Facebook Jail, New Media and NFL Week 13

 

In case why you're wondering why I haven't been pushing out these rock solid gold football picks  on social media, I'm in Facebook jail right now.  I made the grave error of making the joke that I would have to become a c*caine dealer (even now I fear typing the word) to pay for Marvin's latest surgery.  Marvin is one of my basset hounds and continues to eat rocks for those not in the know, and it's about $3000 a pop when he does so, which is great.  Facebook's bots determined I violated community standards as I was attempting to sell illegal narcotics on my Facebook account and then either eliminated or suspended my account.  It's not really clear.

I received an automated email from them stating "Your Facebook account has been suspended. This is because your account, or activity on it, doesn't follow our Community Standards on guns, drugs and other restricted goods.  If you think we suspended your account by mistake, you have 180 days to appeal our decision. If you miss this deadline your account will be permanently disabled."  Normally I wouldn't really give a shit about that as the current Facebook algorithm has decided I am very interested in things I don't follow and am decidedly NOT interested in.  I do know what Sammy Hagar is up to though.  However, the Whiskey Daredevils account is tied to my personal account and therefore that got suspended too.  

Here's yet another reason why Facebook sucks.  When you send in your "appeal", in my case it was noting I clearly wasn't a drug dealer and made a sarcastic joke suggesting that becoming involved in the dangerous drug trade was a serious consideration when absorbing the crippling costs of paying for the care of a basset hound puppy.  When you hit "send" on that, there is no longer any response from the platform.  There is no automated email kickback, place to check your status, nothing.  Facebook also does not have a customer service department, responsive email center, chat bot, or any consumer interface.  It's impossible to even log into Meta Business Suite.  As far as I know, "Facebook" is all running out of Zuckerberg's house and his mobile phone.  If anyone knows that guy, can someone tell him to kick the Whiskey Daredevils account back on?  

The inability to interact with any kind of customer service highlights the dramatic shift in media that has happened in the last 20 years.  There really is no reason for me to have access to customer service.  I'm not the customer.  I'm the product.  Facebook is not selling my content and participation on the platform.  Facebook sells me.  

I work at a TV station.  Broadcast TV is, just now, figuring out that they are Newspapers 10 years ago.  A decade ago when the Cleveland Plain Dealer turned from Monstrous Monolith into an almost empty building in a shockingly swift amount of time, these broadcast TV stations proceeded along in a "can't happen here" mindset.  There are four local broadcast stations in each market, buildings filled with people oblivious to what has happened.  There are entire newsrooms that refer to themselves as "community resources" battling to "win at 5p" that cannot grasp the Facebook principle.  The newscast isn't the product.  The audience is.  As their potential audience slides out of the hourglass, they attempt to adjust with the dexterity of a massive ocean liner.  They are doomed and they don't even know it.  

The company that I work for is tossing as much shit as they can at the wall hoping to stem the tide somehow.  There is a product called Tablo which is a reconfigured digital antennae that provides all the local broadcast stations and a kazillion "freevee" channels, which consist of marginal old programming like Magnum PI with ads awkwardly chopped into the program.  In this market, there are 167 free channels available on Tablo.  I opened it up and my mind almost exploded.  There are channels and programs that you have never heard of, an alternate universe of sorts, where apparently everyone has their own show.  In theory there is enough of an audience to support networks like Comet, Nosey, Powder (better not make the logical joke there, right Zuckerberg?), Dove, and IND.  Who is watching any of these programs and networks?

Even more compelling to me is "Who is selling this?".  There is some poor sad sack of shit sitting in in a car hunched over crafting an email onto his mobile typing something like "This is Greg from Circle TV and let me ask you a question... What would you say if I could get you product placement in the #3 Circle TV show "Coffee, Country and Cody"?  And before you answer, consider this... I also COULD place you into Jessica McGovern's Flour Power holiday episode on Gusto TV.".   These are real shows by the way. It's like you fell asleep and woke up a decade later to discover a total shift in pop culture or you'd fallen into a worm hole into a mirror universe where everything was familiar yet somehow different.  You know... like going to Canada.  

The only thing that all Americans care about en masse is NFL Football.  Of the 25 most watched TV shows last year, 24 of those were NFL Football games.  The 25th was OSU v Michigan.  If you have wandered into my little blog account, somehow finding your way in the wilderness, let's bring the community together once again.  Let's get a couple of winners going.  I'm feeling good after hitting that Raiders +13.5 yesterday AND watching them flame out while doing so.  It's going to be a great Sunday.  Let's get up early, watch a little "Temptation 1" on BuzzrTV, scroll our Facebook feeds (well, some of us anyway), and get on the LA Chargers -1 over Atlanta.  

Atlanta is one of those sorta soft teams in the middle of the pack.  I don't think about the Falcons very often.  It's one of those teams that come by on the ticker and you note "Hmmm.  Falcons are up by three over Carolina." and then think about something else.  The Chargers have won four of their last five, and if their blown draft pick receiver from last year hadn't dropped two key passes, they might have beaten the Ravens last week.  Atlanta has lost two of their last three, their win a close call versus the Cowboys.  I think the Chargers are a playoff team.  They're a "lose in the Wild Card round" playoff team, but a playoff team nonetheless.  Atlanta cannot get pressure on the QB, so I think the Chargers can create some long time consuming drives.  I don't like that Dobbins is out, but I think LA is the right side here.  

I absolutely hate Tennessee.  Will Levis has really cost me some money this year.  His focus has been on throwing touchdowns, but to the opposite team.  Lately he's thrown a touchdown or two over to his own players, so I'm liking the Over 44 in the Washington v Tennessee game.  Washington's defense is just crappy enough to allow around 17-20 to Tennessee, and hopefully that's all we'll need here.  Levis gives that turnover variance that is key to pushing totals over.  Gametime weather partly sunny and mid 40s.   Tennessee/Washington OVER 44.

San Francisco is a mirage, a pale memory of the juggernaut of the last few years.  All of their key players are hurt in some way or another.  Purdy didn't practice Wednesday, so they'll probably shove him out there in the snow with a bunch of drunk Bills fans going crazy screaming expletives at him for a few hours.  The 49ers haven't won a quality game since Oct 10th, which is debatable as that was Seattle.  Meanwhile the Bills have won six in a row, and their last loss was Oct 6th when Josh Allen got concussed.  This game is going to be cold and snowy, so maybe it will be tight.  Buffalo money line.

Give me the Denver Broncos.  The Browns win last TH night over Pittsburgh was their Super Bowl.  Those guys were making snow angels a half hour after the game ended.  Welcome Brownies to your Week 13 letdown game.  As I have stated, I think the Broncos are good.  This will be a problem for the Browns, because they aren't.  I've been watching Browns games a long time.  The personnel changes, but Cleveland never plays well there.  Since 1975, the Browns are 2-14 at Denver.  Why would they win against a playoff hungry Broncos that are 8-2 ATS in their last 10?  Denver -5     

Current Record:  22-22