Blake Dowling, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Blake DowlingApril 28, 2018

Last week, I had an opportunity to visit Pebble Beach outside Carmel, California. As I basked in the glory of the extraordinary West Coast scenery, I just couldn’t stop thinking about Cambridge Analytica and its micro-targeting techniques, as well as the disruptive and deceptive Internet Research Agency and the trail of havoc and misinformation created […]

Blake DowlingApril 14, 2018

Do you use Facebook for your business, lobbying firm, campaign for not running for Mayor or just personal use? If so, read on. Have you seen an endless stream of news about the social media site? Such issues as pay-to-play for who sees what posts, ad prices going way up, millions of users data lost […]

Blake DowlingMarch 31, 2018

Atlanta’s situation is grim. What happens when your local government’s technology is crippled? Nothing good. In the blink of an eye, it can happen to your business, association, or administration. A click on the wrong email, and you better get out the jelly, because you are toast. City employees were told to turn off their […]

Blake DowlingMarch 24, 2018

Legislation, innovation and deployment of autonomous vehicles hit a significant roadblock this week. A very tragic incident in Arizona involving a self-driving Uber vehicle and a pedestrian killed the pedestrian. The goal of self-driving vehicles is to make our lives easier and roads safer. Self-driving cars do not get drunk or speed, so the 40,000 […]

Blake DowlingMarch 20, 2018

Have you heard of Cambridge Analytica or psychometrics? I weighed in on the topic in 2017 after the election. Psychometrics follows online traits and data collection from social media versus old-school methods of gathering information like a questionnaire. The goal of gathering this info is to develop predictive models of behavior so that you might […]

Blake DowlingMarch 10, 2018

Last week, I took to the road and Friday afternoon had me in Gainesville meeting with the Florida School Boards Association and NEOLA, where I attended a policy seminar on critical technology issues hosted by the Alachua County School District. It was a great chance for the audience to hear from experts on social media, […]

Blake DowlingMarch 3, 2018

Facebook has been a modern American success story that continues to break boundaries and reinvent itself. They have also been in the news a lot lately, not for innovation, but what some people are calling, pay-to-play, exclusion, the “Facebook Apocalypse,” and more. Some publishers and advertisers are not happy, as the platform jacks up rates […]

Blake DowlingFebruary 24, 2018

There are a lot of hot topics raging throughout the state, nation and the world right now. Debates are raging, protests are happening, as it can (and should) in a Democracy. These are serious times, with serious issues on the table. But this column is going to steer the other way, giving you a short […]

Blake DowlingFebruary 17, 2018

The latest cyberthreat … This is a nice sequel to my bitcoin article last month. Everyone loves a sequel right? Except for Smokey and the Bandit 3. (Come on man. Burt wasn’t even in the movie.) OK, there is a new cyber threat that involves criminals diving into the bitcoin mining world. Part 1 is […]

Blake DowlingFebruary 10, 2018

After a 2-year investigation in Tallahassee, the FBI is getting down to business. At this point, no one has been proven guilty of anything. But that hasn’t stopped the circus. Step down! Guilty! Off with their heads! Schemer! Dilly Dilly to the Pit of Misery with you! Points of order to consider. When on the […]

Blake Dowling

Blake Dowling: Latest in political campaign tech

Blake Dowling: Where does Facebook go now?

Blake Dowling: Ransomware cripples city

Blake Dowling: After Uber tragedy, safety is job one for self-driving cars

Blake Dowling: Facebook’s brand takes another beating

Blake Dowling: Internet safety, social media and schools

Blake Dowling: The pleasure — and pain — of Facebook

Blake Dowling: Taking a short break to talk Han Solo

Blake Dowling: The new threat … cryptojacking

Blake Dowling: FBI gets busy in Tallahassee