Top News:
Sean Coughlan / BBC:
London police warn students about using Sci-Hub, calling the self-described “pirate” site for research papers “a threat to their personal information and data” — Police have warned students in the UK against using a website that they say lets users “illegally access” millions of scientific research papers.
Discussion:
@jmreagle, @nathan_oxley, @ethanz, @fanf, @antisocial_eng, @tomchivers, @mafaldadms, @antisocial_eng, Slashdot and cityoflondon.police.uk, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Joseph Reagle / @jmreagle: I hope I never encounter this frightful sounding website Sci-Hub. Same with Z-Library. Never heard of it, and I hope it stays that way. https://twitter.com/...
Nathan Oxley / @nathan_oxley: Thank you Sky News Tech for amplifying this. Please do not use Sci-Hub, a website that allows users to share and get access to publicly funded research that is kept behind paywalls. The website, which you must not visit, is easily found on Google or any other search engine https://twitter.com/...
Ethan Zuckerman / @ethanz: I worry that if we spread tweets like this, people may learn that using Sci-Hub gives them cost-free access to academic papers. If that happens, people outside the scholarly establishment could participate in research culture and what would happen to our jobs? https://twitter.com/...
Tony Finch / @fanf: The police say Sci-Hub enables free access to over 70 million published scientific papers of all disciplines. It is estimated to include 80%+ of the world's scientific papers, a volume of data roughly two and a half times the size of Wikipedia. https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/ ...
@antisocial_eng: Do not, I repeat, do not go to https://sci-hub.do/ and download free academic papers easily. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Chivers / @tomchivers: @duncanrobinson Some noble internet providers, such as Virgin, rightly block Sci-Hub, to prevent innocents from accidentally seeing scientific papers. But I'm sad to say that if you use your phone as a hotspot you can bypass that block. I'm just warning you so you can avoid this sort of disaster
@mafaldadms: Absolutely. Don't use Sci-Hub, students or researchers or anyone interested in accessing (mostly) publicly-funded research for free. That would be bad. Very bad. https://twitter.com/...
@antisocial_eng: People should avoid websites like this and stick to mainstream services such as @YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/...
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Substack is generating negative attention just when it faces competition from Facebook and Twitter to attract writers who want to make money from newsletters — The newsletter startup's new controversy, explained. — Jude Doyle has been publishing a Substack newsletter since 2018, not long after the startup launched.
Discussion:
Noahpinion, @adamdavidson, @nishachittal, @jason, @themadstone, @ubiquity75, @petersterne, @ubiquity75, @petersterne, @themadstone, @rsingel, @travelinganna, @jimmydonofrio, @ubiquity75, @dannypage, @ubiquity75, @ubiquity75, @adamweinstein, @ubiquity75, @travelinganna, @themadstone, @samraskinz, @manymanywords, @mathewi, Gizmodo, @stevekrak, @dannypage, @therealbradbabs, @patdennis, @hautepop, mathewingram.com/work and Today in Tabs, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Noah Smith / Noahpinion: Substack complaints miss the mark
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: I think the point is that, with fewer than 10,000 readers, he can make many multiples of writers for publications that reach millions. That's the new, Passion economy. Monetizing intensity of engagement, not raw numbers. I think, on balance, it's good for journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal: seems like those substack advances are actually really undervaluing writers https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jason: As I predicted, substack writers are leaving for @ghost (according to this @pkafka story) Ghost is 99% cheaper because is charging based on a SaaS model — I am not an investor in GHOST but I would love to be! Hit me up team GHOST https://www.vox.com/...
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: I would like to shutup about this and go back to talking about science but @SubstackInc owes the trans community an apology and some real introspection. Trans rights are human rights. We're not going to get far solving climate change if we can't agree who deserves human rights.
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: There is a portion of the neckbeard army types who send hate mail and rain down garbage on any person (woman) they can when one of their icons lights the fire. But controlling for that group, I was baffled by some of the indictments — particularly that I am a shill for Big [x].
@petersterne: @rsingel Probably, since Facebook is terrible. But Twitter's @revue is making the same promise as Substack: “Bring the audience you've built, and take it with you anytime. You are in control.” https://www.getrevue.co/
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: I am quite sympathetic to that desire*, but I think we differ in that I have spent 15 years studying every day the ways these firms work to capitalize on those desires, all the while a. offering something that's a satiating lookalike and tantalizing but ultimately empty calories
@petersterne: This is one of the best things about Substack. All newsletter platforms, and really all social platforms, should make it easy for users to switch. https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: It says a lot about Substack's values as a business that openly transphobic writing in clear violation of the content moderation policies is going up daily with impunity.
Ryan Singel / @rsingel: @petersterne I'm willing to bet Facebook is gonna hold onto the billing relationship
Annemarie Dooling / @travelinganna: You're not gonna believe this, but people made newsletters before substack existed https://tedium.co/...
Jimmy D / @jimmydonofrio: @DannyPage The ability to *potentially* pull in ~$900K from <10K subscribers is a hell of a grift, though. Takes somebody special to fumble that bag.
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: Don't you all see this? Follow the god damned money. It's the reason why Big Tech has bought and paid for computer science, engineering labs and departments all over the place: to co-opt and set the agenda where it begins!
Danny Page / @dannypage: there's basically no network effects either on Substack, so it doesn't trickle down to other folks. The only winners are the founders and the VCs.
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: But I'm starting to see why some of the more sincere people feel the way they do. It's because they want and deserve outlets for expression and information that fall outside the dominant institutions of corporate media, the military-academic-industrial complex, and government.
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: and, much more importantly, b. how those activities at the user level — not to mention the arguments take place right here/there — provides cover for deep infiltration and corporate domination IN THE VERY FORM OF the academic-military-industrial complex supposedly being disrupted
Adam Weinstein / @adamweinstein: Gonna restart my old Substack and every entry is gonna be “Matt Yglesias pay off my student loans” https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: It becomes clearer every single day since this erupted in my life (2/28) just why the intrepid libertarian/right opinion stable of Substack called on their most unscrupulous propensities — and followers — to directly attack and defame me when I simply told the truth. https://twitter.com/...
Annemarie Dooling / @travelinganna: I also just can't believe the amount of money people will pay to hear random people give their opinions https://www.vox.com/...
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: Even if you buy the argument that offering $250k advances to writers isn't an editorial choice—which, for the record, is horeshit—I don't see how you can argue that letting writers make $ publishing hate speech on your platform isn't a *business* choice. https://www.vox.com/...
Sam Raskin / @samraskinz: What a sucker I am for reporting and not getting in the takes game https://twitter.com/...
