fheinderyckx

fheinderyckx, 10 months ago to mastodon

I am floored and fascinated by the near-literary quality of many of the descriptions of images that people carefully craft when appending pictures to their posts on Mastodon. Some of them will reveal a detail that had escaped my attention. Others will help me understand a subtle joke I had missed. Others still are true poems. ALT are their own microblogging world that reveals itself as you hover on a picture. And I hover, and hover.

#AltText #inclusivity
#Mastodon #netiquette #tootiquette

fheinderyckx, 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago) to twitter

The steady flow of publications announcing the imminent demise of Twitter/X is now almost exclusively naming Bluesky and Threads as alternatives. Why are people losing interest in Mastodon and why do they not understand that going from one (commercially) owned platform to another is missing the point entirely? Latest example: the opinion piece by the otherwise well-inspired Paul Krugman. (@pkrugman ?)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/opinion/twitter-x-elon-musk.html
#Twitter #TwitterMigration

fheinderyckx, 11 months ago to threads

Intriguing how everyone's aware by now that Threads can't be launched in the EU because it is not compliant with privacy rules, but no one outside the EU takes the clue that Meta keeps sucking every scrap of users' digital footprint and that sensible users (not just the European Commission), should deem this utterly unacceptable and stop using any of Meta's services.
#Threads #Meta @EU_Commission #privacy #GDPR

jeffjarvis, 5 days ago to random

The Post is forced to cover its own journalistically dubious boss, who issues traditionalists' favorite slander against critics, calling @davidfolkenflik “an activist, not a journalist.” He projects. Gift link:
Post publisher draws more scrutiny after newsroom shake-up https://wapo.st/4e8aPu5

fheinderyckx, 4 months ago to random

In France, @cnrs (Europe's largest public funding agency for fundamental research) unsubscribes from Elsevier's Scopus database, as a step towards relying exclusively on open solutions (whenever these solutions become available).
https://www.cnrs.fr/en/cnrsinfo/cnrs-has-unsubscribed-scopus-publications-database
#OpenAccess #OpenScience #CNRS

fheinderyckx, 10 months ago to BBC

“The team at BBC Research & Development are researching social technologies and exploring possibilities for the BBC. One part of our work is to establish a BBC presence in the Fediverse.”
Welcome to the Fediverse, Auntie!
@BBC_News_Labs @BBC5Live @BBCRadio4 !
#BBC #Fediverse #journalism @commodon

fheinderyckx, 2 months ago to random

Consumers: We're sick and tired of being the product, of being data harvested, and being constantly assaulted by marketing.

Content providers: That's our business model, else we'd have to charge you a subscription.

Consumers: Fine! I recongnize that quality content comes with costs, and I'm willing to pay my fair share.

Content providers: Swell. Here's your invoice. We'll keep harvesting your data and flood your with ads though.

#BigTech #BusinessModel #SurveillanceCapitalism

fheinderyckx, 5 months ago to communicationscholars

Must read: @jeffjarvis leans on Arendt, Kornhauser, @ICAHDQ, @Chanders, Carey, @snurb and many other brilliant minds to argue masterfully that we must shift focus from a crisis of disinformation to one of believing and belonging: “The danger is in not belonging, and filling that void with malign substitutes for true community: joining a cult of personality or conspiracies, an insurrection, or some nihilistic, depraved perversion of a religion.”
https://medium.com/whither-news/journalism-belief-belonging-07a8dabe35e4
@communicationscholars

fheinderyckx, 3 months ago to Bulgaria

John Naughton: “The existential challenge for societies today is whether they are capable of reining in tech power. (…)The question is whether liberal democracies are up to the job. The significance of the DMA is that it’s the first time we’ve really had a proper shot at it. So this is a critical experiment for democracies; and there’s a lot hanging on the outcome.”
#EU #DMA #Regulation #BigTech
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/09/painful-day-for-tech-titans-as-eu-finally-sinks-its-regulatory-teeth-into-them

fheinderyckx, 6 months ago to TwitterMigration

My university (@ULBruxelles) joins the ranks of responsible institutions suspending their activities on X/Twitter. Let's hope they'll soon start using their new, shiny Mastodon account!
#TwitterMigration #ethical

fheinderyckx, 5 months ago to ai

“Artificial intelligence is automating the creation of fake news, spurring an explosion of web content mimicking factual articles that instead disseminates false information about elections, wars and natural disasters.” writes @pranshuverma
Gift link for everyone to read:
https://wapo.st/3Nz16RX
#FakeNews #Misinformation #Propaganda #Election #AI

fheinderyckx, 1 month ago to journalism

Harrowing but incisive reality check on quality newspapers in the US, by @jeffjarvis :
“These three newspapers [New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal], which in the winners-take-most market of media today capture two thirds of subscription revenue, each have wonderful journalists doing good and important work. But they are betrayed by their institutions, which are losing trust and refuse to ask why.”
https://buzzmachine.com/2024/04/26/the-times-is-broken/
#journalism #newspaper #democracy

fheinderyckx, 2 months ago to random

“tech makes finding these conspiracy fantasies easier than ever, and […] tech makes forming communities of conspiratorial belief easier, too. But the vulnerability to conspiratorialism [is] a function of corruption – of life in a world in which real conspiracies (to steal your wages, or let rich people escape the consequences of their crimes, or sacrifice your safety to protect large firms' profits) are everywhere.”
@pluralistic,
https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/25/black-boxes/

fheinderyckx, 1 year ago to random

Nothing beats a fresh look at the past to make sense of the present. “The Gutenberg Parenthesis” by @jeffjarvis is high on my Summer reading list. E-book offers generous portion as a free sample.

