Saturday, January 27, 2018

Most 'Likes' are as phony as a three dollar bill

All these accounts belong to customers of an obscure
American company named Devumi that has collected
millions of dollars in a shadowy global marketplace for
social media fraud. Devumi sells Twitter followers
and retweets to celebrities, businesses and anyone
who wants to appear more popular or exert
influence online. Drawing on an estimated stock of
at least 3.5 million automated accounts, each sold
many times over, the company has provided customers
with more than 200 million Twitter followers,
a New York Times investigation found. From the NYTimes

Celebrities like to use bots

For followers that are ersatz.

It gives them street cred

(as well as swelled head)

Until their fans connect the dots.

OR

There’s so much that’s humbug today,

I wonder what Barnum would say?

His brand of deceit

Was simple and sweet

Compared to Devumi’s foul sway.

Ledes & Limericks. Saturday January 27 2018

Bots — applications that perform automated tasks —
are becoming increasingly commonplace in
newsrooms, as a growing number of publishers
experiment with various services to expand their
coverage, help journalists do their jobs better
or improve relationships with readers.

From Global Investigative Journalism Network

Reporters afraid of the bot

Have tied themselves into a knot.

News automated

Means jobs vacated --

though platforms cannot write worth squat!

Saudi authorities demanded at least $6 billion from Prince al-Waleed
to free him, people familiar with the matter have said, among
the highest figures they sought from those detained in a
makeshift prison at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton.

The Saudis make prison so pleasant --

The inmates all dine on wild pheasant.

When billions are paid

Then out they parade --

Free as a bird (for the present.)

Elephants are afraid of bees.
Let that sink in for a second.
The largest animal on land is so terrified of a
tiny insect that it will flap its ears,
stir up dust and make noises when
it hears the buzz of a beehive.

Instead of a mouse, it’s the bee

That elephants fear constantly.

It isn’t the sting

That makes them take wing --

It’s their ears where bees hold jamboree!

Friday, January 26, 2018

Karen Schwartz's Photograph of her Father's Boat

Photograph by Karen Schwartz

no two drops alike

no motive beyond being

greedy for the light

the north wind

slippery jewels

on the hard face of a rock

facing the north wind

Ledes & Limericks. Friday January 26 2018

If you ever had dreamed of becoming a journalist but couldn’t
do so, Google may have arrived with the right platform for you.
The search giant is piloting a new platform called Bulletin that sails
on the very idea of citizen journalism.

Bulletin is Google’s effort to amplify their news service,
and scoop more data, by including hyperlocal content
from neighborhoods and provide more relevant stories
to their audience. So, naturally, their platform has to be
people-powered, unless they are willing to hire numerous reporters.
From Fossbytes.

The citizen journalist who

Hasn’t yet made her debut

Can now be a star

With her own sidebar

(but still won’t be paid a cashew)

New tax rules are hastening automation and modernizing in
U.S. factories, giving manufacturers an incentive
to buy machinery and boost productivity in a tight
labor market.

A factory worker found out

He no longer had any clout --

The new tax conceit

Made him obsolete --

A robot has put him to rout.