Post APbvOZbdi8ajXY3srg by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #APbf0UiAev6K8vc4My by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T19:02:25Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
Three thinkers I believe everyone should read if they want to understand how social media works:* Mel Conway* Harry G. Frankfurt* José Ortega y GassetYes, I say this knowing fully that the bulk of their work pre-dates social media.
(DIR) Post #APbf0VAswA4NZz307s by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T19:10:52Z
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Believe it or not, Mel Conway is active on social media. We used to follow each other on Twitter. An interesting insight that Mel has: social networks, if left alone, trend towards unfairness.The reason: The solutions you can find to the problems you have depend on who is talking to whom.And the solutions we need right now require a synthesis of understandings that lie in multiple disciplines that don’t talk to eachother.This creates the conditions for unfairness.
(DIR) Post #APbf0VkKoMQTLvdJNg by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T19:15:13Z
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Harry G. Frankfurt's key social media insights can be found in his book "On Bullshit".This is highly readable!What is bullshit? What makes it bullshit? And why is there a rise in bullshit?He concludes that whenever new forms of communications increase, so does bullshit. And the more social this social technology is, there's higher peer pressure to participate in bullshit.The reason: despite lack of knowledge, people on social media feel pressure to form and share opinions.
(DIR) Post #APbf0WGasQEKxyj4fA by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T19:23:10Z
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The third thinker I recommend, José Ortega y Gasset, wrote a key insight on social media 93 years ago: Revolt of the MassesThis book details why conflict happens on social media, and why this gives rise to Fascism.He examines two participants in this conflict1. Specialists who believe their expertise should extend to command above others2. Mass-men contemptuous of expertise, care little for facts, and see the world in terms of winning or losing
(DIR) Post #APbf0WpKnG1GhiyooS by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T19:37:24Z
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Generally, I think three things are inevitable about all social media platforms:1. Unfairness on social media means there will power users with privilege2. The desire for social status results in the spread of bullshit, outrage, and misinformation3. Especially when people feel disempowered, they see social media as a game that's about winning or losing—not as a means to create and nurture human connection
(DIR) Post #APbf0XJSzE7eDB4smO by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T19:49:31Z
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I've mentioned previously why I was against Blue Checks, why I believe this "feature" created unfairness on Twitter, and why certain migrants here are wrong for trying to push for Blue Check status on the Fediverse. I hope that here on the Fediverse, the desire for fairness overrides the desire for status.
(DIR) Post #APbf0Xr8y13ptcpmGu by ecolectic@mastodon.online
2022-11-14T20:59:41Z
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@atomicpoet Just thinking out loud here... What about verification as a means of accountability? Allow anyone who uses their real name be "verified" so they think twice before posting bile or disinformation? Verification at the instance level? What has driven me crazy is the ability to spread garbage (by malicious actors and average Joe's) without any ramifications. Totally open to arguments that anonymity is critical to fediverse ecosystem, though (e.g. doxing risk, whistleblowers).
(DIR) Post #APbf0YOSy7iRYyQODA by dhfir@expired.mentality.rip
2022-11-14T21:09:01.379776Z
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@ecolectic @atomicpoet excuse you?please keep your meatface-supremacist bullshit out of my kooky free Identity network.
(DIR) Post #APbh6TRqT7Yhs2xKIC by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T21:21:11Z
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People in favor of creating Blue Check status on the Fediverse don't like acknowledging that it's about social status.They claim that they're purely concerned about account verification. But account verification already exists on the Fediverse, so why do you want a Blue Check here anyway?Because the Fediverse's current account verification doesn't carry the same weight as a Blue Check when it comes to social status.
(DIR) Post #APbh6U0EPH43ah2mtE by grey@ruby.social
2022-11-14T21:32:32Z
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@atomicpoet What even did the blue checks DO on twitter? All I heard was that you'd have to buy them for $15,000. So they didn't say anything about about user other than that they had $15,000 to burn.
(DIR) Post #APbi1vl9sbUABRO2vQ by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T21:33:56Z
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I point this situation out whenever people say Blue Checks have nothing to do with social status:Richard Spencer, the white supremacist, was once a Blue Check. What's more people demanded that his Blue Check be removed—not because the Twitter account in question was an imposter. There was no doubt the account was verified, that was not up for debate.The Blue Check was removed because Twitter wanted to revoke the social status that came with the it.The appeal is social status.