Meredith Haggerty / @manymanywords: This absolutely makes me feel like I know a little more about Substack's money situation; also because of Substack I still have so very many questions. https://www.vox.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: So Matt Yglesias tells Peter Kafka that if he hadn't taken an upfront payment from Substack, he would have made about $750,000 this year from subscribers but because he took their deal he will only make $380,000 or so https://www.vox.com/...
Tom McKay / Gizmodo: Senate Considering Hauling in Facebook, Twitter CEOs so They Can All Ramble for Hours About Whatever Bullshit Gripe They Have This Time
Steve Krakauer / @stevekrak: Extrapolate this out. Even at 5% or 10% (500-1,000 paid subscribers) this is a self-sustaining business. People can make a living with a small but dedicated group of people who value their work. And also think about how damaging it is for others to try to cut off this pipeline. https://twitter.com/...
Danny Page / @dannypage: Imagine paying 80 bucks a year to hear economics opinions from someone who limited his upside to the tune of almost half a million dollars https://twitter.com/...
Bradley Babendir / @therealbradbabs: one thing that sort of sucks because i think yglesias is a bad writer but seems relevant in the substack discourse is that he's very popular and substack is much better off / he's much worse off having taken their deal as opposed to going it alone https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Pat Dennis / @patdennis: I am a fan of the substack model and subscribe to some, but I really think the company itself, for writers, shouldn't exist, because the ultimate product they're selling (monetize your die hard twitter followers), is so simple and easy to duplicate https://www.vox.com/...
Jay Owens / @hautepop: My latest estimates had Yglesias at 9,000 paying subscribers - turns out he has 9,800: vindicating! Added some March 2021 estimates to my Biggest Substacks doc https://docs.google.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Rusty Foster / Today in Tabs: Open Thread: Chapter 1: Loomings
RELATED:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Facebook's newsletter tool will let it help people monetize their Facebook Pages and show it can support a different kind of publishing amid legal scrutiny
Facebook's newsletter tool will let it help people monetize their Facebook Pages and show it can support a different kind of publishing amid legal scrutiny
Discussion:
Venkat Ananth / @venkatananth: This is an interesting analysis by @CaseyNewton on what Facebook sees in newsletters — a shift away from the News Feed (through integration of FB Pages) and a reader community model through Groups. https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Michael Sayman / @michaelsayman: My guess is most tech conglomerates will offer some form of Substack. At which point, similar to how music artists have their music available on various music platforms, journalists will host their content on various “substack-like” services. No one service will rule them all. https://twitter.com/...
Will Oremus / @willoremus: this would be an interesting move for a company that's already facing a federal antitrust lawsuit https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: I wrote about Facebook's forthcoming newsletter gambit, and whether you should build your solo journalism effort on the platform. The company hinted to me that it won't take a cut of your subscription revenue 👀 https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/...
The Daily Beast:
Teen Vogue's new EIC Alexi McCammond, who was meant to start in the coming days, will no longer be joining the publication — The Condé-owned outlet's new editor has exited the job just days before she was set to take on the gig. … Just days before she was set to begin the job …
Discussion:
My New Band Is, Discourse Blog, @alexi, @ryangrim, @tianathefirst, @frankluntz, @kerrymflynn, @kristina_wong, The Atlantic, @asteadwesley, @freeblackgirl, New York Times, @gladwell, @isaacdovere, @zararahim, @thrasherxy, @mattzeitlin, @benyt, @maxberger, @freeblackgirl, @clairlemon, @zararahim, @kurtbardella, @thewayoftheid, @abbydphillip, Poynter, @amandacarpenter, @dansaltzstein, @dansaltzstein, @ronmwangaguhung, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @espiers, @ebruenig, @radiofreetom, @nelliebowles, @thrasherxy, @timmarchman, @davidafrench, Ad Age, @ike_saul, @thewayoftheid, @rolandsmartin, @iamsophianelson, @lukerosiak, @samthielman, @offbeatorbit, @heminator, @emzanotti, @mehdirhasan, @davidafrench, @wajahatali, @nickgillespie, @stevekrak, @juliacarriew, @bymeg, @hillelneuer, @thrasherxy, @matthewamiller, @timmarchman, @sethamandel, @maxboot, @robynurback, @timcast, @mattwelch, @jonathanchait, @mattyglesias, @jonathanvswan, @mtracey, @vexedinthecity, @charlescwcooke, @slate, @legsfrank, @eiffeltyler, @travisakers, @hashtaggriswold, @michaelbd, @stevekrak, @eoinhiggins_, @maxwelltani, @jasoncolavito, The Week, @l0g1c9uy, @ktbenner, The Media Nut, Dana Loesch's Chapter …, Washington Examiner, The Guardian and Newser
Discussion:
Aleksander Chan / Discourse Blog: The ‘Teen Vogue’ Mess Is What Happens When Bosses Don't Listen
Alexi McCammond / @alexi: Hey there: I've decided to part ways with Condé Nast. Here is my statement about why - https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: The staff of Teen Vogue successfully blocked an extremely well qualified Black woman from becoming its next editor in chief over tweets from when she was a teen that she apologized for years ago. https://twitter.com/...
Tiana Lowe / @tianathefirst: Teen Vogue was invented by a woman who reignited the fur industry, blocked black people from the most important fashion covers and newsrooms in the country, and coronates the de facto American aristocracy. Alexi McCammond is not problematic. Vogue is. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ ...
Frank Luntz / @frankluntz: Another career destroyed by the #woke mob. Alexi McCammond is a brilliant reporter and even a progressive, but she has been canceled for stuff she tweeted nearly a decade ago in college. The Robespierre Reign of Terror continues... https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
@kerrymflynn: “The online frenzy is real, but it also misses the point. Ultimately, this is not a story about a too-woke staff, or even about bad tweets. It's about a fundamental failure on the part of Condé Nast leadership” Good analysis by @aleksnotalex https://discourseblog.com/...
Kristina Wong / @kristina_wong: I think the lesson is that cancel culture can come for anyone, not just those you don't like. Ironic that her racist anti-Asian tweets came out after she tried to cancel Charles Barkley for a bad joke. Good example of how cancel culture can and will boomerang. https://twitter.com/...
Graeme Wood / The Atlantic: America Has Forgotten How to Forgive
Astead / @asteadwesley: conde nast/wintour could've sought full staff buy in in advance of the EIC announcement. that carelessness makes me feel bad for Teen Vogue staff, and for Alexi. both deserved an institution that treated them better https://www.nytimes.com/...
Evette Dionne / @freeblackgirl: A thread everyone should read. Look beyond the tweets from a decade ago. They were in very poor taste. That was not the only issue with this hire. https://twitter.com/...
