"Because, after decades of throwing myself against a locked door, the door that leads to a new, good internet, one that delivers both the technological self-determination of the old, good internet, and the ease of use of Web 2.0 that let our normie friends join the party, that door has been unlocked.
Today, it is open a crack. It's open a crack!
And here's the weirdest part: Donald Trump is the guy who's unlocked that door."
"Because, after decades of throwing myself against a locked door, the door that leads to a new, good internet, one that delivers both the technological self-determination of the old, good internet, and the ease of use of Web 2.0 that let our normie friends join the party, that door has been unlocked.
Today, it is open a crack. It's open a crack!
And here's the weirdest part: Donald Trump is the guy who's unlocked that door."
Einer der Gründe für den Start der Mastodon-Instanz von «momou.social» war definitiv auch das aktuell eher zermürbende Erlebnis in den «grossen» sozialen Medien ...
Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic) brachte das in seinem ermutigenden und sehr empfehlenswerten Vortrag «A post-American, enshittification-resistant internet» am diesjährigen «Chaos Computer Congress» ziemlich gut auf den Punkt und fordert auf, ein «neues» Internet ohne #BigTech mitzugestalten.
I will never not boost the work of Cory Doctorow, even if most of the time I'm not big-brained enough to follow every thread that he lays down.
This book talks about interoperability, and how it's something that most people don't realise that they need more of in their life, and how it's been criminalised in the name of keeping citizens in the thrall of Big Tech. What's interoperability? If you've ever wondered why messages don't work properly across the iPhone/Android divide, or why you can't easily leave Facebook for another social media platform, or why you're not allowed to repair your own tractor, then you know something about why interoperability is important but restricted by tech gatekeepers. It's easy to make a device that can perform any sort of computation, but …
I will never not boost the work of Cory Doctorow, even if most of the time I'm not big-brained enough to follow every thread that he lays down.
This book talks about interoperability, and how it's something that most people don't realise that they need more of in their life, and how it's been criminalised in the name of keeping citizens in the thrall of Big Tech. What's interoperability? If you've ever wondered why messages don't work properly across the iPhone/Android divide, or why you can't easily leave Facebook for another social media platform, or why you're not allowed to repair your own tractor, then you know something about why interoperability is important but restricted by tech gatekeepers. It's easy to make a device that can perform any sort of computation, but they're always locked down – for whatever reason, usually profit – and this hobbling of the devices and platforms you own and engage with is an ongoing restriction on your personal data and belongings.
Doctorow shows the problem through a great series of examples – search engines, operating systems, VCRs, copyright infringement notices, deliberately-borked internet treaties, and so on – in his typical very-readable fashion. The first third of the book is a hit list of things you didn't realise made the world just a little bit more shitty... or enshittified.
The book pivots to discussing interoperability and federation, before throwing some problems up into the air that he opines can be solved with that one simple trick that the technofeudalists hate: better regulation.
I'll never not read a Cory Doctorow book, but I wish now and then that some of the solutions for which he advocates were implemented, rather than each new year bringing another set to examples for him to inevitably use in the opening chapters of his next book.
Most people in my bubble will probably have listened to this talk by now, but for those who missed it and want to go out of 2025 on a very hopeful talk, here's @pluralistic at #39c3 :)
Most people in my bubble will probably have listened to this talk by now, but for those who missed it and want to go out of 2025 on a very hopeful talk, here's @pluralistic at #39c3 :)
Sometime around the 2020 era, we lost the right to be mediocre at things we love.
No longer can you just bake bread...you must start a sourdough side hustle lol. Wanna stay fit and go jogging or running? Nah, you gotta optimize your biometrics for a marathon. What my point is that every hobby has been enshittified and gentrified into a brand opportunity.
This strange infatuation with optimization culture is killing the human spirit.
So this new year, starting tomorrow, one of my resolutions is to do something bad but fun. Maybe I write a terrible poem. I like to draw and paint, so perhaps I will draw a horse that looks like a table or sing off-key in the showers or in front of my loved ones. The algorithm driving the mainstream social media wants me to be a polished product, but my humanity lives in …
Sometime around the 2020 era, we lost the right to be mediocre at things we love.
No longer can you just bake bread...you must start a sourdough side hustle lol. Wanna stay fit and go jogging or running? Nah, you gotta optimize your biometrics for a marathon. What my point is that every hobby has been enshittified and gentrified into a brand opportunity.
This strange infatuation with optimization culture is killing the human spirit.
So this new year, starting tomorrow, one of my resolutions is to do something bad but fun. Maybe I write a terrible poem. I like to draw and paint, so perhaps I will draw a horse that looks like a table or sing off-key in the showers or in front of my loved ones. The algorithm driving the mainstream social media wants me to be a polished product, but my humanity lives in these messy, unoptimized, cringe-inducing joyful failures.
I will try to reclaim the right to be an amateur. Will you join me?
If you care about being able to use your devices the way you want to, and hate what Google, Apple, and other big tech firms try to shove down our throats, please take the time and watch this one talk:
It's 1 hour, but it's an hour well-spent. I believe we can take back our digital freedoms and get europe and the world back to a state that respects individuals.
If you care about being able to use your devices the way you want to, and hate what Google, Apple, and other big tech firms try to shove down our throats, please take the time and watch this one talk:
It's 1 hour, but it's an hour well-spent. I believe we can take back our digital freedoms and get europe and the world back to a state that respects individuals.
Just finished Enshitification by @pluralistic. While I did know the system and tech is broken I did not know how much. Learned a lot of new things about US Politics and how IP rules and non-circumvention laws help to enshitify tech.
Definitely a worthwhile read. And it ends with ideas how to fix it. And we all can have agency and can help.
This #holiday, I urge more people to fight against YouTube's enshittification by installing tools like ublock origin and youtube search fixer. And donate to the FOSS alternatives you're using.
This #holiday, I urge more people to fight against YouTube's enshittification by installing tools like ublock origin and youtube search fixer. And donate to the FOSS alternatives you're using.
Big Tech platforms routinely censor any mention of the #fediverse, so I've started designing, printing, and placing these stickers around town.
No idea if they get any scans, but I figure simply getting the word "fediverse" out there might raise the consciousness a little.
Any ideas for slogans that might pique the interest of facebook-addicted normies?
Edit: I'm so glad this post has gotten so much attention, because I think it's a good idea, and I'd love to see others run with it. I know nothing about making stickers and wouldn't have made these had I not been gifted a small toy printer with a few rolls of sticker paper. Hopefully someone out there can do a more professional job of it :)
Big Tech platforms routinely censor any mention of the #fediverse, so I've started designing, printing, and placing these stickers around town.
No idea if they get any scans, but I figure simply getting the word "fediverse" out there might raise the consciousness a little.
Any ideas for slogans that might pique the interest of facebook-addicted normies?
Edit: I'm so glad this post has gotten so much attention, because I think it's a good idea, and I'd love to see others run with it. I know nothing about making stickers and wouldn't have made these had I not been gifted a small toy printer with a few rolls of sticker paper. Hopefully someone out there can do a more professional job of it :)
This is @pluralistic on the #DailyShow . just wonderful to see an interview from (and with ) someone who cares and understands the issues. Also, I'm halfway through this book (via #libby, from my local library, they've got the audio) and yes it is that easy to follow and it's got all the manic energy on parade here
This is @pluralistic on the #DailyShow . just wonderful to see an interview from (and with ) someone who cares and understands the issues. Also, I'm halfway through this book (via #libby, from my local library, they've got the audio) and yes it is that easy to follow and it's got all the manic energy on parade here
