Subversively Accurate

I’ve been working on books four and five and as a result, I haven’t posted to the blog for a while. Not for a lack of content, though! Did I predict the future in Subversive Addiction?

Maybe. Check out these two recent news articles.

Let’s start on November 2, 2021, with the New York Times: Facebook, Citing Societal Concerns, Plans to Shut Down Facial Recognition System. Okay, now this might be a vague plot-spoiler for Subversive Addiction, but it’s a pretty big deal when the world’s largest social network inspires a sub-headline in the Times like this: “Saying it wants “to find the right balance” with the technology, the social network will delete the face scan data of more than one billion users.”

Yup, that’s the exact database discussed in Subversive Addiction. 

My story went further than just using facial recognition from social media posts and covered the concept of users being tracked by the social media engagements. This goes beyond cross-app tracking, whereby if you look at a web page in a browser that showcases widgets, then Instagram or something feeds you an advertisement for widgets. I think that’s kinda creepy, but mostly harmless; it’s my choice whether to engage with, or outright ignore, any advertising.

That brings us to a fascinating article by Zak Doffman in Forbes, Security Researcher Finds Facebook App Tracking iPhone Movements, posted on October 23, 2021. Mr. Doffman writes, “Facebook still captures location data using the metadata from your photos and your IP address, even if you update your settings ‘never’ to track your location. Facebook admits to this harvesting, refusing to be drawn on why that’s so wrong when users specifically disable location tracking.” Even more outrageous is this: “Now security researchers have suddenly warned that Facebook goes even further, using the accelerometer on your iPhone to track a constant stream of your movements, which can easily be used to monitor your activities or behaviors at times of day, in particular places, or when interacting with its apps and services. Alarmingly, this data can even match you with people near you—whether you know them or not.”

And that, folks, is definitely creepy.

I don’t post much on social media, and that lack of presence certainly hurts my efforts to find a bigger audience for the Ben Porter Series. As always, it’s a trade-off: does one allow themselves to be a virtual guinea pig in a giant, ongoing social media experiment, which may or may not have some future, unforeseen downside, or ignore that and connect with other like-minded people through social media?

I have not got an answer for that question, yet. But I can tell you that Subversive Addiction was released in audiobook format just two days ago. My cast—Christopher Boucher, Jessica Threet, Robert Bradvica, and Cheick Sy-Savane—outdid themselves in the studio. I hope you’ll check it out!

With gratitude as always for your support,

Christopher