Katie Robertson / New York Times: Teen Vogue Editor Resigns After Fury Over Racist Tweets
Malcolm Gladwell / @gladwell: I'm curious to know what the new age cut-off is for “youthful indiscretions.” https://twitter.com/...
Edward-Isaac Dovere / @isaacdovere: the standard being set here is that a few comments as a teenager which have been recanted, deleted and apologized for multiple times should nonetheless define a person's career https://www.nytimes.com/...
Zara Rahim / @zararahim: “When she was a teenager” is a hilarious argument in a tweet about.... Teen....Vogue 🥴
Dr. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: 13. So, Wintour has a history of sidelining and tokenizing women of color. She made a poor hire, putting the hire (who, having never edited, should never have been there) and the staff in a terrible place. We are made by our histories & present.
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: some european publications — the guardian, le monde — formally involve their staff in picking the editor in chief, would be an interesting model for american ones to adopt as opposed to the more...ad hoc....way newsroom influence the selection or removal of their bosses
Max Berger / @maxberger: It's unfortunate what happened to @alexi. She is a fantastic journalist who took responsibility for mistakes she made when she was a teenager. She will no doubt continue doing good work. But we need a new way to deal with public utterances from a generation who grew up online. https://twitter.com/...
Evette Dionne / @freeblackgirl: Alexi is extremely well qualified—just not for this specific job. She has never been a fashion editor and was hired as the top editor at a fashion magazine. I was a very young EIC too (28), so there is always some hedging about being too young. But that is not the case here. https://twitter.com/...
Claire Lehmann / @clairlemon: So grateful to @j4mi3p @jonkay @SwipeWright @toadmeister for not axing me due to my lowbrow tweets 🙏 https://twitter.com/...
Zara Rahim / @zararahim: It is truly so easy to not tweet that someone facing consequences for racist opinions is dumb, especially when those opinions were harmful to an entire community, a community that is going through a lot of pain...yet here...we are. https://twitter.com/...
Kurt Bardella / @kurtbardella: 1000% agree https://twitter.com/...
Openly Black Studs Twerkel / @thewayoftheid: Do I believe she's still catching wreck over what happened with her boyfriend, the WH and Politico? Absolutely. But she gave folks ammo with those silly ass tweets. The game is the game.
Abby D. Phillip / @abbydphillip: I know @alexi and she's obviously not who she was when she wrote those tweets. I'm sorry to see that she won't be moving forward in this position. It's beyond fair to demand true remorse and accountability, but Alexi demonstrated those things and I wish she'd been given a chance. https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Carpenter / @amandacarpenter: This reflects much more poorly on Teen Vogue than @alexi https://twitter.com/...
Dan Saltzstein / @dansaltzstein: @ryangrim All else aside, how is someone without editing experience “extremely qualified” to be an EIC?
Dan Saltzstein / @dansaltzstein: @ryangrim In fairness, @benyt has noted that David Remnick (NYer), Jeffrey Goldberg (Atlantic) and Ben himself (Buzzfeed) didn't have significant editing experience before taking over their EIC roles. Still not sure she was “extremely well qualified” but point taken.
@ronmwangaguhung: @mediagazer A very substantive conversation could have been had in the pages of Teen Vogue over racism, over what can and should not be said on social media, on taking responsibility for ones actions, on “doing the work” — but, alas
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Update: An MSNBC source says that Alexi McCammond asked to end her contributor contract with MSNBC in February, before the news broke that she was joining Teen Vogue.
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: Another recent change: Alexi McCammond is no longer an MSNBC contributor https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: Aside from the tweets, I think it's pretty unusual to hire someone who's never edited anything before as the EIC of a large national magazine. She had political reporting chops but generally you have to have *some* editing experience to be “well qualified”. https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Bruenig / @ebruenig: seems somewhat strange that we have developed this (accurate) reading of racism, misogyny, etc as structural phenomena — and we know that teenagers aren't fully formed moral agents — but we punish adults for teenage mistakes reflecting a sick culture. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tom Nichols / @radiofreetom: Yet another day I am grateful that social media didn't exist until I was already in middle age. https://twitter.com/...
Nellie Bowles / @nelliebowles: An industry now largely run by a movement of moralizing scolds who've (magic! it's true!) never been teenagers. As someone who was an idiot teenager, I can only look in awe at these perfect beings, sprung into the world fully formed like Athena herself. https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: WELP. ~EVERYTHING~ abt this hire was wrong. Teen Vogue had become a space for deep work critical of capitalism, race & gender. McCammond: —Was WAY too close to the WH/DNC —Had never been an editor?! —Had a poor racial *analysis* + anti-Asian writing —Staff didn't want her https://twitter.com/...
Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: I'd also question the assumption that the Teen Vogue staff is so unsophisticated as to be incapable of contextualizing old tweets and more concerned with them than with having someone who'd never edited running their newsroom.
David French / @davidafrench: The level of intolerance is unsustainable. This trend will come to an end. It's too unjust. It's too absurd. The only question is how many careers and reputations must be wrongly trashed and destroyed before this trend fades into shameful oblivion. https://twitter.com/...
Ilyse Liffreing / Ad Age: NFL hands Amazon exclusive games, and Teen Vogue editor undone by teen rogue tweets: Friday Wake-Up Call
Isaac Saul / @ike_saul: This is so sad. Alexi is a great journalist who tweeted shitty things when *she was 17 years old* — and has spent the decade since building a body of work that shows who she really is. Reporters and progressives alike need to start thinking about how to let ppl grow. https://twitter.com/...
Openly Black Studs Twerkel / @thewayoftheid: On behalf of Black women, “Nah.” This ain't it. https://twitter.com/...
Sophia A. Nelson / @iamsophianelson: This is NOT RIGHT. We have got to STOP doing this to good people because of old blog posts, old tweets, old Facebook posts, old college drunken videos, etc. We are fallible human beings. We get it wrong—who is able to throw stones? @CondeNast @TeenVogue this is not good. https://twitter.com/...
Luke Rosiak / @lukerosiak: Psst... they don't *really* believe in “restorative justice.” https://twitter.com/...
Ashley Reese / @offbeatorbit: Why does her being Black matter in this scenario? As if TV has never had a black EIC before dhdkdhdkdkdjz https://twitter.com/...
Mark Hemingway / @heminator: Totally agree, but worth noting had she taken the job at Teen Vogue she would have been editing a bunch of articles endorsing said puritan panics. https://twitter.com/...
Emily Zanotti / @emzanotti: But how do you square a publication that (ostensibly) treats 17 year olds as developed enough to engage on complex political topics (and in eclectic sex practices) with saying a 17 year old isn't fully developed on the subject of racial equity? https://twitter.com/...
