So first come the Facebook woes. Then come the Twitter woes. We learn Twitter loses about 20% of their stocks. It’s not because of profits. But it’s because overall usage is down. Twitter gains profits but loses users.
Well, last time I checked, Twitter is doing a little better. As of this writing, they’re only 15% in the red. But it’s still a long way to go. The culprit: the smaller number of users, especially in the USA. While the number of int’l users is holding steady, US users take a decline. And it’s not even a big one. Statistics show that in Q2 2018, the US had 68 million Twitter users. That’s down from 69 million last quarter. However, it was clearly enough to make stockholders nervous.
They also doubt that Twitter can even hold an audience anymore. Experts predict Twitter followers and activity will continue to slip for years to come. However, Twitter profits are at an all-time high. In fact, Q2 gave Twitter record profits; the GAAP income came to around $100 million for that quarter. That’s well above what they expected. But even this ride probably won’t last long. Because experts also predict a decline in profits.
Like Facebook, Twtter had it’s woes over the past couple of years. We can go all the way back to 2016 and the Leslie Jones scandal (she was bullied so bad Twitter execs had to intervene). Remember when Twitter tried to bring the NFL on to boost usage? That didn’t work either. Let’s face it. Twitter needs followers in order to keep the profits going. It looks like they’re not getting them. I believe this turbulent political climate is also hindering Twitter. A lot of folks still don’t like President Trump. I know people near our Boston computer repair shop, and computer repair experts feel like that.? But guess what social media site he uses most? Could that have something to do with it. Twitter gains profits but loses users, and can they get them back?
So yesterday, Facebook made IT support history. But it’s probably the worst kind of history a company can make. Facebook sets a record (this one ain’t good).
Yesterday, Facebook lost around $150 billion in 90 minutes! Facebook leaders told stockholders and the public they expect a slowdown. They also expect this slowdown to last for years. These are things no Facebook stockholder wants to hear. Then the selloff began, and kept up for the last 90 minutes of the trading day. By the time the nightmare of a day ended, Facebook stocks were down 24%. Now, $148 billion in Facebook value is gone. As of this writing, it still struggles in the red.
Yesterday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 2.5 billion people are on Facebook now. But that’s where the good news ends. Because he followed with woeful second quarter numbers. Then add the lack of new daily and monthly active users. But that’s not what started the downward spiral. First, Facebook CFO David Wehner said revenue growth will slow. Then he said expenses will surpass growth and revenue into 2019. Ouch. That’s not good. Right now, operating margins are in the early forties. But for now, and in the years to come, they expect profit margins to be in the middle thirties. I’m not sure if Facebook sets a record. But it’s coming awfully close.
Facebook is an IT service company that knows better days. They can start with the fake news controversy in the wake of the tumultuous 2016 US election. To this day, many on the political left partially blame Facebook for Trump’s win because of ‘fake news’ articles and alleged Russian hacking. Then came the Cambridge Analytical scandal. Finally, I read an article saying that less teenagers, the iGeneration/Generation Z, are even into Facebook. Partially because it’s now so popular with older generations. So now, they’re turning to other forms of social media. Will Facebook recover?
So let’s face it. The Internet faces many threats, from ID hackers to censorship issues. But what about environmental issues and changes? Can rising seas threaten the Internet?
So studies from universities say yes they can. Also, the studies say the threat can come sooner than we think. Because in 15 years, by the 2030s, 4,000 miles of fiber-optic cables could go underwater! This would lead to internet outages and shortages all around the country. They would come suddenly. This is according to the University of Wisconson-Madison and University of Oregon.? They used maps that predicted rising seas and coasts.
Some cities and regions would be harder hit than others. For example, they think 20% of New York City’s fiber-optic cables will be gone by the year 2033. Then include the fiber-optic systems that connect from NYC to other cities and database centers. In 15 years, rising seas can destroy a third of them. They also say other coastal cities, like Seattle, Los Angeles and Miami, are especially venerable. Don’t think you’re off the hook because you’re inland. Because a river flood, and we see a lot of those lately, can cause Internet problems. That is if the ripple effects of the coastal cities don’t get you first.
Many scientist thought we had decades to address this issue. But now, we know better. This is a big problem and only a short time to address it. I think of Boston and our computer service shop. Many maps say before 2100, much of this great city will be underwater. I’m sure our city, and Internet and IT service industries are under the gun as well. Back in January 2018, some of the city flooded due to a combination of a blizzard and high tide. That’s all it took. If the sea rises in a short time like they predict, then can you imagine what damage it will do the the Internet? Can rising seas threaten the Internet? What do we do about it?
