@JustinH@twit.social
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

JustinH

@JustinH@twit.social

Optimistic but realistic. I write http://www.StayGrounded.online, a newsletter about establishing healthy boundaries with the digital world.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

JustinH, to random
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

"According to the Hollywood Reporter, ahead of its decision to end The Problem, Apple approached Stewart directly and expressed its need for the host and his team to be “aligned” with the company’s views on topics discussed. Rather than falling in line when Apple threatened to cancel the show, Stewart reportedly decided to walk."

Shocked that Apple would behave this way /s
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/19/23924549/jon-stewart-apple-ai-china-cancel

mmasnick, (edited ) to random
@mmasnick@mastodon.social avatar

Good morning folks... today we're launching our new (free, browser-based) game Trust & Safety Tycoon. Please go check it out. Everyone thinks they know how trust & safety should work, but very few have actually done the job. Now's your chance! https://trustandsafety.fun/

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@mmasnick This was a good exercise in how focusing on growth and profits while relying on corporate advertising is an unsustainable model!

JustinH, to twitter
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Another otherwise great piece by (one of my favorite writers) @chaykak about the decline of , but STILL doesn't mention or the (he does mention and ??)

WHY.

C'MON.

(still a good read tho)

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/why-the-internet-isnt-fun-anymore

Neverfadingwood, to random
@Neverfadingwood@lingo.lol avatar

Just seen a new favourite response to AI text. "Why should I bother to read something nobody could be bothered to write?"

JustinH, (edited )
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@Neverfadingwood This really sums it up. There will be only a very brief period of time where LLMs are effective at saving time. Very soon, if you want to demonstrate that something is worth reading, you will need to demonstrate that effort went into its construction.

It's like junk mail vs spam email. Junk mail at least occasionally got read.

rysiek, to ethereum
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

As #Ethereum has switched to Proof of Stake now, does that mean that if someone sends ETH to nonexistent address or otherwise does a stupid and makes that ETH disappear in a puff of blue smoke…

…we can say that the disappeared ETH got "burned at the stake"? :thaenkin:

:blobcatpeek:

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@rysiek UNFOLLOWED UNFOLLOWED

patrickworld, to random
@patrickworld@mastodon.online avatar

Sometimes I actively avoid Beatles information so I make sure I never run out for the rest of my life. There are still outtakes and B-sides I’ve not yet heard. In the same vein, I’ve still not seen every Seinfeld episode. Now that I’ve said this of course I hope I don’t get hit by a car on the way home tonight 🫠

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@patrickworld This made me think about how when I've played Final Fantasy games I always save the megalixers "for when I need it most". What ends up happening is either I beat the game with an inventory full of megalixers, or I use them all on the final boss battle, making it easy to the point that it's not even fun.

I guess what I'm saying is the less effort we put into hoarding the good times, the more of them we seem to have.

shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

People get so defensive about their post-Xitter social media, which I find incredibly silly. All of these services are too new to come to any meaningful conclusions about them. And only 2 of them promise open ecosystems. Supporting any that don’t is reckless, uninformed and selfish, imo. Just because some friends are there, is no excuse to gravitate toward another fascist-enabling, closed social media nightmare like the mess we’re all running away from.

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@shoq Y'know, I can give regular people a pass who just want to "be on the place where their friends are", but I feel it's irresponsible of journalists in particular to endorse closed platforms or to describe the Mastodon network as if it was "just another option" equal to the rest.

billyjoebowers, to random
@billyjoebowers@mastodon.online avatar

After almost a year people are writing "OMG the death of twitter is going to be bad for journalism and political organizing!" and still not quite getting that that was the whole point.

JustinH,
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@billyjoebowers counterpoint it was always kinda bad for it

JamesGleick, to random
@JamesGleick@zirk.us avatar

“Twitter never has and never will be a vehicle for democratic expression. It is a privately held corporation that monetizes human expression and algorithmically maximizes its distribution for profit, and what turns out to be most profitable is sowing social, cultural, and political division. Its participants are a very tiny, skewed slice of humanity that has American journalism in a choke hold.”

