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The app wars — that is, the arms race among social media apps for our time, attention and personal data — are in full swing. And, entertaining as they may be, the implications for society could be grave.
Both Meta and Twitter, two of the most prominent social media companies in the world, recently announced tidal waves of layoffs in an apparent effort to recalibrate, as each focuses on ways to expand and monetize its platforms.
FYI: In the digital world, this is often done by either charging for a service that was once free or allowing targeted advertisements.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk did the company no favors in attracting advertisers by snidely rebutting a senator's concerns that users were able to impersonate him on the platform.
Meanwhile, advertisers are flocking to TikTok, which continues to soar financially despite concerns over privacy issues and the spread of disinformation on the platform.
And the utter horribleness of Twitter and the Meta-owned Facebook has been enough for some to turn to social media apps like Mastodon. Speaking personally, I’m more of a Somewhere Good guy.
Choices abound!
Whatever your pick (I may sound like a broken record at this point), I often direct people to technologist Jaron Lanier’s “Who Owns the Future?” to learn more about the Big Tech arms race, and the influence that powerful computers — like those owned by the world’s top tech companies — can wield over society.
Fortunately, at least in the case of Twitter and Meta, the leaders of both companies haven’t been coy about their quest for domination and a near-total ownership of our attention. I’ve written previously about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s openly stated desire for his company's virtual reality platform to be a one-stop shop for all VR travelers. Musk has been similarly open about his desires to build an “everything app” (essentially, a single app that would combine a bunch of apps' features into one). For what it’s worth, that plan may not even be legal.
But make no mistake: The fight for users — and the data that come with us — is afoot. With all these choices, I recommend you take better note of the people who control them when deciding which to use. And I advise knowing where they stand with regard to protecting you and your information from nefarious actors.