I am currently experimenting with moving all of my social things to micro.blog. I know I have tried this before (twice) but this time I don’t want it to be my blog I just want a place to hang out and post everything to. This will mainly be an Instagram replacement, posting checkins as most importantly books and films I have watched.
I can’t quite work out Goodreads yet, but by using Letterboxed I can post watched film easily using Micropub.
These kinds of posts usually start out as a small note in my journal or Apple Notes. Sometimes they stay there for quite a while because I am at risk of sounding like a grump old man – and not for the first time.
However in Lockdown there has been an increase in social media posting that has continued now that things are easing (sorry America). When biking around, or walking with the family there has been a stark increase in people looking at their phones or constantly taking pictures.
Anupam Chugh for Mac O’Clock
No user in their right consciousness would look to opt-in for personalised ads considering its used for monetisation purposes.
Quite often there is a push back, usually from people regarding Google, that they would rather see relevant ads than random ones. Whilst this could be true, the ad tracking and data storage doesn’t just stop with seeing more relevant ads, its tracks everything about you for no good purpose.
Conor Friedersdorf for The Atlantic
That crusade is as vulnerable to mistakes and excesses as any other struggle against abstract evils. Some of the most zealous crusaders are demanding affirmations of solidarity and punishing mild dissent. Institutions are imposing draconian punishments for minor transgressions. Individuals are scapegoated for structural ills. There are efforts to get people fired, including even some who share the desire for racial justice.
I will preface this by saying that some transgressions are simply unacceptable, and deserve no understanding.
When I think about ditching my Apple Watch after five years of faithful usage, I can only ever get about 90% there. The easy part is working out how I am going to use my phone and finding ways to stay connected only when needed and remove it entirely when I wish to switch off. Unfortunately that last few tweaks to my usage never fall into place.
There is one pretty big issues that I am not sure I can find a way around yet, it’s caused all sorts of headaches and stress already.
Stephen Nellis and Paresh Dave for Reuters:
Sixteen marketing associations, some of which are backed by Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, faulted Apple for not adhering to an ad-industry system for seeking user consent under European privacy rules. Apps will now need to ask for permission twice, increasing the risk users will refuse, the associations argued.
Of course they are kicking up a fuss. All of their shady tactics, designed to circumnavigate user permissions are being shut down one by one.
I would hope that no body starts morning that I am not writing about enough technology lately, but I’m finding it hard to write about anything at all. Never mind getting motivated to write about the very little news going around. I have been spending my time riding my bike when weather allows, but when the bad weather comes I have to take it inside to the virtual playground of Zwift.
Something that I am constantly thinking about is broadening my horizons and appreciating other peoples interests and points of view. Something that is actually quite difficult to do, as it seems we are preprogrammed to believe our own points of view above all else and defend our positions. So, some of this is understandable, but we owe it to ourselves and others around us to be better people.
I don’t believe that anything in life is binary, it can be not completely good or bad.
For the past year, I have been running my blog on the Ghost platform. It gave me the ability to have a site as fast as the static one I used to have, but with a much more powerful CMS behind it. When first testing it out and setting up memberships I knew this platform would be for me.
It allows me to keep control of everything from payments to blog posts, and send emails to you all at the push of a button.
Seth Godin on posing for selfies:
The irony is that the people we’re most likely to want to trust and engage with are the ones who don’t pose. They’re consistent, committed and clear, but they’re not faking it. – Seth Godin
I seriously doubt Seth reads my newsletter but this post seems to tug on the things that I was approaching last edition. The apparent rise and rise of taking pictures just to show off what you are doing, or rather doing things just so you can pose for photos.