the world wide webnet

I miss Steve Jobs

it doesn’t actually matter what’s inside the “content” itself. Just as my “follower count” contains a mix of real people and bot accounts, so too can “content” contain a mix of human- and AI-generated videos:

Logically, slop is completely okay—if you accept that videos are the “content” instead of actual ideas meant to connect humans to other humans... See more

against content

social media algorithms are fundamentally designed to eliminate coincidences. They optimize for predictability, since more predictable consumers are more profitable. They want us to stay indoors and isolated so that they can mediate more of our interactions. They neatly categorize us into separate filter bubbles, making it easier to impose their or... See more

algorithms are killing coincidences. what does that mean for language?

This difference is what the media theorist James Carey calls the ritual view versus transmission view of communication. In the ritual view, communication is an act of sharing or fellowship between people. This is reflected in how the word “communication” itself shares a root with “community” and “commonality”: the original reason for why we would t... See more

against content

so scary that we have literally convoluted the idea of community and relationship these days. now when someone follows me is it because they want a follow back? because they saw a reel of mine a bit ago and think they want me to influence them? do they want to be my friend? it feels like its never that last one. or I will maybe never know because that’s not what rlly happens. its transactional now. its brand deals and likes and followers and views. what will come of this?

If your average daily screentime is 4-5 hours (the minimum average I see in most people around me), continuing at this rate will cost you 15 years of your life. 15 years. If it’s 5-6 hours, it’ll cost you 18 years of your life. Do I want to give away 15 years of my one life, mindlessly for nothing? That’s a definite no.

the zeitgeist is going offline

The brain starts defaulting to easier modes: autopilot, mindless scrolling, zoning out. Not necessarily because we’re weak or lazy; our neural pathways are simply adapting to what we repeat the most.

yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again

If I get two videos about the same thing on my For You Page, for example, I don’t see it as serendipitous because I know it’s targeted. So I don’t make a story. I get confined to the disjointed yet predictable reality of the algorithm, a narrative prisoner of efficiency.

algorithms are killing coincidences. what does that mean for language?

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