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"Thanks Elon, I'm Done With Twitter's Dumb Blue Check Mark"
by Alessio Durante Nov. 11, 2022

Nov. 11, 2022

In a world of fakes, I sure wish there was a way to tell what was real. Twitter's blue check mark was an ingenious answer to this impossible problem. The check mark meant Twitter verified that the person logging into that account was who they said they were. Even pseudonymous accounts for political activists living under repressive regimes could reliably get their message out. To help, Twitter enacted extra protections like two-step verification to help us all trust the system. Continue […[https://www.cnet.com/news/social-media/thanks-elon-im-done-with-twitters-dumb-blue-check-mark/]] via Ian Sherr, CNET -- Alessio Durante

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Can Elon Musk Make the Math Work on Owning Twitter? It’s Dicey.
by 380° Nov. 11, 2022

Nov. 11, 2022

Buonasera, «Can Elon Musk Make the Math Work on Owning Twitter? It’s Dicey.» https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/30/technology/elon-musk-twitter-debt.html --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- The numbers are already daunting. The $44 billion acquisition was the largest leveraged buyout of a technology company in history. To do the deal, Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, loaded about $13 billion in debt on the company, which had not turned a profit for eight of the past 10 years. [...] If Twitter needs more money in a year, finding new investors could be a lot to ask given the economics of the company. Even Mr. Musk has conceded that his initial investors in the deal valuing Twitter at $44 billion were “obviously overpaying.” The stocks of many social media companies have tumbled this year as they navigate the same problems as the rest of the economy. Given his net worth of more than $200 billion, Mr. Musk himself could theoretically help cover Twitter’s extra cash needs. He could also try to buy out some of Twitter’s lenders and reduce its debt load. [...] Putting more money into a leveraged, slow-growth company like Twitter is also not the same as investing in a rapidly growing venture-backed start-up like his rocket-making company, SpaceX. The risks are greater at Twitter because the banks doing the lending care only about getting paid their interest on the day it is owed. Unlike, say, a real estate company, Twitter does not have a large amount of assets to offer lenders as collateral to keep them at bay. [...] Twitter has suffered years of mismanagement and may benefit from fixing its business out of the glare of the public markets. [...] Mr. Bruner said the worst deals are typically struck at the peak of a market — as with Mr. Musk’s purchase of Twitter. He offered what he thought could be a worst-case scenario for the company. In that future, Mr. Musk would not be able to “get the expenses down to the level necessary to cover the debt burden.” That would “slowly erode the company’s equity, and he’s unable to find more equity investors.” The final outcome? “Slowly, Twitter implodes,” Mr. Bruner said. --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Non credo che Musk (o gli stuoli di consulenti finanziari che può permettersi) non siano in grado di fare i conti, quindi da quello che si può capire dalle informazioni che ci danno questa acquisizione è la più strana della storia di Internet, o no? Saluti, 380° -- 380° (Giovanni Biscuolo public alter ego) «Noi, incompetenti come siamo, non abbiamo alcun titolo per suggerire alcunché» Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>.

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Nis 2
by Mauro Alovisio Nov. 11, 2022

Nov. 11, 2022

Gent.mi Segnalo https://www.cybersecitalia.it/nis-2-il-parlamento-ue-approva-la-direttiva-b… Buona serata

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"Mysterious company with government ties plays key internet role"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 11, 2022

Nov. 11, 2022

*Mysterious company with government ties plays key internet role* /TrustCor Systems vouches for the legitimacy of websites. But its physical address is a UPS Store in Toronto.// / By Joseph Menn Nov 8 2022 An offshore company that is trusted by the major web browsers and other tech companies to vouch for the legitimacy of websites has connections to contractors for U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement, according to security researchers, documents and interviews. Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari, nonprofit Firefox and others allow the company, TrustCor Systems, to act as what’s known as a root certificate authority, a powerful spot in the internet’s infrastructure that guarantees websites are not fake, guiding users to them seamlessly. The company’s Panamanian registration records show that it has the identical slate of officers, agents and partners as a spyware maker identified this year as an affiliate of Arizona-based Packet Forensics, which public contracting records and company documents show has sold communication interception services to U.S. government agencies for more than a decade. [...] continua qui: <https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/08/trustcor-internet-addr…>

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Mark Zuckerberg’s Message to Meta Employees (sul ridimensionamento)
by 380° Nov. 10, 2022

Nov. 10, 2022

Buonasera, A seguito dei recenti risultati finanziari [1], Meta attua il licenziamento del 13% dei dipendenti, il taglio delle spese inutili e il blocco assunzioni per tutto Q1 2023 Una mossa che, da fonti bene informate (?), pare sia stata necessaria per rispondere alle pressoni degli investitori: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/meta-shares-pop-5-as-wall-street-… --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- Investors have been concerned about Meta's rising costs and expenses, which jumped 19% year over year in the third quarter to $22.1 billion. [...] Meta's stock has lost more than 71% of its value so far this year and the company became the worst performer in the S&P 500 last week. --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Zuckerberg spiega così il perché dell'ultima mossa: https://about.fb.com/news/2022/11/mark-zuckerberg-layoff-message-to-employe… «Mark Zuckerberg’s Message to Meta Employees» November 9, 2022 --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- At the start of Covid, the world rapidly moved online and the surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth. Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected. Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. In this new environment, we need to become more capital efficient. We’ve shifted more of our resources onto a smaller number of high priority growth areas — like our AI discovery engine, our ads and business platforms, and our long-term vision for the metaverse. We’ve cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real estate footprint. We’re restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won’t bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I’ve also made the hard decision to let people go. [...] For example, as we shrink our real estate footprint, we’re transitioning to desk sharing for people who already spend most of their time outside the office. We’ll roll out more cost-cutting changes like this in the coming months. We’re also extending our hiring freeze through Q1 with a small number of exceptions. I’m going to watch our business performance, operational efficiency, and other macroeconomic factors to determine whether and how much we should resume hiring at that point. [...] I’m currently in the middle of a thorough review of our infrastructure spending. As we build our AI infrastructure, we’re focused on becoming even more efficient with our capacity. Our infrastructure will continue to be an important advantage for Meta, and I believe we can achieve this while spending less. Fundamentally, we’re making all these changes for two reasons: our revenue outlook is lower than we expected at the beginning of this year, and we want to make sure we’re operating efficiently across both Family of Apps and Reality Labs. [...] This post contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business plans and expectations. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. Because some of these risks and uncertainties cannot be predicted or quantified and some are beyond our control, you should not rely on our forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. More information about potential risks and uncertainties that could affect our business and financial results is more fully detailed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 27, 2022, which is available on our Investor Relations website at investor.fb.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. In addition, please note that the date of this post is November 9, 2022, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Mentre mi pare abbastanza chiaro il risparmio in termini di costi legati al personale (incluso nel OPEX), mi pare molto fumoso il risparmio CAPEX... ma soprattutto come pensano di risollevare la voce "Revenue"? ...col metaverso? recuperando nell'ad-tech? Saluti, 380° [1] dei primi tre trimestri, vedremo il Q4 Q1: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2022/q1/Meta-03.31.202… Q2: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_news/Meta-Reports-Second-Quarter-… Q3: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_news/Meta-Reports-Third-Quarter-2… -- 380° (Giovanni Biscuolo public alter ego) «Noi, incompetenti come siamo, non abbiamo alcun titolo per suggerire alcunché» Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>.

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What TikTok does to your mental health: ‘It’s embarrassing we know so little’
by Alberto Cammozzo Nov. 10, 2022

Nov. 10, 2022

<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/30/tiktok-mental-health-soc…> In the few years since its launch, TikTok has already altered the face of the social media landscape, attracting more than 1 billion users and leading competitors to replicate some of its most unique features. The impact of that explosive growth and the ‘TikTok-ification’ of the internet at large on social media users remains little understood, experts warn, exacerbating concerns about the impact of social media on our habits and mental health. “It’s embarrassing that we know so little about TikTok and its effects,” said Philipp Lorenz-Spreen, a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. “Research often lags behind industry, and this is an example of an instance where that could become a big problem.” The lack of understanding in how TikTok affects its users is particularly concerning given the app’s massive popularity among young people, experts say. Increasingly called “the TikTok generation”, Gen Z prefers the platform to other social media, with nearly six in 10 teenagers counting themselves as daily users. The majority of US teens have accounts on TikTok, with 67% saying they have ever used the app and 16% saying they use it “almost constantly”. “We owe it to ourselves and to the users of these platforms to understand how we are changed by the screens we use and how we use them,” said Michael Rich, a pediatrician who studies the impact of technology on children at Boston Children’s hospital. “We need more information to make informed decisions on how we’re going to help younger people understand how to use them thoughtfully and mindfully – or not use them at all.” What makes TikTok different Concerns about the mental health impacts of social media activity are longstanding, and have only intensified in recent years. In 2021, for example, internal research at Instagram made public by Frances Haugen showed the drastic mental health impacts of the photo app on teen users – including increased rates of eating disorders among teen girls – and sparked widespread calls for stronger regulation. But TikTok hosts similar harmful content, and experts warn a host of innovative features of the platform raise unique concerns. TikTok largely optimizes content for minutes and hours of view time, internal documents leaked in 2021 showed, rather than prioritizing metrics like clicks and engagement favored by most social media platforms before. In order to do that, the company has deployed a unique algorithm and a landing page that marks the most extreme departure yet from a chronological to an algorithmic feed. “What that does to the brain, we don’t know,” said Lorenz-Spreen. Studies show that when chronological feeds are discarded in favor of suggested content, the algorithm frequently gives rise to more extreme views. One report in 2021 showed more than 70% of extremist content found on YouTube was recommended to users by the algorithm. And it incentivizes users to share attention-grabbing content that gets picked up by the feed. In recent years, TikTok has faced intense scrutiny for dangerous challenges the algorithm has given rise to. The “Benadryl challenge”, wherein participants took a large amount of antihistamines in an attempt to produce hallucinogenic effects, led to at least one death. A new lawsuit claims the “blackout challenge” led to deaths of several young girls. “Compared to other social media sites, TikTok is uniquely performative,” said Rich, the pediatrician. “This leads to both interesting content, and some edgy ways of seeking attention that are less healthy.” TikTok also appears to be “faster than any other platform at detecting interest”, said Marc Faddoul, co-director of Tracking Exposed, a digital rights organization investigating TikTok’s algorithm. The app’s For You Page seems to know its users’ desires and interests so well it has sparked memes and articles such as The TikTok Algorithm Knew My Sexuality Better Than I Did and ‘Why is My TikTok For You Page All Lesbians?’ Asks Woman Who is About to Realize Why. Researchers are still parsing what that uncanny tailoring means for users, particularly as it relates to targeted content around mental illness and other sensitive issues. “The app provides an endless stream of emotional nudges, which can be hard to recognize and really impact users in the long run,” Faddoul said. “It’s not going to make anyone depressed overnight, but hours of consumption every day can have a serious impact on your mental health.” These concerns are particularly pronounced in the realm of ADHD content, where users have reported being diagnosed by medical professionals after seeing videos about their symptoms. But while the prevalence of the #ADHD hashtag has brought increased awareness of the condition experts have warned of unintended negative effects, including medical misinformation, especially as the platform accepts advertising money from a number of for-profit mental health startups such as Cerebral. TikTok declined to comment on criticisms relating to health misinformation and users self-diagnosing based on content seen on the app. It also declined to comment on its partnership with mental health startup Cerebral or its policies on medical information used in advertisements. TikTok users have reported self-diagnosing mental health issues based on content seen on the app. Photograph: Peter Cripps/Alamy The algorithm may replicate existing inequalities that heighten mental health concerns for minority groups, researchers say. Black content creators on TikTok have long complained about their content being “shadowbanned”, or demoted by the algorithm, and in 2019 TikTok admitted to censoring videos from users it identified as disabled, overweight or LGBTQ+ in a misguided attempt to crack down on bullying. “People of color on TikTok are constantly having to think about the ways in which the algorithm is surveilling them,” said Chelsea Peterson-Salahuddin, an internet researcher at the University of Michigan School of Information. “Putting the onus on marginalized people to constantly monitor themselves is very mentally and emotionally taxing.” Researchers say the Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the impact of the platform on users’ lives, especially young ones. When Covid-19 hit, and the world went into lockdown, TikTok’s use exploded. The app was flooded with young people posting about the ways in which the pandemic was upending their lives. What has resulted is a very young user base taking advantage of the app to connect with one another during a very vulnerable time, said Yim Register, a researcher who studies mental health and social media. “The largest effect of the pandemic is being faced with large uncertainty, and under uncertainty our brains want to reduce uncertainty and make sense of the world,” Register said. “We want to be able to accurately predict what’s going to happen and we turn to social media to sense-make collectively.” Register said that ethos had contributed to TikTok’s unique “platform spirit”, a term coined by researcher Michael Ann Devito to characterize the nature of content and communication on a given app. “The platform spirit of TikTok seems to be about posting very loudly about very intimate and intense things,” Register said. “And people are encouraged to be vulnerable to fit that spirit.” This has given rise to viral videos using a wry, ironic tone to share often devastating personal stories. “Things people on the internet have said to me since my sister passed away from addiction,” says one video, with 3.5m views, featuring a user dancing to upbeat music and lights. “Things my ex boyfriend said to me as I held my lifeless babies,” the caption on another video using the same music and dancing reads. Backlash has already emerged on the platform itself over the increasingly personal nature of the app. “I truly believe years from now people will deeply regret trauma dumping on TikTok,” a user says in one viral video, adding that such content is less likely to be shared on Facebook and YouTube. “What it is it about TikTok that drives people to reveal their deepest, dirtiest secrets?” Experts agree, saying that while these kinds of videos can offer support and a creative way to deal with grief, it can also lead to additional trauma. “For many people, disclosing abuse or mental health issues can be traumatic and harmful,” said Rich, the children’s mental health expert. “In clinical work, we have systems in place for if a disclosure occurs – there is a safety net to catch them. And that does not exist in a social media environment.” The dangers are heightened by the anonymous nature of TikTok, whose feed differs from that of social media in the past, researchers say. While apps such as Facebook historically offered a feed of personal content primarily from friends and family, on TikTok the majority of people who see a user’s videos are largely strangers. “With TikTok in particular, because of its large user base and the way its algorithm works, videos have the potential to get very big very fast, and not everyone is prepared for that,” Register said. “There are serious consequences to going viral.” Often commenters will demand more engagement on viral TikToks, with a common refrain of “story time?” encouraging the original poster to elaborate on the traumatic share. Register said issues like these have led more researchers to call for better protections of users. “Most computing is not trauma informed, and when social media is not trauma informed it can exacerbate trauma,” Register said. “When I look at social media, the question is not how it affects your mental health, but how do mental health issues you already have get exacerbated by its design?” TikTok in March 2021 introduced new tools “to promote kindness” on the app, allowing users to more easily filter spam and offensive comments. It also added an automatic pop-up prompt for users leaving potentially violating comments asking them “to reconsider”. “Our goal is to promote a positive environment where people support and lift each other up,” said Tara Wadhwa director of US policy at TikTok. Meanwhile, TikTok’s opaque algorithm is slowly being cracked open. In August, Chinese regulators required TikTok to open up its algorithms for review, and the company around the same time began to allow Oracle to audit its content moderation models. Rich said this was just the beginning, and more transparency was needed. “Legislators and these companies need to invest more in really understanding this interface between human nature and these platforms,” he said. “We need more information to make informed decisions on how we’re going to help younger people understand how to use them thoughtfully and mindfully – or not use them at all.”

