Social media

Authenticity

Posted on by backuphill

Social media has a huge problem with authenticity and they actually keep making it worse.

Did you hear that one about Joe Biden and his son Hunter and perhaps some questionable behavior in the past when dealing with foreign governments?

No?

Weird. The article is from a major news outlet with huge readership and is well respected. Apparently a follow-up article is being censored too. Did you see that one?

Well, it is likely that the big tech companies (Twitter and Facebook and Google) are censoring information in order to protect a political candidate they favor. In their words, they justify such behavior out of a campaign to stop “misinformation” to have a chance to “fact check” the story. In doing so, they are actually meddling in the election and doing exactly the behavior they say they are trying to stop.

Double standard much?

There are lots of thoughts on this whole thing (here is a good article that lines it out well) but the thing that sticks out is that the policies these companies claim to use is used selectively. They use it for stories and information they don’t like, but don’t use it when it helps them or hurts someone they don’t like. Application is selective and that’s shady at best.

The best thing would let ALL INFORMATION flow and let the people figure it out for themselves. Censoring some and not others as it fits with your agenda is a bad look.

Neither of these stories showed up on the Google News Feed, except for stories that are commenting about the censorship of the original reporting. Strange? Nope. Google has as much at stake and has made MANY efforts to stem the flow of information on it’s multiple platforms and outlets.

“Houston, we have a problem.”

It will only get worse as their influence grows and they continue to control the flow of information? Remember when there was concern over that whole “net neutrality” and having ISPs and cable companies having control over the flow of traffic? Yeah, this is the same thing but at a different level. That issue involved throttling the actual data (all of it) and this is the throttling of content (all of it, or at least that which they don’t agree with).

Ever felt like your blog isn’t reaching everyone it should? I have often wondered if WordPress isn’t doing the same thing when it comes to posts that they don’t like or agree with. Could it be true? What do you think?

What do you think of the idea of censorship from tech?

Endorsement

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by Ashutosh Sonwani on Pexels.com

These have got to stop because they really mean nothing. There is no credibility in giving an endorsement to a political candidate or issue, and what it really comes down to is that it is used as political manipulation of the populace.

Newspapers, news organizations, journalists, news anchors, media outlets, etc., are all at fault. Not a single one offers any legitimacy in their endorsement because it is an opinion. Opinions have no place in the news media. Period.

Sure, it is an “editorial board” that comes up with these endorsements and is in the “opinion” section of the paper (separate from the news) but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to the endorsement. The opinion is put out there for everyone to read and is readily seen as all the definitive answer about who a citizen should vote for. So, do we really expect that a media outlet that leans one way or the other is going to endorse something out line with their political leanings? In most cases, the media is liberal so their endorsements are going to support liberal candidates.

If you are an educated and informed voter, these endorsements should mean absolutely nothing to you. If you pay any attention to them and put any weight in them, well, quite frankly, you’re not as informed as you think you are. You’re just contributing to the reason why the media continues towards a ever quicker decline in credibility.

You should be seeing them as propaganda and nothing more.

When you see something like an endorsement come out for a political candidate or an issue, ignore it. They aren’t adding anything new to the debate. If you do read it, read it with a handful of salt.

Doom

Posted on by backuphill

Doom everywhere.

“Doom to you.”

“Doom to you as well, good sir.”

Doom to the President.

Doom to the other political party.

Doom to blacks.

Doom to whites.

Doom to athletes.

Doom to your neighbor.

Doom to government.

Doom to the police.

Doom to & from the media.

Doom to the climate and environment.

Doom doom doom.

Doom from Covid.

Doom for or not for wearing a mask and social distancing.

Doom during the day.

Doom during the night.

Doom to the United States.

Doom to other countries.

Doom everywhere.

Doom backwards is MOOD.

The mood around here is always doom.

Doom you!

Doom me!

Have you had your doom today?

If not, have a great doom today!

Very little

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

I’ve been sentenced to death and I have to choose the manner of death via capital punishment. Do I choose the noose, the chair, an injection, the chamber, or the wall (yes, firing squad is still legal in the US)? It’s a tough choice because ultimately the result is death, but which one will hurt me least?

Choosing a political candidate in the US is kind of a similar choice these days. Did you watch the debate last night? My point exactly.

There has been lots of talk about the presidential debate last night. What a disaster that was! I have heard it called lots of things today: dumpster fire, hot mess, train wreck, kindergarten playground, sh*t show, etc. Honestly, it was all of that!

We learned very little last night. The only thing we learned last night is exactly what we all fear will happen every election.

Choose between the lesser of two evils.

If both are evil, then our choice is screwed either way. Which future do I fear worse? Which one will hurt me least?

For a nation that values choice, we don’t have any. We don’t even have the freedom to not choose. So, that leaves us with no good choice, except to choose a choice we don’t like.

