Posts by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AXOv0yBTezmXhnKasC by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2023-07-06T00:07:29Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
For #Mastodon users who are concerned about #Threads:1. Good news. If you were worried about #BlueSky eating #Mastodon and the #Fediverse’s lunch, that’s over now. Meta backed ActivityPub. BlueSky’s not beating Mastodon, and it won’t replace Twitter.2. Threads onboarding is super-easy. When it federates, it’ll add millions of users. But, you don’t have to go anywhere. You’re already here. Meta can’t make you switch to Threads.🧵 1/n
(DIR) Post #AXOv10MXYposSgWSOW by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2023-07-06T00:14:02Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
3. The millions of users that #Threads adds to the fediverse will attract alll those emergency service accounts that you find useful on Twitter. Many are already on #Instagram.4. Threads can’t insert adds or tracking in your #Mastodon feed unless you move from here to Threads.5. Threads won’t be in the #EU, but if you’re in the EU, Threads is still good for you. When it brings lots of users, there’s incentive for more EU people and orgs to join Mastodon for access to the audience.🧵 2/n
(DIR) Post #AXOv127N2CsDuDRN1k by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2023-07-06T00:25:39Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
6. #Twitter an obvious loser here. It’s broken, its CEO’s values are antithetical to its business incentives, it’s unsafe, and its reputation is wrecked. #Facebook will moderate, because it knows how to run an ad business.7. Meta’s commercial interests are good for attracting businesses and creators to the fediverse. And, those who stay on Mastodon can shield insulate themselves from that.8. If #Meta misbehaves, #Mastodon instance adminis can de-federate. I wouldn’t rush to do that now.
(DIR) Post #AjlMRGyMIFXaCRtKqW by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2024-07-08T21:42:34Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
This is good for #Ghost, its users, and readers. Newsletters will be accessible to #Mastodon users and 175 million #Threads users. They’ll be readable in user feeds. People who don’t want or pay attention to email will have a convenient way to access and bookmark content from writers they follow. For paid newsletters, it’s a lever to convert readers of free articles into paid subscribers, and it lets users chat directly with the content/authors.https://mastodon.social/@Sarahp/112752215642744014
(DIR) Post #Ak1jFMb3xkE2GwtKcK by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2024-07-17T12:29:05Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
As the internet is filled with #AI slop content, federated social media is an increasingly valuable place to find quality content. It’s a blending of traditional social and RSS. On #Mastodon, users can follow #Flipboard, #Ghost, and #WordPress blogs. Since feeds aren’t subject to an algorithm, users always see the content they follow. Slop might rank for web searches, but users don’t find it valuable. They don’t follow or share it, so it doesn’t land in users’ feeds.
(DIR) Post #AlN1VYocE7Ri60mGdE by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2024-07-02T18:52:20Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
This is a smart move by @Mastodon. #Twitter / #X journalism is struggling, and #Threads doesn’t want journalism. Mastodon is leaning into it though, “To reinforce and encourage Mastodon as the go-to place for journalism, we’re launching a new feature today.” I think this is a lever for differentiation; making Mastodon more valuable to journalists and users.https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/112718231305707672
(DIR) Post #AmNObDBNuilNUFbg0G by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2024-09-25T22:29:09Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Drama is brewing in #WordPress land. #WPEngine says WordPress.org blocked its access to the plugin repository. WP Engine-hosted trying to access it are unable to do so. If this is indeed intentional, it's going to be a mess.https://wpenginestatus.com/incidents/640187
(DIR) Post #AmNxTNUxAoxPYjlArg by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2024-09-25T23:04:49Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
WordPress has confirmed that it terminated WP Engine's access to the plugin repo. Any legal consequences aside, this presents a lot like a malware attack. Instead of installing malware directly, WordPress is blocking WP Engine sites from receiving security updates that might prevent it, including critical severity ones.https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine-banned/ #WordPress #WPEngine #infosec https://mastodon.social/@bretcarmichael/113200552326161842
(DIR) Post #AqDxFgt0qYLxkW4kSW by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-01-19T01:07:04Z
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@stux @briankrebs I’ll add to that. In the US, for-profit social media companies and media outlets are rushing to appease and self-censor. Fediverse servers have no pay-to-play incentives.
