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The Plague, a poem . . . and your next Wednesday Writing Prompt

“Google had discovered a way to translate its non~market interactions with users into surplus raw material for the fabrication of products aimed at genuine market transactions with its real customers: advertisers.The translation of behavioral surplus from outside to inside the market finally enabled Google to convert investment into revenue. The corporation thus created out of thin air and at zero marginal cost an asset class of vital raw materials derived from users’ nonmarket online behavior.”  Shoshana Zuboff, Master or Slave? The Fight for the Soul of Our Information Civilization

“Cambridge Analytica has sold itself as the ultimate hi-tech consultant, winning votes by using data to pinpoint target groups and design messages that will appeal powerfully to their interests, although it denies using Facebook information in its work.” MORE The Guardian

I.

[Nature is innoculation]

The sun, the moon, the wind, they never molder
They’re never persuaded off-course, let them
Be your tallit, your scapular, your prayer rug, be
The great ocean when it licks the shore with love
Unperturbed by difference . . .

II.

[Loneliness is your only friend]

In the face of algorithms, surveillance capitalism,
Political hacking, be in the world, not of it, the plague
Of lies and distortions, amoral predict-and-control,
Trust you to be the Truth and the Mercy, you are
The lived ethic  . . .

© 2019, Jamie Dedes

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

Well, here we are 2020, living in a hacked world that has been evolving for the past twenty years or so, hacking that is driving our consumption, our politics and policies, and that doesn’t represent us democratically and certainly isn’t representative our true values.  Your thought, defenses, potential solutions … Share them this week in your poem/s …

  • please submit your poem/s by pasting them into the comments section and not by sharing a link
  • please submit poems only, no photos, illustrations, essays, stories, or other prose

PLEASE NOTE:

Poems submitted through email or Facebook will not be published.

IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.

PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.  

Deadline:  Monday, January 13 by 8 pm Pacific Time. If you are unsure when that would be in your time zone, check The Time Zone Converter.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you.

You are welcome – encouraged – to share your poems in a language other than English but please accompany it with a translation into English.

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