Post AzdpbG6Fr0FwPQqQFM by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #AzdXKxmmNZsTnhobPU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-27T14:08:09Z
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Social media is important. It’s not pointless gossip or just a waste of time. It’s the news and information distribution system of our world. We can build things like the wikipedia, like the fedi OR we can keep pretending it’s all just a side game, unserious and not worth the effort of making it good. We can say “it’s just how I relax” as these powerful people plan out our reeducation to better serve the consolidation and concentration of their power. Am I an alarmist? I am alarmed.
(DIR) Post #AzdXsWSAVUsusPB1hQ by mark@mastodon.fixermark.com
2025-10-27T14:14:08Z
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@futurebird I think you're right and I'm not sure what to do with that idea.At a fundamental level, people (at least in the US) have basically been free to read whatever news source they want. I can't stop someone from believing Inquirer is telling real news. And it's not the first time that kind of thing has been used to bend public perception (The Spanish-American war comes to mind, as does the post-WWII collusive propaganda lock that was a key component of fomenting deep-seated anti-Communism to the point where we can't even have a rational conversation about socializing the healthcare system).I don't know how to provide better sources of information when people seem so unwilling to even try to evaluate the sources they're using.
(DIR) Post #AzdXxLZGPHDkYznPlo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-27T14:15:06Z
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When I try to engage people on this topic a huge obstacle is the trivialization of the role of social media in most people’s minds. Consider how there was (and for some there still is) a debate about if a President should tweet at all. Social media is seen as an arena for vain, unserious, narcissistic people. People describe spending time on it like it is a vice: they talk about cutting back.To say making good social media is important makes no sense through this lens. But it’s The Media!
(DIR) Post #AzdYFTQxtoRaAkYesy by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-10-27T14:18:21Z
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@futurebirdThere are something like 1M active mastodon participants. There are a billion or more active FB+Twitter+Insta participants. So like 0.001 of the "social media" participants understand what it means to be corporate free and in control. No wonder its so hard to have the convo.
(DIR) Post #AzdaxtOWwGwxL1j9ns by jmcclure@sciences.social
2025-10-27T14:48:45Z
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@futurebird I agree we need "good" social media, but I also can't object to the characterization of most social media as quite bad.How do we make it better? True decentralization as the fediverse is approaching is good, but I have another hope:Average people (i.e., voters) don't read peer reviewed scholarly journals. They wouldn't be able to. So they go to social media...1/2
(DIR) Post #Azdblg90Tfm2ipCqgq by raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie
2025-10-27T14:57:43Z
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@futurebird It's not really important.It's rubbish for reliable news and information. Decent web sites/strongly moderated specialist forums are better.The world & democracy & mental health would be much better if X, Facebook, Goodreads, Tictok, Linkdin, WhatsApp, Bluesky, 4chan, reddit didn't exist.Pintrest is a parasite.
(DIR) Post #AzdgHjHsj6fDYNtbc0 by wjmaggos@liberal.city
2025-10-27T15:48:20Z
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@futurebird I call it #DemocracyOfReach.imo "social networking" is more about private groups, friends and family ala FB.but decentralized "social media" promises the public that we can regain control over our collective attention. that via boosts, we can decide together what info, ideas and art goes viral. not corporate media, big tech or advertisers (including politicians spending donor cash). it's revolutionary.it's not microblogging but our social news feed. build AP into everything.
(DIR) Post #Azdh7UYqivy4wHVy52 by KentNavalesi@mstdn.social
2025-10-27T15:57:43Z
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@futurebird I've always found it weird how people want it both ways: it's important enough to engage with for hours every day, but not important enough to try to use responsibly.
(DIR) Post #Azdid1v0qqMRKJU3EG by MSK@mastodon.xy-space.de
2025-10-27T16:14:37Z
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@futurebird If I do not feel well, or do feel bored, or feel exhausted - I go to my mastodon instance, read through the posts, and _most_ of the time I fell better, feel entertained, feel refreshed...There is so much positive input from the fediverse. And you alway know there is a (kind) real person behind each post. Bots? Well, if they need to be... I dunno. Greetings.
(DIR) Post #AzdimXzKzCO7Oa2psm by MSK@mastodon.xy-space.de
2025-10-27T16:16:23Z
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@futurebird If I do not feel well, or do feel bored, or feel exhausted - I go to my mastodon instance, read through the posts, and _most_ of the time I feel better, feel entertained, feel refreshed...There is so much positive input from the fediverse. And you alway know there is a (kind) real person behind each post. Bots? Well, if they need to be... I dunno. Greetings! 🤗
(DIR) Post #Azdmh4GwRSb7bLvCqG by osma@mas.to
2025-10-27T17:00:08Z
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Social networks, the communities, are important. They turned to social media because the companies building SNS realized that by becoming media instead of networks they can tap into advertising revenue streams. We'd be better off if social media died and social networks returned. @futurebird
(DIR) Post #AzdpbG6Fr0FwPQqQFM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-27T17:32:48Z
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@osma I think another factor is the massive loss of central control real networks can represent.
(DIR) Post #AzdqBsiLlPWUaw7tmS by osma@mas.to
2025-10-27T17:39:24Z
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Not sure I follow your meaning there..@futurebird
(DIR) Post #AzdqzvtIEB1avS6x8q by jdp23@neuromatch.social
2025-10-27T17:48:25Z
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Yeah. Back in the day, Facebook's reaction to very successful groups like Un millón de voces contra las FARC and One Million Strong for Obama) was a great example of this: they reworked group functionality to make it a much less effective organizing platform. Similarly tThe Get FISA Right organizing on my.barackobama.com (using the platform to challenge Obama's postiion) was so threatening that it was part of the reason they shut the whole platform down after he was elected.@futurebird @osma
(DIR) Post #Azdrsl3QDfklF9zXKS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-10-27T17:58:23Z
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@osma If you run a TV station you can control what people watch. YouTube less so but they have been trying to “fix” this for decades.
