Librarianship in the Digital World CHALLENGES THREATS AND
Librarianship in the Digital World CHALLENGES, THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES GREG TURKO – NOVEMBER 30, 2018
Agenda FANG Sector Setting Context ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Digital Information Enterprise Value Proposition Information Stewardship Outsourcing Information Stewardship Algorithms Printed Word Too Big to Fail Summary
Disclaimer Not a “why oh why” lament Looking forward critically ◦ Not looking backward nostalgically Sustainability focus ◦ The “bigness risk” Seeking librarianship perspective ◦ Observations and questions
FANG Sector Term coined and used by Will Self and others Reference to ◦ ◦ F – Facebook A – Amazon N – Netflix G – Google FANG enterprises largely define, control and direct current digital universe Unique monopoly situation ◦ Most monopolies occur by consolidation ◦ Consolidation phase missing ◦ Some peripheral acquisition occurring
Setting Context SIZING UP THE DIGITAL UNIVERSE
Search Engine Market Share – September 2018 Google 92. 3% Yahoo! 2. 51% Bing 2. 28% Baidu 0. 85% YANDEX RU 0. 61% Duck. Go 0. 33% http: //gs. statcounter. com/search-engine-market-share
Internet Users by Region Total: 2. 405 billion / 7. 017 billion – 34. 27% of the population Africa: 0. 167 billion / 1. 073 billion – 15. 56% of the population Asia: 1. 076 billion / 3. 922 billion – 27. 43% of the population Europe: 0. 519 billion / 0. 821 billion – 63. 22% of the population Middle East: 0. 090 billion / 0. 224 billion – 40. 18% of the population North America 0. 274 billion / 0. 348 billion – 78. 74% of the population Latin America / Caribbean: 0. 255 billion / 0. 594 billion – 42. 93% of the population Oceania / Australia: 0. 024 billion / 0. 036 billion – 66. 67% of the population Source: http: //www. internetworldstats. com/stats. htm 7
Servers § OVH: 120, 000 servers (April 2012) § SBC Communications: 29, 193 servers § Akamai: 105, 000 servers (March 2012) § Verizon: 25, 788 servers § Soft. Layer: 100, 000 servers (December 2011) § Time Warner Cable: 24, 817 servers § Rackspace: 79, 005 servers (Dec 30, 2011) § Host. Europe: 24, 000 servers § Intel: 75, 000 (August 2011) § AT&T: 20, 286 servers § 1&1 Internet: 70, 000+ servers (February 2010) § Google: 900, 000 § Facebook: 60, 000 servers (October 2009) § Microsoft: 218, 000 § Lease. Web: 36, 000 servers (February 2011) § Yahoo: 100, 000+ § Intergenai (Plus. Server/Server 4 You): 30, 000 (2011) 8
Internet Statistics ◦ Each second: ◦ 6000 tweets ◦ 40, 000 Google queries ◦ 2 million emails ◦ 2016 ◦ 4. 66 billion web pages ◦ You. Tube ◦ 300 hours of video uploaded each minute ◦ 5 billion videos watched each day 9
Digital Information Enterprise HEAVY ON ENTERPRISE LIGHT ON INFORMATION
Value Proposition FANG sector revenue generated by ◦ Placement not results - estimated 74% of digital ads never seen by human eye ◦ Traffic not always dependent on content quality Massive amount of user generated free content ◦ Limited quality control ◦ Make your own reality ◦ Echo chamber Information volume precludes informed decision making ◦ Problem exacerbated by information dubious quality and deliberate misinformation Does FANG sector hold threats for structured information management (i. e. , librarianship)? What threat does waves of dubious information pose? Is it possible to manage such volumes of information?
Traditional Distribution Model
Digital Distribution Model
Information Stewardship Google and Facebook monopolize search and information holdings ◦ Own various platforms thereby extending reach ◦ Digital information enterprise dependent on these entities with ◦ Murky business models ◦ Opaque – at best – technology practices ◦ Little commitment to formal and disciplined information stewardship Self identify as platforms not publishers or information stewards ◦ Business model and investor value proposition – again – based on user traffic and demographic information; “grazing” ideal; click bait ◦ Information a liability not an asset ◦ User information – not “traditional information” – monetized What are the risks of treating information as a business by product? Does the FANG sector value traditional information? Is information at risk from monopolies?
Information Stewardship Outsourced to Reluctant Entities Cost of free ◦ Digital monopolies have captured – or perhaps devalued – information ◦ Free comes at a significant cost ◦ Risky dependence on monopolies Digital monopolies now ◦ ◦ Undertaking and are being asked to undertake activities such as censorship and content monitoring Facebook, for example, vetting election postings Determining access (e. g. , China; banning users) At odds with revenue model What have we sacrificed for free services? Should we be concerned about monopolies? Can we manage peripheral damage (e. g. , election fraud)?
Algorithms imbued with mythical status ◦ Digital Fairy Dust or Philosophers Stone ◦ Algorithm creators work in relative obscurity ◦ No formal standards Algorithms can produce whatever results ◦ ◦ Virtually no oversight, transparency or accountability in many instances Abuse well documented – Google, Facebook … Abuse or mistakes documented in areas as diverse as crime statistics; insurance rates and credit scores Stifles innovation FANG role in AI exacerbates concerns What is the rationale behind “algorithm hypnosis”? Does the advent of AI pose an even greater risk? Is oversight required?
Printed Word Future Growing concern about printed word future ◦ Will Self and others Studies show reading digital content changes human perceptions ◦ Shorter attention span ◦ Less empathy – troll phenomena ◦ You. Tube based reality Are we entering a post printed word era? Is there inherent and unique values in printed (i. e. , paper text)? Are there dangers to democracy and civil society?
Too Big to Fail or “Move On” What happens if ◦ [Say] Google leaves search business ◦ Google adopts subscription model Post FANG era – what will it look like Are we too FANG dependent – notably Google with respect to information and Facebook with respect to public discourse? If so, what can we do about this? Is information at risk from monopolies?
Summary Historical knowledge transition point – not a new phenomenon Historical transition point controlled by commercial interests – a new phenomenon Monopolies bring risks – knowledge monopolies bring the Dark Ages Your thoughts
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