Mehdi Hasan / @mehdirhasan: This made me sad and frustrated. Surely we can see the difference between active, current racists and bigots and people who said things long ago that they already sincerely apologized for? Have we lost all sense of proportion? And which of us hasn't said or done things we regret? https://twitter.com/...
Wajahat Ali / @wajahatali: This is dumb. These were tweets over a decade ago, when she was a teenager, and since then she has apologized and changed. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Nick Gillespie / @nickgillespie: More proof that woke #cancelculture is simply fire-and-brimstone Christianity minus any concept of forgiveness or salvation. Just eternal damnation. What a horrible theology. Conde Nast must be a horrible place to work from any perpsective. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Steve Krakauer / @stevekrak: Really solid work by The Daily Beast and the children that make up the Teen Vogue staff to block a young, Black, female journalist from ascending to an editor position... https://twitter.com/...
Julia Carrie Wong / @juliacarriew: they gonna do anything about the editor who commissioned this or just stay focused on a teenager's tweets? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Meg Z / @bymeg: the thing is............. besides the racist tweets...... she wasn't qualified for the role? like at all????????? so I didn't understand this COMMITMENT TO THE BIT...... like was she worth the strife? https://twitter.com/...
Hillel Neuer / @hillelneuer: When the revolution devours its own: March 5: Condé Nast names Alexi McCammond, a 27-year-old African-American journalist, as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. March 18: Condé Nast fires her over racist & homophobic tweets she posted a decade ago as a teen. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dr. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: This is incorrect, and there is a kind of race making happening when someone who has never been an editor is called “extremely well qualified.” & as much as I love worker power, she didn't quit over the staff uprising, but after advertisers pulled out. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Miller / @matthewamiller: There is a legitimate debate to be had about how to judge people for actions in the past, to what extent they grow, etc. But I would hope we could all agree that judging adults in professional settings for what they did as a teenager is ridiculous. https://twitter.com/...
Tim Marchman / @timmarchman: She was not “extremely well qualified” unless you're using a standard that holds the editorship of Teen Vogue to be so insignificant that one wouldn't need to have had prior experience as an editor to hold the position, which would be telling. https://twitter.com/...
Seth Mandel / @sethamandel: Pre-firing her for teen tweets she apologized for several times is garbage, but doing it now as reporters are connecting it to a racist murder spree in Atlanta is beyond tactless. Infuriating to watch coward employers reinforce twitter's ‘people are disposable’ attitude. https://twitter.com/...
Max Boot / @maxboot: I just wrote in @PostOpinions that the rightist obsession with “cancel culture” is overblown and over the top (https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...), but there is no question, as I also noted, that there are some leftist excesses too. This looks like one of those. https://twitter.com/...
Robyn Urback / @robynurback: She wrote those tweets 10 years ago, when she was a teenager. As I wrote in a column last week, if she had committed a violent crime instead, she'd be out of prison, off parole, and the progressive view would be not to judge her by her past https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Tim Pool / @timcast: Apologizing doesn't change what she said it just means she admits she did it and is now being held accountable for her actions, for the rest of her life She apologized before but it doesn't matter. This is proof apologizing doesn't work https://twitter.com/...
Matt Welch / @mattwelch: Whose lives were improved by this episode? Whose journalism? https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Chait / @jonathanchait: I continue to believe that “anti-racist” norms are being enforced in elite spaces in ways that do not actually advance the cause of opposing racism. https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Hail the glorious victory of antiracism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jonathan Swan / @jonathanvswan: I've worked with @alexi for four years. I know her well and can say this unequivocally: The idea she is racist is absurd. Where the hell are we as an industry if we cannot accept a person's sincere and repeated apologies for tweets when they were a teenager? https://twitter.com/...
Michael Tracey / @mtracey: Suggestion: do not pursue employment in any conventional sectors of the online media industry unless you are willing to tolerate enormous amounts of psychic dread https://twitter.com/...
Corey Richardson / @vexedinthecity: This is bullshit. Losing a job as an adult over some shit you tweeted as a kid isn't how people learn their lessons nor is is fair atonement for her past wrongs. Best of luck out there, but this shit didn't help anyone, really. https://twitter.com/...
Charles C. W. Cooke / @charlescwcooke: Absolutely preposterous. There's no reason whatsoever why silly things a person said ten years ago—when she was seventeen—should prompt this reaction or this outcome. This isn't “accountability”; it's a puritan panic that leaves no space for growth. https://twitter.com/...
@slate: This was a questionable hire, even before the offensive old tweets resurfaced. https://slate.com/...
Allegra Frank / @legsfrank: i wrote about, among other issues, the exhausting illegitimacy of “i was young and stupid” as an excuse for your prejudiced social media history https://slate.com/...
Tyler McCall / @eiffeltyler: This is so rough. I maintain none of this had to be this way if Condé had any sense whatsoever. https://twitter.com/...
Travis Akers / @travisakers: #BREAKING: Alexi McCammond is out as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue after backlash over racist tweets about Asians https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Alex Griswold / @hashtaggriswold: Alexi McCammond is out at Teen Vogue, over tweets that were publicly available and she had already apologized for, and that she was asked about again during the interview process, and for which she apologized, again, upon being publicly named https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Michael Brendan Dougherty / @michaelbd: I like the subtle Doublespeak nature of believing a brand called Vogue is about the marginalized. https://twitter.com/...
Steve Krakauer / @stevekrak: Outrageous. What a shitty time to be a young journalist. https://twitter.com/...
Eoin Higgins / @eoinhiggins_: Unsurprising, not sure how she was going to be able to manage that newsroom https://twitter.com/...
Max Tani / @maxwelltani: NEW: Alexi McCammond is out at Teen Vogue, will not be joining as EIC. Story w/@LachCartwright https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...
Jason Colavito / @jasoncolavito: Regardless of the new editor's qualifications, or lack thereof, I am uncomfortable with spending so much time litigating tweets made a decade ago by a teenager, or sending her through a second full year of public apologies for them. https://slate.com/...
Catherine Garcia / The Week: Teen Vogue's new editor in chief resigns after past anti-Asian tweets resurface
@l0g1c9uy: This is an article from slate today, it's about the EIC at Teen Vogue who's under fire for 10yo tweets from when she was a teenager. It doesnt come out and say there's no path to forgiveness, it just rejects all available options and offers no alternatives https://slate.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Katie Benner / @ktbenner: While homophobic and racist social media pats have gotten all the attention, more than anything this is a @CondeNast Anna Wintour management debacle that set someone up to fail https://slate.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / The Media Nut: A fast rise and a faster fall
Dana Loesch / Dana Loesch's Chapter and Verse: I Can't Celebrate Cancel Culture, Even When It's The Left Eating Their Own
Tiana Lowe / Washington Examiner: If Teen Vogue staffers want to prove their wokeness, they should quit their classist company
Priya Elan / The Guardian: Teen Vogue's new editor resigns over past anti-Asian and homophobic tweets
Bob Cronin / Newser: Outcry Over Tweets Ends Hiring at Teen Vogue
RELATED:
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:
Teen Vogue Executive Editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay announces she is leaving; source says the move was announced internally earlier — Teen Vogue executive editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay announced Friday she is leaving the Condé Nast brand after three years in her role.
