0mnishambles

0mnishambles, 8 days ago

@Richard_Littler @actuallyautistic I find it much easier to focus on recorded speech when it is sped up (1.5-2.5x). At normal speed my mind wanders, and the speaker sounds drunk. Unfortunately I can’t apply this to the ‘real world’, where there are many more distractions.

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

@CultureDesk @theculturedesk Press Gang, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, Freaks and Geeks…

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

@mcc K-Shoegaze

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

I didn’t want to join Bluesky. I was hoping that all my favourite Twitter posters would move Mastodon. Some did, but others stayed on Twitter, and many chose Bluesky. As Casey Newton notes, It’s significant that the comedy community in particular chose Bluesky (although many are still active on Twitter).

https://www.platformer.news/bluesky-public-opening-jay-graber/

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

Comedy is as important to my mental health as antidepressants. Using Twitter is untenable, so I’m now looking to Bluesky. Of course there are funny people and posts on Mastodon, but that’s not its strength. This Twitter post from one of my favourite comedians, Benjamin Partridge, still haunts me. It was the moment I realised Mastodon was unlikely to become what I’d hoped, at least in the short term.

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

I’m now inclined to agree with John Scalzi that we should become comfortable using different social media for different purposes and contexts eg Bluesky for fun and Mastodon for more nerdy or serious discourse. Mastodon does a great job of scratching my itch for tech (esp. FLOSS & Apple-related) and electronic art & music.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/02/06/bluesky-out-of-beta-various-social-media-thoughts-february-2024/

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

My early impressions of Bluesky are mixed. The enthusiasm there feels a bit forced. It reminds me of the hype around (the disastrous) Clubhouse, which also used invite-only access to build a sense of VIP exclusivity. I find that distasteful, but it seems to have worked so far.

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

Bluesky’s killer feature is custom algorithms. Mastodon should adopt that ASAP. I’ve always chosen chronological timelines over centralised algorithms. But I have a number of strategies for getting through my feed, such as short-term muting busy accounts. I would love to turn these techniques into algorithms that I could switch between, like in Bluesky.

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

My biggest question for Bluesky is its business model. In particular, what is its runway? When and where will its next funding round come from, and under what terms? Eg will the likes of a16z be influencing it? Will it become another Ello?

Perhaps @mmasnick has some insight here.

https://waxy.org/2024/01/the-quiet-death-of-ellos-big-dreams/

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

@mmasnick Another important question is whether and how AT Protocol could interoperate with ActivityPub. This would be my preferred outcome in a truly federated and open social media ecosystem.

I’ll never join Threads (I’ve boycotted Facebook/Meta since 2013) but I would welcome being able to read certain Threads accounts via the fediverse.

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

@mmasnick Already there is promising work being done to create unified experiences at the client level, such as Tapestry. All of this activity makes me hopeful that this current messy situation might actually have a good outcome.

I think this is positive for Mastodon and the fediverse in the long-term, as it will likely still be a viable option if (probably when) the other social media options like Bluesky eventually enshittify.

https://blog.iconfactory.com/2024/02/tapestry-unwoven/

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

@mmasnick In every interview Graber comes across as thoughtful about the important issues. Nevertheless Bluesky seems doomed to fail. Their business model of services and commissions is unlikely to satisfy the expectations of VC investors. Automattic might not be investing just for the $, but others are. Bluesky’s legacy is likely to be ideas and tools for custom feeds which hopefully become widespread and encourage further innovation. Perhaps that’s enough.

#Bluesky
https://www.wired.com/story/bluesky-ceo-jay-graber-wont-enshittify-ads/

0mnishambles, 3 months ago

@mmasnick I sincerely hope you’re right. I don’t know enough about the PBC structure to be confident it can withstand financial pressure. The journey of OpenAI from non-profit to whatever the hell it’s becoming certainly doesn’t inspire confidence.

0mnishambles, 5 months ago

@matthewcassinelli @hotdogsladies It’s a cool idea. However after using it for a few months, I noticed that I’d internalised that graph and so no longer need the app (it also has some annoyances & bugs). I’m still using similar apps such as SleepWatch, Athlytic, and Gentler Streak.

0mnishambles, 5 months ago

@matthewcassinelli @hotdogsladies I like how Athlytic handles sleep debt, and actually find it the most useful sleep tracker overall (with an Apple Watch) which is perhaps surprising since it’s ostensibly a fitness app.

One great feature of Rise is the partner sleep debt comparison, which is why it’s such a shame that the app’s subscription isn’t shared with family. To their credit, they comped my wife for a year when we complained.