Social Media-
We're all doing it now, on the home computer, on the laptop, the iPad, the cell phone, the work computer, at the library, anywhere there is wifi and a device you can count on seeing people connecting to others electronically. They are a great way to keep in touch.
The big player, you are almost obligated to be "on" it, everyone I know, with the exception of a few brave or stubborn holdouts, is "on". It's the preferred way to share photos, party invites, for some people every aspect of their life. So, ok, I'm "on". The plethora of games, advertising described as "likes", and the scrolling play by play of everybody's interesting tidbits has become maddening. When you think you have it figured out, they change it up, it's all about the advertising, and if you ever thought differently, well, sorry.
There is another social media platform that presents itself as a user forum for reviews of clubs, eateries, shopping experiences, etc. Sounds like a great idea, you can sign up for a free user account, read reviews about places you may be interested in, post a few reviews about your favorite places. The thing I noticed about this particular platform is the system they have of removing seemingly arbitrary postings under the guise of randomness, ensuring fairness, etc. Their verbiage states they will remove a review if the user has a new review history, for example.
The truth appears to be a bit more straight forward than that- it's all about the advertising. I tried a little experiment after a review I posted for a local eatery was summarily removed. I had rated the bistro a 5 out of 5, and noticed that the 5 out of 5's seemed to be removed at a rate of about 80% for this restaurant. I posted 12 other reviews for various other merchants in my area, some 5 out of 5, others 4 or 3 out of 5. 1 other was removed, then when I posted a note to my profile about it, it was replaced. Hmmm. The 5 out of 5- not replaced. I asked a few friends who have also eaten at this restaurant if they wanted to post reviews, using my laptop but setting up their own accounts. We're a scientific bunch, so you betcha.
All the reviews were removed by the overseers of the platform.
I spoke with the owner of the bistro, because it appeared to me that this one establishment had a lot of removed reviews (the site makes a note of how many reviews are removed to not factor into the average # out of 5 rating awarded). The owner had noted the trend, had contacted the social media platform, and apparently was first asked if the business would advertise at a chunky monthly rate, perhaps implying some nicer results.
The owner declined, and asked to be removed from the platform as a business, as the removal of the nice reviews was driving down the deserved higher rating. The owner was told this was "public domain" and there was absolutely no way the business could be removed. Basically suck it up and pay the vig, or suffer the consequences.
Public domain, by definition, refers to information that is available to the public for use, without private ownership.
A trademarked or licensed name,(for example, the name of a business), is not public domain.
When a company is making a profit through the use of the business name, as appears to be occurring with this social media platform, this is very questionnable use of public domain freedom.
This appears to be an internet company attempting to manipulate markets and extort monies from business owners. Now, I am not naive, I know that competitive business works this way, however, disguising your business as a public domain driven, social media platform and not as the for profit machine it truly is, well that's something that makes me mad.
Most people have no idea how they are being maneuvered when they log on to their social media and start looking around. It's a shame.
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