If you’re really desperate, or if you really want to hop on to one of Twitters successors, or if you’re a big fan of Neil Gaiman: I do have a couple of invitations to open a Bluesky account to give away ;-)
You know how to reach me by email, no?
Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category
Bluesky Invites Available
Posted in Social Media on 05/01/2024|
Mastodon: For A Better Internet?
Posted in Internet, Social Media, Software on 11/07/2023|
The past six months I have been reading many articles about Mastodon and the Fediverse. I’m not really active on Twitter, so my motive was not related to any issues since Musk took over that platform. But all the fuss about Mastodon that ensued from the Twitter drama was a good reminder to actually do what I have wanted to do for a long time: sign up and use Mastodon ;-)
I have a nice catalogue of links to interesting literature on the subject. But there is so much to be read about Mastodon these days that I feel ‘yet another listing of links’ is not really useful. There is one post I want to mention here: “Mastodon: A New Hope for Social Networking“.
However, caution is required. If you’re expecting Mastodon to replace Twitter, then you’re wrong, as far as I can tell. Twitter is what I would call “amplified shouting to the world” – you might say that a former president of the US exemplies that definition like no one else. Mastodon is somewhat similar, but: you’re talking to a (much) smaller community, not the whole world. The community will be one of your choice, limiting your audience, and at the same time enhancing your chances of being listened to and possibly engaging in a conversation. And that is where the comparison with Twitter stops: Twitter is not about conversation.
Thanks, WordPress, For The Mastodon Connector!
Posted in Content Management, Social Media, Software on 07/07/2023|
I knew it was coming, but it’s great to see it so quickly: the option to publish the site updates automatically to a Mastodon account. I don’t know if anyone really cares about what I write, but I like to have a trace of my own stuff intermingled with posts from other bloggers on my “following” list(s)…
For those of you who haven’t found the option yet: just select the “Tools” section in the WordPress menu, and then click on “Connections”. The connector for Mastodon is down in the list, just like the onse for LinkedIn, FB, Tumblr, and Instagram Business.
The Dirty Dozen In The Disinformation Age
Posted in Internet, Social Media, Society on 06/04/2021|
How a few people can have a big impact in social media: “The Disinformation Dozen. Why platforms must act on twelve leading online anti-vaxxers“.
Just twelve anti-vaxxers are responsible for almost two-thirds of anti-vaccine content circulating on social media platforms.
Click on the image to see the report
Basecamp Is Now A Facebook-Free Business – Who’s Next?
Posted in Internet, Social Media on 23/12/2018|
I do have a Facebook account, but I don’t use it – not even to spy on my children. So I wonder: is this just an interesting experiment, or the start of something big?
At Basecamp, we’ve decided to go Facebook Free from today. If you’d like to join, either today, tomorrow or next year, just comment on this post, and we’ll highlight credible pledges for all to see. You’re also free to use the 100% Facebook Free badge that we’ve released under Creative Commons (CA BY-SA 4.0) and have it link back to this page.
Anyway, since I don not use FB (or Instagram, for that matter) in a professional context, you could say I’m “Facebook Free” as well. Hi there, DHH!
Why Do We Blog, Jason?
Posted in Personal, Social Media on 22/03/2018|
Last week, Jason Kottke’s blog celebrated its twentieth birthday. Yes, that’s less than Johann S.Bach, but nevertheless quite a feat: I don’t know many blogs that go back so long (Dave Winer’s Scripting.com is probably the most prominent one).
His first post, March 14, 1998
I can’t say that I have read every one of Jason’s posts, but at least I knew – and appreciated – his writings many years ago; I even referred to his blog in 2003. Some of his latest words resonate clearly with my own experience:
I had a personal realization recently: kottke.org isn’t so much a thing I’m making but a process I’m going through. A journey. A journey towards knowledge, discovery, empathy, connection, and a better way of seeing the world.
In December 2014, I mentioned a similar realisation on the one but last slide of a presentation on blogging. Check it out on “My Life As A Blogger In A Few Images“.
Thinking About Technology And The Web
Posted in Social Media, Society, Technology on 10/01/2018|
More than 15 years ago, I wrote about my resolve to keep up with the writings of Brent Simmons. I wanted to do that, not because he was one the makers of Frontier and working at UserLand, but because I liked (and still like) the fact that he applies ethics to all aspects of his life – including programming and software.
You don’t have to agree with his take on things, but at least go over and read Brent’s hopes for 2018:
Rebuilding the social open web is not the one cure that we need for all our ills. I’m fully skeptical of technological solutions to problems of culture and politics. But it is an important thing we can and should do. My small hope for 2018 is the knowledge that I’m not the only person thinking that way.
