The Social Media Washout

The sands are shifting in the social media world. One of the biggest indicators seems to be the attitudes of the public regarding its existence. The general public seems to have come to grips with the ins and outs of this monster. Whether it stays or goes is not really the issue. 

The one fact remains in that the absence of reality is the only thing most people have taken to heart. Well, that and the absolute toxicity of the thing. Where does it go from here?

NEXT WEEK: Is network television still a thing?

 

The Famous

There is one facet of journalism that on the surface seems absolutely pointless and devoid of any sort of attention spent on it and that is celebrity news. Unless a TV or movie star dies, most people don't seem to care, Or, do they? In this episode, Ric takes a look at phenomenon of this weird and kind of dirty side of the news. 

What drives it and do people really care about these people who are so unlike the rest of us? These are valid questions with a simple answer and that may be more sinister than you would want to believe.

NEXT WEEK: Social Media Overhaul

The New Normal is Expensive

A late winter snow thing wasn't enough to knock Ric off his schedule this time around as he talks about the way things are shaping up as we near a post-pandemic world. However, there are a lot of things going on to make our current situation rather complicated. Sure, we seem to be coming through to the end of the Covid 19 pandemic but not without changes in the way we are going to live. 

Pandemic not withstanding, there is a war going on, runaway inflation, and God help us everyone is freaked out about the price of gasoline. Strangely enough, we are not in a recession. How did that happen?

NEXT WEEK: For some strange reason, people think famous people are interesting.

The Echo Chamber

If you aren't aware by now, when you use a product online for free (social media) you are the product. You are the consumer and the commodity. The reasoning and all the things that can be done with your usage of that site or app is spelled out in the Terms of Service. In this episode, Ric takes a look at the Terms of Service for the new social media thing called Truth Social. When you go through that largely (bigly) boilerplate document, you'll see that you are now property of the company. Just like all the other social media sites out there. What's worse is that everything you have heard about this new site/app from them is kind of contradicted by their own Terms of Service. 

Also, Walmart is about to be the largest healthcare provider in the country. There is something about that statement that seems a little alarming.

NEXT WEEK: The Cost of Living & The New Normal