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  Geebo 9:59 am on November 20, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Animal Welfare ( 2 ), Safety ( 46 ), Thanksgiving ( 5 ), traveling ( 16 )   

  Geebo would like you to stay safe for Thanksgiving 

  

  With a number of people looking to get an early headstart on Thanksgiving traveling we thought it would be best if we published our annual Thanksgiving safety warnings today. As most of you probably know, Thanksgiving week is one of the most dangerous holidays to travel on. The amount of alcohol-related accidents during Thanksgiving week statistically rivals that of New Year’s Eve and is only somewhat behind 4th of July weekend. With a record number of people expected to travel this weekend, those statistics may see an increase this year. Please be mindful of your consumption and if there’s any doubt in your mind whether or not you should drive please call a friend, relative or rideshare service for a lift.

  Food safety is also a concern as improperly cooked turkey has the potential to send someone to the emergency room for food poisoning. Some tips include thawing your turkey out in your refrigerator in enough time for cooking. Also if you’re handling the uncooked turkey make sure you wash your hands often. Fire is also a safety concern for the holiday as cooking accidents can result in fires. The Red Cross has some tips here that include checking your smoke alarms’ batteries and having a fire extinguisher handy. And as always if you’re going to deep fry a turkey, always make sure the turkey is thawed first or the extra moisture in the cooking oil could result in severe oil burns.

  Lastly, consider the health and welfare of your pets this Thanksgiving. While your dog or cat may be persistent in wanting some scraps from the table it’s not recommended that they’re given any turkey. Most pets are on a consistent diet which does not consist of turkey and it could imbalance their digestive systems. This includes any fat, skin or drippings from the turkey. What you can do when they beg is to keep some dry dog or cat food nearby and give that to them when they beg.

  We here at Geebo see our userbase as more than just numbers and we would like to see you all return safely from your holiday.

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  Geebo 10:12 am on November 19, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), Mark Zuckerberg ( 7 ), Sheryl Sandberg ( 4 )   

  What will it take to remove Facebook’s top brass? 

  

  In response to last week’s expose from the New York Times, Facebook has responded in typical fashion. In a blog post published by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Mr. Zuckerberg denies using the right-wing PR firm it hired to launch anti-Semitic attacks against Facebook’s critics. If that’s true then that means that Mr. Zuckerberg was unaware of the tactics the PR firm was using. That’s not much better than ordering them to do so as it shows that Mr. Zuckerberg has either lost control over what goes on inside his company or is simply unaware of how his company runs. Because of the many accusations against the embattled social network, many investors have called for Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg to step down. However, you shouldn’t expect it any time soon.

  Facebook may be a publicly traded company, but the way their stock options are set up it allows Zuckerberg to run Facebook like his own private republic. As Business Insider points out, there is a class system when it comes to Facebook stock. There is Class A stock which is held by everyday investors, then there is class B stock which Zuckerberg controls most of. The Class B stock gives these shareholders 10 times the votes as Class A shareholders meaning that Zuckerberg’s word is law. While Facebook is not the only tech company that divides stock like this, none of the other companies are facing such a myriad of world-influencing accusations like Facebook is.

  So as of right now, the only way to get Mark Zuckerberg removed from the CEO chair would be some kind of Congressional action. While Congress might be on the warpath against Facebook, they don’t seem to have a clear and concise plan of dealing with them as the country has never experienced a company like Facebook before. It is possible they could try to break up Facebook treating it like a monopoly since Facebook also owns popular apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. However, it would be highly unlikely that would remove Mark Zuckerberg from power. Unless Facebook is somehow ordered to restructure its stock classes we’ll probably see the same face at the helm of Facebook for years to come.
   
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  Geebo 8:20 am on November 16, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), geebo ( 22 ), New York Times ( 6 )   

  Facebook tries to silence a critic in Geebo 

  

  After the daily blog post is published here at Geebo, a link to the day’s blog post is also posted on all of Geebo’s social media accounts. This obviously includes the Geebo Facebook page where we not only post links to the blog but also share some of our users’ ads we think our customers might enjoy.

  Yesterday, the blog post was about how the New York Times accused Facebook of a myriad of transgressions, however, the post mainly focused on how Facebook allegedly used some underhanded tactics to try to silence its critics. More often than not, one of our employees also posts links to that day’s blog on their personal Facebook. That employee is also a content creator in their off time who has been critical of Facebook in the past, but they never had a problem with any of the content they’ve posted. That was until yesterday when they received a notification from Facebook stating that the post goes against Facebook’s ‘Community Standards’ and it has been removed from the news feed section. Isn’t it ironic that Facebook removed a post that was critical of them for trying to silence their critics?