Discussion:
Jacob Shamsian / @jayshams: kind of weird that teen vogue had a person of color as its executive editor this whole time and didn't just promote her
Danielle Tcholakian / @danielleiat: can't imagine why staff who already had an incredible, experienced leader got mad https://www.thewrap.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post: No. 2 editor at Teen Vogue is also heading for the exit
Thomas Moore / The Hill: Teen Vogue executive editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay resigns
Wall Street Journal:
GroupM: Google, Facebook, and Amazon “triopoly” grew its share of US digital ad market from 80% in 2019 to 90% in 2020, and now collects 50%+ of all US ad spend — The three tech giants now collect more than half of all ad dollars spent in the U.S. The pandemic economy got them there.
Discussion:
@asharma, @keachhagey, @jamessurowiecki, @stevesi, @moorehn and @jason_kint, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Amol Sharma / @asharma: Three big tech companies now collect more than half of all ad dollars spent in the U.S. Not digital dollars — ALL dollars. Here's why the ‘triopoly’ went into overdrive in the pandemic. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
@keachhagey: The pandemic accelerated Google, Facebook and Amazon's takeover of the US ad market. They now receive a majority of US ad dollars - not digital ad dollars, *all* ad dollars. w/ @VranicaWSJ https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
James Surowiecki / @jamessurowiecki: It seems weird to lump Amazon in with Google and Facebook, since the “ad dollars” they get are dollars spent to promote items on their site - they're more like the equivalent of slotting fees than advertising dollars. https://twitter.com/...
Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi: Google, Facebook and Amazon now collect more than half of all ad dollars spent in the U.S. The pandemic supercharged advertising's ‘triopoly.’ https://www.wsj.com/... // So a lot like broadcast TV used to look, but a lot more effective and open to small and medium business?
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: Great story about how the pandemic has only empowered Facebook, Google and Amazon to dominate online advertising. By the terrific @keachhagey and @VranicaWSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: I only take issue w/ this “expert” claim. It fails to recognize Google and Facebook get majority of their data from other parties (when users aren't using their services). There's a reason they've fought privacy standards/laws so hard. Antitrust + privacy is their 3rd rail. 🍿 https://twitter.com/...
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Some political cartoonists like The Nib's Matt Bors face continued Facebook takedowns, as AI and human moderators struggle with satire — As Facebook has become more active at moderating political speech, it has had trouble dealing with satire. — SAN FRANCISCO — Since 2013 …
Discussion:
@micahuetricht, @nytimesbusiness, @mehdirhasan, @mikeisaac, @rubenbolling, @staceynycdc, @andresm84409227, @halltoons, @dangainor, @adamserwer, @americascomic, @mattbors, @evelyndouek, @peterquirk, @vesper385, @patbagley, @peterfhart, @mattbors, @americascomic, @dfrlab, @evelyndouek, @stevesi, @harrymccracken and @benjysarlin
Discussion:
Micah Uetricht / @micahuetricht: This piece mentions that satire is a huge content moderation blindspot for social media companies. But it's not just that they don't get jokes. @instagram, for example, suspended @MilesKLassin for posting an article he wrote about QAnon — that was anti-Q! https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbusiness: “They are going to have to develop some literacy around satire,” Matt Bors, a political cartoonist, said of Facebook. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mehdi Hasan / @mehdirhasan: I'm sure the right's free speech brigade and cancel culture warriors will be all over this story and attacking Facebook for bias against left-wing comics, right? Right? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: here is a story about Facebook's never ending content moderation challenge, and the difficulty presented with irony in language. this is exemplified in work by cartoonists like @MattBors whose pieces have been taken down repeatedly https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rubenbolling: The @nytimes ran an article about how Facebook is removing satirical content. The one example comic it printed, in full, is one of mine. But it was run without permission and without ANY attribution. My name is not even mentioned. https://www.nytimes.com/... cc @MikeIsaac
Stacey E. Singleton / @staceynycdc: “Facebook has had trouble identifying the slipperiest and subtlest of political content: satire. While satire and irony are common in everyday speech, the company's AI systems — and even its human moderators — can have difficulty distinguishing them.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@andresm84409227: @halltoons Facebook has removed some of my stuff a couple of times & twitter has cancelled my account more than a dozen times. FB doesn't have much of a sense of humor.
Ed Hall / @halltoons: I'm quoted in this New York Times piece today. Interesting timing after my kerfuffle with Reddit this week. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan Gainor / @dangainor: Restrict less content. Problem solved. | For Political Cartoonists, the Irony Was That Facebook Didn't Recognize Irony https://www.nytimes.com/...
@adamserwer: This left wing political correctness is getting out of control https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@americascomic: journalists stop writing about Facebook like it's an event of nature acting beyond our understanding and letting their PR team rationalize bad moderation policy. Twitter, Reddit doesn't have this problem. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matt Bors / @mattbors: For the last couple months we've been dealing with Facebook publishing restrictions and a threat to delete The Nib's page based on mass reporting from the right. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@peterquirk: @evelyndouek I don't think any of us (ordinary users) asked for scale. We did ask for CoMo. It would be worth asking whether we would all prefer much smaller communities while having access to a scalable directory service from which to invite people to our communities.
Adin Heller / @vesper385: “Sometimes I do think about if a joke is worth it, or if it's going to get us banned,” he said. “The problem with that is, where is the line on that kind of thinking?” :: For Political Cartoonists, the Irony Was That Facebook Didn't Recognize Irony https://www.nytimes.com/...
Pat Bagley / @patbagley: This is a problem. Kudos to my peers cited in this article for their smart responses @MattBors @adamzyglis @RubenBolling @halltoons https://www.nytimes.com/...
Peter Hart / @peterfhart: “Many of the political cartoonists whose commentary was taken down by FB were left-leaning... Conservatives have previously accused Facebook and other internet platforms of suppressing only right-wing views.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matt Bors / @mattbors: This is the main cartoon in question, which was removed after a mass reporting campaign by Proud Boys for hurting their feelings (Gavin McInnes also emailed me to complain). https://thenib.com/...
