Geek giants must be toppled from beanstalk
JACK ’n Zuck have attracted much ire from Aus and the couch.
Many people still believe the most powerful person in the world lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, but now it’s a handful of stratospherically rich geeks who rule.
One started his multigazillion empire so he and his mates could rate how attractive their varsity colleagues were. Considering his own dubious beauty assets, this was a bit, er, rich, but nothing like the wealth that was to come. And a whole other universe of power.
It is sort of like the school nerd going to a high school reunion in the latest Ferrari, dripping gold, Rolexes and an entourage while the school jock arrives in jeans and driving a skedonk in a cloud of bewildering lost promise.
Luddites, however, are not welcome on the couch: new tech is wonderful. The information now available to all with a hot spot and a smartphone is astounding. Being able to stay home during Covid has no doubt saved millions of lives.
Sacha Baron Cohen, in November 2019, called out the Silicon Six: Mark Zuckerberg (chairman and chief executive of Facebook); Sundar Pichai (chief executive of Google and its parent company Alphabet); Larry Page (stepped down as Alphabet chief executive in December 2019 but still a board member and controlling shareholder); Sergey Brin (quit as Alphabet president in December 2019 but also remained as board member and controlling shareholder); Susan Wojcicki (chief executive at YouTube, a subsidiary of Google) and Jack Dorsey (Twitter chief executive).
He said these six were running the biggest propaganda machine the world has ever seen. The super six have some ’splaining to do: power, driven by algorithm and riches, is what perturbs the couch.
A few happy, funny or cute moments go viral, and sometimes valuable information, ideas and constructive debate garner some likes or reposts. But it’s the hate, bigotry, anger, lies, rancid rumour and outrage the algorithms deliver to your feeds because more clicks lead to more money that must push these giants off their beanstalks.
They are not accountable to anyone except more rich people wanting more money. They have zero vested interest in the health or maintenance of a viable society.
They want to keep selling your information to other organisations. They don’t want to fork out for the people who would be needed to properly fact-check and moderate their platforms. And they don’t want to have to pay for the news they use even though they are crippling the very producers of that news.
Democratic governments and blocs have been unwilling or unable to intervene, in spite of a lot of noise from people expressing concern for the very democracy they supposedly represent or defend. Because “free speech”.
Some individuals have paid a high price for their “freedom of speech”, which the Silicon Six vehemently insist is the reason they do not moderate what they publish. Think Penny Sparrow. But others invite hatred with no consequence. Think Julius Malema and his ilk.
Freedom of speech has limits – that’s why we have rules governing hate speech and defamation. Certainly, you’re allowed to be a racist, hate-filled, ignorant, misinformed zealot. Just keep it to your damned self.
WHEN we think of South African footballers who had success in Europe, the likes of Benni McCarthy, Thulani Serero, Shaun Bartlett, Lucas Radebe, Quinton Fortune, and others come to mind. But South Africa historically had several names that featured across European leagues whose stints abroad went unheralded, reports ESHLIN VEDAN
STEVE MOKONE: To date, the late Mokone is the only South African to have been on the books of Spanish giants Barcelona and also the first black South African to have played professionally in Europe. The man nicknamed the Black Meteor made his debut for the then South African black XI at the age of 16 and was reportedly on the radar of English club Newcastle United before his father dissuaded him from the move, encouraging him to pursue education instead. The Doornfontein-born striker spent time with Cardiff City, Coventry City, Barcelona, Marseille, Torino and Valencia during his career heyday in the 1950s and 60s. Though he signed for Barcelona in 1959, he never played for them in a league game as the Blaugrana had exceeded their quota for international players and opted to loan him to Marseille.
ANDRE ARENDSE: TThough well known for stints in South Africa with Santos, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United, the Bafana Bafana legend also had spells in England with Fulham and Oxford in the late 90s and early 2000s. Though Arendse’s spells in England were far from spectacular, the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations winner can be proud of his achievements. Today, it is rare that a European club will consider signing a goalkeeper from Africa and it was even more rare at that time. .
MATTHEW PATTISON: Most South Africans will remember the former central midfielder for spells with Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns in the PSL. Though a hard-working player, it’s safe to say that the Johannesburg-born player hardly set the local league alight and he only played a handful of games for Bafana Bafana, mainly for second-string sides against lower-ranked opposition. Interestingly, Pattison is a product of the youth development of English side Newcastle United and made 10 Premier League appearances for the Magpies before moving to then Championship club Norwich City where he was a first team regular for a while.
ELRIO VAN HEERDEN: Van Heerden was a first team regular for Bafana Bafana in Stuart Baxter’s first stint as coach and the most productive spells of his career were in his formative playing days with FC Copenhagen in Denmark and Club Brugge in Belgium. He was also on the books of former Premier League team Blackburn Rovers for a while though he failed to make a first team appearance for the club.
Van Heerden remained in the Bafana team in the late 2000s before failing to win a place in the 23-man 2010 World Cup squad.
After finishing his time in Europe, he returned home in 2011 and played for Golden Arrows but failed to impress in the PSL.
RYAN BOTHA: As a 17-year-old, the former attacker went on trial with Manchester United. After spells with SuperSport United, Bidvest Wits, and Jomo Cosmos, he spent the majority of his career enjoying stints with relatively modest European teams in Finland, Cyprus, and Turkey. Botha returned to South Africa in 2008, joining Moroka Swallows with a view to playing for Bafana Bafana at the 2010 World Cup, a task he was unable to achieve. However, his return to South Africa yielded him the 2008/09 PSL goal of the season award after he netted a belter against Bloemfontein Celtic.