A MAGA NAZI owns Twitter now. He deliberately posts misinformation and disinformation.
Twitter is now too immoral and dangerous for me.
So far, I like Bluesky much better. For one thing, it embeds correctly in this website.
RickMcCharles.com is my Bluesky handle.
Here’s my attempt to embed a public Facebook post on this site.
And here’s Instagram.
For most people, Instagram and TikTok are the most entertaining. I don’t much look at either.
If you want to avoid POLITICS, Meta (Instagram, Facebook, Threads) has definitely reduced the emphasis on political arguments. In Canada, a bonus for using Facebook is that news links are banned.
I haven’t quit Twitter — surprisingly — as my own feeds focused on Gymnastics and Hiking are still good. If I click on Following and avoid For You, the stream is valuable. Of course I quickly block anything I don’t like.
I post today as many of the people online I trust and respect are migrating to Bluesky.
Looking more for VIDEO than anything else, these are the sites I use most:
I hate advertising. Facebook doesn’t offer paid ad-free feeds, so I use ad blockers.
I hate Elon Musk and refuse to send him even one penny. So use ad blockers.
I use WhatsApp only for small group communication. It’s excellent. Messenger, as well, only for communication with very few people.
I’ll check Reddit once in a while if I’m looking for something specific.
Mastodon could be my favourite, but it’s not caught on with the people I want to follow.
LinkedIn should be best of all. But I’ve never seen much value for my purposes.
I never signed up for Snapchat. Hikers are mostly on Instagram. Gymnastics coaches mostly on Twitter.
I’ll try Bluesky. But I’m worried it will never grow big enough.
If desperate, I’ll create a browser bookmark folder and open all these social media sites simultaneously to check the latest news in Gymnastics and Hiking. OR … could I use an A.I. client to do that for me?
Brainstorming … 😀
International Fact-Checking Day was introduced at a conference for journalists and fact-checkers at the London School of Economics in June 2014.
… officially created in 2016 and first celebrated on April 2, 2017. …
It rose in importance after the 2016 elections, which brought fake news, as well as accusations of it, to the forefront of media issues. …
The invention of the Internet ➙ and Social Media made it much easier to circulate disinformation and misinformation.
What that means for YOU and ME is that we need check everything with sources we trust.
I’d avoided this Facebook social media alternative — until the pandemic. It’s very popular with outdoor recreation folks so I started posting near daily on @BestHikeVisuals.
This parody nails it. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
Day 1 for me on Instagram was November 9, 2020.
It’s shocking how limited Instagram is compared with Facebook. For example:
I’m up to over 600 posts now. And it IS rewarding to quickly scan all of those. And there are some very good photos.
But many of the coolest influencers are posting less to Instagram. Looking to TikTok and other social media.
Kara Swisher is today the #1 reporter covering the business of the internet.
Her mentor, Walt Mossberg.
The first of her 2-book memoir is a hit.
An entertaining read, even if you care nothing about the history of the internet.
Almost everyone in Tech picks up the phone when Kara calls.
She’s a pugnacious interviewer who won’t back down to anyone.
I only follow Swisher because she launched Pivot, a semi-weekly news commentary podcast co-hosted by Swisher and Scott Galloway.
She’s a very hard worker. Extremely well connected. And a competent interviewer.
But Prof. Galloway is my guru in ALL things business. Swisher was smart — as well — to sign up Galloway.
In her new book, Swisher reflects back on some of the biggest stories she’s covered. And her opinions of some of the Tech giants.
John McLaughlin comes across worst. Also, Rupert Murdoch, her long time boss.
Mark Zuckerberg stories are embarrassing. Facebook evil.
She’s fascinated by Elon Musk — but entirely disappointed since he bought Twitter and made his legacy being something of a right wing troll.
I was surprised how much she admired Steve Jobs. A well known asshole, but one who slung less B.S. than the rest.
Cory Doctorow is without question one of the smartest and most eloquent of Tech pundits.
… an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books. Some common themes of his work include digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics. …
HERE IS HOW platforms die: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die. …
I call this enshittification, …
Amazon, Facebook, Tiktok. All of them.
The Google search engine app on my phone is totally ‘enshittified’ — nobody could appreciate so many inappropriate advertisements.
Wikipedia is not enshittified.
Why?
It’s not based on advertising. Ads are the main reason the internet is getting enshittified.
I don’t suffer much because I have every ad blocker known to man working in the Chrome browser. I rarely see ads, except on my phone.
Facebook ads are hardest to avoid.
I pay for YouTube Premium to avoid ads in the middle of my videos.
Click through to read the article for yourself:
It seems self evident that people would be more civil online IF they couldn’t be anonymous.
But research shows that’s not the case.
Perhaps the world expert in governance of online speech, Kate Klonick, concluded that having both public and anonymous options is BEST for reducing hate and increasing the value of social media.
Many, many individuals are unable to speak honestly unless they can be anonymous.
Listen to her interviewed on Pivot.
I’m often critical of Elon Musk. Turned off by his egomania.
Disappointed in his juvenile comments from the bully pulpit of Twitter. One of the richest and most powerful men in the world attacking and mocking people who are unable to fight back.
I’m disappointed that a guy who claims he doesn’t care about money is so reluctant to pay more in taxes though his businesses have received billions of dollars in tax subsidies.
That said, I admire almost everything else. His work ethic. His companies, especially Boring and Starlink.
Elon Musk does much more good for the world than bad. He’s scientific and well aware of the risks of climate change. He calls for a carbon tax. Musk endorsed Andrew Yang and expressed support for his proposed universal basic income.
Though the headlines shout that Elon is a “free speech absolutist”, Musk himself says Twitter must abide by the laws of each nation. I doubt much will change in terms of Twitter policy in Canada or the USA.
In fact, I’m guessing Twitter will be better for me with Musk as owner.
Warren had me watch this recent interview. Elon defends his life and ethics quite well.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
If you are irked that I call Donald Trump the fat golfer, please stop following my posts.
After a lifetime study of comparative religion, Joseph Campbell concluded that the best course was to Follow your Bliss. Make a list of those things in your life that you most enjoy; those things that enervate you, compel you; interest you in a sustained way. Do them!
Make a second list of those things that vex your existence. How can you avoid or minimize those? CANCEL them.
When in office I mostly called Trump the toddler President — rash, undisciplined, selfish, spoiled. Out of office fat golfer better sums up my opinion of him in a short, colourful way. Trump is the master of name calling. Since he does it, I feel it’s ethical to reciprocate.
I believe in freedom of speech. The fat golfer can say whatever he wants on his golf course. BUT not in my home. Not on my blogs. Nor my social media feeds.
I also believe in the freedom to NOT listen to speech.
Since Rush Limbaugh — the Big Fat Idiot — popularized the notion of cancelling people in the 1980s, the word cancelled has become increasingly loaded. And increasingly meaningless.
Though I’m left leaning, I haven’t yet cancelled JK Rowling, Woody Allen, Jordan Peterson and many more. You should if they irritate you enough.
I AM quick to unsubscribe to organizations and people I believe are distributing dangerous and/or unethical content online.
Certainly the American GOP / FOX money making machine picks a new Mr. Potato Head to cancel every day. Gots to keep their mostly old, white supporters angry. (That story was fake news, by the way.)
The best coverage of this issue I’ve heard is on my favourite podcast – Reputation.
Rick McCharles 