“Everything Is Fake”: Ex-Reddit CEO Confirms Internet Traffic Metrics Are Bullshit…
December 27, 2018
"It's all true: Everything is fake," tweeted Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao regarding a Wednesday New York Magazine article which reveals that internet traffic metrics from some of the largest tech companies are overstated or fabricated. In other words; they're bullshit.
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The New York Magazine article by Max Read goes much deeper, however, asserting; "The people are fake" , "The businesses are fake" , "The content is fake" , "Our politics are fake," and finally "We ourselves are fake."
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For starters Read notes that "Studies generally suggest that, year after year, less than 60 percent of web traffic is human." Some years, "a healthy majority of it is bot." In fact, half of all YouTube traffic in 2013 was bots according to the Times.Read this article.
We've known this for a long time and it's interesting to see this making its way to the masses. Most of the fake numbers are inflated by search-engine bots. If you own or even maintain a website, you know exactly how inflated your analytics are. If the majority of expensive ads wind up delivering a horrible return on investment based on a false premise, then where else do vendors go? Advertisers are the victims here. In fact, if you take a company like Procter & Gamble as an example, they cut $200 million in digital Ad-spends last year and reinvested that money into other media outlets like television, radio, and others - increasing their reach by 10%. They did this to put pressure on digital platforms that have a problem with bots. So in the end, it's going to be interesting to see what people decide to do with their ad budgets now that this is out on the open.
Apple will reportedly start assembling its premium iPhone models in India…
December 27, 2018
Remember the cover of The Economist 2019 Magazine? India was depicted as having a prosperous year (It's trunk was an arrow going up).
Judge denies Mueller’s request to delay hearing in Jerome Corsi lawsuit over government shutdown…
December 27, 2018
Mueller and the FBI, CIA, NSA and DOJ cited the ongoing government shutdown in their request for a delay. A lawyer for Corsi says that the request for a delay was being "proffered tactically," and asserted "it is highly doubtful" that DOJ attorneys "are actually prohibited from working."
Google & Facebook fed ad dollars to child porn discovery apps…
December 27, 2018
Google has scrambled to remove third-party apps that led users to child porn sharing groups on WhatsApp in the wake of TechCrunch’s report about the problem last week...
In response, a Google spokesperson tells me that these group discovery apps violated its content policies and it’s continuing to look for more like them to ban. When they’re identified and removed from Google Play, it also suspends their access to its ad networks. However, it refused to disclose how much money these apps earned and whether it would refund the advertisers...
Facebook, meanwhile, blamed Google Play, saying the apps’ eligibility for its Facebook Audience Network ads was tied to their availability on Google Play and that the apps were removed from FAN when booted from the Android app store. The company was more forthcoming, telling TechCrunch it will refund advertisers whose promotions appeared on these abhorrent apps. It’s also pulling Audience Network from all apps that let users discover WhatsApp Groups.
Illegal Alien Suspected of Killing Officer Day After Christmas…
December 27, 2018
Newman, California Corporal Ronil Singh, 33-years-old, was shot and killed by the illegal alien suspect... Singh stopped the illegal alien during a routine traffic stop to check if the suspect was driving drunk in the city of Newman, about 100 miles out of San Francisco.
Over his police radio, Singh called out “shots fired” and as police arrived at the scene of the traffic stop, they found the officer on the ground with a gunshot wound. Singh was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died.
Instagram accidentally released an update that removed scrolling and replaced it with a horizontal feed. And people were furious…
December 27, 2018
Those who received the update promptly started freaking out and posting to social media about the redesign. Instagram says it didn't mean to roll the update out as widely as it did, and that it was only intended as "a very small test." Instagram has now rolled back the update.
Trump Considering Order To Ban Purchases Of Chinese DeepState Huawei, ZTE Equipment…
December 27, 2018
President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
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The United States says the companies work at the behest of the Chinese government and that their equipment could be used to spy on Americans.In Surprise Cabinet Reshuffle, Saudi King Salman Establishes Space Agency, Demotes Foreign Minister…
December 27, 2018
The diplomatic crisis ignited by the killing of Jamal Khashoggi has largely subsided, and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's grip on power is, if anything, even stronger than it was before (having faced down incipient challenges from one of his uncles). Which is why it's somewhat surprising to see MbS's ailing father, King Salman, order a limited cabinet reshuffle that moved around some of the key players in the scandal (including Adel al-Jubeir, who was one of the kingdom's key liaisons with western media during its response to Khashoggi's killing) and removed Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf al Saud as the Kingdom's ambassador to the UK, according to Saudi State TV station Al-Arabiya.
Amid the reshuffle, the king ordered the creation of a new political and security council (presumably to help protect his chosen successor's flank) and - in a move that is reminiscent of a controversial decision made by President Trump this year - establishes a new Saudi space agency.
Elon Musk wants defamation suit tossed, says ‘pedo’ tweet on cave diver was not fact…
December 27, 2018
Unsworth, 63, denied he was a pedophile and said that Musk's comments "were published with actual malice,” a key factor for proving defamation in the United States.
Musk, however, said in his motion Wednesday to have the lawsuit dismissed that his Twitter tirade “was just imaginative attacks” and are “protected by the First Amendment.”
“Even if offensive, such speculative insults are by their nature opinion,” the motion stated.
