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Is the Tech Press Bad? With The Verge's Casey Newton

open.spotify.com

Tech’s Yin and YangThat there are two philosophies does not necessarily mean that one is right and one is wrong: the reality is we need both. Some problems are best solved by human ingenuity, enabled by the likes of Microsoft and Apple; others by collective action. That, though, gets at why Google and Facebook are fundamentally more dangerous:... See more

stratechery.com • Tech’s Two Philosophies

Opinion | I Gave Up My Smartphone for a Dumbphone. You Can, Too.

nytimes.com

Algorithm-friendly design need not be user-hostile. It simply takes a different approach as to how to best serve the user’s interests. Pagination may insert some level of friction to the user, but in doing so, it may provide the algorithm with cleaner signal that safeguards the quality of the feed in the long run.

Eugene Wei • Seeing Like an Algorithm — Remains of the Day

Farrer argues that our collective attention is like a public pasture: It is valuable, it is limited, and it is being depleted. Everyone from advertisers to politicians to newspapers to social media giants wants our attention. The competition is fierce, and it has led to more sensationalism, more outrageous or infuriating content, more algorithmic

New York Times • Opinion | the Great Delusion Behind Twitter - The New York Times

mean anything at all. On the front page of the gray old Times, I’m liable to encounter a chatty article about frying with propane gas. CNN lavished hours of airtime on a runaway bride. The magisterial tones of Walter Cronkite, America’s rich uncle, are lost to history, replaced by the ex-cheerleader mom style of Katie Couric. One reason the notion

Martin Gurri • Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium

I do not think it is hyperbole to say the internet is the most important invention of the last 100 years, and very likely might be the most important invention of the next 100 years. It is currently about to be controlled by five companies, and they make all the money and have all the power. I believe we need countervailing technologies that allow... See more

Nilay Patel • Chris Dixon Thinks Web3 Is the Future of the Internet — Is It? - The Verge

The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they’re friendly nerd gods building a better world and admit they’re just tobacco farmers in T-shirts selling an addictive product to children. Because, let’s face it, checking your “likes” is the new smoking.

Cal Newport • Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

These apps and slick sites were not, as Bill Maher put it, gifts from “nerd gods building a better world.” They were, instead, designed to put slot machines in our pockets.