Jill Lepore clear-eyed about Musk and (his cozy biographer).
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/09/18/elon-musk-walter-isaacson-book-review

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@JamesGleick y'know I am glad Musk is causing people to realize this, but it's nice to see Jill pointing out that it wasn't any different under the previous CEOs.

briannawu, to random
@briannawu@mstdn.social avatar

1/ There’s a huge schism growing on the left I’ve struggled to understand.

And, I think I’ve figured out how to put words to it, please tell me if this rings true to you.

There are Policy Leftists and Infinite Leftists.

I am a Policy Leftist. There are specific policies I want with a beginning and end. I can argue them from a rational basis without calling you names if you disagree. Single payer healthcare. Lowering housing costs. Civil rights for LGBT people.

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@briannawu Some people treat democracy like it's a customer service desk ("I don't care how you fix this just make it happen") and not something that requires active participation.

We used to call people who spent their energies complaining online "slacktivists". Imagine if a quarter of the collective energy spent "debating" on Twittter was spent on, oh idk, the homeless.

JustinH, to fediverse
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

Two great reads on why is so bad now and why it can't get better.

https://countercraft.substack.com/p/goodreads-has-no-incentive-to-be

https://janefriedman.com/i-would-rather-see-my-books-pirated/

If you're looking for an alternative, check out BookWyrm: https://bookwyrm.social

rysiek, to random
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Perfume is great and all, and I do appreciate a person with a nice, well-chosen artisanal scent about them, but…

…I am sitting here in this semi-open restaurant, there is no-one within 3m of me, and I can barely breathe because someone had apparently decided to take a bath in cologne or something. 👀

Don't be that sort of person. Even if you think the perfume you're wearing is the best thing since sliced bread.

And don't get me started on perfume on planes, trains, and automobiles. :nkoHide2:

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@rysiek Someone once told me the proper amount of cologne/perfume should only be smell-able if they're close enough to kiss you and I think that's good advice.

TechConnectify, to random

Todayborday is laborday

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@TechConnectify

video/mp4

design_law, to random
@design_law@mastodon.social avatar

Someone on Bluesky (paraphrased): I'm here because I really believe in the concept of federation and don't want to build anything I can't move anymore

Me: [NathanFillion.gif]

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@design_law It's my understanding that even if it does, it would not be real decentralization. Anyone hosting a bluesky "instance" would be essentially just providing free hosting for BS inc.

https://rys.io/en/167.html

paul, to random
@paul@oldfriends.live avatar

Pass this guide on. 😂

🔗 "An EXTREMELY Simple Guide to Mastodon ~ Did somebody tell you it's too confusing?" by @JustinH

https://www.staygrounded.online/p/an-extremely-simple-guide-to-mastodon

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@ShanonRose @paul Your followers are following you. Everything you post from this account is on mstdn.ca. Your followers can choose to filter out anything they don't want to see, but Mastodon is definitely more like Twitter than Reddit in that regard. You're following a person.

If you're looking for a reddit-style experience, check out Lemmy (or Kbin). It's not as polished yet, but it has plenty of users. On Lemmy you can post to a community (subreddit) even if it's on a different instance.

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@ShanonRose @paul It's no different than if you had a Twitter account you use for sharing soybean content, and wanted to talk about electric guitars on that same Twitter account.

JustinH,
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@paul @ShanonRose Interesting! Thanks for letting us know.

JustinH, to mastodon
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Tired of tech journalists proclaiming "too complicated" to ever catch on in a meaningful way?

Well, I've just put the finishing touches on a guide so easy, so (dare I say) elegant, that even the Verge staffers should be able to figure it out.😉

https://www.staygrounded.online/p/an-extremely-simple-guide-to-mastodon

shoq, to random
@shoq@mastodon.social avatar

Too many tech journalists report on Threads as if it’s mere size makes it the winner, and with absolutely no consideration of the social costs of moving journalism to another Zuckerberg project. It’s fucking reckless and stupid.

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@stinerman @shoq They don't have a choice. Unless they work for a subscription model (very few do), more clicks means more dollars, and it's not like there are a lot of dollars in that world.