I am tired of this.

Is there any place on earth I to go to be away from people, have freedom to live free, and have access to technology when needed?

Asking for a friend.

I tried

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by Robert Nagy on Pexels.com

I tried. Yesterday. To write a blog post. It never happened. Didn’t get done.

Every time I started, I deleted what I had written.

Nope, can’t write that. Too mean.

Nope, can’t write that either. It will be misconstrued.

LOL. Seriously can’t write about that. People might take it seriously.

Then the day kind of got away as work was VERY busy. Well, is always busy, but more so than normal. A few times I got something started yesterday and then got buried and never got back to it. When I did I changed my mind about it.

That’s dumb. No one will read that.

Is that really the way I wanna address this topic?

Gosh, that’s a lame topic. A chimp could have tapped out this mess.

So, I bagged it. Ever have days like that? Got lots to say, but don’t know how to say it? Me too. Sometimes the ideas are plentiful and sometimes that leads to “writer’s block.” Other times, the ideas just don’t come together.

Got a topic you wanna know my thoughts on? I’ll open the floor up and take suggestions. Pop the ideas into the comment! Thanks!

Objectify

Posted on by backuphill

What exactly does this mean if the power is created by showing more and more skin?
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Gonna wade into a social hot topic. A social double standard. Gonna stomp on some toes. Ruffle some feathers. Set the internet on fire.

Let’s be real for a moment.

Women say they don’t want to be “objectified” and yet they do it to themselves.

That’s an obviously broad statement. There are a lot of connotations in uttering it. But, I can’t help but wonder if what is said isn’t what is actually meant when it comes right down to it. Motivations play a big factor in it, I think.

Social media has caused me to wonder what’s true and what isn’t.

Based on what I see, being objectified brings attention, exposure, clicks, follows, etc. How does that happen?

Skin.

Show more skin.

If you are a female and want to be popular online, the less clothing and more skin you show translates to all kinds of the things mentioned above, plus music deals, modeling contracts, sponsorships, acting deals, etc.

Is it right? Absolutely not.

Are they perpetuating objectification? Of course.

Teenagers dancing in skimpy clothing. Women in short skirts, cleavage falling out all over the place, barely there bathing suits…it all attracts attention, which is exactly why it is being done.

Sure, the argument has been made that “they dress for themselves” and “it helps them feel confident about themselves” and “men shouldn’t see them as objects but as people.”

If that were really the case, would it be necessary to post a video of dance moves with very little clothing on? Couldn’t the same dance moves be made in a regular fitting t-shirt and jeans? Couldn’t the song be sung in a hoody and sweatpants? Couldn’t it just be done with less skin?

Quick test here: Do the exact same thing in two different videos – one fully clothed and one will very little on. Let’s just say it is a short Tik Tok video. Which one gets more views? Clicks? Shares? Likes?

Exactly. Point demonstrated. Skin and sex sells. Nevermind the fact that there are parents out there fully exploiting the fact that their daughters are all over the internet with next to nothing on (and encouraging it).

So, am I off my rocker here? I am seeing this differently than I should? Did I miss something? Maybe I’m wrong. After all, I am just a dumb man.

Categories and Tags

Posted on by backuphill

Blogging and all this stuff. I realize this is gonna be a first world problem, but it seems like a pretty easy fix and it’s hard to believe WordPress hasn’t already done it.

There is a process you go through to help drive traffic to your by using Categories and Tags. Then people who look for those specific topics are alerted, to some degree, that there is a blog post related to it. In the “old” version of getting ready to publish your blog out to the interwebs and make it public, you could select these things and it would tell you how many of each you were using on your blog.

As far as I can tell, this “new block editor” version of WordPress doesn’t do that. I have no quick way of telling how many Categories or Tags I’ve used unless I constantly scroll back and forth to count them.

This seems like a basic and easy fix to implement. Like seriously.

The picture above shows the Categories and Tags tabs. As of right now, I have Categories attached to this very blog I am writing, but you won’t know it until it is expanded.

So, why hasn’t it been set up that when the Categories or Tags is collapsed that it shows how many are under each tab without having to expand it? It could show up, right on the tab next to the tab title (like the image below – highlight added for emphasis).

So, when both the Categories and Tags tabs are collapsed, there is an easy way to see how many of each are being used.

Simple!

Too much to ask? Am I knit-picking? Am I easily irritated? (wait, don’t answer that…)

Or is this a function that they just didn’t think about? I find that hard to believe. I can’t believe they haven’t had feedback on this yet.

What do you all think? Did WordPress miss the boat on this feature?

You’re joking, right?

Posted on by backuphill

Well, this is something, and it is on point!

I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I had to share something that someone said better than me. Unfortunately, those who believe “it’s just a mask” have been swayed for too easily.

Ben Franklin was right, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty or Safety.”