Building a social open web will, unfortunately, take more than one calendar year. But it’s important to start (some will say: to continue) the construction of such a web: every journey starts with a single step. Technology won’t bring the cure; only people can do that.
PS. No, I haven’t yet started reading Tim O’Reilly’s “WTF What’s The Future And Why It’s Up To Us”. But you can see why I had to buy (and read, I promise) that book.
A Smart Artist Writes About Social Media
Posted in Social Media, Society on 24/08/2017|
David Byrne wrote Eliminating the Human.
Human interaction is often perceived, from an engineer’s mind-set, as complicated, inefficient, noisy, and slow. Part of making something “frictionless” is getting the human part out of the way.
I’m not an engineer, but it’s true that certain processes, certainly in a business context, can benefit from automation.
While Facebook and others frequently claim to offer connection, and do offer the appearance of it, the fact is a lot of social media is a simulation of real connection.
Right!
We have evolved as social creatures, and our ability to cooperate is one of the big factors in our success. I would argue that social interaction and cooperation, the kind that makes us who we are, is something our tools can augment but not replace.
Personally, I would rewrite that last sentence: “I would argue that social interaction and cooperation, the kind that makes us who we are, is something our tools should augment but not replace” (and perhaps I should have used the word “must”). But you have to read the complete piece David Byrne wrote – really. Or better yet: check out the extended version on his website.
(I found this portrait of DB on http://liveforlivemusic.com/)
It took me a lot of time to learn that talking to people can be more effective (not necessarily more efficient) than a note, an email, or a letter in the right situation. How do you know when to use which tool? Well, you have to learn that by doing and making mistakes ;-)
No, Thiel Isn’t The Reason I Stay Away From Facebook
Posted in Social Media on 23/10/2016|
I did not know who Peter Thiel was until a few months ago, with the Gawker incident. But the reaction of Zuckerberg to Thiel’s donation to Trump is just another symptom of the false neutrality that FB wants to display. In the words of Davey Alba on the Wired website:
Thiel isn’t just another Facebook user; he’s a man in a unique position of power who has decided to use that power to suppress diversity and work against the very goals Zuckerberg claims to support. Zuckerberg may fear that in removing Thiel, Facebook opens itself up to charges of bias. But it’s too late: not removing him is biased against everyone who Trump has demeaned. Zuckerberg may want a middle to straddle, but it doesn’t exist. “Diversity” certainly isn’t it.
It’s hard to see how any social media platform can be neutral if it is managed by commercial objectives. We, the end users, will have to run our own platform to avoid the censorship of big money. But will Diaspora be able to rescue us?
Mark Twain Did Not Say: Reports Of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated – Or Did He?
Posted in Internet, Social Media, Society on 22/10/2016|
The first mention of Snopes on this blog goes back to the year 2000, and I’m happy to announce that there is a good overview of what Snopes is (and how it came about) on the Webb Awards website. In summary, Snopes is a “fact checker”, where you will almost certainly find your favourite urban legend, its ‘truthiness’ and its history. Snopes started checking ‘hoaxes’ and ‘urban legends’ in 1994, shortly after the birth of the Web. These days, the presidential election is more than enough to keep the Snopes team hard at work; suffice it to say that many extravagant claims turn out to be fabrications, with or without Photoshop. There are many ‘fake news’ sites on the Web, but ‘real’ news media sometimes forget to verify their stories as well, and that just means more work for Snopes and its ilk.
Sarcasm by XKCD
“How the Truth Set Snopes Free – Racing Against the Web’s Rumor Mill” also explains:
And therein lies one of the biggest lessons that Snopes has to teach: Urban legends are most interesting for what they say about those who spread and believe them—our hopes (as in the grateful millionaire tale) as well as our fears about the secret ways the world really works.
Here’s the current biography of David Mikkelson, Snopes’ founder:
David Mikkelson founded snopes.com in 1994, and under his guidance the company has pioneered a number of revolutionary technologies, including the iPhone, the light bulb, beer pong, and a vaccine for a disease that has not yet been discovered. He is currently seeking political asylum in the Duchy of Grand Fenwick.
The interpretation of that sentence is left as an exercise in humour detection to the reader ;-) Or you could try the “Random” function of the website to be surprised again and again with how stories are morphed from fact to falsehood, myth or hoax.
For details on what Mark Twain said, check out https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Twain…
My Life As A Blogger In A Few Images
Posted in Personal, Social Media on 06/08/2016|
Since about two years, a few colleagues at work are trying to explain different forms of social media to all the personnel. I was asked to explain what blogging is all about, and this is what I presented in December 2014: “My life as a blogger“ (PDF).
For more cartoons by Quirit click the image.
NUKLEOS weblog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.