Thought Controlled Elections

So, the Google+ stuff is an example of Google shaping search results for its benefit. But, that is obvious and Google does clearly denote which results are paid position ads. We can know which is a promoted/paid for result and which is organic, meaning a natural result, a non-paid result and position, based only on the content of the article or site.

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The recent clamoring about Google influence is about even the organic results being shaped without notification. To shape ads for a person they have to know something about you. How much they know is astounding. See: Here’s how well Google’s search engine knows you (Sept 2015). If following the links in that article you edit your Google Ad Profile you’ll see they are using the information you provided Google+. They build on that based on what you search for and what you browse… along with people in your circles.

In 2009 Google started using behavioral targeting for ads. To see how that works read Interest-Based Advertising. The TL:DR is simply ads are targeted based on what you most often search for and the type of web sites you visit. So, there is no doubt they target us for advertising purposes and that means they retain some record of what you do and that is tied to your Google+ information.

At the end of 2009 Google begin using the technology to customize the search results they provide. See: Google Now Personalizes Everyone’s Search Results. If you want to see it in action, see: How to Turn Off Google Personalized Search Results. Depending on what you searched for and what your Google+ friends searched for turning personalized results on and off may change the results list a lot or not at all.

Not only does Google do this for individuals, they do this for groups and other major interests. For instance politicians, see: Google explains how Carly Fiorina won the ‘Happy Hour’ debate and Trump. I think in this example the word HOW is ambiguous.

So, we know they have trend tracking which shows large group behavior. That large group behavior can be tied to you through your matching behavior. It is a safe assumption to identify you with that group and extrapolate your other interests. If you quack, waddle, search for grain recipes, order small frozen fish, and book reservations in the fall for southern locations… chances are you are duck. So, they may decide showing you a Ducks Unlimited hunting resort is a bad idea.

So far all of this ‘shaping’ may seem just interesting or possibly annoying. But, both Facebook and presumably Google have looked at how what they present you can change your opinion, which is a whole other level of control. See: Facebook sorry – almost – for secret psychological experiment on users. (Oct 2014) Notice Facebook peeps are not sorry for the research, just how they went about it. So, I’ll assume they would NOT have been sorry if they had not gotten caught.

Also, I presume the research was to gain knowledge for a purpose. Is anyone talking about what that purpose might be? That they used ‘news’ articles for testing suggests it is not for sales purposes. What is left?

Reading the Huffington Post’s article Facebook Conducted Another Secret Experiment On Users we find Facebook was manipulating voters without their knowledge. The reason they gave for not saying anything:

Facebook shared the results with some academics, but said it did not publicly disclose the experiment until Mother Jones revealed its existence because the researchers are planning to publish an academic paper based on their findings.

Well… that sounds good, but so did Hugo Chavez as he ran for election prior to destroying Venezuela’s democracy. Numerous others sounded good and promised wondrous things on their way to power. We all know of companies that will say just about anything to make a sale.

Facebook just ran into problems with pseudonyms in Germany. Think they would like to influence law making in Germany?  You’ll have to decide if you believe Facebook’s official statement and how far they might go to change things in Germany.

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9 thoughts on “Thought Controlled Elections

  1. Eh, just out of curiosity, which socialist contries have murdered their own citizens?

    I live in Scandinavia btw.

    • Start with Germany under Hitler, head of the National Socialist Party. Rwanda… or Google.

      You could join the debate about whether Stalin was a communist or a socialist or just a dictator. The same with Mao in China. Any system that requires a strong central government to function eventually leads to the use of force.

  2. I doubt very much a socialistic democracy would lead the states to become communist russia or hitler nazi germany.

    In Scandinavia we’ve had socialistic democracy the last 100 years and we are amongst the countries with least corruption and crime. I’m not saying its the only way, just that often politicians tries to paint a picture where socialism = communism, which is proveganda as well.

    • Scandinavian businesses are mostly free from regulation, nationalization and protectionism… free enterprises. Scandinavian countries rank higher than the US in business freedom, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property freedom and freedom from corruption. That is not really a socialist style system. Scandinavian countries have high taxes and cradle to grave care, as do socialist countries. But, that doesn’t make them socialist forms of governments.

      The living standard in socialist countries and the Scandinavian countries is consistently lower than those of free enterprise/market, low tax countries. A study by Swedish group Timbro compared the GDP of various European Union nations to those of individual states in the United States.

      So, I agree Scandinavian countries are not likely to go full totalitarian and start practicing democide. But, they aren’t really socialist countries except in name.

      • Well if that is the definition then I agree with you, but when I hear talks of socialism in the states, its looking towards the scandinavian model and not russia etc. no?

        • In the USA there is far more going on than just the citizens deciding how our government should work. Russia, China, Muslims, and others are working within the country to break the country to advance their particular agendas. The majority of the citizens are for neoliberal ideas of freedom, small government, individual responsibility, and personal financial independence.

          So, it is highly debatable whether the goal is mix of economic freedom with strong central government taxing citizens into near poverty as the government wastes citizens’ money or is moving toward the even more totalitarian true socialist model that eventually leads to democide.

          Knowing the basic plans laid out by Stalin and others for taking over democracies I think the big players are looking to the true socialist model. It is those steps being followed. Many citizens supporting socialist ideologies are likely thinking the Scandinavian model is the direction they are headed. Sort of Lenin’s useful fools.

  3. 1. The Southern Democrats turned Republican after the passage of the 1965 Voting Act.

    2. Don’t associate with anything that contains advertising (see Madison Avenue)

    3. Don’t mistake the puppets for the theater owner.

    Carry On!

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