Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
Fuller is something of a philosopher of digital design; his podcast “Scratching the Surface” canvasses experts in the field. In the past decade, he argues, a “user-centered” approach to design has been replaced by what he has taken to calling a “corporation-centered” approach. Rather than optimizing for the user’s experience, it optimizes for the e... See more
Kyle Chayka • Why I Finally Quit Spotify | the New Yorker
Ugh, I can’t believe I had to live/work through the deaths of both print media AND online media and now possibly television and film too?? Can I just have a job?! Like, no offense to my beloved Butt News subscribers, but there’s no way that selling direct-to-consumer humorous movie reviews at a freelance tax rate and paying $600/month for my own in... See more
Lindy West • Butt News #24: Never Been Kissed
After a decade or so of the general sentiment being in favor of the internet and social media as a way to enable more speech and improve the marketplace of ideas, in the last few years the view has shifted dramatically—now it seems that almost no one is happy. Some feel that these platforms have become cesspools of trolling, bigotry, and hatred... ... See more
Mike Masnick • Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech
most of us have succumbed to Will Ferrell’s seductive proposal in Anchorman 2: “What if we didn’t give people the news they needed to hear, but instead gave them the news they wanted to hear.”
Neil Howe • The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End
All of this feels a bit weird to me, a proud denizen of geriatric social media. It is quite strange, especially when you write about technology, to feel like the tools that define your formative era of the internet are no longer ascendent. But just because patterns are changing, I think it’s a mistake to assume that social media is on its way out a... See more
Charlie Warzel • Welcome to Geriatric Social Media
Hurley ran YouTube like someone who used YouTube and his exit cleared the way for managers to run YouTube Google’s way, with spreadsheets and algorithms.
Mark Bergen • Like, Comment, Subscribe
A lot of what I’m describing is, admittedly, a vibe. But it’s a vibe of the “Welcome to Allegiant Air, yes we’re going to charge you for a glass of water” variety. It’s not quite an “Everything Must Go” doorbusters situation, but it isn’t exactly trending in the right direction.
Charlie Warzel • Welcome to Geriatric Social Media
roon is a member of the technical staff at OpenAI, or at least that’s how The Washington Post describes him.
Nate Silver • On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything
The promise of the internet was to erase the gatekeepers. Instead of waiting for a record label to sign you, you could share your music on Spotify. Instead of asking a publication to share your words, you could tweet. Instead of being tapped by a studio exec, you could become a YouTuber. But what happened is that these platforms became the new gate... See more