Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language

Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic

TikTok and short form video of accelerated the changes in language. Subgroups often adopt their own slang internal to the group. This will sometimes "Escape" the confines and become widely accepted. The original group may feel it "lost" its language and go on to something else. The cycle has gone on for some time, with African American Vernacular providing many words that came into modern usage (such as "cool") We see more and more new terms rise up and spread quickly due to the widespread reach and repetition of video.

Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood

Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood by Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, Adrian Wood

Autism feels like an incidental topic for this book. The authors talk about social media gathering and come across os mommy bloggers who happened to have kids with autism. They do go into some of their experiences, but the focus is on the mom, rather than the kid. The autistic child, the dad and the other siblings are bit players in this book of a mom's experience. The autistic child comes across as a challenge to "standard mommyhood" rather than a real person. The writers appear to be very outgoing go-getters who struggle significantly with a child that just does not adhere to social norms. This book will be useful for those ultra-social moms who have children with extreme autism. However, this only covers a small fraction of the cases out there.

One of the challenges with autism is that it is a single term applied to a large variety of conditions. The book does acknowledge that there are a number of co-existing conditions (such as ADHD and anxiety). Would it be better to split up autism into a number of unique diagnosis? Some kids have severe developmental and intellectual challenges. Others appear fine, but have social challenges. Lumping everything together just causes confusion. (Perhaps this is why it is becoming more common.) Autistic people tend to be more inward focussed. Even those that appear outwardly social are often less concerned about how others feel. These seems to be the opposite of the LGBT individuals who tend to be very outwardly focussed. They have pride parades and actively advocate for themselves. Autistic people rarely advocate for themselves. Are we missing out on an important part of culture? Were these people significant contributors in families before, but now shoved to the sidelines because they cannot adapt well to the challenges of ever-changing urban society?

Like, Comment, Subscribe: How YouTube Conquered the World

I'm no longer feeling the warm fuzzies for Google. This book is primarily about YouTube. However, the use of algorithms instead of humans is scary. Algorithms seem good when looking retrospectively. However, for anything future looking, they are subject to manipulation. You get algorithms to respond to algorithms. Do we get to the state where computers are creating videos that are watched by computers and monetized by ads generated by other computers? 

This book is a fairly objective look at Youtube's rise and the many challenges it has faced. Creators often struggle when a simple algorithm change greatly curtails their viewership. Quality is not so important as engagement. Algorithms that pick the next video can easily lead people into echo chambers where their beliefs are amplified. Curtailing one person's hate speech curtails another person's legitimate conversation. To some there is not enough monitoring. To others there is too much. Even Kids Youtube can let not-good-for-kids content slip through. Even worse the "next video" feature can lead people down an endless trail of morass. YouTube as a platform has too much power to influence our thoughts. Yet, there is not anyone that really understands how this power is used. Even monetization is based on algorithms to show the maximum amount of advertisements that don't hurt viewership. It feels like we should keep away, rather than let it be consumed with regularity. 

Writing on the Wall: Social Media: The First 2,000 Years

"Social" media has been the norm for most of history. The modern "mass" media is actually more of an aberration. Companies like Facebook and Twitter help enable social spread of information in a way that is similar to the way communication was spread in Rome.

The Roman empire was one of the first documented cases of mass literacy. Many earlier civilizations had writing. However, there has been limited uses of writing outside of official communications. Writing was a special skill and scribes were keen to limit access to their field. Rome did not have universal literacy, but reading and writing did spread to many more members of society. Elite members of society would pass writings from one to another through various friends and acquaintances. (There was not a modern mail system.) There is also plenty of evidence of graffiti seen in places like the ruins of Pompeii. 

Early Christians communicated through media, with the letters from early leaders making up the bulk of the New Testament. These writings were copied and communicated via social groups.

The printing press enabled additional means of communication. Printing remained decentralized with limited production from individual printing presses. Popular works would be passed along and printed by many different printers. This led to the rise of "pamphlets" and newspapers. These represented the beliefs of the printer and would be more closely related to blogs than modern newspapers. Governments had tried to control printing. However, the success was limited. The pamphleteering and the defense of the press helped lead to the American revolution.

Industrial printing enabled a single printing press to print many more copies. This lead to the start of mass media. Prices of media could become much cheaper with revenue made up by large circulation and advertising. Radio and telegraphy were primarily "social" communications. However, they were superseded by broadcast radio and television. The "golden age" of broadcast media took place after world war 2.

The internet was spawned to support better communication among scientists. Email allowed private communication. The World Wide Web allowed for easy communication with web sites. Even this shifted to "browsing". However, blogs and social media sites came in to fill the gap. Friendster and Myspace have come and gone. The book mentions many other social media sites that have already been shut down. Facebook and Twitter continue to exist, but they have their own struggles. They are still "social" sites controlled by large corporations that depend on advertising. What will the future of social media hold?

The Circle

The Circle is a Social Media company that has come to dominate the world. They have subsumed Facebook and other companies. It also does strict authentication ensuring that all users are real. The company coddles its employees even more than Facebook of today. They get comprehensive benefits and even have "dorms" on the "campus" where they can live.

The book centers around Mae Holland, a recent college grad who gets a job at The Circle. At first she struggles with the company. The work is straightforward. However, the "external demands" are challenging. She is expected to maintain an active online presence. Going to parties and social events is "optional", but really required so as not to hurt other people's feelings. 

Mae gradually overcomes her reluctance and dives headlong into the company. She starts documenting her social life in more detail. She also begins to appreciate the openness of tracking and cameras. The company starts encouraging politicians to be "open" and have their every action broadcast live. Those that don't do so are chased out of office. Privacy is considered "theft". Voting moves to the social media platform. The Circle can tell infinite facts about everyone.

The satire is moderately over the top. There is some growth, allowing you to become sympathetic with the characters. It does get over the top. Pretty soon it seems just a little too farcical to be "real". The book advocates for privacy, even though lack of privacy can reduce societal problems such as crime and racial profiling.