It's a Catch-22 though, because if they all just group-committed to Mastodon at once it would grow their Mastodon audiences faster because the audience would have more reasons to be here.

What I don't understand is why more journalists don't just y'know- post to both?

https://www.staygrounded.online/p/in-ones-own-time

rolle, to internet
@rolle@mementomori.social avatar

Finally got my invite and tried out bluesky. Didn't like it. No docs for setting up your own server, no hashtags, not much anything? The algorithm things are good, but overall the service is not worth it. The UI is like the old Twitter, but with clumsy proportions. Nope. I'm enjoying Mastodon, here to stay.

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@rolle https://rys.io/en/167.html

annaleen, to mastodon
@annaleen@wandering.shop avatar

is media, part eleventy billion: I clicked on a post that completely enraged me, and returned to my timeline full of inchoate plans to write something pointlessly scathing. Immediately I saw like ten people having a nice, helpful conversation about software configurations. Lost the urge to yell and continued on with my day.

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@annaleen When people retain final say over their feeds, they retain final say over their perception of reality.

rysiek, to fediverse
@rysiek@mstdn.social avatar

Help me #Fediverse you're my only hope!

I remember a webcomic, perhaps #XKCD, that did a chart of how early Christmas decorations started to appear in shops each year over like 50 years or so (ever earlier, basically), and then extrapolated from that data to show that "Christmas in July" happens around <some specific future year>.

Can't for the life of me find it.

Hjalp? :boost_ok:

(and yes, Christmas decorations just appeared at a Costco near me :blobcat0_0:)

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@rysiek So I've found that GPT is actually really useful for helping to track down vague TOMT-style questions like this. I took your toot and pasted it in, and got back a very specific response about an XKCD comic.
As you may suspect, turns out it was entirely made up! Sorry! 😂

Julia, to random
@Julia@journa.host avatar

In my latest for NYT Opinion, I write about the growing movement for algorithmic choice — starting with Bluesky’s custom feeds, which I would love to see Mastodon adopt. (Gift link)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/opinion/social-media-algorithm-choice.html?unlocked_article_code=mT6ntAeiTg4MF3WsZFYZS5Gnpaxv1np12nE0KSei5IFsZ7aQkrlt5T2Z5OKGqoZUhzMe6BKTpIuRK68nJTtGy0nvdlrw5xKZyaiM86GDnl-FebhmJbRWoFug2vBc2aypC3D6pPF6PzDes7N--Bhl_QTsZEeiFFrNsrD_7gLm5wwCUdZ-EEijhFwIeUcVuVEdvwfyhzvhsXeth9Q78ayqTL5GY2lkFdSlcPElS1E3v-MbnYEFOd3OxGTl4UTm-EqtIImZsr_VFtGASplfk6hiMWwEhe3GHHM7JSD1oQvZnrr4igss9odWmTGy_2aJWBdB_4y61Y7P-B7xVppRbHBszOagXV8qVA&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

JustinH,
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

@Julia I was deeply saddened to see #bluesky, another for-profit, centralized (yes, really) platform touted as a solution, with no mention of community-led platforms like Mastodon (or anything Activitypub) anywhere.

That said, the problem of commercial algorithmic feeds is an important one I personally talk about a lot, and it's nice to see it getting attention.

https://www.staygrounded.online/p/for-you-isnt

JustinH, to random
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

"Now is the Time for an Open Digital Society" by @carl

If you like my writing, you'll really like this piece. Optimistic but still realistic. The foundation for a better web is here, we are now in the "get the word out" phase.

https://carlheath.se/time-of-change-now-is-the-time-for-an-open-digital-society/

JustinH, to random
@JustinH@twit.social avatar

A while ago I bought the domain mstdn.nyc, with the intention of doing exactly what @seano has done with masto.nyc, but I didn't have the time to dedicate to educating myself. I've just set my domain to re-direct to theirs!
I'm very excited for the potential Fediverse instances can offer to IRL geographic communities. Facebook and Nextdoor's methods never quite cut the mustard, IMO!

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