ricmac

ricmac, 19 hours ago to random

@stevenlevy has written his “This Changes Everything” for AI (referencing his Dec 1995 article about the Internet). Certainly the power of AI now is gob-smacking…and frightening. I have found AI very useful in various ways, from helping me debug stuff in my 11ty website to assisting me with research tasks. But over the past 6 months or so, I’ve also come to realize that the human parts of the web — and it’s inherent openness — are worth fighting for, and saving. https://www.wired.com/story/its-time-to-believe-the-ai-hype/

ricmac, 3 days ago to random

A media podcast I listened to today said that “the web is old-fashioned”, as part of their analysis of the OpenAI and Google news this week. As if the web will turn into The Well, or something. But I am seeing the fediverse, standards-based web builders like Eleventy, and open newsletter platforms like Ghost and Buttondown (that both support the web), and I just don’t agree that the web is old-fashioned. Quite the opposite, it’s only just getting started (again)!

ricmac, 3 days ago to random

Whenever I scan X these days, I can’t help but picture the WALL-E humans… e.g. here are highlights from a riveting discussion on X about the OpenAI desktop client. Apparently they are waiting for the “ask and get” era to arrive, including from their overlord’s Neuralink.

ricmac, 4 days ago to random

It's May 2008 and I have a meeting at Ziff Davis Enterprise headquarters, at Lexington and 28th. I bet The Velvet Underground never wrote a song about accounting terms. (part 032 of my Web 2.0 memoir) https://cybercultural.com/p/032-zde-discussions-ebitda/ #InternetHistory #Serialization

ricmac, 4 days ago to random

Another hint that web creators (bloggers / journos / youtubers / whatever...) should be furious about our data being used without compensation. It occurs to me this is the current era's version of Big Tech building empires off UGC ("user generated content"). Back then, in Web 2.0, it was all about harvesting real-time user data. But now, the new tech empires are being built off our archives, both social (Reddit, et al) and the long-form content we've all created.
https://mas.to/@vrandecic/112443383937971766

ricmac, 5 days ago (edited 5 days ago) to random

Today’s Google I/O developer conference was heavily focused on AI. However, web ecosystem concerns about AI and Google Search went unanswered. https://thenewstack.io/devs-get-ai-pixie-dust-at-google-i-o-but-no-search-updates/ #GoogleIO

ricmac, 6 days ago to webdev

Eleventy is an act of rebellion against the dark forces driving today’s internet, said its creator @zachleat at #11tyConf. Also at the lively event, we discovered that @eleventy does scale! https://thenewstack.io/static-sites-do-scale-eleventy-vs-next-js-at-11ty-event/ #WebDev

ricmac, 9 days ago to random

So OpenAI might launch SearchGPT on Monday. If it does, I'll be most interested to see if/how it does citations (a la Perplexity and Google SGE, with the latter in limited beta). As an indie publisher and a journo who works for a bigger publisher, linking to the source has always been a CRUCIAL part of search engines. If OpenAI makes those citations prominent — and Perplexity has done fairly good job with that — then Google will be forced to match. https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-plans-announce-google-search-competitor-monday-sources-say-2024-05-09/

ricmac, 10 days ago to random

And here we are...fake AI writers publishing content to a bunch of formally respected media brands. Another example of "site reputation abuse" that Google should crack down on. https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content

ricmac, 17 days ago to random

I listened to these two podcasts today, and interesting to compare the takes. On one hand we have an in-depth (and beautifully nuanced) discussion of fediverse tech by @mike and @snarfed.org@snarfed.org. On the other, 3 media dudes talking about if fediverse will ever be mainstream. I know Troy and Alex from SAY Media days and I like them both. Also know Brian from web 2.0. I found both podcast discussions interesting, but from different angles. Btw Mike, they mentioned you.

ricmac, 17 days ago to random

Well, some good news: the new ReadWrite editor replied to me on X (and yes, I was forced to use that app again!) and he's now removed my name from the About page of this version of RW. It's a small win, really, but the idea of them using my name to promote the gambling content they're now running was too much to bear. Now I need to wash my hands after visiting both ReadWrite and X in the same session...

