Robin Hanson

Tuesday

Robin Hanson

Does Facebook want news ratings to fail?

Facebook has had a great ride, but they are now hitting limits. At least in the U.S., we can’t spend much more time than we do on social media, and Facebook can’t gain a much larger fraction of that time. So instead of seeking new vistas here, Facebook is probably now turning their attention to how to lock in their current advantage.And one classic strategy, widely known among economic and business experts, is “regulatory capture.” Get your industry regulated in a way that puts new smaller competitors at a disadvantage.

Thursday

Robin Hanson

Random ‘do something’ laws on data are a bad idea

Seeking the behind-the-scenes story about Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony? Don’t bother. Congressional testimony is mostly about what is right in front of your eyes: what are people willing to say in public, and how much public support does that attract? As they say, it’s like “raising a flag to see who salutes.” In this case, the flag says: social media is losing its luster. Congress was willing to grill Zuckerberg for fifteen hours, he was willing to act mostly contrite and submissive, and mass media mostly supported the critical tone.