Wednesday, February 13, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 7
Sisters business opts out of Big Data with no regrets
By T. Lee Brown
Correspondent
The new owner of a ven-
erable Sisters retail establish-
ment has joined a hot new
trend. Is it a brilliant new tech-
nology, disrupting the book-
selling business?
On the contrary. Lane
Jacobson, owner of Paulina
S p r i n g s B o o k s s i n c e
November 1, used the good
old-fashioned medium of the
email newsletter to announce:
<Given the recent and
continuing revelations about
Facebook9s misuse of and
seeming disregard for the
privacy of its users and their
data, I have elected to halt
any further Paulina Springs
Books activity on Facebook
and Instagram (owned by
Facebook). We take the pri-
vacy of our customers very
seriously, and we expect the
same from organizations we
partner with and platforms
that we use.=
The straw that broke the
camel9s back, according to
Jacobson, was news of a
Facebook boycott by promi-
nent civil rights supporters.
A report for the U.S. Senate
Intelligence Committee
revealed that a Russian influ-
ence campaign <made an
extraordinary effort to target
African-Americans= via the
social behemoth9s network.
Reports show that a vari-
ety of ploys were used on
Facebook to suppress voter
turnout. The Facebook-
Instagram-WhatsApp corpo-
rate empire is under scrutiny
by politicians, businesses, the
press, and citizens for a wide
range of systemic abuses of
public trust.
A c c o r d i n g t o M e g y
Karydes at Inc., customers
are <wary of social media
platforms right now. What we
can do is build up our other
marketing tools, like build-
ing our email list or consider
other ways to market to our
customers.=
The bookstore already
takes a similar approach.
<Paulina Springs is fortu-
nate in that social media is not
a huge part of our marketing
strategy,= Jacobson told The
Nugget. <We exist in a com-
munity that operates outside
of that.=
Community is a common
thread among the many busi-
nesses and individuals aban-
doning Facebook, and social
media in general. This was
observed in a recent roundup
of trends to watch in 2019,
conducted by Adobe Spark.
The software company
Adobe has enormous reach
with creative and marketing
professionals. Their apps are
indispensable in the industry.
<Several of our influenc-
ers and insiders that we spoke
to believed that creators and
community builders will start
moving away from the big
platforms that do little to sup-
port them or their communi-
ties,= an Adobe blog reported.
It went on, <As we con-
tinue to define for ourselves
how social media fits into our
lives, we see communities
getting creative with how and
where they connect.=
Brick-and-mortar, inde-
pendent bookstores provide a
connection point.
<I definitely understand
and appreciate what book-
stores are to communities,=
says Jacobson, who has been
in the business about a decade.
<The idea of algorithms
and Amazon9s recommen-
dations 4 that9s all based
on where you9ve been,= he
added. <Booksellers can help
you figure out where you9re
going.=
Studies show that if a
customer spends $100 at an
independent local retailer,
$48 will circulate throughout
the local economy. Spend the
same $100 at a big chainstore
nearby, and only $14 stays
local. Buying from online
stores like Amazon drains
money out of a community. A
mere $1 remains local.
Paulina Springs customers
can curb online spending by
ordering books from the store.
It takes approximately 132
business days for most deliv-
eries. Customers may phone,
send email, drop in, or place a
website order. Jacobson hopes
to update the web ordering
system soon.
The 27-year-old book-
seller considers bookstores
an important <third place=
for people in a community.
He said, <They have home,
they have their work, and they
have their third place 4 cof-
feehouse, gym, bookstore.=
Bookstores disperse infor-
mation and knowledge, public
perception of which has been
substantially altered by social
media, Google, and the digital
surveillance economy.
<It9s a really tricky time,
because everything is politi-
cal now,= Jacobson acknowl-
edged. He believes <it9s good
to read outside of your expe-
rience= and that bookstores
should <encourage people to
read and think critically.
< P o l a r i z a t i o n i s a
problem because it leads to
lack of conversation,= he said.
<Democracy is built on con-
versations with those whom
we disagree with. And when
we9re not having those con-
versations, the process kind of
falters.=
Paulina Springs Books
plans to host new events
including discussions aim-
ing to bridge the gap between
readers of differing beliefs.
The bookstore will use
Twitter to maintain a presence
in the publishing industry and
attract bigger-name authors
for in-store events.
Jacobson quit his personal
social media accounts about a
year ago.
<No regrets,= he said.
<Even moving across the
country, away from all my
friends, I9m entirely able to
keep in touch.=
Time management, pri-
oritization, and mental health
were his primary reasons for
quitting. Now he relishes los-
ing the urge to <share,= which
used to interrupt activities like
hiking.
<Everything that I do now
is for my own enjoyment,= he
said with a grin. <Going a year
without that desire to take a
picture to share on Instagram?
That9s great.=