PART I: The Gutenberg Parenthesis
1 The Parenthesis
2 Print's Presumptions
3 Trepidation

PART II: Inside the Parenthesis
4 What Came Before
5 How to Print
6 Gutenberg
7 After the Bible
8 Print Spreads
9 The Troubles
10 Creation with Print
11 The Birth of the Newspaper

#Journalism
#History

fheinderyckx, 1 month ago to privacy

A few months ago, I added this image to my homepage for anyone to see, at a glance, where I stand when it comes to social media sites. Feel free to reuse!
#privacy #TakingBackControl

fheinderyckx, 6 months ago to ai

Artificial General Bullshit: @jeffjarvis aptly calls out the BS that plagues the debate on AI.
“[T]his debate must occur less in the context of technology than of humanity, which is why the humanities and social sciences must be in the circle.”
https://buzzmachine.com/2023/11/19/artificial-general-bullshit/
@communicationscholars #commodon #humanities #AI

fheinderyckx, 7 months ago to random

Go for it, Elon. Moderation is for losers.
“Musk considers removing X platform from Europe over EU law.”
https://www.euractiv.com/section/platforms/news/musk-considers-removing-x-platform-from-europe-over-eu-law/
@euractiv

fheinderyckx, 9 months ago to cars

Automobiles have taken over public space. It's high time to claim it back, esp. in large cities. Once again, New York City is leading the charge. By Henry Grabar. Gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/02/opinion/were-taking-new-york-citys-streets-back-and-then-were-coming-for-the-rest-of-the-country.html?unlocked_article_code=bywz8F4SUaEKfsbVL_VddZnI81QOcqAVECy9N8Bjqh1DwNAxhwK_-2MZLlWFzFtTBs7jMcxjZFkWbSk9jKql4BtVjSOgci5HItiW9n8TfGcQZ9KmB4v2n0XAPEm_rDXYXqXxuq6gXOJxiR9DSlNdeFHgVr_RE5fW6JiwQqW_KuN4p-Cu2kLZjl1QbBieh2vxYT8-FHuEFrWKLRTqB3JUQa8g1E7PtxPtaRyklNR9WTSkTH8TGwowEPUgKNku1vvXWkvUR2WK-Y8KokEhZlfoJwKBnRKpcgU_nuUpLXwqWgK8YQkm1HBoIpYX4-OKq3foh6O3TcEukUxow-X6LnYNiRrf3aFnxkAFYOxegEGZcV3AiPS8lLfjotoll4QQzw03vLtckZTie_8jsJWZR7VNEqNC4857A-mP7AvLS9hr-TPiuw&smid=url-share
#Urbanism #cars #nyc

fheinderyckx, 3 months ago to Brussels

Full-time academic position in Brussels (domain: Communication) — deadline extension until 21 March.
Full vacancy:
In French: https://cwfront.ulb.ac.be/greffe/modules/vac/data/sources/pdf/prod/8512.pdf
In English: https://cwfront.ulb.ac.be/greffe/modules/vac/data/sources/pdf/prod/8511.pdf
#academic #job #communication #university #Brussels @communicationscholars

fheinderyckx, 2 months ago to random

“Maybe people believe in conspiracy theories because they have hundreds of life-or-death decisions to make every day, and the institutions that are supposed to make that possible keep proving that they can't be trusted. Nevertheless, those decisions have to be made, and so something needs to fill the epistemological void left by the manifest unsoundness of the black box where the decisions get made.”
@pluralistic, Conspiratorialism and the epistemological crisis.
https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/25/black-boxes/

fheinderyckx, 9 months ago to ArtificialIntelligence

“Never has the power to control public discourse been so completely in the hands of a few profit-seeking corporations with no requirements to serve the public good.” writes @Julia. “To prevent those who would hijack algorithms for power, we need a pro-choice movement for algorithms. We, the users, should be able to decide what we read at the newsstand.”
A must-read (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
#algorithms #socialmedia #MustRead

fheinderyckx, 1 month ago to Signal

I'm a huge fan and active advocate for @signalapp . I tell everyone to give up WhatsApp and adopt Signal. But I had to reinstall on my phone and not only did I loose all conversations on my phone: I seem locked out of my groups where nothing comes in, even for the group I admin. All is fine on my laptop and desktop, but disaster on the phone. I followed all the instructions on the support pages, to no avail. This is really unexpected and hugely disappointing. #Signal

jon, 2 months ago to random

Welcome to #CrossBorderRail 2024 Extra Day 20 March – Bruxelles – Essen – Rosendaal – Kapellen – Charleroi – Berzée

Today I’m crossing these borders
Essen 🇧🇪 - Rosendaal 🇳🇱
Former 1000mm tramway - Zandvliet 🇧🇪 - Bergen op Zoom 🇳🇱

Map of today’s route
https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/crossborderrail-extra-days-2024_1030682#10/51.3791/4.4934

Today’s Live Blog
https://crossborderrail.trainsforeurope.eu/live-blog-2024-extra-day-20-march-bruxelles-essen-rosendaal-kapellen-charleroi-berzee/

jon, 1 month ago to random

Trying to help a friend get from Madrid to Paris 8 June. And I want to 😭

€122 for the best timed TGV train to Paris €97 is the cheapest
Cheapest flights from €43
Other flights €54 - €74

fheinderyckx, 21 days ago to news

Breaking news is when I really miss Twitter. I have learned about the surprise announcement of the 4 July general election in the UK many times from many channels long before it appears in any form or shape in my Mastodon feeds. It's all right. Maybe Mastodon isn't meant to play that role. But if it is, there's still a long way to go.
#news #breaking #mastodon