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Things were going really well for Ethan Czahor. He had landed a job as the chief technology officer of Jeb Bush. But then everything changed when journalists uncovered some old tweets that Czahor had posted a few years back, which led to him resigning from his top position.
But now, Czahor is back in the world of technology, and is introducing a new iOS app called Clear, which, interestingly, is designed to help Twitter users avoid the same fate he suffered not too long ago.
You may not have the same job as Czahor had, and it is doubtful journalists would dig up past tweets that could put you in a bad light. But still, old tweets can be potentially embarrassing and even dangerous, especially if it could let you lose your job or decrease your chances of getting a new one.
This is where the Clear app comes in. And the great thing about Clear is that apart from Twitter, the app can also be integrated with with other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. In dealing with potentially embarrassing social media posts, the Clear app never deletes anything without the direct permission of the users.
But wait -- how does the app know exactly which post to target for termination? As explained in Clear's website, the app conducts complex analysis on whatever the users have posted in their social media accounts. Then using Clear's own algorithms, plus the intelligent processing power of the IBM Watson supercomputer (the same one that won Jeopardy), it figures out which posts are not fit to keep.
With the users' permission, the Clear app then wipes out the targeted posts, removing them entirely from the users' social media accounts. No more spending hours and hours scrolling down your Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram profiles looking for posts that could potentially ruin your chances of landing that dream job (or getting a date).
Moreover, the app also takes a more proactive approach to spotting possible social media posts that could get users in trouble. Clear does this by presenting a stream of the most recent posts that the app has flagged for possible double checking. Profanity usually sets off Clear's alarms, as well as other words or phrases that might be offensive. N-words are definitely easy targets, as well as references to sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion. Of course, other posts that do not contain any profanity or explicitly offensive words and phrases are a little trickier. Then there's video content, which is surely more difficult to evaluate.
Czahor is quick to note that the Clear app is still in its early stages, and improvements will undoubtedly be expected in future versions. He also emphasizes the importance of context in spotting potentially offensive posts -- after all, tongue-in-cheek jokes can be taken as light-hearted digs only, not intentionally insulting.
But sometimes, lines can be blurry. Perhaps it is best to avoid posting offensive tweets altogether. But if you just can't resist, the Clear app can help you avoid getting into trouble later on.
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