Re:NSA Owns Everything (2015)
by godelski on Thursday August 13, 2020 @01:59PM
(#24146174)
> The basic premise is false.
> We were called _Conspiracy Theorists_
Depends who "we" is. If "we" is people on HN, who are tuned in and more closely associated with this stuff, then yeah. _You are not_ just some rando on the internet who follows the mainstream news, you are tech literate and actively participating in a niche technology forum.
But if "we" is more a general term then the premise isn't false and I'd argue is still relatively true today. The general public is only starting to turn away from ideas like "I don't care if Google reads my emails, what are they going to do?" And that's only because ad suggestions have gotten too good, enough that they believe that Facebook is turning on their microphones. Obviously didn't learn from Target[0]. You're clearly aware of this because of your last sentence!
You can sit with your pride telling everyone that you were right all along and not crazy, or you can further the reach to the more generalized "we." The two options are not really inclusive.
> We were called _Conspiracy Theorists_
Depends who "we" is. If "we" is people on HN, who are tuned in and more closely associated with this stuff, then yeah. _You are not_ just some rando on the internet who follows the mainstream news, you are tech literate and actively participating in a niche technology forum.
But if "we" is more a general term then the premise isn't false and I'd argue is still relatively true today. The general public is only starting to turn away from ideas like "I don't care if Google reads my emails, what are they going to do?" And that's only because ad suggestions have gotten too good, enough that they believe that Facebook is turning on their microphones. Obviously didn't learn from Target[0]. You're clearly aware of this because of your last sentence!
You can sit with your pride telling everyone that you were right all along and not crazy, or you can further the reach to the more generalized "we." The two options are not really inclusive.
[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits....