Facebook Messenger

[yogi]

I'm not one to dwell on anything that promotes my least favorite social network, Facebook. However, something remarkable is going on over there, and it has some staggering implications. One of the apps incorporated into the Facebook experience is live personal messaging. You can chat via IM with any of your pretend friends who are on line at the same time you are. Last March the powers that be over there decided to cut the chat out of the mainstream and give it app status all of it's own. This is what happens on any mobile device these days; you have to opt into messaging if you want it.

So what's the big deal? Facebook had ulterior motives for the breakup and is turning it's messaging service "M" into a personal assistant. It's loaded with artificial intelligence and as Facebook is wont to do, it knows everything about you. Yes my friends, it may even know more than Google. Combine the AI and the Big Data and put it into a ridiculously easy to use app, and you will get something that is stunning in usefulness and ease of use. The attached article is from Buzz Feed and shows some conversation the reporter had with his Facebook Personal Assistant. If it's all true as stated, I can see how Facebook could easily become the Internet it wants to be.

SHOCKING: http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/t ... xm1YERm3rO

[Kellemora]

I've kept my Chat Box closed all the years I've been using Farcebook.
I used to get a lot of messages in it, and by having it turned off, even though I would receive the messages, I could not respond to them unless I turned it on. Once you do, it takes several steps to turn it off.
Farcebook only last year, maybe the year before, finally decided to make it so you could respond to the messages without turning the Chat Box back on. In one way, this was good, however, it also allowed much more spam to come pouring into it. So now the only place I check for messages is the main message window at the top, and my normal mode of operation is to press the Mark All Read button.

While my step-son was living with us, he played games where he could converse with other players while playing. This was a few years back, and somehow through the Farcebook Chat System, he could converse with others he knew there too. I guess now they are just streamline-ing it to appeal to more people and their Schmartz-Fonze.
I'm sure texting will soon be voice to text messaging as they improve the voice recognition features.

[yogi]

Facebook's history is based on the success of other companies and the innovations created by the competition. This latest application for messaging as a personal assistant is something Apple started, Google picked up on, and Microsoft is trying to establish with Cortana. Facebook seems to have done them all one better. The examples given in the article show what can be done when artificial intelligence is used ... intelligently. This has important ramifications for all of us who use the Internet to manage our lives in one form or another. Facebook wants to take over that management role and in the process become what people know as the Internet. You can be certain the others will pick up on any successes Facebook might demonstrate, but the real significance is in the implication that the way we do things with smart appliances is on the verge of big changes.

[pilvikki]

I don't do the chat, except when I has to...

as you know, some live by fb, and again, I got an email from amber, sent from her ever-so-smart phone. it was an ad for something, but the google filtered it. I messaged amber, again, telling her to curb her phone, before it does something she'll regret...

between google, MS, fb etc, who WILL take over the world?

[yogi]

between google, MS, fb etc, who WILL take over the world?

That is a very pertinent question because all of them are battling it out right now. I doubt that MS will be the last one standing but at the moment it's anyone's guess who will be the sole survivor.

[Icey]

Whoever wins the day, don't you think they'll all morph into the same kind of thing?

[yogi]

The future is computers and information handling, so yes, in that regard they are and will continue to be identical.

[Icey]

Is there ANYWHERE where a person may be able to have a normal, personal online chat without being spied upon??

[pilvikki]

here?

[yogi]

Only people spying on us are those damned spiders and bots ... and that is often a good thing

[Icey]

Well let's carry on then guys and gals, but I'd hate this place to turn into the equivalent of FB. We have a laugh, but also cover topics seriously, and from what people've sent me from La Facebook, they're either completely ridiculous/lame comments or can be downright nasty.

I think the original idea was maybe OK, and it's good for many folk to chat to family and genuine friends, but there are so many things against it that I have no intention of ever using it. It's up to the individual though.

[yogi]

Well ... let me put it this way. Before Facebook came along we had nearly 150 members. Compare that to the dozen or so we have now. Where did they all go? It split up about evenly between Facebook and the AnswerBank.

[Icey]

From your point of view, that must've been a disappointment, but if they all came back to BFC, you'd probably have a miniature FB. Some just follow their supposed or real friends to whatever site they go on, not caring whether it's just to talk about what time they got up.

It suits many people, but not all. I've heard that folk've been leaving in droves, for whatever reason, but because of the initial worldwide appeal, they still have a heck of a lot of members - for the time being. I think that people're starting to get sick of some of the users who frequent the place - criminals, paedophiles, those encouraging others to commit suicide, those who intimidate. The more people who join FB, the more chance of rubbing shoulders with such people, obviously.

As I don't use FB, I'm really in no position to say that it should to be scrapped . There's constant bombardment to share every aspect of your life with everyone else, which's fine on the surface, but I think folk're being lured into it so that they believe this's the right thing to do, in much the same way as when newspapers keep printing their views repeatedly, and the public start to believe that these views must be right. It's manipulative, and turning people into automatons.

On BFC, people can air their views, and although not shared by all, the members're graceful enough to pass comments back which aren't out and out offensive or rude. I think that's one of the differences, in that where you have a modicum of intelligence, discussions don't get turned into a free for all. Once you get to that level, common sense goes out of the window, and opinions and debates blow up into unpleasant arguments, along with threats and other forms of controversial reactions.

So saying, I've seen or been sent snippets from FB which're highly amusing. Not everyone who uses the place's stupid, and for those, keeping in touch with family and real friends seems like a good way of communicating. May they enjoy their contributions for as long as they last, but I won't be joining them.

[yogi]

Why people are there and not here is probably the topic for another thread. As far as what Facebook is doing, I can't fault them for doing what all big businesses do best, i.e., maximize their profits. The new Messenger service at Facebook is (or will be) successful because the people there freely and willingly give the site all the information they need. Artificial Intelligence is quite stupid if the engine behind it knows nothing or little about you. The allure of it all is the end product. People want an easy way to keep in touch and maybe play a few games in the interim. Being forced to view targeted ads is a small price to pay in the minds of many. Thus there is great appeal to social networks with minimal risk.

The issue I have with Facebook is that they go well beyond their web site to track their members and collect data about them. They have partnerships and share data with a multitude of Internet companies. There is no way to opt out of that massive tracking system. It's not entirely deceptive either. What Facebook is doing is spelled out in their terms of service. The personal information that the AI in their Messenger app needs, uses, saves, and shares is all spelled out in the terms of service (TOS). There is a lot of conspiracy theory going around regarding what is done with all this information, and the potential for maliciousness is great. But the benefits of being able to exchange mug shots with your relatives in Japan outweigh the risks of Facebook knowing you have relatives in Japan.

Most of the happy campers on Facebook are either unaware of the price they are paying to be there, or they don't care. Facebook offers what they want, and that is the reason why Facebook is popular. It's that simple. I think that what Facebook Messenger is trying to accomplish is just the beginning of a sea change in how we use the Internet. Stay tuned for rapidly developing changes.

[Icey]

Well I like to hear about the changes, even if I'm not participating.

[pilvikki]

well, I have ghostery, ad block, yadda-yadda and yadda, clean out the cash every hour or so - yet every night my spyware pulls up hundreds of trackers from sites I've not actually gone near myself.

funny that, eh?

[yogi]

There is no way to stop the tracking in spite of all the anti-adware you may be using. As I see it there are only two choices if you don't want to be tracked.

• One is to not use the Internet.
• The other choice involves becoming anonymous with an untraceable identity.

You know ... like the people who send you those spam e-mails. Try and track one of them.

[pilvikki]

before silja's last job, that now takes up ALL her time, I asked her to cook up a program that would sling-shot all that crap back to it's originator, BUT have it multiply by a 1000 a shot.

just a pleasant thought drifting around upstairs....

[yogi]

I'd bet it would not be delivered most of the time. Their mail boxes are usually maxed out and not accepting incoming mail.

[pilvikki]

spoilsport....