Where do you get your news in this modern age of technology?
While the question is aptly worded in cherry picking for a limited scope of possible responses, the basic framework of the inquiry fails to capture the vast array of content providers in disseminating what can be construed as “news” across galaxy of the digital void. And this narrow-minded approach in surrendering to the ominous presence of the mainstream press and social media communities micromanaging the flow of information, only serves to tighten the stranglehold of a few major entities disproportionately allocating the lucrative workload in regulating the deregulated and tainting the entire online lair with an obvious bias.
Apple, which has been in full retraction mode and attempting to detach itself entirely from the privacy scandal circus freak show of controversial and intrepid performances starring the trio of Google, F***book, and Twitter, has eagerly and aggressively opted to endure the rigors of self-introspection in facilitating a massive campaign to launch a consolidated magazine and news subscription service, reports CNET. For a flat rate monthly fee, customers are granted unlimited access to exclusive content at the electronic locations of the who’s who of the print world. The centralized approach to establish a one stop shop menu of notable print empires available exclusively to Apple device users is a sign that the legacy of Steve Jobs has endured a paradigm shift on the e-commerce front, and the presence of ambiguous, controversial, and pliable identity politics have infiltrated the core of Silicon Valley in the form of defining business practices and procedures. A lingering commercial institution enduring the ire of investors and advertisers, is afforded the latitude to morph into uncharted territories with a plethora of support emanating from the base tenets dictated by pure inclusiveness.
The cutting edge move allows the corporation to continue relentlessly mining and processing the data of customers, but with an inherited immunity to stigmatization thanks to a perceived dissociation from the unsavory elements of the tech realm, Apple can furtively build a powerful and targeted customer interface ledger rivaling the collective efforts of the iconic advertising agencies. While, it is common knowledge that Siri records every phrase carelessly uttered into the embedded iPhone microphone with the calculated demeanor of courtroom transcriber callously and efficiently archiving the ebb and flow of an intense trial, the manageable digital library provides the company with the opportunity to trace and dissect the news habits of users. Though the approach is certainly not as direct and abrasive as the omnipresence of algorithms and bots inhabiting F***book and Twitter, the possible ramifications on the modern world are even greater, as privacy concerns are conflated with a limited presence of media outlets and a diversity of perspectives.
Consumers continue to be reinforced with the blatant misleading rhetoric and marketing tactics that a narrow selection of options exist for viable news services, however the existence of alternative platforms, applications and social networks that are not considered to be in the mainstream and offering a wide array of viewpoints struggle to fight against the tide of relative obscurity and skepticism. Any idea or concept outside of the brand name status faces an uncertain present and volatile future, especially as the consensus within the majority of media and publications is directly tied-in with the policy and mission statement of high leverage advertisers. Within this unsettling reality, the pursuit of truth reaches a threshold, and a stagnation in thought occurs, thus the need for effective options which transcend the confines of a digital subscription service, or the magazine shelf at the airport.
While the internet was born into the abstract dream of a virtual bastion for free thought, the fact that a daunting amount of information is hosted on a Milky Way scale hierarchy dictated by dollars and keywords, it takes 30 or 40 pages into a Google search just to get past the automated advertising functions and over harvested SEO campaigns, relegating any sensible notion of First Amendment metaphors to the same fate as the seemingly impenetrable encrypted walls of protecting the dossier of any online account holder. The propensity of Apple to keenly sidestep innovation in offering a service intricately detrimental to the idea of transparency while promoting popular culture over public outreach speaks to just how far the techoprisy has devolved in embracing a redundant controlling tool, rather than a revolutionary technology. For as outwardly enthusiastic the Silicon Valley leadership is in forwarding the idea of apparent open-mindedness, there is obviously a disconnect from what the right hand is doing from the left in imposing degradative sanctions on any subject does supplement their agenda. And they’ve done it again, as for the mere price of $10 per month, the entire industry of journalism is undermined in the time it takes for a conversation to manifest in a light show of advertising banners commandeering a device with promises of satisfying instant gratification.
Trending news, fake accounts, subscription services, it’s all the same, and the pursuit for truth suffers a cruel fate.
The answer to the original question, “It is troubling to think about.”.
Read the CNET story here.