ricmac, 18 days ago to random

My first programming experience too, as a 13-year old on my school’s BBC Micro. One of the few things I liked about that school :) https://phpc.social/@davidbisset/112367711007188435

ricmac, 18 days ago to random

Thoughts on whether I should've sold ReadWriteWeb when I did, given what happened to the site over the next decade. Do I regret selling? (apologies if this is too much personal stuff recently, obviously this ClickOut debacle has shaken me and made me second-guess my past decisions) https://cybercultural.com/p/on-selling-your-website/

ricmac, 19 days ago to random

So the guy who wrote an article about how shoddy tech journalism is, while completely ignoring many tech news and analysis sites not called Ars Technica or The Verge, also runs his newsletter on Substack and has an active X account. Somebody better tell him that any self-respecting tech reporter doesn't use those platforms anymore. https://www.techmeme.com/240430/p4#a240430p4

ricmac, 19 days ago to random

I wrote a blog post to shine a light on ClickOut Media, and its founders Adam Grunwerg and Samuel Miranda, and expose their crypto/gambling strategy for buying and using ReadWrite. There’s a reason the founders don’t want their names associated with what ClickOut is doing with ReadWrite. I'm sorry to any former staff and readers of RWW back in its heyday — please share this to warn others of what RW is now. https://ricmac.org/2024/04/29/why-clickout-media-a-gambling-pr-company-bought-readwrite/

ricmac, 21 days ago to random

These are the two people behind ClickOut Media, which just bought ReadWrite (I assume from the company formally known as Wearable World, which previously acquired RW from SAY Media). I am working on a post about ClickOut and companies like it, that are buying up established tech media brands for their nefarious means. If anyone has advice or tips for me, please reach out. https://www.warning-trading.com/enquetes-et-decryptages/cryptonews-finixio/

image/png

ricmac, 22 days ago to fediverse

Fascinating look at how #ActivityPub is being used by the SFO art museum to help encourage revisiting its cultural objects. Still early days, but you can see the potential here -> “The reason I am telling you all of this is that SFO Museum has written it's own limited ActivityPub server implementation and we have, in fact, created an ActivityPub account – a social media, account – for every object in our collection.” https://orthis.social/@thisisaaronland/112339899293624779

ricmac, 22 days ago to random

I’ve been doing some digging on ClickOut Media, the gambling/crypto business that recently acquired ReadWrite. Its head office is in Malta and its founders have no presence on the web (that I have yet found). I discovered their names though, and there has been some reporting in Reuters about dodgy dealings… this via a LinkedIn post from the reporter 5 months ago. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rachelwolcott_finixio-owners-also-own-clickout-activity-7133061394433744898-4PzV

ricmac, 24 days ago to random

I just discovered that ReadWrite has been sold yet again. This time the owner is ClickOut Media, which also owns Techopedia. I only found out because someone from said company emailed trying to hire me for Techopedia, clearly having no idea I founded ReadWriteWeb! I took a look at the latest version of RW and was dismayed to see the "featured content"... Sigh.

ricmac, 24 days ago to fediverse

I love writing about the #fediverse, and I'm passionate about the open web, but this is what it's like covering this beat as a journalist. Sadly, it doesn't get the eyeballs, as they used to say. Also, I have nearly as many 'likes' on Mastodon and Threads for the fedi post as people who have actually read it! On the bright side, I know from the comments here that the people who did read it are super-smart ;)

ricmac, 25 days ago to fediverse

While content is federated currently, #identity isn’t. And while that doesn’t diminish the decentralized nature of the #fediverse, having a single identity — that a user fully controls — would make it easier to sign up for multiple apps. My analysis of recent discussions here featuring @evanprodromou, @rabble, @deadsuperhero, @timbray, @osma & others. https://thenewstack.io/one-login-towards-a-single-fediverse-identity-on-activitypub/

ricmac, 26 days ago to fediverse

Giving @Flipboard another spin, since it’s a big supporter of the #Fediverse. It’s also a survivor…I remember covering it on ReadWriteWeb when it launched (or maybe that was a post by @jon?). Either way, here’s my #InternetHistory mag, if you’re a Flipboard user: https://flipboard.com/@ricmac/internet-history-e041t55qz

ricmac, 27 days ago to random

So cool, and great to see Ghost and Buttondown working on this together -> “You can already subscribe to Ghost sites using email or RSS, but now you’ll be able to subscribe using ActivityPub and have fresh content from all your favorite places delivered to a single, unified place. The same place you already go when you want to publish yourself.” https://activitypub.ghost.org/

ricmac, 1 month ago to php

My latest @TheNewStack article -> PHP popularity has dropped dramatically in recent years, coinciding with WordPress becoming "JavaScript-first" according to its co-creator Matt Mullenweg. https://thenewstack.io/why-php-usage-has-declined-by-40-in-just-over-2-years/ #PHP #WebDevelopment #WordPress

ricmac, 1 month ago to random

1/2 The problem with social media and the web today: you blink and your words are gone, forgotten immediately by the corporate feed. With blogs back in my heyday, your posts at least stuck around in someone’s RSS Reader for a little while, or were stumbled upon on the open web. True indie.