@americascomic: And, it's like, if their moderation puts their careers at risk then that's a sign the company has way too much sway over the ecosystem of the internet
@dfrlab: Satire, and comedy in general, can be a difficult gray area for social media platforms to police for extremism and disinformation. Where do you think, if at all, a line should be drawn on what is satire and what is purposefully dangerous? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Evelyn Douek / @evelyndouek: Alt headline: “Facebook, Like Every Speech-Regulation Regime in History, Struggles with Satire” CoMo at scale is all about error choice. I can't help but feel like, in part, we asked for this. (the piece is nuanced and gets at this) https://www.nytimes.com/...
Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi: For Political Cartoonists, the Irony Was That Facebook Didn't Recognize Irony https://www.nytimes.com/... // wait so there are unintended side effects in pushing companies to moderate?
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
YouTube star David Dobrik, a co-founder of photo app Dispo, has lost several brand sponsors after claims of sexual assault emerged from past Vlog Squad videos — A YouTuber famous for his prank videos has lost multiple sponsors this week. — David Dobrik, 24, is one of the best-known YouTubers in Hollywood.
Discussion:
Connor Perrett / Insider: David Dobrik is reportedly ‘no longer an owner’ of a women's soccer team backed by celebs like Serena Williams and Natalie Portman
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: After an investigation by @kattenbarge @InternetInsider detailing sexual assault allegations against a former Vlog Squad member many are reviewing Mr. Dobrik's work and their fandom. Now it's challenging the success of his growing empire. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Asian American Journalists Association:
In the wake of the Atlanta shooting, AAJA urges newsrooms to empower Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists given their sources and their expertise — Contact: Naomi Tacuyan Underwood, Executive Director / naomitu@aaja.org — On behalf of our broadcast members nationwide …
Discussion:
@aaja, @ndungca, Columbia Journalism Review, The Guardian, @emmacarew, @marcusjdl, @abbierbennett, @jeremylittau, @iwritecoolstuff, @jennyyangtv, @ishaantharoor, @jessicavalenti, @tori_bedford, Vanity Fair, @erinblogan, @bykristinep, @amybwang, @kat__stafford, @goawaywithjae, @kat__stafford, @sergiomarbel, @jillgeisler, @sfmarmendoza, @melissakxly4, @keopu, @katxmoon, @amandaleeap, @myhlee, @gia_vang, @poynter, bookforum.com, @markfollman, @kat__stafford, @chriscuomo, @s_m_i, The Daily Beast and Washington Post
Discussion:
@aaja: STATEMENT: AAJA Encourages Newsrooms to Empower AAPI Journalists and Their Expertise Since the shootings, we have heard some deeply concerning problems in newsrooms across the country, including in Atlanta: “Are you sure your bias won't show if you cover the Atlanta shootings?”
Nicole Dungca / @ndungca: the latest from @aaja: Newsrooms must empower their AAPI journalists to work on stories like the Atlanta shootings. If media outlets don't get access to AAPI communities because of language/cultural barriers, we miss major parts of these crucial stories. https://aaja.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Vivian Ho / The Guardian: Police patrols have increased in Asian areas. Not everyone is feeling safer
Emma Carew Grovum / @emmacarew: Love to remember the time a college editor told me it “looked like” a conflict of interest for me to cover the Chinese new year. (not that it matters, I'm not Chinese, I'm Korean. Which she knew) (not that it matters, but she, as a white person, covered white people too) https://twitter.com/...
Marcus / @marcusjdl: Your reminder that considering white people “impartial” but poc as not when covering race matters is really racist 🎉 https://twitter.com/...
Abbie Bennett / @abbierbennett: No one is asking white reporters this when we write about white people. https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Littau / @jeremylittau: That newsrooms are asking this is yet another sign the modern practice of journalistic objectivity is so deeply broken (read the whole thread) https://twitter.com/...
@iwritecoolstuff: it's so interesting how “being too biased” is used against marginalized ppl—especially if they're PoC, queer, trans, and/or “mentally ill” https://twitter.com/...
Jenny Yang / @jennyyangtv: mayhaps white reporters covering this white murderer are be too biased to cover this #Atlanta shooting 🤷🏻♀ ️ https://twitter.com/...
Ishaan Tharoor / @ishaantharoor: The invocation of “bias” here is deeply disturbing — and says a lot more about the newsroom manager who would even think that than the journalist from an East Asian background https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Valenti / @jessicavalenti: Are white men ever told they'd be biased towards the shooter? https://twitter.com/...
Tori Bedford / @tori_bedford: an Asian student asked me about this at a panel a few years ago and I was taken aback, wondering where the idea of “bias” in covering Asian communities came from. Your personal experience, your LIVED experience— ADDS to your credibility. IDENTITY IS NOT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. https://twitter.com/...
Erin B. Logan / @erinblogan: were any white journalists asked this during the fallout of the Capitol siege? https://twitter.com/...
@bykristinep: This is the kind of close-minded thinking that newsroom managers should stop. Knowing people's language, city and culture doesn't make you a biased reporter. It makes you the perfect person for the job because you can capture their lives with nuance and sensitivity. https://twitter.com/...
Amy B Wang / @amybwang: Taking a moment to appreciate @aaja and @myhlee for their relentless work and advocacy for AAPI journalists always, but especially this week: https://twitter.com/...
Kat Stafford / @kat__stafford: This is akin to the objectivity questions Black journalists faced (and continue to face) while covering Black Lives Matter protests and the racial reckoning. This is all borne of the fact that whiteness is considered by many to be the objective norm in our industry.
@goawaywithjae: This is such sh!t. White journalists aren't told they're too biased to cover white people, but POCs can't be objective? They said this decades ago & it hasn't changed one bit. Hire reporters who speak the languages of the communities you cover, you stupid racist fvcks. https://twitter.com/...
Kat Stafford / @kat__stafford: This. Such important points. Why do journalists of color face these bias/objectivity questions? Would an editor ask the same of white journalists? Our personal experiences and understanding of communities helps inform reporting. https://twitter.com/...
Sergio Martnez-Beltrn / @sergiomarbel: Editors never ask white reporters whether their bias would show when reporting a story. They only ask journalists of color. That shows their bias, right? Good for @aaja for this amazing thread. I hope we all can stand in solidarity with our AAPI colleagues today and forever. https://twitter.com/...
Jill Geisler / @jillgeisler: Bias? No. Just no. Expertise and insight? Yes. Absolutely. https://twitter.com/...
Mariecar Mendoza / @sfmarmendoza: And this shouldn't just be a thing right now. This should happen👏🏽 every 👏🏽 time👏🏽 https://twitter.com/...