(DIR) Post #AzdsajIE83KyWTsqrw by osma@mas.to
2025-10-27T18:06:18Z
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That control over agenda is pretty much what media means, TBH. That's why I don't love the word media when combined with federation. We shouldn't try to replicate the media bit, rather than focus on the value of networks. @futurebird
(DIR) Post #Azdwt9WBlLDCt7SEu8 by plsik@mastodon.social
2025-10-27T18:54:26Z
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@futurebird What we need is a shared reality. And a shared interpretation of reality. Things, processes, and relationships are objectively "something." If, for example, we can no longer agree on whether vaccines are a wonderful life-saving technology or a deadly weapon, we have a big problem.Fediverse connects people, really, not like Facebook.
(DIR) Post #AzdzAW75Cw8hnS7S9w by jamesmarshall@sfba.social
2025-10-27T19:19:55Z
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@futurebird thank you. I agree that it's not pointless or a waste of time. Social media gets a bad rap because of the horrible commercial offerings, but I think social media as a concept is great and has tremendous potential, when created to serve the users instead of trapping and manipulating them.
(DIR) Post #Aze5uTUns3AGizVnG4 by houba@spore.social
2025-10-27T19:14:50Z
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@KentNavalesi @futurebird I agree. I see a lot of people who approach this as consumers/tourists, the use in 'use responsibly' denotes a purpose. In online communities I see people who are looking for the 'perfect' platform to do the thing they want, without realizing most of these platforms can be used for those things.A public place can never happen in a centrally controlled platform in the same way an ecosystem cannot have exploitative boundary tolls without creating fragility.
(DIR) Post #Aze7H0SY5qTJHhlUsS by InarticulateOtter@mastodon.social
2025-10-27T20:50:46Z
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@futurebird No consensus on what "social media" even means.In 1999, a friend observed that whenever a person bought a mobile phone, we wouldn't "see" them for a couple of weeks. Even when physically present, they were trying new functions, customising ring tones, lights, checking weather etc. They would "return" when the phone lost its novelty.1/2
(DIR) Post #Aze7cpPppnEJP5tvzU by digitante@mstdn.social
2025-10-27T20:54:40Z
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@futurebird As people become disillusioned with establishment news they can tell is biased and corrupt, social media gives them information with "social proof" and "ground truth".Some of that is *also* unreliable, but it can be more trustworthy than the mainstream news."Underground", "samizdat", "ktichen talk", and "scuttlebutt".It's a defense reaction to "informational autocracy".So many believe conspiracies, because there are so many real conspiracies. Epstein begets PizzaGate.
(DIR) Post #AzeSHAVWphaLUA4rD6 by hanktank61@NerdJoy.social
2025-10-28T00:46:05Z
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@futurebird I feel blessed to have landed on a public cultural spot 5 years ago as pensioner, in an utmost divers team with roots in all directions. Having Amsterdam nearby helps. Many local lines like music, theatre, library etc cross there. Cooperation is growing , There seems to be a need to DO things together , instead of just sending useless apps all the time.Except for real info.Steering away from SM. Situation is not as severe as in US yet, but is in the back of the mind by many.
(DIR) Post #AzedzrKM5eXYWgMcUq by estelle@mstdn.social
2025-10-28T02:57:27Z
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@futurebird on far too many topics it'd be next to impossible to have news at all about it without social mediapeople who react negatively to news crossing their feed are wild to me, because even in the IRC days, even if you were in a channel of only 20 or 30 people you probably heard of major news events from chat before they even went on television (much less, in dozens of them)
(DIR) Post #AzeuSaRbXSB7pRTVSK by clarablackink@writing.exchange
2025-10-28T06:01:54Z
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@futurebird Gossip is also extremely gendered but gossip is a survival tool for folks who are disempowered.Its how you spread unprovable information like, "that person is a creep, they touched me in passing in a way that felt icky and coercive".Does gossip have downsides, yes, 100% gossip can become extremely dangerous. However...
(DIR) Post #AzuhZahimRgrmrNjUm by johnbekas@androiddev.social
2025-11-04T20:52:54Z
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@futurebird @osma How many profiles do you follow that post things you agree with? How many are not real people or not real organizations? Unfortunately, you can't tell. How do you verify that any news you read on social media is actually true? "Because I believe it to be true" is what the other side says, and you laugh at their ignorance. Chances are, they think the same about your beliefs.At least the news media used to have reputations; advertisers paid to reach those consumers.
(DIR) Post #Azv2cuqURvtWA1uU40 by utopiarte@tupambae.org
2025-11-05T00:31:12Z
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@futurebirdYou are preaching to the choir.And no need to be alarmed, that ship has sailed."They", the 99,99% are already locked in and programed. The latest events like twitter take over without consequences just proved that there is no more to expect.And AI will compound this 10 times.At the same time, you, me, we as humans can't relate to much more than a few hundred people, and those niches we can created for us, that's actually what we are doing here.And that's it.There is nothing more to say.The world can't be saved and needs no saving, it is what it is.Ultimately we as individuals have to deal with the reality we are facing. It was like that for our grandma's and it's like that for us.When I was a teenager, yellow press ruled the world, today it's their algorithms, the result is the same.(And no, of course I can't stand it either, that's why we are as we are and in part why we are here.)
(DIR) Post #Azv2cvxGKEuDbK5PG4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-11-05T00:48:31Z
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@utopiarte The choir requires sermons too. Feel like people forget that.