The article says that to make more money, FB must "acquire more users and show more advertisements to existing users". There is a third option, which is to show higher efficiency (higher CTR) advertising to existing customers.

This, of course, does not invalidate the main thrust of the article's argument, as the way to increase advertising efficiency is to accumulate and exploit ever more data about its users. Recent events suggest that this is not in users best interest, as FB has proven an untrustworthy custodian of user data.

I don't think federated social networks (GNU social, diaspora ... etc) will solve this problem. In their case they are not in your best interest due to the time that will be wasted. I think "social" interaction should be left in real life where it can influence people in a positive fashion. IMO the Internet is really only good for disseminating information and for certain utilities it provides.

I would disagree that federated social networks would face the same pressure to increase time spent on their sites. By the nature of federation, a sort of marketplace of social sites would allow people to move to whatever serves them best (for whatever their definition of best is). So if a member of the fediverse starts feeding someone unenjoyable content, they could leave.

I disagree. I believe that the biggest blocker for federated social networks would be the lack of "good" censorship for things like spam, terrorism propaganda, child porn, etc. I don't want to use a social network and have to deal with that in my timeline.

Then just don't subscribe to people who post things you don't want to read.

It is particularly rich to see a "human-computer interaction" tag on a post where the body uses nearly-invisible thin grey font on a white background.

Firefox reader mode. I activated it after 15 seconds...

It runs under the wrong assumption when it comes to digital advertising. Advertisers care about engagement. Its not about adding more ads or increasing view time, its about delivering ads that are more relevant to the user so advertisers pay more.

And to deliver greater engagement, Facebook must collect and sell more personal data

I usually see people comment on the font and scoff as it's generally not aweful, but that font color just looks terrible and unreadable on my screen. Is it a really light grey for everyone or just me?

I have 'tuned' my Facebook feed with the 'unfollow' option, by employing the following narcissistic rule: if it makes me angry, upset, or any other negative emotion, for any reason at all, that person or thing gets an unfollow from me.

My feed is now composed of synthesizer groups, funny dogs and funny birds. I get a lot of positive things from my feed, and a lot of relevant advertising for things I'm interested in.

It doesn't matter if it's your sister, your best friend, or your mum, just unfollow. They don't know about it (unless they ask if you 'saw their post'), and you can improve your experience.

Serious question... do you understand the issues with “the bubble”?

Because you are proudly explaining you’ve made one.

That's my point, I cultivated a net-positive feed on Facebook for myself.

It's a bubble, but it's harmless. Synths and cats. Facebook isn't doing anything to me (besides having my data) except showing me that new cool product X is out and I can buy it if I want.

In a similar vein, you know that media has bias, but you still consume it, and you do so thoughtfully, it's no different. You don't just 'stop reading the newspapers'.

if you are going to live in a bubble anyway, you might as well have one that doesnt upset you all the time?

Fair point. But considering the overall damage it does to block off well put together condiractory opinion, I see it as: if I’m going to choose to step on a nail it’s going to be a small one.

But, if you’re cutting out reddit-quality “discussion”, well, I get that.

Yep, I aim to get my news from places other than social networks. As they say in Australia, I couldn't give a rat's arse what other people think about current events, I'll take my news from various reputable sources, not the 'wisdom of the masses'.