In fact, back in 2019 Zuckerberg didn't seem to realise but Musk now does seem to understand that both platforms are not or are no longer in the ad-business but in the online banking business. That is: Hitherto both platforms thought of their business as creating profits by selling ads to users who in exchange for their eyballs are permitted the free use of these platforms. But should the transition from ad-business to fintech prove successful, this will have major impact on the global financial markets and banking sector -- up to the default of major banks.
Obviously, the syphoining-off of behavioural user data is not only relevant in the financial and banking sector but in all areas where "prediction products" can contribute to manufactoring, product development, AI training, purchasing optimzation, etc. These "prediction products" can even themselves be traded in what Shoshana Zuboff has called the "behavioural futures markets".
Combine state surveillance with capitalist surveillance, and the separation of people in two groups (the more or less hapless customer-citizens on the one hand and the unaccountable producer-citizens on the other) has significant consequences on democracy as "asymmetries of knowledge translates into asymmetries of power".⁶
But even without the societal and political ramifications, the economic and financial look most impactful. No wonder that Musk expects Twitter/X to "be ultimately extremely valuable"¹ And it may explain why Zuckerberg shows interest in the #fediverse. He who creates the first global "banking app" will rule the field. A pretty dire development from the days when m-pesa was created to link African agricultal communities an dcustomers in 2007.⁷
One hundred million downloads & signups, but I wonder how many have posted at least once. I'd like to see their monthly active users number when it comes out.
#Meta / #Facebook is building a #Twitter clone under their #Instagram brand. Apparently, there's discussion of various #ActivityPub #Fediverse projects' lead developers signing an NDA and having discussions with them.
The participants appear to be deleting evidence.
I'm not spinning a conspiracy theory. I just don't think Gargron or Dansup have any idea what kinds of restrictions an NDA can contain. They risk long-term damage to their projects and some impact on their careers.
#Meta ( the #Facebook parent company ) tried to bypass Europe's GDPR in order to force users to consent to the use of personal information for advertising. After litigation, the Irish data protection authority was overruled by the European equivalent. Meta faces a fine totalling EU390 in the two cases. A third case is due to be finalized later in January.
@gnu2 That's a good question. I do not know. I haven't had a #Facebook account since around 2010 or so, and I have never had an #Instagram account. There was political and other news discussed, but it wasn't the focus of the people I saw, and I don't remember organizations having much.
In theory, I agree, but in practice, I have used #Ring, the earlier version of #Jami. The experience was so poor that I can no longer get my in-person contacts to try anything that is not #Facebook / #Instagram / #Zoom. And that's without ever trying the #videochat functionality ... we only used text chats and it was still a really poor experience.
I've heard it got better, but of course, none of my in-person contacts will try it again. This also affects apps like #Briar and #Session.
@casey is remote the few times I have been early, like #Fediverse I first joined #statusNet (now Ostatus/GNUsocial) in like 2010, but I never used it as my primary until I gave up #facebook for lent this year, and made 100% change in June when they locked my account until I activated #2fa I HATE 2fa
@casey is remote I mean it still exists. I for one never joined #mySpace until they made it where you could login with your #faceBook account 😉 I'm always a late adopter, just signed up for #liveJournal just this year.
@simsa04 @administrator Also the developer of #Soapbox was working on his own groups implementation based on #Facebook's groups. I am pretty sure that if he ever finishes, it will be incompatible with everyone else.
🚨 :facebook: NEW: #Facebook is collecting ultrasensitive personal #data about #abortion seekers and enabling anti-abortion organizations to use that data as a tool to target and influence people online, in violation of its own policies and promises.
It would be nice to have a big chunk of the people who are using #corpocentric #socnets like #Twitter and #Facebook and #Instagram move some or all of their presence over to the #OStatus and #ActivityPub branches of the #Fediverse, but I'd much rather they come because they want to try something different instead of coming because they are fleeing some change or impending change over there.
Why? Because these networks will never give them everything that those did. I personally believe that these networks can give some benefits that those cannot, but thus far, we've mostly tried to replicate their functionality ... without the benefit of nearly unlimited VC cash and a centralized model which puts $CentralizedNetwork at the center of its users' communications, where benefits built upon centralized knowledge of users' actions / choices / contacts.
Therefore, in 2-3 weeks, I expect 9 out of 10 new users to have have returned to Twitter ... or to some centralized network that springs up to duplicate Twitter without the Musk factor.
This has happened before. Maybe not on this scale, but it has happened. Multiple times. And always, most of them leave.