I have written over 2,000 words inspired by, but addressing larger issues than, the current clash between micro.blog and omg.lol staff.
I’m not sure I’ll ever publish it. But I’m glad I wrote it, because it helps clarify my own thinking.
There’s a very good reason that witch hunts and lynch mobs are replaced with legal process, courts and standards of evidence and punishment in civilised societies.
It seems clear that we need to learn this lesson all over again online, if we’re to carry on forming meaningful communities there.
If I need something that does have answers that can be definitely wrong in important ways, and where I’m not an expert in the subject, or don’t have all the underlying data memorised and would have to repeat all the work myself to check it, then today, I can’t use an LLM for that at all.
We’re unprepared for computers that can be unpredictably wrong, because that’s not our pre-existing experience.
Two of my least favourite aspects of social media are witch-hunting individuals and guilt by association. If you’re going to go after someone’s livelihood, I suggest you come with the “receipts” (as the kids say).
(What’s the micro.blog version of subtweeting? Submicroing?)
The better the Apple product, the more shamelessly it gets copied. Apple should make Clips into an iOS video editing app that everyone rips off shamelessly.
My daughter’s friends refer to videos as “CapCuts” or “edits” (hence the name of the new Instagram editing app). That an entire form of media is associated with a firm’s product is profoundly worrying.
Silicon Valley and crypto culture’s embrace of Trump has changed his cultural meaning more than Democrats have recognized. In 2016, Trump felt like an emissary of the past; in 2025, he’s being greeted as a harbinger of the future.
Great analysis of why the current New Yorker cover is so powerful: 1000 words.
Today is Blue Monday, which is a myth, invented by the marketing team for a travel company.
Have a great, productive day! 😉
Watching the kids do HADO.
Started reading: The Year in the Countryside by Frances Pitt 📚
Just finished watching Skeleton Crew with the family.
Just the best Star Wars in years. Family-friendly but with enough of an edge of darkness to give it depth for the adults.
More please.
These are some lovely images of winter.
Rule #1: Never trust Facebook.
It’s been over 20 years. You’d think people would have learned this by now.
People who are trying to escape Meta’s platforms in light of the changes in recent weeks, and Zuckerberg’s latest moves, here’s an unwelcome reminder for you:
WhatsApp is a Meta product, too.
For those playing with Pixelfed, an open standards-based Instagram competitor, I’m there under the usual username.
