KGB Report by Kevin G. Barkes

What, Me Worry?
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Published Wednesday, April 25, 2018 @ 9:07 AM EDT

Apr 25 2018

You already have zero privacy- get over it.
-Scott McNealy

I'm probably an outlier here, but I can't get too worked up over the Facebook/Cambridge Analytics data privacy business.

Perhaps it comes from 30+ years of working with computers, but when I log onto a social media site, I really don't expect much in the way of privacy. That's why I don't put anything on Facebook that I don't want people (or companies) to know.

I also realize that by visiting these social media sites, my personal data is going to be monetized by the site. Remember the saying: "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product." (Some disagree.)

Some people are creeped out by the ads they see, which often include stuff they've viewed on other sites. Doesn't bother me... in fact, it's useful. I often go to a site to buy something, get interrupted or distracted, and forget about it. The ad jogs my memory and saves me the time of having to manually go back to the site. Often, the ad will be from a different seller who has a lower price.

I guess it can be reduced to one's sense of self-importance. Frankly, I don't think there's much about me on social media that's so secret or valuable that it must be protected. On commerce sites, I use strong passwords and two-step verification. On Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, I really don't care that much. To those who feel otherwise, I quote Fran Lebowitz: "Your life story would not make a good book. Don't even try."

Anyway, the real threat isn't Facebook, it's our own government. In the days after 9/11, the government started scanning everything. Everything. The Post Office has a photo of every piece of first class mail it handles. The NSA sees just about everything that travels across the net. Even science fiction couldn't keep up with reality:

And let's be honest... if the government really has some reason to single you out of the 324 million people in the United States, they would have no problem -especially under the present administration- fabricating incriminating information or, for that matter, just making you disappear. Donald Trump frightens me. Mark Zuckerberg, not so much.

Here's what I find disturbing:

A Google search for "Kevin G. Barkes" returns about 14,600 hits. I've been online since the late 1980s so, if anything, I'm somewhat under-referenced. A bit more vexing is what appears when you do an image search of me (see above). In case you're wondering, the photos appear to come from this website, and include L. Ron Hubbard, me, Joseph P. Kennedy, Immanuel Kant, Gary Busey, me, Bill Moyers, Grace Lee Boggs, and Michael Eisner. Since text containing "Kevin G. Barkes" appears on every page of this site, Google apparently grabs everything and files it under my name.

Fortunately, I have not been misidentified as Gary Busey.

Yet.

Categories: Facebook, Fran Lebowitz, Linked In, NSA, Peggy Noonan, Person of Interest, PRISM, The Daily KGB Report, The Machine, Twitter

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Cleaning off the desktop
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Published Sunday, February 09, 2014 @ 5:53 PM EST

Feb 09 2014

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I can communicate through a series of short & long groans & sighs. It's called 'morose code'.
-Robb Allen, @ItsRobbAllen (h/t David Kifer, alt.quotations)

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Somewhat alarmed to discover some teens don't recognize "Uncle Sam," I checked with my daughter about my soon to be 11 year old granddaughter's status:

KGB: Does Lea know who Uncle Sam is?

Sara: Oh, I think she would.

KGB: Ask her when convenient.

Sara: She said yes, it's the guy pointing and saying "I want you."

KGB: Excellent. Our nation is in good hands.

Sara: She said "Yes. Yes, it is."

Can't argue with that...>

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"I give them a year."
-Ray Bloch, musical director for "The Ed Sullivan Show," on the Beatles, when they made their first live appearance on American television 50 years ago.

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"Ah, hell. Let's call Froot Loops what they really are: Gay Cheerios."
-Bill Maher

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Those who feel that humans are essentially good and altruistic have never read the comment sections on YouTube.

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I actually used to date a girl named Christie Benghazi, so it's funny for me now when I flip between those two channels.
-John Fugelsang

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The Star Trek Facepalm collection, although I don't think Spock actually qualifies.

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“If we came from monkeys then why are there still monkeys?”

Let me ask you this: If you came from parents, why are there still parents?

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"Fortunes have been lost underestimating Jay Leno."
-Lorne Michaels

Categories: Cartoons, Cleaning off the desktop, Harrison Ford, Jay Leno, KGB Family, KGB Opinion, Linked In, Michael Collins, Miscellany, NASA, Star Trek, YouTube

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Plain non-talk
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Published Thursday, July 25, 2013 @ 2:53 AM EDT

Jul 25 2013

Jeff Haden: These Speech Patterns Irritate the $#@* Out of Everyone Around You (from Linked In)

Years ago I worked for the poster child of buzzwords. He loved using terms like "cones of precision" and "silos" and "drill down" and... let's just stop there. (He also bought one of the first Palm Pilots, which meant a roomful of people often sat waiting while he laboriously entered stuff on his calendar. Yep, he was that guy.)

One of my colleagues maintained a running list of this guy's buzzwords. Whenever he whipped out his pad to jot down a new one two things happened: 1) our manager looked smug because he thought he d just said something so insightful my colleague wanted to capture it for posterity, and 2) the rest of us tried not to laugh because we knew what was really going on.

Unfortunately, Palm Pilot aside, we all have a little of that guy in us. We use the same words too often. Or we use irritating speech patterns. Or we simply fall in love with certain expressions (I once conducted an all-too-public affair with the phrase, "That's neither here nor there.") When we do, whatever we hoped to say gets lost in the noise of cliche or extreme repetition.

See if you're guilty of any of these:

1. The Double Name: Using a person's name twice (worst case using your own name twice) in the same sentence as a way to justify unusual or unacceptable behavior.

Typical usage: "What can I say?" Shrug. "That's just Joe being Joe." (Worse, "Hey, that's just me being me.")

Whenever you use the double name you're actually excusing behavior you would not tolerate from someone else.

And everyone knows it.

2. The Fake Agreement: Pretending to agree while expressing the opposite point of view.

Typical usage: "I'm with you... but I just don't think we should take on that project."

In reality you aren't really with me because then you would agree with what I'm saying. (Plus beginning a sentence with something like, "I hear you..." is like a condescending pat on the head.)

Don't try to couch a different opinion inside a warm and fuzzy Fake Agreement. If you disagree, just say so professionally.

3. The Unsupported Closure: Ending a discussion or a decision without backup or solid justification.

Typical usage: "At the end of the day, we're here to sell products."

Really? I had no idea we're supposed to sell products!

The Unsupported Closure is the go-to move for people who want something a certain way and cannot or do not feel like explaining why. Whenever you feel one coming on, take a deep breath and start over; otherwise you'll spout inane platitudes instead of objective reasons that may actually help your employees get behind your decision.

Quick note: A Fake Agreement combines nicely with an Unjustified Closure: "I hear what you're saying, but at the end of the day revenue concerns must come first." Win-win!

4. The False Uncertainty: Pretending you're not sure when in fact you really are.

Typical usage: "You know, when I think about it... I'm not so sure shutting down that facility isn't the best option after all."

Oh, you're sure; you're just trying to create buy-in or a sense of inclusion by pretending you still have an open mind... or you're planting seeds for something you know you will eventually do.

Never say you aren't sure unless you really aren't sure... and are truly willing to consider other viewpoints.

5. The First Person Theoretical: Pretending to be another person in order to explore different points of view.

Typical usage: "Let's say I'm the average customer and I walk in your store and want to buy a shirt..."

You can get away with this one occasionally, but more than that is really irritating.

Don't believe me? Let's say I'm the average reader and I know someone who uses the First Person Theoretical to pretend he's putting himself in another person's shoes. And let's say I'm thinking it's really irritating. And let's say I'm...

Let's just say I'm thinking we should move on.

6. The Favorite Phrase: Using a phrase so often that word is all anyone can hear.

Typical usage: Any phrase that gets hammered to death. Here's an example.

I knew someone who never met a sentence he couldn't find a way to shoehorn in a random "in other words," "as it relates to," or "in general." Often he could cram all three into the same sentence multiple times.

Fall in love with a word or expression and not only do other people hear it, they start to hear nothing else. Then whatever you hoped to get across gets lost as they think, "Oh jeez, for once could he leave out the 'that's neither here nor there'?"

Ask someone if you overuse a word, phrase, or figure of speech. At first they'll look uncomfortable and try to avoid answering. Insist.

Eventually they'll tell you, and I guarantee you'll never do it again. Trust me: Been there, been told that.

(Mr. Haden also writes for Inc.com.)

Categories: Inc.com, Jeff Haden, Linked In, Observations

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