I think the true problem here is associating the word secure with https. It provides a false sense of security when the site served over https is a scam or phishing site, but very few non-technical users understand the difference.
Do we think this is related to media platforms seemingly walling themselves off? Requiring accounts to view content, removing API access. It seems if they can silo data off and make it difficult to access at a large scale, then they are the gatekeeper of the data and can control usage and pricing.
No, this always happens with platforms once they feel they have attracted enough users : for instance it happened with Twitter in 2013, or see also what happened to XMPP after Google and Facebook have adopted it, or Reddit going closed source in 2017...
There are companies that offer brand and employee impersonation detection services, but something like this is undetectable. Any scam done through a public email provider, you really can't do much aside from reporting the email and raising awareness.
Had the scammers linked back to a domain or website that looks similar to your brand, THAT is detectable and there are services that can help here.
Oh, look - another click-through questionnaire that ultimately leads you to a payment page.
For anyone looking for actual free advice, check out the Huberman lab podcast or Matt Walker's sleep podcast. I struggled with insomnia for a brief period, and luckily, my fix was simple. All it took was more time outdoors and not eating close to bedtime. I went from having trouble falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night 3-4 times a week to sleeping through the night, and now I can't remember the last time I woke up in the middle of the night.
Most of my time is spent indoors, working indoors, and exercising indoors at the gym. So my fix was as easy as spending more time outside. Most mornings, I walk out around sunrise or shortly after that. Try also to do an afternoon walk or spend time outside doing whatever it may be. Also stopped eating 3-4 hours before bedtime.
Stopping the late meals was huge for me, and I notice now that when I wake up in the middle of the night, it usually coincides with a night of lots of food and drink before bed.
Indeed, we're all different, so I'm not saying what worked for me will work for you but it may be worth trying as my recommendations are free and easy to implement, and also backed by research that the podcasts I mentioned go into great detail about. Best of luck to anyone struggling, and I hope you can leverage the many free resources out there.
I like this post a lot, and I can certainly relate to this working in the business technology sector as a developer and as a generalist technology consultant for a large firm. Contracts get signed, and half the time, the seller doesn't understand what they're selling, and the buyer is buying an idea and truly doesn't get it either, then it's up to the technical consultants to take their best stab at it while being billed out as an "expert."
Then you have professions that are much more black and white, mainly the trades and non-technology engineering. Their survival is contingent on knowing what they're doing, most of the time and they gain more profit by being efficient with tasks they've seen time and time again. Think of a plumber or garage door repairman whose seen your specific problem hundreds of times before. A good tradesperson will know precisely what they are doing.
I'm not sure where I'm going with these rambles, but the encouraging view of what the author is writing about here can almost be described as embracing uncertainty in the business world where the rules aren't clearly defined. Much different than the trades or non-tech engineering, where the end deliverable is something that is more concrete (no pun intended) and easily understood by the average person.
I commend the developers for acknowledging the problem that exists with modern social media and trying to do something about it. My personal opinion is that you don't fix this problem with another platform that promotes content sharing. Regardless of the content shared, it'll likely turn into a comparison game and result in the same unhappiness that more traditional social media platforms bring and it's now been proven through extensive studies that these platforms do in fact worsen mood. Why is that? Well, it kinda makes sense.. you're sitting at home looking at what other people are doing instead of doing those things yourself. Certainly images and videos of loved ones enjoying themselves can bring you joy, but nowhere near the amount of joy you'd get from being with them. The problem is that the current social media platforms do everything but make us social. They encourage us to sit back at home and feel as if we're being social by seeing social activity.
So what's the solution? If I had to take a stab at it, I'd build something very primitive with no content sharing, no followers or likes that promotes actual social interactions. The primary focus of the application should be to get people together, IRL. Once that interaction has been facilitated or scheduled, that's as far as the application should go. The goal of social media should be to get people to be more social again, in person and not through a phone screen. Going to visit a new city? This app would allow you to let your network know and use approximated GPS data from your phone to connect you with people in your network that could meet up in person. Even if you're going to visit the same city you always visit but live in the suburbs, you can let people know where you'll be by location and they would receive alerts that someone from their network will be in the area. Want to plan a hike? Schedule it in the app and make it public, semi-public allowing people in your network to see your plan and opt in to join.
Going to meet a friend for happy hour? Throw it on the app and allow your network to be updated and suddenly you're catching up with a few friends you haven't seen in some time.
And I'm not going to lie, meet up is absolutely amazing for both making friends and dating. It's been phenomenally more effective for me versus dating apps. It's how I meet one of my previous partners ( more like we met because I mistook her for someone else, but life is random fun).
That said, when I'm dating someone like now, I don't socialize nearly as much. It takes a very real amount of energy to do so. Online socializing, also takes that energy. So when I get home I'm in my temple, and I don't let all that social media drama into my temple. It's done wonders for my mental health, back when I was heavily in the social media and online dating apps I was very nervous and miserable almost all the time. I'm half convinced the never-ending notifications are designed to make us all a little bit crazy, and very addicted. It can be easier to drop it all and go for a walk. Occasionally you ask for directions and end up getting coffee...
You may be half-convinced but I'm fully convinced the never-ending notifications make us all a lot of bit crazy. Many of us have lost the ability to focus.
I think meetup is close to what I'm describing but not quite there. Meetup is very goal\work\hobby oriented which I think is great but I'm describing something a bit more informal geared towards keeping in touch with existing connections as opposed to meeting new individuals.