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PoliTO, i costi (reali) del cloud (nazionale) e... altro
by Damiano Verzulli Nov. 9, 2022

Nov. 9, 2022

Lo scorso 27/10, in occasione del WorkShop GARR 2022 (finalmente in presenza, a Roma!), Enrico Venuto [1] ha tenuto una presentazione dal titolo: "IN-CLOUD o IN-HOUSE? L'importanza delle competenze per scegliere bene" La presentazione ha analizzato _IN_DETTAGLIO_ le dinamiche dei costi relativi ad una specifica necessita' di PoliTO, per la quale Enrico ha valutato (ripeto: IN DETTAGLIO): * i costi dell'implementazione della soluzione, "on-premise", ossia totalmente interna a PoliTO; * i costi dell'implementazione fatta attraverso le soluzioni "cloud" che, da normativa vigente, possono essere acquisite via CONSIP, sulla base di apposite convenzioni stipulate con i principali vendor nazionali (RTI Almaviva, BT Italia, TIM, RTI Italware) Sebbene l'analisi non abbia considerato con lo stesso livello di dettaglio i grossi player (Google, AWS, Azure), Enrico ha comunque toccato l'ecosistema Azure/Microsoft, a valle di un trial che hanno effettuato in tal senso. Personalmente trovo l'intevervento _UNICO_ nel suo genere: non ho mai visto, altrove, analisi cosi' dettagliate e cosi'... "impattanti", al punto tale che... si stenta quasi a credere che siano veritiere (Spoiler: in una slide c'e' scritto: "da 83 a 165 volte più costoso"). Anche altri temi (sovranita' digitale; sviluppo [E MANCANZA] di competenze...) sono stati toccati, specie nella sessione di Q&A. Il link al video (che ho estratto e processato dallo stream ufficiale) lo trovate qui: https://peertube.devol.it/w/rUs1KLWXZoDd5gWFRixr72 Un caro saluto, DV [1] per chi non lo conoscesse, è colui che, con il suo gruppo, ha gestito la DaD di PoliTO esclusivamente con risorse PoliTO (e, quindi, senza cloud-provider) - Unico caso in Italia.... -- Damiano Verzulli e-mail:damiano@verzulli.it --- possible?ok:while(!possible){open_mindedness++} --- "...I realized that free software would not generate the kind of income that was needed. Maybe in USA or Europe, you may be able to get a well paying job as a free software developer, but not here [in Africa]..." -- Guido Sohne - 1973-2008 http://ole.kenic.or.ke/pipermail/skunkworks/2008-April/005989.html

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Biennale Tecnologia 2022: Torino, 10-13 Novembre
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 9, 2022

Nov. 9, 2022

Care e cari, domani a Torino si inaugura Biennale Tecnologia 2022, la terza edizione della grande manifestazione culturale dedicata a tecnologia e società organizzata dal Politecnico di Torino, v. www.biennaletecnologia.it. Ve lo segnalo perché una parte non trascurabile degli oltre 130 incontri (quasi 300 relatori) si occuperanno di tecnologie digitali in senso lato, seguendo l'approccio che caratterizza il Centro Nexa e questa lista fin dalla fondazione. Non ci sarà streaming per cui inviterei chi può a partecipare a venire in presenza, anche per poter usufruire dell'opportunità di interagire di persona coi relatori. Un caro saluto, juan carlos

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efficacia tra 80 e 90%
by maurizio lana Nov. 8, 2022

Nov. 8, 2022

Il 07/11/22 12:58, 380° <g380(a)biscuolo.net> ha scritto: > In presenza di cure efficaci, con efficacia tra l'80 e il 90% [1], > > [1] che se non ostacizzare dalle autorità avrebbero probabilmente > salvato molte vite beh, 1) elenchiamole con nomi e cognomi queste cure "ostracizzate nonostante efficacia tra 80 e 90%" 2) qui dove siamo attenti alle cose che diciamo, che significa "efficacia tra 80 e 90%"? in che cosa consiste l'efficacia? chi la definisce, e con quale consenso scientifico, chi la misura, e con quale validazione indipendente, quali sono i margini di errore della misurazione, quali sono i costi economici, _dove è stata misurata e da chi questa efficacia su non si sa cosa, tra 80 e 90%_ perché finché non diamo questi indicatori, "efficacia tra 80 e 90%" rimane un flatus vocis Maurizio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ anime di passaggio partono transumando anime di passaggio cercano camminando al diavolo gli orpelli è il ritmo che rimane cisco, anime di passaggio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana Università del Piemonte Orientale Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici Piazza Roma 36 - 13100 Vercelli

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Social problems and technology
by J.C. DE MARTIN Nov. 8, 2022

Nov. 8, 2022

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/internet-5 jc

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