links
Next Thursday, FEMA will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones.
News To Let You Know You Are Already Living In A Dictatorship No Really It Is Happening Right Now Why Are You Reading This
(source)
For The Weekend: One
A few things for you:
- Mailbird was recently updated. It’s the email app I use most and has that rare quality for Windows third-party software: it looks good and works well.
- Picular is “Google for colours”. Quick search for colours – built on the back of Google Image Search – is an interesting idea by Future Memories. Also interesting that the launch announcement was provided via Instagram.
- BBC Music has a list of famous people to have quit social media. A good reminder of how different people have different experiences of the same spaces on the web.
- Micro.Threads is an enticing Micro.blog tool. The platform has an increasing number of interesting additions from the community and @amit’s work is another example of this.
Enjoy your weekend!
Micro.blog has grown unevenly, likely against expectations from different quarters, and is now in a somewhat odd position within the context of the wider web. Inevitably, its early members are conflicted as the plastic wrapper is peeled away.
The big update to Omnibear is really good. I look forward to better support of non-Note types from Micro.blog.
Advertising
In reply to: Why I hate Advertisements by @vishae
Here’s a thing I think is important; now we can actually ask these questions. Back in the day before the web and ideas centred around mainstream social networks, what did you have? Vote with your money? Well that excluded a hell of a lot of people. Now people can voice opposition and it can actually be heard.
For all of the bad of modern advertising, there is also good advertising out there and the bad stuff can now be voted against in ways that are much more inclusive; for example, boycotting a social media site’s most valuable accounts, just to pick an example out of the air.
We need to be realistic about a lot of the noise being made regarding advertising, privacy, social media and so on; much of it comes from people who previously were unaware of such issues, and in past generations many people lived in ignorant bliss. Again, I am thankful this has changed, it is great to see people asking questions and being heard and actually taking part in such important discussions.
Things are bad, sure. But they used to be so much worse.
All of Apple Event Twitter can be swapped out in favour of this excellent post from Walt Mossberg. It is all of the (second hand) information, none of the tiresome snark, and saves you from using Twitter.
🎙 The latest epsiode of Under The Radar was really good.
Testing Pico since my phone decided it was OK to download it after an update.
cc @belle
Having recently got a healthy reply about private/semi-private online conversations I’ve been thinking about having some sort of group/s for Micro.blog users in a different space but for some reason it feels weird, maybe… presumptious? 🤔
One thing I have yet to talk about on here (at all, I think) is the NHS. I’m used to avoiding the subject on Twitter because, well, a lot of people seem to be keen on misunderstanding a good thing. But, in a nutshell: I fucking love it.
The special double bill of @monday was a lot of fun. Seeing the tech development side of things for MB from different viewpoints is interesting enough but it also reveals the importance of remembering these networks are made up of people. Building with that in mind is 💯
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My favourite new podcast is @joncast. This Podcast Is Cool 😎
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I care about history, but not at the expense of the future.
– Brent Simmons, Decision: Not Publishing NetNewsWire 3.x
This type of thinking is one of the reasons the 3rd party ecosystem for Apple is, frankly, invaluable.
One of the many reasons I massively prefer Micro.blog to Twitter is that Manton Reece has shown no interest in allowing vile people to peddle their sick message across the network.
⭐️ Micro Monday! My question is this: Why aren’t you reading @JohnPhilpin’s posts? Beyond a substantial mix of commentary, the first and only British MB meet-up, and a continued effort to highlight other people is the refreshing simplicity of a an all-round nice chap.
The latest episode of @TheWeeklyReview (That’s Too Devious, Jean) was great. At one point I couldn’t help but say aloud “Oh no my Vatican Tour!”
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Merlin’s special timeline is easily one of my favourite podcast moments this year. 😂
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Updates:
- New email address;
- something I found and couldn’t help myself: contact@swoods.net
- About page edited;
- a new section and minor tweaks elsewhere: LINK
- And yes, finally, @til is coming back.
Today’s album:
(It’s like a starter pack for one of my favourite artists.)
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