Melissa Luck / @melissakxly4: Thankful @aaja for this. Every journalist in my newsroom is qualified to put aside bias & cover a story. Sometimes, the people closest to it are EXACTLY the ones who should be covering it. The Asian journalists in my newsroom bring a cultural perspective that we're lucky to have https://twitter.com/...
@keopu: This is NOT OKAY. 😡 Are white journalists (especially men) being questioned if they can fairly and accurately cover the white man killer? Nope. White journalists who want to be allies? Now's your chance. Step up in your newsrooms for your Asian American colleagues. https://twitter.com/...
Kat Moon / @katxmoon: please read this thread. “Are you sure your bias won't show?” is a ridiculous response on so many levels. I've seen this week at TIME the incredible work that comes from a newsroom empowering AAPI journalists who want to be a part of the coverage https://twitter.com/...
Amanda Lee Myers / @amandaleeap: Unacceptable, ridiculous and another form of discrimination. No one asked if I'd be biased when I covered shootings of white people. https://twitter.com/...
Michelle Ye Hee Lee / @myhlee: Since the shootings, @AAJA members reported: -being fluent in Korean, knowing ATL, asking to cover but being told they may be too biased -being the only AAPI at work and feeling overwhelmed they have to represent all AAPIs -& more. To their newsrooms: https://aaja.org/...
Gia Vang / @gia_vang: The burden of being “the only one” in the newsroom creates a professional and emotional toll ... may feel responsible for representing the entire AAPI community, often without the leadership titles to make editorial or staffing decisions. Via @aaja https://aaja.org/...
@poynter: Questions journalists need to stop and ask themselves: Are we parroting other news organizations because we think that gives us cover? Are we quoting the police because we think that protects us? Are we getting as many sides of the story as we can? https://www.poynter.org/...
bookforum.com: The Asian American Journalists Association on coverage of the Atlanta shootings; Kazuo Ishiguro discusses artificial intelligence
Mark Follman / @markfollman: Safe to say yesterday was ‘a really bad day’ for media covering the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting in Atlanta. As usual, @Sulliview nails it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Kat Stafford / @kat__stafford: Evergreen reminder: “... the phrase “police said” is not shorthand for the truth.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Christopher C. Cuomo / @chriscuomo: This sheriff said something stupid and may have an animus. Anyone who covers crime (as I have for 20+ years) knows with cops it is always report but verify. (Remember Duke Lacrosse case) but is a blanket bias vs cops the right solution? https://twitter.com/...
The Business of Business:
Q&A with Morning Brew cofounder Austin Rief on plans for subscriptions, why they accepted Axel Springer's offer, and retaining staff with the rise of Substack — Morning Brew isn't just a newsletter, it's a burgeoning email empire. It counts five verticals — including its namesake newsletter …
Discussion:
Hussein Kanji / @hkanji: Morning Brew isn't just a newsletter, it's a burgeoning email empire. https://www.businessofbusiness.com/ ...
@thebizofbiz: “I think you're gonna look back in three years and go, ‘Oh, wow, people thought Morning Brew in 2021 was big, but that was nothing.’” @austin_rief helped grow Morning Brew into a newsletter giant. But his sights are set on much more than your inbox. https://www.businessofbusiness.com/ ...
Thanks:@smalera
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
NYT plans to give up control of its 77K-member NYT Cooking private Facebook group and hand the group over to volunteer moderators from its community — “I blame people who fight over brands of mayonnaise.” — “How many goddamn posts do we need to see of people's first Le Creuset? Seriously.”
Discussion:
@erinbiba, @benyt, @vivianphung, @sfbeantown, @mattyglesias, @lutherlowe, @benthompson, @bloombergme, @benthompson, @ylecun, @erinblasco, @nancyromm, @margarita, @chrismoranuk, Lia Haberman's Newsletter, @colorcodedlife, Links I Would Gchat …, @brosandprose, @rottenindenmark, @blk_amanda, @brianbeutler, @jpbrammer, @laurahazardowen, @tiagodf, @carolsott, @benyt, @delia_cai, @tktaylor, @redditcfb, @erinbiba, @erinbiba, @juliareinstein, @nishachittal, American Press Institute, @erinbiba, @digiphile and @kerrymflynn
Discussion:
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: The NYTimes has lost all control over the Cooking Community Facebook group they created and so instead of moderating it they've decided to completely abandon the 77,000 member group to its own recognizance and take their name off of it. Which is somehow absolutely hilarious to me
Ben Smith / @benyt: @silviakillings @erinbiba @SamSifton But the Times was paying people to moderate it — and that's “a Times employee moderating comments for fb rather than working for the Times.” A chapter in the shift toward a biz that revolves around converting subs. Sorry, I was hoping it was about peas and guacamole too.
@vivianphung: why is this surprising? they've done this before https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@sfbeantown: @benthompson We regularly discuss this @discord with brands. Moderation requires active engagement with your members while encouraging them to also interact with each other. When it's done properly, it's incredibly powerful on many levels.
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: @benthompson I think “it's simply not possible to moderate responsibly at Facebook-scale” has implications other than “people should stop giving Facebook a hard time.”
Luther Lowe / @lutherlowe: @benthompson @mattyglesias Your positions on interoperability and “duty to deal” are at odds, Ben.
Ben Thompson / @benthompson: (I'm obviously poking a bit of fun but the truth is that moderation is hard!)
@bloombergme: @benthompson Yes. But NYT effectively said moderation is expensive. Community organizing is expensive! And realizing the damages of unmoderated forums they shut it down. They didn't say “AI will solve it”
Ben Thompson / @benthompson: @mattyglesias Absolutely. I look forward to the New York Times endorsing pro-competition policies like portable social graphs instead of privacy fundamentalism https://stratechery.com/...
Yann LeCun / @ylecun: Yup. Content moderation is really hard. And content moderation for 2.7 billion people speaking thousands of languages, with hundreds of different cultural, social, and political backgrounds is REALLY, *REALLY* hard. https://twitter.com/...
Erin Blasco / @erinblasco: Bookmark for the next time someone in a meeting suggests starting a Facebook Group. #musesocial https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Nancy Rommelmann / @nancyromm: “It was ‘non-food-related arguments’ that caused the group to fall apart.” Shocking. NB: Anyone who wants to talk only-baking with me, it's on! https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Margarita-core Noriega-core / @margarita: My guide to whether a newsroom should create and sustain a social app group: - yes, to cultivate and identify potential sources 🧩 - yes, to better serve core audiences 🍽 - no, if it's only to “improve” or “correct” sourcing 🚩 - no, if user goals and admin goals conflict 🧨 https://twitter.com/...