(DIR) Post #APbi1yGQZJgbx022wS by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T21:40:33Z
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So it's apparent that Blue Check status establishes unfairness and privilege. But another side effect is that it encourages the propensity for bullshit. Why is this? Because for those who have Blue Check status, there's now greater pressure to state an opinion—even on matters outside their realm of knowledge. A good example of this is Neil deGrasse Tyson. Ever read his tweets regarding history? They're bullshit!Yet because he's a Blue Check, the bullshit carries extraneous weight.
(DIR) Post #APbjzCBgXpliAncO24 by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T21:49:08Z
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What's more, Blue Check status creates the conditions for Fascism. I'm not exaggerating about this point. For people who have it, Blue Check status gives them the conceit that they should have command over others. And if you don't have Blue Check status, you become contemptuous of the Blue Check's claims of status. Which means actively diminishing Blue Check expertise. At this point, facts don't matter. Just winning. Now we have a motivation for using Twitter to attain power.
(DIR) Post #APbjzDoMVWIhD2imxM by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T21:52:51Z
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It's no mistake that Twitter was Donald Trump's platform of choice—this despite Facebook being a more popular social network while he was President. Twitter gave him status that other social networks couldn't provide. And in turn, because Donald Trump was a Blue Check, he rode the waves of authoritarianism to the white house. Blue Check status correlates to real world power.
(DIR) Post #APbjzEgbFrgZvG66Uq by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T21:56:11Z
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Further, why was it so significant that Twitter banned Donald Trump from their service?Once again, social status. The ban wasn't just about a violation of the TOS—Trump did that many times without consequence. It was about diminishing his social status.And isn't it funny how this ban finally happened after Jan 6—not before?
(DIR) Post #APbjzFA1UTDnOVrbMG by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T22:00:51Z
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Another consideration about the social status of Blue Checks.Why did Elon Musk pay $44 for Twitter—and why did it *have* to be Twitter? Not for the technology. We all know that Mastodon, and other microblogging apps, are virtually on par. It's due to the network effect. Specifically, not how many people use Twitter, but who uses Twitter.To the likes of Elon, there is no greater social status than controlling the social network that creates social status.
(DIR) Post #APbkHZ7q06SsWhZtfU by zoomgoboom@detroitriotcity.com
2022-11-14T21:43:00.058709Z
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@ecolectic @atomicpoet how about you suck my verified balls you fag
(DIR) Post #APbkKXxcmtDdmbDqvw by racs@detroitriotcity.com
2022-11-14T21:18:32.509030Z
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@ecolectic @atomicpoet Just thinking out loud here… How about I rape you with a cactus “as a means of accountability“?
(DIR) Post #APbmYmxI2CgoFZz6rg by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T22:24:56Z
2 likes, 3 repeats
I often emphasize the Fediverse over any individual Fediverse app. This is tied to value. It isn't so important than any service replaces or clones Twitter. What's actually important is that we build tech that decentralizes power and authority—minimizes the importance of social status. Yes, we're building the tech. But can we likewise build a culture that follows suit?
(DIR) Post #APbmYo4lrsGfj4UbAG by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T22:32:36Z
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For the Fediverse to work well, we must resist building any feature that encourages the conditions for unfairness—no matter how much people demand it. This means saying "No!" to anyone that wants a fancy badge—presumably accredited by the Grand Fediverse Council, of course. We shouldn't want that—not if we want longterm sustainability of a decentralized social network.
(DIR) Post #APbnFkmPzwtZxJO2m8 by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T22:40:40Z
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@Corfiot Unfairness isn't about how people *feel*, it's about how power is distributed within a social network. Mel Conway's thoughts are useful in this regard.
(DIR) Post #APbns1jdPLfDXrKpOK by paulwallbank@aus.social
2022-11-14T22:48:19Z
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@grey @atomicpoet politicians and journalists received blue ticks to verify they were the real people and not imposters. You just got them when somebody at Twitter HQ decided you should have one. Mine appeared one morning when I was working as an editor on an Australian media site.
(DIR) Post #APbrFyKY194PnYi608 by emptyfish@mastodon.lateral8.com
2022-11-14T23:03:31Z
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@atomicpoet I think the most likely risk of imbalance isn’t a blue check itself, but the perception of one. The most likely way would be with “perceived”elite instances where celebrities or politicians/whoever would run their messaging from. BUT I think this isn’t a significant risk in that it wouldn’t evolve the entire fediverse the way that it would a single platform where the algorithm determines which content wins.