  It was then decided to see if the post was still live on the Geebo Facebook page and it was gone like it never existed. However, in the case of the Geebo page, there was no notification of the post violating the ever-nebulous community standards such as the one posted above from our employee’s personal page. As far as could be told, the post had been wiped off the face of the earth like it had been black bagged by Facebook’s content police and shipped off to a virtual Gitmo. Our employee has reached out to Facebook but has only received a canned response stating that the matter is under review.

  As a whole, we try not to be hyperbolic and we would never claim that Facebook is violating Geebo’s First Amendment right to free speech. Facebook is a private company and has every right to remove whatever content they see fit. However, we are also well within our right to point out what we believe to be evidence supporting some of the allegations that the New York Times has made. It’s one thing to disagree with your critics but it’s another matter completely when you try to rob them of their voice.
   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on November 15, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), New York Times ( 6 ), Sheryl Sandberg ( 4 )   

  NYT: Facebook sinks to new lows in trying to protect its rep 

  

  Once again, I was trying not to post about Facebook for the rest of the week. While we’re no fans of Facebook’s unchecked power around the world, our criticism of Facebook is not personal. Also, I didn’t want our readers and customers to get burned out on a constant barrage of Facebook news. However, yesterday, the New York Times published a blistering expose on Facebook that is probably the most damning criticism of Facebook to date. While the Times article focuses most of its attention on Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and how she allegedly tried to downplay the various crises Facebook has endured since the 2016 Presidential Election, I want to focus on some specific tactics Facebook allegedly used to try to silence its critics.

  Media outlets that follow a specific political leaning have long accused Facebook of being against whatever their political ideology might be. The right says that Facebook censors conservative posts while the left accuses Facebook of being a cauldron of right-wing hate speech. The Times report shows that Facebook is neither left or right-leaning. Facebook only leanings are toward Facebook and is willing to use either side of the political spectrum to protect themselves. For example, according to The Times, Facebook employed a right-wing media group to run a smear campaign against George Soros. Mr. Soros is a left-leaning philanthropist who has been a very vocal critic of Facebook and has been the target of many right-wing conspiracy theories. Conversely, Facebook has called upon the aid of the Anti-Defamation League to accuse one of its critics of being anti-Semitic in their criticism of Facebook. A liberal advocacy group called Freedom From Facebook, which I posted about here, depicted Facebook in a protest picture as a two-headed octopus with its tentacles encircling the globe. The heads of the octopus were those of Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. The ADF accused Freedom From Facebook for the image being anti-Semitic stating that “Depicting Jews as an octopus encircling the globe is a classic anti-Semitic trope.” However, similar images were used in political cartoons back in the days of oil and steel monopolies. With this latest look into Facebook’s protectionist tactics, the comparison to companies like Standard Oil could not be more apropos.

  If the Times report is to be believed, and by all accounts, I think it should, it shows just how far Facebook is willing to go to try to discredit its critics. While I’m not a fan of the level of venom used in their article, I think Slate put it best by saying that Facebook isn’t a special company anymore, it’s now just a regular sleazy company engaged in normal sleazy lobbying and corporate propaganda. As far as Facebook is concerned there is only Facebook. Anything else is the enemy and there’s no tactic too low they’ll stoop to in order to protect their brand.

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  Geebo 1:32 pm on November 14, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: AT&T ( 5 ), net neutrality ( 32 ), Randall Stephenson   

  Does AT&T really want net neutrality restored? 

  

  After the state of California tried to institute its own net neutrality legislation they were sued not only by the federal government but by a group representing almost the entirety of broadband providers. If you’ll recall, when the FCC repealed net neutrality protections put in place by the Obama administration, the FCC ruled unilaterally that states were forbidden from enacting their own legislation. Of course, this did not sit well with many of the states as they fought to protect consumers. Now the fight for net neutrality has an unexpected and uneasy ally.

  AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has urged Congress to pass federal net neutrality regulations at a recent tech conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal. At the conference, Stephenson said, “What would be a total disaster for the technology and innovation you see happening in Silicon Valley and elsewhere is to pick our head up and have 50 different sets of rules for companies trying to operate in the United States.” So now he is pushing for the idea that no internet service provider should block or throttle content and that users should be able to access the internet without interference.