Jerome Corsi: FBI, Mueller ‘harassing’ my family…
December 27, 2018
"Right now I've got evidence that the FBI and Mueller's team are now harassing my family," Corsi said during an interview on "Trish Regan Primetime." "They are doing door knocks on my stepson. They are parking surveillance vans with two agents in it outside the places where various members of my family work."
"My children have done nothing wrong," He added. "My wife, I've been married to her for 27 years, and now they're gonna try to make them criminals? I mean this is harassing my family, it's beyond bounds, and I won't stand for it."
Sears may be down to its last 24 hours. Iconic retailer likely liquidates if no bid comes in tomorrow….
December 27, 2018
The company's last shot at survival is a $4.6 billion proposal, put forward by Chairman Eddie Lampert. The 125-year-old company has more than 68,000 employees.
NYPD reports no homicides in New York City in 6 straight days…
December 27, 2018
The five boroughs are on track to have fewer than 300 homicides this year: 283 people were killed in New York City this year. Comparatively, 286 were killed in the city in 2017.
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The NYPD attributes their success partially to a neighborhood policing model, which it describes as "improved communication and collaboration between local police officers and community residents."They also credit new technology, such as security cameras placed all over the city.
Despite the fact that homicide rates are down, the number of reported rapes has increased. Police are attributing that to the fact that more people may be more comfortable reporting them because of the #MeToo movement.
Now Trump will get The Wall on his terms…
December 27, 2018
The reason the DACA for Wall deal didn’t get done was that a ridiculous court decision from the 9th Circuit allowed DACA to remain, thereby setting up a Supreme Court case. After ruling, Dems dropped deal - and that’s where we are today, Democrat obstruction of the needed Wall.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2018
Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas message sparks backlash on Twitter for featuring gold piano…
December 27, 2018
The Queen was filmed sitting at a desk in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace when she delivered her speech, which included personal reflections on her long life and a wish for peace.
But it was the presence of a gold piano in the background that sparked accusations of hypocrisy and that she was out of touch.
Toyota Wants to Put a Robot in Every Home and Make It Your Pal…
December 27, 2018
SpaceX wins $28.7M contract from Air Force for data connectivity research…
December 27, 2018
...a project that could give a boost to the company’s Starlink broadband satellite service.
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The award makes clear that the U.S. military is interested in taking advantage of the global broadband access that Starlink and other satellite constellations in low Earth orbit could provide. In the past, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and other executives have talked more about the civilian market — that is, the idea that satellite constellations could benefit billions of people around the world who don’t currently have affordable, reliable broadband access.ICE HSI seeks public’s help to identify additional victims in child exploitation case…
December 27, 2018
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are seeking the public’s help to identify possible additional victims in a child sexual exploitation investigation involving an assistant principal at Cypress Creek Middle High School in Pasco County, Florida. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Kyle Dale Ritsema, 36, of Land O’Lakes, pleaded guilty today to producing, distributing and possessing child pornography. He was arrested Feb. 13 by HSI special agents.
This investigation has revealed that there may be multiple child victims, as well as a public health concern. Any person who had unprotected sexual contact with Ritsema, or any person who was, or knows of someone who may have been, a possible child victim is urged to contact HSI at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or online tip form.
One year of legal pot sales and California doesn’t have the bustling industry it expected…
December 27, 2018
..as the first year of licensed sales comes to a close, California’s legal market hasn’t performed as state officials and the cannabis industry had hoped. Retailers and growers say they’ve been stunted by complex regulations, high taxes and decisions by most cities to ban cannabis shops. At the same time, many residents are going to city halls and courts to fight pot businesses they see as nuisances, and police chiefs are raising concerns about crime triggered by the marijuana trade.
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After voters legalized marijuana two years ago under Proposition 64, state officials estimated in there would be as many as 6,000 cannabis shops licensed in the first few years. But the state Bureau of Cannabis Control has issued just 547 temporary and annual licenses to marijuana retail stores and dispensaries. Some 1,790 stores and dispensaries were paying taxes on medicinal pot sales before licenses were required starting Jan. 1France’s ‘yellow vest’ movement hopscotches to Taiwan. ‘We’re pleading with the government’…
December 27, 2018
...Chien and thousands of others donned yellow vests on a rainy Thursday morning to protest outside the Ministry of Finance, the architect of Taiwan’s tax system, after feeling inspired by the yellow vest movement in France. Their campaign is the first major one in Asia inspired by the French movement, which was provoked by an increase in fuel taxes.
About 20,000 Taiwanese participated in demonstrations last week outside the presidential office, and about half that number protested in the capital of Taipei on Saturday, according to organizers and local media reports. The protests have all been peaceful.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman apologizes for funding misinformation campaign against Roy Moore…
December 27, 2018
“The Times articles imply that I had knowledge of it and that I endorsed its tactics. Let me be absolutely clear: I do not,” he wrote. “I categorically disavow the use of misinformation to sway an election. In fact, I have deliberately funded multiple organizations trying to re-establish civic, truth-focused discourse in the US. I would not have knowingly funded a project planning to use such tactics, and would have refused to invest in any organization that I knew might conduct such a project.”
Mr. Hoffman insisted that he wants Democrats to win elections based on their merits and not by the manipulation of facts.