I'm a subscriber and regular listener to many things Lawfare. I listened to your recent Fashion and Metaphysics episode of Dog Shirt Daily, and I think I can give you some insights on a number of topic to which I think you and Holly were mistaken. I think you'll appreciate my observations if please will read on.
On the debate over the jeans ad with Sydney Sweeney, I think Holly was incorrect to say the left had lost it's mind over the ad. In fact, it's the right that has lost in mind in what it claims was the left's overreaction to the ad. Just look at your favorite left and right outlets. The right is claiming the left cannot appreciate a beautiful woman. Irrespective of all that, this is trolling, first of the left, and then of the right. No one seems to declare who on the left was casting hate on this ad. My answer was it is largely a bunch of trolls, very likely Russian trolls. For Holly, please quote your sources when you claim the left is losing its mind of this ad.
Next, on the intermittent nature of conferencing software, and the refrain 'Ben, you're frozen', this is a basic misunderstanding of two-way or multi-way communication. There are two types of problems, a receiver loses reception, or the sender loses transmission. Both conditions can cause 'Ben to freeze'. Without checking with others on the call, its nearly impossible to tell where the problem is. And, video conferencing systems usually prioritize audio over video, so just because someone freezes, they may still have live audio feed. Next time, when someone sees that Ben is frozen, they should ask either 'Ben, are you still there?', or 'Am I the only one that sees Ben is frozen?'.
Finally, on the issue of the social media recommender algorithms offering up garbage, it's not because it thinks you want to see that stuff. It doesn't think. What it does is correlate your subscriptions (followings, watch history, and search history other accounts that have similar subscriptions, watch histories, and search histories and matches you to their most common content. This is especially true for YouTube. The fix is really simple, clear your YouTube watch and search histories. You'll be amazed at what you get as recommendations, which will now be based solely on subscriptions. Then, as you click on stuff, be aware that you're build new histories. I clear my search and watch history regularly, especially when the recommender offerings become categorically narrow or misdirected.
Hi Ben,
I'm a subscriber and regular listener to many things Lawfare. I listened to your recent Fashion and Metaphysics episode of Dog Shirt Daily, and I think I can give you some insights on a number of topic to which I think you and Holly were mistaken. I think you'll appreciate my observations if please will read on.
On the debate over the jeans ad with Sydney Sweeney, I think Holly was incorrect to say the left had lost it's mind over the ad. In fact, it's the right that has lost in mind in what it claims was the left's overreaction to the ad. Just look at your favorite left and right outlets. The right is claiming the left cannot appreciate a beautiful woman. Irrespective of all that, this is trolling, first of the left, and then of the right. No one seems to declare who on the left was casting hate on this ad. My answer was it is largely a bunch of trolls, very likely Russian trolls. For Holly, please quote your sources when you claim the left is losing its mind of this ad.
Next, on the intermittent nature of conferencing software, and the refrain 'Ben, you're frozen', this is a basic misunderstanding of two-way or multi-way communication. There are two types of problems, a receiver loses reception, or the sender loses transmission. Both conditions can cause 'Ben to freeze'. Without checking with others on the call, its nearly impossible to tell where the problem is. And, video conferencing systems usually prioritize audio over video, so just because someone freezes, they may still have live audio feed. Next time, when someone sees that Ben is frozen, they should ask either 'Ben, are you still there?', or 'Am I the only one that sees Ben is frozen?'.
Finally, on the issue of the social media recommender algorithms offering up garbage, it's not because it thinks you want to see that stuff. It doesn't think. What it does is correlate your subscriptions (followings, watch history, and search history other accounts that have similar subscriptions, watch histories, and search histories and matches you to their most common content. This is especially true for YouTube. The fix is really simple, clear your YouTube watch and search histories. You'll be amazed at what you get as recommendations, which will now be based solely on subscriptions. Then, as you click on stuff, be aware that you're build new histories. I clear my search and watch history regularly, especially when the recommender offerings become categorically narrow or misdirected.
Regards,
Doug Evans
How do you know that I am a Great American. You use that designation too loosely.