(DIR) Post #APbtwFGPeMBqO33rIu by Suzu@varishangout.net
2022-11-14T23:56:21.476812Z
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@grey @atomicpoet it was not just "burning 15k". Blue checkmarks were given only to certain individuals who belonged to certain circles, and it literally created a caste system, where if you had the blue checkmark jannies knew you were one of the "friends of the king", and you had more leeway on the bullshit you said.
(DIR) Post #APbvOYHOdunxQTaCfo by doctorLURK@mastodon.social
2022-11-14T23:58:34Z
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@atomicpoet Very curious to see how this app stands up to the ultimate platform-killer, the one that so far has left no survivors in its wake: dumb people adopting it en masse. (I feel like it has a real chance!)
(DIR) Post #APbvOYih0Qdgn8M0Dg by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-15T00:01:45Z
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@doctorLURK Are you talking about Facebook?
(DIR) Post #APbvOZALLcl0AtI5Jo by doctorLURK@mastodon.social
2022-11-15T00:06:26Z
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@atomicpoet yes, and most comments sections (R.I.P The Atlantic's comments section), most bulletin boards, and Twitter (though that's currently ongoing). When a platform is adopted by a wide swath of the general public, building the right culture to help it thrive seems to become an impossible task. Strict moderation can work, but I suspect the decentralized instances/servers of Mastodon may likewise help shield it from that effect, no matter how many of us newbies join up in the months to come.
(DIR) Post #APbvOZbdi8ajXY3srg by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
2022-11-15T00:08:11Z
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@doctorLURK Facebook is done. It's not that people will suddenly stop using it, it's that the userbase is getting older and dying. But more precisely, it's no longer a cultural force. And that's the kiss of death for a social network.
(DIR) Post #APc1IXGw4i20Hysjku by grey@ruby.social
2022-11-15T01:18:50Z
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@Suzu @atomicpoet wow.
(DIR) Post #APc33wbLophYPXbJnE by MK2boogaloo@freespeechextremist.com
2022-11-15T01:38:39.783078Z
2 likes, 1 repeats
@paulwallbank @grey @atomicpoet having a bluechecks means you're a faggot.
(DIR) Post #APc37BGNlNMKkiKuW0 by Zergling_man@birds.garden
2022-11-15T01:39:13.957350Z
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@MK2boogaloo @grey @atomicpoet @paulwallbank Having a bluechx means you're a gaggot.
(DIR) Post #APc37RkkSF9jtWfO4G by MK2boogaloo@freespeechextremist.com
2022-11-15T01:39:17.737532Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@paulwallbank @atomicpoet @grey @Zerglingman get your fag ass journos out of here.
(DIR) Post #APc3QDEOfcuGMGTzFI by Aworntyr@chudbuds.lol
2022-11-15T01:42:40.748648Z
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imho.decentralization means nothing if the users replicate the dictats of the central authority. i think it depends on whether or not you are okay with being called a faggot for no reason, that's the litmus test.you fucking nigger.
(DIR) Post #APc5cm39F1qrjHL3j6 by greyfox46@poa.st
2022-11-15T02:07:21.782220Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
@paulwallbank @grey @atomicpoet Journos should be sunk in the bog with the rest of the faggots 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲
(DIR) Post #APc5qgRks1iiPDTsky by OceanRedux@poa.st
2022-11-15T02:09:16.419402Z
4 likes, 0 repeats
@greyfox46 @paulwallbank @grey @atomicpoet 💯 % based
(DIR) Post #APcKUTIwYC2saVE4Yq by adamasnemesis@social.adamasnemesis.com
2022-11-15T04:49:26Z
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@atomicpoet Yep.
(DIR) Post #APcKu7c3p25UqEOn6e by doctorLURK@mastodon.social
2022-11-15T01:39:20Z
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@Corfiot @atomicpoet I don't have a strong opinion on this because I haven't thought much about it before. I was originally thinking more of the culture on the network itself, rather than its resultant impact on the real world. I agree that a network doesn't need to affect meatspace to be useful. But I also think that networks which reach critical popular mass become inextricable from their IRL cultural impact - meaning a behemoth like Facebook is definitely dying as its popularity fades.