It’s surprising to me when free-market capitalists speak about using government power over Facebook and Twitter the way socialist Democrats speak about using government power over General Electric or Exxon. How they can so hypocritically call for regulations on private corporations is beyond my reconciliation.
Leave Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg Alone
Both Facebook and Twitter are paying lip service to remaining neutral parties with how they police fake news on their sites. But, that’s like atheists who adhere to a moral code even though they don’t believe in a higher power. It’s great that they make the effort, but it’s not required.
If Facebook and Twitter would like to purge their servers of all conservative Republican views, they are free to do so. I wouldn’t recommend that they do this for business or philosophical reasons, but there’s no legal reason why they can’t.
I don’t agree with much of what Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey do with Facebook and Twitter, but I’ll fight for their right to do it.
The Age of Enlightenment Is Over
One of the hallmarks of the Age of Enlightenment was the belief that truth could be discovered via reason—that through the free exchange of ideas, mankind could elevate himself. This was in stark contrast to the model at that time where a strong central authority believed that all conflicting ideas needed to be suppressed or shunned.
In an enlightened organization, opposing viewpoints are not shunned but engaged. Even if the opposing party will never change his or her mind, the discussion serves as an object lesson for spectators who may be undecided. But at the end of the day, any differences need to be put aside with the realization that we’re all under one flag and part of the same nation. America is a melting pot where we’ve always been able to disagree without being disagreeable.
This is why the whole phenomenon of shouting at the other political side or kneeling for the national anthem is so disturbing. It weakens the bond which should bind all of us who disagree on various ideas. My kids asked me why we always sing the national anthem before sporting events. I explained to them that any kind of competition can foster an “us vs. them” mentality. Starting with the national anthem reminds us all before competition gets heated that, despite our differences, we’re all Americans. And that is more important than any other differences we have.
Breadth of Selection Is a Competitive Advantage
Rather than pushing for government regulations to force Facebook and Twitter to “level the playing field”, my conservative allies should be adhering to the principles of the free market and open competition. Is this not the solution which we trot out to liberals every time they wish to regulate health care or energy? Now that conservatives are on the short end of the stick, they are ready to throw their principles out the window? For shame.
I used to work at the world headquarters for one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the nation, the Cabela’s Corporation. It grew to a billion-dollar Fortune 500-level corporation by advertising their breadth of selection. Carrying a wider selection of merchandise than any of their competitors became their value proposition. Hunters and anglers knew that if they went to Cabela’s, chances are they could find what they were looking for in stock. This differentiation allowed Cabela’s to thrive when other sporting goods retailers who competed solely on price were struggling.
Likewise, in the great internet economy, Facebook and Twitter also offer their “customers” a breadth of selection. But if they reduce their selection, they willingly put themselves at a competitive disadvantage. The problem for them right now is that they don’t recognize the potential danger. But the more that they cut down on their breadth of selection, the easier they make it for a competitor to arise.
It may be hard to imagine a business coming out of nowhere to rival YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook, but we live in an age where speed records are constantly being broken. The speed at which data is disseminated or efficiently transferred is constantly getting cut by exponential factors. The only reason that no rivals have arisen to YouTube or Twitter yet is the lack of a change agent to ignite the process.
Donald Trump Could Be That Change Agent
I read an interesting article recently about a little-known phenomenon that can sink ships. It describes how solid materials can unexpectedly liquify and cause ships to capsize if the weight shifts too far to one side. Once this process starts, it’s impossible to stop.
This same phenomenon exists for social media platforms. As long as users come and go at random, the great ships of social media remain stable. If all your friends and associates are on Twitter, why would you leave? You’d all have to leave at the same time, or it would never work. Getting unconnected groups of people to do anything at once is so very difficult. However, once users start to leave en-masse, this migration is impossible to stop if it reaches a tipping point.
Would-be contenders to YouTube or Twitter have arisen, but migration to these services has never even come close to a critical mass which would threaten the big guys. A scenario that could lead to a pivotal change could start with the presidential “bully pulpit.” It isn’t called this for nothing. Every word the president says is covered and scrutinized, so unlike any celebrity or internet group, the influence of the president cuts across vast swaths of society. It isn’t confined to niches.
If there is any one person in the world who could trigger an overnight migration to new services, it may be President Trump. And this is a man who was rumored to be running for president not to be president but to start a new TV network after he lost. Donald Trump, unlike George W. Bush, has always been intensely interested in media. He could use his influence to ignite a new platform which offers unfettered free speech as its value proposition.
Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are too strong to take down via a frontal assault. You have to hope that they crumble from within due to self-inflicted wounds. Once they’ve thrown out the enlightened ideals of reason and the free discussion of ideas, this will allow competing platforms to grow.
Both Facebook and Twitter are paying lip service to remaining neutral parties with how they police fake news on their sites. But, that’s like atheists who adhere to a moral code even though they don’t believe in a higher power. It’s great that they make the effort, but it’s not required.
If Facebook and Twitter would like to purge their servers of all conservative Republican views, they are free to do so. I wouldn’t recommend that they do this for business or philosophical reasons, but there’s no legal reason why they can’t.
I don’t agree with much of what Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey do with Facebook and Twitter, but I’ll fight for their right to do it.
The Age of Enlightenment Is Over
One of the hallmarks of the Age of Enlightenment was the belief that truth could be discovered via reason—that through the free exchange of ideas, mankind could elevate himself. This was in stark contrast to the model at that time where a strong central authority believed that all conflicting ideas needed to be suppressed or shunned.
In an enlightened organization, opposing viewpoints are not shunned but engaged. Even if the opposing party will never change his or her mind, the discussion serves as an object lesson for spectators who may be undecided. But at the end of the day, any differences need to be put aside with the realization that we’re all under one flag and part of the same nation. America is a melting pot where we’ve always been able to disagree without being disagreeable.
This is why the whole phenomenon of shouting at the other political side or kneeling for the national anthem is so disturbing. It weakens the bond which should bind all of us who disagree on various ideas. My kids asked me why we always sing the national anthem before sporting events. I explained to them that any kind of competition can foster an “us vs. them” mentality. Starting with the national anthem reminds us all before competition gets heated that, despite our differences, we’re all Americans. And that is more important than any other differences we have.
Breadth of Selection Is a Competitive Advantage
Rather than pushing for government regulations to force Facebook and Twitter to “level the playing field”, my conservative allies should be adhering to the principles of the free market and open competition. Is this not the solution which we trot out to liberals every time they wish to regulate health care or energy? Now that conservatives are on the short end of the stick, they are ready to throw their principles out the window? For shame.
I used to work at the world headquarters for one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the nation, the Cabela’s Corporation. It grew to a billion-dollar Fortune 500-level corporation by advertising their breadth of selection. Carrying a wider selection of merchandise than any of their competitors became their value proposition. Hunters and anglers knew that if they went to Cabela’s, chances are they could find what they were looking for in stock. This differentiation allowed Cabela’s to thrive when other sporting goods retailers who competed solely on price were struggling.
Likewise, in the great internet economy, Facebook and Twitter also offer their “customers” a breadth of selection. But if they reduce their selection, they willingly put themselves at a competitive disadvantage. The problem for them right now is that they don’t recognize the potential danger. But the more that they cut down on their breadth of selection, the easier they make it for a competitor to arise.
It may be hard to imagine a business coming out of nowhere to rival YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook, but we live in an age where speed records are constantly being broken. The speed at which data is disseminated or efficiently transferred is constantly getting cut by exponential factors. The only reason that no rivals have arisen to YouTube or Twitter yet is the lack of a change agent to ignite the process.
Donald Trump Could Be That Change Agent
I read an interesting article recently about a little-known phenomenon that can sink ships. It describes how solid materials can unexpectedly liquify and cause ships to capsize if the weight shifts too far to one side. Once this process starts, it’s impossible to stop.
This same phenomenon exists for social media platforms. As long as users come and go at random, the great ships of social media remain stable. If all your friends and associates are on Twitter, why would you leave? You’d all have to leave at the same time, or it would never work. Getting unconnected groups of people to do anything at once is so very difficult. However, once users start to leave en-masse, this migration is impossible to stop if it reaches a tipping point.
Would-be contenders to YouTube or Twitter have arisen, but migration to these services has never even come close to a critical mass which would threaten the big guys. A scenario that could lead to a pivotal change could start with the presidential “bully pulpit.” It isn’t called this for nothing. Every word the president says is covered and scrutinized, so unlike any celebrity or internet group, the influence of the president cuts across vast swaths of society. It isn’t confined to niches.
If there is any one person in the world who could trigger an overnight migration to new services, it may be President Trump. And this is a man who was rumored to be running for president not to be president but to start a new TV network after he lost. Donald Trump, unlike George W. Bush, has always been intensely interested in media. He could use his influence to ignite a new platform which offers unfettered free speech as its value proposition.
Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are too strong to take down via a frontal assault. You have to hope that they crumble from within due to self-inflicted wounds. Once they’ve thrown out the enlightened ideals of reason and the free discussion of ideas, this will allow competing platforms to grow.
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