(DIR) Post #AqHxccfBUVWlwcNkCu by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-01-20T23:30:04Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@stux @briankrebs Selecting a server is confusing to people. “Why do I need to choose a server, and which should I choose?” There’s no simple answer to that, and it’s a barrier. I’d get rid of the server terminology entirely and use the word group instead, where each group describes an interest, region, etc. Federation has benefits, but it makes onboarding harder. Not great for user acquisition.
(DIR) Post #AsBBlCbmHaGiTo7qvQ by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-03-18T12:40:55Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
The First Amendment is the right to agree with MAGA. If you violate the First Amendment, you’ll be banned from Twitter. Just another reason for governments to eliminate Twitter. Co-president Musk bans speech that’s critical of the US government, even off-platform.https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/03/18/x-suspends-dropkick-murphys-after-viral-moment-shows-them-calling-out-concert-attendees-elon-musk-true-nazi-maga-hat/
(DIR) Post #AvWSOSTFhfwoHQpfSi by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-06-26T12:41:06Z
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@davidrevoy @creativecommons Unfortunately for artists, it looks like AI scraping for model training will be a legally allowed practice in the context of fair use, regardless of license. Protecting your work will need to be a technical effort. For your own site, you can put it behind Cloudflare. It has free tools that block scrapers.https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/26/meta-wins-ai-copyright-lawsuit-as-us-judge-rules-against-authors
(DIR) Post #AvghPkriEwsiVpwu6i by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-07-01T10:56:32Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
By the same logic, maintaining Medicaid, USAID, national parks, and green investments should also cost nothing. Only tax cuts for the wealthy are free.https://mastodon.social/@rands/114774158807442135
(DIR) Post #B1HgYyBuSVRjZsqhXs by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-12-15T18:39:20Z
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GM’s decision to remove CarPlay, and to a much lesser extent Android Auto, can do nothing but cost it sales. The only question is: will the money that GM earns from monetizing its entertainment stack offset those losses? I doubt it.https://www.theverge.com/transportation/844697/gm-cadillac-chevy-apple-music-native
(DIR) Post #B1Hi6pQFfP94BMGZUm by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-12-15T19:25:41Z
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@wjmaggos As early as 2018, Roku’s CEO said it’s an ad company, not a hardware company. While a partnership could provide GM with additional scale, it wouldn’t benefit consumers. Also, it wouldn’t solve for people not being able to bring their OS with them. GM’s proprietary platform of choice is irrelevant.
(DIR) Post #B1JeGY8InCaDxHAcS0 by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2025-12-16T19:35:20Z
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@wjmaggos They could, but that isn’t the goal. GM’s motivation is not aligned to breaking platform lock-in, but is instead to remove competitive choice so that owners are locked in to GM’s platform. For example, owners can always have navigation for free through CarPlay or Android Auto. By restricting access to those platforms, GM could charge for navigation.
(DIR) Post #B1sNYl5Sjlhh7lI7bk by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2026-01-02T13:36:57Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Social media companies don’t directly prioritize divisive content. Instead, algorithms prioritize engagement to earn ad revenue, and divisive content is what engages the most.🏭 Politics or not, an algorithmic ad factory’s fuel is divisive content, and polarization is its pollutant. X is a truck without a muffler.“Social media platforms have long been accused of encouraging divisive content to boost user engagement and therefore advertising revenues.”https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/27/partisan-x-posts-increase-political-polarisation-among-users-social-media-research
(DIR) Post #B2gkjWODqtZJgLZlGi by bretcarmichael@mastodon.social
2026-01-26T04:41:46Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
As a company that has long boasted about its commitment to principles, Apple has had a bad several months. It removed ICE Block from the App Store. It let X remain, empowering its users to create child porn, which is apparently “free speech” now. After two American citizens were killed by ICE, Tim Cook responded by attending a special screening of the Melania documentary. It’ll be hard to believe that Apple believes anything it says after all this. When principles mattered, Apple collapsed.