Notations On Our World (Mid-Week Edition): On @FEMA

As America and the World deals with calamities, what FEMA laid out is critical--Please click here for further information: https://www.fema.gov/strategic-plan

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): The Four Horsemen: Amazon/Apple/Facebook

It has been quite a week for Facebook especially as we wanted to share some "random thoughts" for all to reflect upon:

MARCH 22, 2018 Good morning. When I wrote last month that Facebook would be the biggest loser in the Russian melee, I didn’t imagine it would be this bad. But over the last week—while I was enjoying a break from this newsletter—the social network company lost about 10% of its value, or $50 billion. Mark Zuckerberg weighed in yesterday afternoon with a blog post that you can read here. “We have a responsibility to protect your data,” he wrote, “and if we can’t, then we don’t deserve to serve you.” Problem is, that’s a responsibility Facebook has had since day one, and Zuckerberg’s increasingly frequent mea culpas keep coming days late and mega-dollars short. If your memory needs refreshing, the folks at Fast Company did a nice summary of 15 years’ worth of Zuckerberg apologies here. Most of yesterday’s post was devoted to defending Facebook’s response over the last three years to abuses by Cambridge Analytica. But of course, Facebook didn’t ban Cambridge Analytica from its platform until Friday—and then only in response to newspaper inquiries. That’s not likely to convince anyone that the CEO has turned over a new leaf, or to slow the anti-Facebook bandwagon. As one commenter on the post put it: “So basically you knew this shit was going on years ago and NOW since you’ve been caught with your pants down, this is your response? Pathetic.” If Zuckerberg really has had a change of heart, and wants to be taken seriously, he’ll have to do more than write a defensive-sounding blog post. Among other things, he’s going to be called to testify to Congress, and he would be wise not to send his lawyer in his place, as he did last year. The bigger problem is that Facebook’s entire business model is based on selling peoples’ data—and not always in ways that those people approve of, or have agreed to. A true ”fix” to the problem could also tank the company’s revenue. That’s why this week’s stock price swoon probably will not be the last. By the way, among those joining the #deletefacebook campaign this week was Brian Acton, who made a fortune cofounding and then selling WhatsApp to Facebook. This is as the big players continue to get even bigger:

(Update:  Facebook launched a PR Blitz to begin the promise to "repair" things after this including buying full page ads in Newspapers over the week-end in the aftermath of the interview he had with CNN and the resulting fall out--It will be interesting to see how it all plays out: 

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  Zuckerberg: 'I'm really sorry'

• Read excerpts from CNN's interview

• See Zuckerberg in rare emotional moment

• Zuckerberg: Someone is trying to disrupt midterms

• Analysis: Facebook has a problem even Zuckerberg can't solve

• Facebook changes: How will my account be different?

Notations On Our World (Special Edition): #MarchForOurLives

On the eve of #MarchForOurLives slated for March 24, our Team hereby presents this courtesy of the team at DemocracyNow that will be featured on all our Properties throughout the Daily Outsider Virtual Network:

Watch Democracy Now!'s LIVE coverage of the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C.

Saturday, March 24, noon - 4 p.m. ET Amy Goodman and the Democracy Now! team will broadcast live coverage of the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C. This historic event was created and inspired and is led by students. We’ll feature voices of students and people of all ages who plan to converge on the capital and over 800 other cities around the world to demand action on gun control. Watch LIVE Saturday starting at noon ET at democracynow.org. Or tune in live on: FSTV (Dish Network 9415 & DirecTV 348) LinkTV (Dish Network 9410 & DirecTV 375) Manhattan Neighborhood Network (Spectrum 1993, FiOS 37) Check your local Democracy Now! station for listings.

As Spring 2018 is In the Air....

It is a time for renewal and hope as we wanted to begin anew.  It is also a time whereby Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Baluchis and Afghans embrace this new day as a "Nowruz" (A New Day) which the United Nations Also Celebrates it on the Equinox:

This is a "Haft Seen" that signifies renewal, hope and bountifulness as we are pleased to wish all the very best as we leave this traditional Persian Music in celebration of this joyous time in all our properties: 

Onward to Spring....

Notations From the Grid (Special Weekly Edition): Timeless Lessons From @Disney

As Spring's in the air, Please Enjoy!!! 

4 timeless lessons on following your dreams, courtesy of Walt Disney. pic.twitter.com/L5udszJj7j

— Inc. (@Inc) March 18, 2018