  What Mr. Stephenson did not clarify, according to Ars Technica, was whether or not he was opposed to paid prioritization which would favor certain internet traffic over others. For example, if your ISP had its own streaming service, it could prioritize that traffic over a competing service like Netflix. While minimal net neutrality is better than none Mr. Stephenson’s motives seem to come from a fear of having to deal with multiple state regulations rather than one unified federal law. However, at this point with how tone-deaf the Trump administration’s FCC has been, we should be thankful for small victories where we can get them.
   
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  Geebo 10:47 am on November 13, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), scam ( 22 ), Scams ( 1,653 ), Secret SIster ( 7 )   

  Avoid the Secret Sister scam this season 

  

  The old saying goes that the stores start advertising for Christmas earlier and earlier each year. In my opinion, it seemed like as soon as the calendar turned to November, the flood of yuletide advertisements began to assail our televisions and internet devices. The holidays are also a time when scam artists come out in droves since people are more likely to open their hearts and wallets during the holiday season than any other time of the year. This year, an old scam that I haven’t thought about in years is being proliferated through social media and while the risk appears to be minimal, the consequences could have far-reaching effects long after the holidays are over.

  I’m talking about the ‘Secret Sister’ gift exchange where someone posts on social media asking you to add your name to a list where and send in a small $10 gift. In return, you’re promised to receive up to 36 of the gifts. According to the Better Business Bureau not only is this a pyramid scheme, but it’s also illegal since you need to use the US Postal Service to send the gift which can be considered mail fraud. And as usual, when it comes to scams like this, it’s highly unlikely you’ll receive any gifts in return.

  Since the scam seems to proliferate on social networks like Facebook, I decided to see if any of my Facebook friends were soliciting for this scam. While none of my friends were, there were friends of friends who were definitely being taken in by this scam. The post usually looks something along these lines.

  

  The problem with this scam is not only is it illegal as I mentioned above but if you decide to participate in the alleged gift exchange you’re also putting your personal information out to potential strangers who could use the information to their benefit and your detriment. Identity theft comes immediately to mind but the information could be used for even more nefarious purposes.

  Just because a friend of yours may be participating in the Secret Sister exchange on Facebook doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a Bernie Madoff in the making. They could potentially be a victim in all of this. If you’re worried about one of your friends being caught up in this scam, you may want to remind them that the Secret Sister gift exchange is considered illegal and show them this post or the BBB information. People are more likely to start thinking more critically if there’s potential for them to be in trouble with the law. NO one wants to be investigated for mail fraud for the holidays.

   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on November 12, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 182 ), Fortune, privacy ( 46 )   

  Facebook least trusted tech company in America 

  

  Even though the midterm election went largely as predicted with minimal Facebook chicanery, it was another type of poll that closed election week on Facebook. Thanks to the ever-haunting Cambridge Analytica scandal and various other privacy compromises that have plagued Facebook in the past year, a poll conducted for Fortune shows that consumer confidence in Facebook is at an all-time low with Facebook being the least trusted company among the tech giants. Citing privacy issues as their major concerns, an overwhelming majority of the poll takers said Facebook couldn’t be trusted.

  According to the poll’s results, Facebook came in dead last in consumer trust among tech companies losing out to such companies as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple. Only 22% of those polled said that they trust Facebook with their personal data. On the opposite end, Amazon received a 59% approval rating when it came to personal data issues which is saying something since Amazon tends to keep a lot of our personal financial information on file after we make a purchase.

  So, if Fortune’s numbers are correct the question that needs to be asked is why are so many people still using Facebook? Part of it is a symbiotic relationship between brands and their customers as if you want to be a top-selling brand you need to be where the customers are and they’re on Facebook. And if consumers want to know more about a brand they’re more likely to go to the brand’s Facebook page than a corporate website. Also, if Facebook is so badly trusted with our personal information why do we continue to share so much personal information publicly in our news feeds? Facebook may be inept when it comes to keeping our information private but since we keep volunteering the information should we be surprised?
   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on November 9, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: activation bug, Windows 10 ( 3 )   

  Your Windows 10 Pro license is just fine 

  

  I’ve been a big fan of Windows 10 since it first rolled out to consumers. While Windows 7 had its advantages, I felt Windows 10 was the better operating system since it ran better on the older hardware that I had. That was until yesterday when an older laptop of mine told me that my installation of Windows 10 could not be activated. When I ran the activation troubleshooter I was told that I had Windows 10 Pro was installed on my machine but my license was for Windows 10 Home. I figured this had something to do with some new hardware I installed on my older laptop so I did a fresh install of Windows 10 Home on my laptop. As it turns out you don’t have to do that.