Chris Moran / @chrismoranuk: Really interesting example of challenge of off-platform. Fundamental point: it means “a Times employee moderating comments for fb rather than working for the Times.” https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Lia Haberman / Lia Haberman's Newsletter: Social Trends & Tools, Mar 19
Amanda O / @colorcodedlife: Sounds exactly like what happened with the Skimmbassador group, but it took far less people before it went to hell. The racists and Karen's ruined it and theskimm sat by and let it happen. https://twitter.com/...
Caitlin Dewey / Links I Would Gchat …: If you can't stand the heat — A Facebook group left to its own devices is almost certainly a recipe for disaster.
@brosandprose: Community management is a complicated skill. Too many brands and publishers have demanded that their social teams start facebook groups, set growth of members as the only goal, and not bothered to dedicated resources and staffing. Chaotic groups like this are the result. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Hobbes / @rottenindenmark: We need a YouTube channel exclusively dedicated to Facebook Groups drama https://twitter.com/...
@blk_amanda: As someone who has moderated social media for businesses in the past, and does it now for fun for groups... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Brian Beutler / @brianbeutler: There sure do seem to be a lot of people (from tech execs to moderators) manning the boundaries of social media who realize that the best thing we could do for the world is literally turn the platforms off, but few with the mix of nerve and proper incentives to do it. https://twitter.com/...
Laura Hazard Owen / @laurahazardowen: “How many goddamn posts do we need to see of people's first Le Creuset? Seriously.” @nytimes is giving up on its 77,000-member NYT Cooking Community Facebook group. What happens next? https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Tiago Dias / @tiagodf: It's “nearly impossible to moderate one the size of a small city. As it turns out, it's a full-time job — likely more than one — and one the Times no longer wants to do.” https://www.niemanlab.org/...
@carolsott: I had to laugh when my friend Linda sent this to me. The most insufferable group I've ever seen. https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: @silviakillings @erinbiba @SamSifton I should say @SamSifton had only good things to say about the group and wishes its moderators well etc.
Delia Cai / @delia_cai: @benyt @silviakillings @erinbiba @SamSifton guys if you don't want it....can we have it
Tracey Taylor / @tktaylor: @erinbiba Serious question: How would you have handled it differently? I'd love to hear suggestions/elegant solutions for publishers on how to wind down or otherwise handle FB groups that have become unwieldy/unmanageable.
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: They're allowing group members to submit themselves to become moderators and then they're gonna just hand the entire group over to these randoms and peace out. I just. I can't stop laughing at the ineptitude.
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: Here's Sam Sifton showing the Times paid no attention to the group whatsoever. People post “dog pictures next to their soufflé” in response to nasty posts in an attempt to calm arguments as a form of self-moderation because the Times was so wildly absent. https://twitter.com/...
@juliareinstein: @benyt @silviakillings @erinbiba @SamSifton the people have spoken and they want me as moderator. it is time for a peaceful transfer of power https://twitter.com/...
Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal: So rare to see this reality acknowledged: “It is very, very hard to meaningfully moderate a big Facebook group, perhaps nearly impossible to moderate one the size of a small city. As it turns out, it's a full-time job — likely more than one” https://www.niemanlab.org/...
American Press Institute: Need to Know: March 19, 2021 — OFF THE TOP — You might have heard: Social media …
Erin Biba / @erinbiba: I mean I don't know where the fuck the NYTimes ever thought it could get away with having 77,000 people in a group with only four moderators who only checked in during their off hours while also working full time at the Times but this disaster was basically inevitable.
Alex Howard / @digiphile: The @NYTimes could have built a social network around subscriber profiles (Remember Times People?), invested in a commenting system & building communities: https://mashable.com/... What @NYTFood did: built up a Facebook Group, & left it: https://twitter.com/... Notable context: https://twitter.com/...
Mark Pazniokas / The CT Mirror:
Connecticut bill would bar Hartford Courant owners from issuing debt or dividends “not in the public interest”, to stop Alden from wringing cash from the paper — The impending takeover of The Hartford Courant by a cost-cutting hedge fund, Alden Global Capital …
Discussion:
@nickcharles61, @heidilegg, @courantguild, @courantguild, @courantguild, @mattlesser, @ctmirrorpaz, @courantguild, @ctmirror, Hartford Courant and Media Nation
Discussion:
@nickcharles61: “For me, as the researcher who's been banging this drum for the last five years, it's very encouraging...that we finally got public awareness that something is slipping away,” says @businessofnews about decay of local news and the threat of news deserts https://ctmirror.org/...
Heidi Legg / @heidilegg: “There's a whole raft of research that says why every one of us should be concerned about the loss of a newspaper or the diminishment of a long-standing newspaper, like The Hartford Courant,” said @businessofnews. https://ctmirror.org/...
@courantguild: Thank you, sincerely, to the many subscribers and community members who submitted testimony on behalf of The Courant. Your support means so, so much to our staff. All that beautiful testimony is available to read right here 👇 https://www.cga.ct.gov/...
@courantguild: Our own @RebeccaLurye described a devastating past year at The Courant. We've lost a third of our staff. We've lost our printing presses. We've lost our newsroom. “We can't let this be the new reality, and we can't stand by while a bad actor like Alden moves in for the kill.”
@courantguild: Important testimony from @agrimm34: “A successful newspaper can bridge the gap to the business models of the digital age, if they have ownership that is trying, that is committed, that is mission driven.”
Sen. Matt Lesser / @mattlesser: The oldest newspaper in America is being threatened - and I'm happy to be in the fight to save local news. #SaveTheCourant https://www.ctmirror.org/...
Mark Pazniokas / @ctmirrorpaz: Underlying the bill is a notion embraced by publishers in any other setting: Newspapers, especially one whose founding in 1764 predates the American Revolution, are institutions of public trust and benefit, even if privately owned. https://ctmirror.org/...
@courantguild: Here is a good recap of today's testimony from @CTMirror. “Can the state defend a newspaper against a hedge fund?” https://ctmirror.org/...
Connecticut Mirror / @ctmirror: A new bill would bar The Hartford Courant's ownership from incurring debt or issuing dividends that are “not in the public interest,” provisions aimed at blocking vehicles used by equity funds to wring cash out of newspapers, rather than invest in them. https://ctmirror.org/...
Twitter:
Twitter launches a public survey on whether world leaders should be subject to the same rules as others and what type of enforcement action is appropriate — We first explained how we define the public interest on Twitter, as well as our principles and approach to world leaders on our service in 2019.
Discussion:
@twittersafety: Interested in sharing your views? Keep an 👀on this thread for more in the coming days. https://blog.twitter.com/...
Mitchell Clark / The Verge: Twitter wants to know if you think world leaders should get special treatment
@onairwithrick: Say all you want about @Twitter, but at least they are TRYING to make social media a better place. 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻 https://twitter.com/...