Facebook and Cambridge Analytica

I recently wrote a post about how social media sites keep a record of every move you make on their platform. Facebook especially does not hide it and in fact, you can even download a zip file of your data, which is explained in the post I mentioned.

With the news about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook making the rounds all over mainstream media, you would think Donald Trump is the sole villain in this influence campaign saga. While in fact, it is not even kept secret that social media sites are aimed to gather data from you and influence you, period.

I wonder why those writing about Cambridge Analytica never also mention David Brock and his Media Matters for America, which even has tax-exempt status? Before grabbing and running with any of the ideas written and talked about in the media, it would be advantageous to look at all sides and then figure out how it plays out, and what the end goal might be.

A look at Other Data Miners

Illuminus - A Risk Assessment Tool - Developed by Do Not Track

Do Not Track is a personalized documentary series about internet privacy. You can get an idea of how your social media is being tracked by watching the this video.

As suggested by @herrleeb, who commented on the Facebook post, I looked into Illuminus, a website offering a risk assessment tool based on your psychological profile that they retrieve from your Facebook and Twitter likes, etc. @Herrleeb has also written a post about it here.

In the name of research, I took the risk analysis with an uneasy feeling, but I reasoned that they have all of my information anyway (which I will expound on further below). The results of this assessment were shockingly accurate, and my first thoughts were, how private companies or state run entities could benefit if they were given access to this data.

Is it a stretch to think about insurers, banks, or future employers getting a hold of this data, and you subsequently being unaware as to why you are having trouble getting insurance, a loan, or finding a job?

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and browsers, especially Google, are companies that may provide a good service, but ultimately they want to benefit from you, not the other way around. Couple that with every government’s true function of control, and you have an explosive mixture.

Many of us have also seen the extreme censorship taking place with our own eyes, so how can we even question their motives anymore? It is obvious that they are using it to control us, influence our opinions and in extreme cases, cause us to lose our income. It’s all part of social engineering.

Apply Magic Sauce?

University of Cambridge – Psychometrics Center

Another website I came across is the University of Cambridge’s Apply Magic Sauce, which offers a tool to predict your psycho-demographic profile by analyzing your behavior as expressed by your digital footprint. I’ve gone through the steps here also, and I must say it did paint quite an accurate picture of my psychological profile.

The data used is pulled from a few years of Facebook or Twitter use; so it’s fair to say an accurate profile can be made. Of course, you may only do your own profile and not that of another person.

This is where you might say, that’s not so bad since no one else can just grab my data and establish a psychological profile, right? Well, that is where you’re wrong.

Scrolling down a little further on the same website will bring you to what is called Open Text Prediction, where it offers to predict the psycho-demographic of an authored text, without even looking into social media activities. It doesn’t really matter where the text comes from.

While all of this is fascinating information on our own psyche, it doesn’t take too much imagination to figure out how this information may be used against some unsuspecting internet user. Essentially we are not only living in glass houses, it’s only a stone’s throw to knowing how we tick inside.

Maybe looking at it realistically we can see that all sparring sides are working for the same entity, and this entity is only interested in keeping control over all of us by knowing us inside and out. As it is and always was; there is nothing controllers fear more than an uncontrollable mass of people. Don’t you think then, that they would be willing to do anything to keep that control?

Considering that we give our data freely, and also the ever-growing censorship used to manipulate (influence) the population, we might be discouraged from even participating in the online world anymore. But that isn't really the answer either.

Although we sometimes have no control over our circumstances, it's good to remember that we are the ones in control of our own lives and we either give someone else or an establishment consent or we don’t, it’s as simple as that.

Further Information and Links:

Blessings of Grace, Love, and Joy 💗

Data Miners, Influencers, and Your Psychology - Social Media Sites and More

Facebook and Cambridge Analytica

A look at Other Data Miners

Illuminus - A Risk Assessment Tool - Developed by Do Not Track

Apply Magic Sauce?

University of Cambridge – Psychometrics Center

Further Information and Links:

Do Not Track:

Illuminus:

University of Cambridge - Psychometrics Center:

My last post on Facebook's data collection:

Herrleeb’s post:

News stories: