Ben Mezrich

I write books that become movies. Dumb Money, The Social Network, 21- and a bunch of others! #dumbmoney in theaters sept 29!

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

Excited to see Checkmate in the Ny times today, one of the nonfiction books everyone will be reading this summer. Right up there with Dave Portnoy and Jill Biden :):):):):)

[Nick Hennion @nickhennion]

@ameansy Checkmate from Ben Mezrich. Also if you’ve never read the accidental billionaires that too.

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

Maybe I’m biased, but I freaking loved The Social Reckoning. It’s not The Social Network, and that’s ok. It’s a much harsher take on Zuckerberg, it’s a good journalism movie, and it’s a deep dive into free speech. Most of all, it’s pure Sorkin, and I love Sorkin. So there.

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

I don’t think you’ve seen the movie. That’s not what this is about- what stories are pushed to people is not only based on what they’ve previously viewed. It’s things that get the sort of engagement that raises views. Facebook determined that that was hate and pushed it. That’s what the Facebook files in the wsj showed, from internal docs

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

Maybe I’m biased, but I freaking loved The Social Reckoning. It’s not The Social Network, and that’s ok. It’s a much harsher take on Zuckerberg, it’s a good journalism movie, and it’s a deep dive into free speech. Most of all, it’s pure Sorkin, and I love Sorkin. So there.

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@ScottHolleran Awesome

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

Views come after the algo does its work, not before. The algorithm chooses what to push and views follow. Things that get immediate reposts and comments get pushed over things that get likes. Facebook intentionally chose to boost things they knew caused anger and divisiveness- see the movie if you haven’t. That was the point. Not that anything that people viewed got more views. It was a purposefully pushing of hate and anger.

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@gamestealer People hate, sure. But the algorithm is designed to enhance and share the hate, amplify anything that gets people angry. It’s sick. It’s like a town hall that only features angry messages, and anything else is relegated to the quiet corners nobody sees

[Matthew Callahan @mtccap]

Deep. Brilliant story teller.

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@choyxyz It really was good! I think all the haters are crazy

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@Andy_Bloch @DanaBrunetti You def should. You were there!

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@DanaBrunetti @Andy_Bloch You know @joshgad is in :):):):)

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@DanaBrunetti @Andy_Bloch I’ve still got the tv you got us

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@DanaBrunetti @Andy_Bloch Yes!! Wherever deluca lands :):):)

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@xJijIFcW4ano36e I agree. I think when it hits streaming it will be huge. It’s hard to get people to theaters for something like this. But at home, people will watch.

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

@xJijIFcW4ano36e And thank you, I agree about The Social Network :):)

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

I could say so much more- some of it actually hit me hard, made me so angry about how much social media has ruined the world. How that online village Zuckerberg tried to create- connecting us all in some big happy family- turned into a place where anger, division, bullying -

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

And kudos to everyone who went to a theater to watch it. :) And yeah, go home and watch The Social Network afterward. :)

[Ben Mezrich @benmezrich]

We all, every one of us know all
this is happening, and we’ve just shrugged- because there doesn’t seem to be anything any of us can do about it. So kudos to Sorkin for having the bravery to write this movie-