So June 11, 2018 is probably one of the darkest days in Internet history. I say this because this was the day net neutrality ended. Here lies net neutrality, 2015-2018, rest in peace.
Under former President Barack Obama, they made this rule in 2015. It stopped ISP’s from charging and favoring websites they chose. Then, in December 2017, the FCC voted to repeal the 2015 rule. But this enraged Democrats, many states, and consumer rights and freedom advocate groups. They believe this repeal will create censorship and create unfair advantages. We can thank FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for this because he lead the charge for this repeal. Pai and his sympathizers claim net neutrality stifles innovation. I guess we’re about to see whose is right.
Pai also said the repeal will restore the Federal Trade Commission’s rule over the Internet providers. Here are a couple of rules that this repealing change. They include changes involving online blocking, throttling, and payments of certain things. Of course mega companies like Verizon and Comcast are happy. But even they are changing their business strategy. The repeal’s opponents are not through yet. Because everywhere, I’m seeing hashtag#SavetheInternet. Even a client of ours, who benefited from our laptops fixed? skills, are passing along the tag.
Now let’s go to me concerns. Pai himself said this repeal will give the FTC rule over service providers. How much rule? Also, how much control? I fear this ‘control’ could lead to censorship. Then there’s the equality factor. I can remember the 1990s and early 2000s, a time where anybody could get successful on the Internet. Anybody could be the next IT support star. But now, the Internet/IT service game is run by only a handful of media conglomerates: Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Twitter, Microsoft. Then look at the ISP’s. There are only a few of them: Comcast, AT&T, Time Warner, Verizon FIOS. Is this competition? Will the end of net neutrality make it a level playing field?
So we all know the trouble Facebook is in. We also know Facebook won’t crawl over and die that easy. This is where Facebook Stories come in. It’s the rise of Facebook stories: weaning off typing.
So yes, there are some Facebook users who don’t like typing their posts. For them, they can post through Stories, a system that uses audio, voice and photos to substitute for posts. Now, they’re banking the rise of Facebook Stories to be their next big thing. However, they’re turning to India, not the USA, for help. Because that nation has lots of languages and dialects, they can use Stories to get their messages across. Did you know India has 22 national languages? Furthermore, India is a major nation for smartphone sales and lots of people take photos with them.
Today, Facebook begins their Stories experiments in India. Hopefully, it will spread to other nations. Then there’s another factor: The rise of WhatsApp and the fall of Snapchat. Recently, Facebook’s WhatsApp past Snapchat in the number of users (450 million to 300 million). They’re even building a Stories archive. Also, they have a new Save to Facebook Camera. That’s a private tab where you can hold your stories.
So it seems like Facebook is bent on making Stories work. Here in our Boston computer repair shop, and on my personal FB page, people use stories. In fact, media companies like ESPN use Facebook Stories. However, in these Stories, nobody is commenting, liking, or sharing. So while Facebook Stories is picking up, it’s clear they got work to do. I was hesitant on why Facebook would use India, but now it makes sense. They have one of the biggest companies in the world, then look at swift rise of their IT support and other technology. Would you use Facebook Stories instead of typing and posting?
So most of us in IT support know what Google Assistant is. To make a long story short, it’s software that does much of your daily planning for you. But they’re taking it even further, coming up with Google Duplex. What is it? Should we embrace it?
Google Duplex makes phone calls to people at your request. However, it uses WaveNet technology?to do so. That’s a speech program that joined sound stogether to create speech. Furthermore, keep in mind you don’t have to type in anything for WaveNet to speak. But it’s really hard to understand when WaveNet speaks. But Duplex adds to Wavenet, and you can actually understand what the robotic voice is saying.
In other words, the Duplex sounds just like a human voice. In fact, I saw some examples where they used Duplex to book hair salon appointments and restaurants. The Duplex voice sounds just like a human voice, even down to the accent. They’re training Duplex strictly for bookings and inquiries. They can’t have conversations like humans can…yet. But their AI is still trying to learn the mystery of human voice and conversation. It realizes each person talks differently. Then there are the languages, dialects, and accents that differ just about everywhere.
Then there are the ethical and moral concerns, like the ones I have. Yesterday in our Boston computer service shop, I debated with a colleague about this. I found the fact that a robot can sound just like a human to take information creepy. There are others that feel the same way. That’s why Google assures they will let people know it’s an AI robot they’re talking to. I hope they can keep that promise because I don’t know how they’re going to do that. Think of all the businesses in the world and customers in the world. Good luck with that one. Because I believe there will come a day where you can and will have full conversations with Google Duplex. It could be an intricate part of our lives. Should we embrace it?
