dreaming of a better internet
sari and
dreaming of a better internet
As late as 2011, journalists and technologists were praising social media’s emancipatory power in light of the role of Facebook and Twitter in the Arab Spring revolts. But, as has been noted many times, after the U.S. presidential election in 2016, such optimism increasingly appeared naïve and misguided. Now Facebook and Twitter are seen as... See more
L. M. Sacasas • The Analog City and the Digital City
fuel to the fire
AMANDA MONTELL: I really appreciated this video from Kurzgesagt, which articulates how the current hyper-connected state of the internet has destroyed our collective mental health. The video suggested the glory days of social media were actually the early 2000s, when like-minded users could gather in niche, siloed forums to discuss common... See more
So perhaps that means changing the terms of the argument or goal. Perhaps, for the medium-term future at least, "winning" and replacing this enshittified monoculture (yes, I really need to read Cory's book), if it isn't possible, is more about cultivating a base layer, I don't know, some sort of mycelial network that's impossible to nuke out of
... See moreDan Hon • S16e08: Free-Range, Organic, and Natural; The Original Promise
Sometime since the rise of recommendation algorithms, social media became a little... cacophonous. Every page refresh serves you new and personalised content on a silver platter, just for you. Although, many people seem to be growing tired of this constant flow of information. In 2024, I began a video series, Corners of the Internet, sharing... See more
Matthew Prebeg • “A quiet shift is taking place”: On being a creative in the age of content
Twitter forces nuanced thoughts down to bumper-sticker bluntness. The chaotic, always moving newsfeed leaves little time for reflection on whatever has just been read. The algorithm’s obsession with likes and retweets means users mainly see (and produce) speech that flatters their community or demonizes those they already loathe. The quote tweet
... See moreNew York Times • Opinion | the Great Delusion Behind Twitter - The New York Times
People in my profession say all the time that they can't do their jobs without Twitter, and it drives me so crazy because I think most of them are worse at their jobs because of Twitter. The reason is that Twitter, as do other forms of social media, gets you to lose control of what you care about. You lose that intentionality with your own... See more
Clay Skipper • Ezra Klein’s Formula for a Good Day Involves These Four Things
my goal is simply to create a space to wander around