  If in the past day or so you’ve got the message that your Windows 10 Pro installation needs to be activated you can ignore that message for now. Your Windows license is actually fine, it’s Microsoft that’s having the problem. Many tech outlets are reporting that Microsoft is having an issue with their activation servers which is causing this bug for some Windows 10 Pro users. Reportedly, the bug mostly affects users who had upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 while Microsoft was offering the free upgrade to Windows 10.

  Normally, when Windows says it needs to be activated the OS will give you 30 days to obtain a valid license. Hopefully, Microsoft won’t take this long in fixing this latest Windows 10 bug. It is a possibility since Microsoft still hasn’t fixed their previous bug which saw files being deleted with the October Update of Windows 10. That update has been pushed back because of that bug and has not yet been fixed.

  Most consumers probably won’t even see this latest bug since Windows Pro, as the name implies, is designed more for professional users, however. Pro users really do rely on those extra security and remote desktop features. So for now, if you received the activation warning, hold tight and hopefully, Microsoft will have the problem fixed shortly. Although, you may not want to hold your breath in the meantime.

   
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  Geebo 10:00 am on November 8, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: craigslist ( 129 ), florida ( 31 ), rental scam ( 92 )   

  Don’t fall for the craigslist copycat rental scam 

  

  On other classifieds sites, there are rental property scams abound. One of the most common scams is that the con artist will copy an ad from a legitimate real estate site, then will repost the ad on a site like craigslist claiming that they are in control of renting the property. Since a lot of people’s first go to site for rental properties may be craigslist scammers will use that site in droves to try to take your money. But what if you see an ad on a real estate site then see an ad on craigslist for the same property at a different price?

  While this is a rare occurrence, a woman from New York was looking to find a rental property in Florida. She first found a property on a legitimate vacation rental site but then found the exact same property for rent on craigslist for a cheaper price. Wanting the better deal, the woman sent money to the person who allegedly placed the craigslist ad. The woman sent $3500 for a rental deposit, the check was cashed and the woman never heard back from the craigslist renter. The alleged con artist also tried this scam on a Canadian family and law enforcement was involved leading to the suspect’s arrest.

  If you see two ads for the same property and the one on craigslist is at a lower price, it’s almost guaranteed that the craigslist ad is a scam. On craigslist the ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’ adage applies more than on any other classifieds site since craigslist doesn’t moderate their ads or submit them to any kind of review process. They only care about the quantity of ads and not the quality.

   
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  Geebo 10:30 am on November 7, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Cameroon, Facebook ( 182 ), hate speech ( 14 ), Myanmar ( 11 )   

  The ghosts of Myanmar haunt Facebook in other countries 

  

  With all eyes focused on the US midterm election, Facebook announced in the run-up that they had removed several foreign accounts that were coordinating some kind of inauthentic behavior. What was lost in the headlines is that around the same time, Facebook has admitted to their part in the ongoing ethnic conflict in Myanmar. As has been posted on this blog in the past, the Buddhist majority in Myanmar has used Facebook to not only spread misinformation and hate speech about the Muslim Rohingya minority but have also used Facebook to organize violent attacks against the Rohingya.

  Outside of the announcement of Facebook removing accounts that may have tried to interfere with the US election, Facebook also announced that they admit that their platform was used an “enabling environment” to which ethnic cleansing has proliferated in Myanmar. This was after Facebook had commissioned an independent study to review their role in the continuing Burmese conflict. However, any promise of resolution on Facebook’s side has been vague at best with Facebook basically promising to do better in the future. However, before they can correct any issues in Myanmar, Facebook is being used in another country’s ongoing conflict.

  The African nation of Cameroon is on the verge of a civil war between the French-speaking majority and English-speaking separatists. There are no ‘good guys’ in this fight as both sides have been accused of atrocities against the other. Another thing that both sides of the conflict have in common is that they both use Facebook to discord and misinformation. In one of the more recent incidents, the French-speaking east spread a video of a horror movie on Facebook and claimed it was evidence of cannibalism in the English-speaking east. Even a high-ranking government official claimed this was evidence of atrocities committed by the separatists before the video was debunked. Facebook admitted that there was more to do in Africa but Facebook does not have a team in place in Cameroon but rather handles African content from the US and the UK. This sounds vaguely reminiscent of the crisis in Myanmar as Facebook previously only had a handful of employees that could read Burmese.

  Facebook is losing the global war against hate and has no real-world solutions in place to stop it. This is the problem when one platform dominates the market and tries to be all things to all people. Some of the people are hate-filled monsters with a global platform.