Mastodon Feed: Posts

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

Signs in fog. #photos #iceland #hveragerði

Boosted by jwz:
davidgerard@circumstances.run ("David Gerard") wrote:

just playing "Care" by Shriekback from 1983. I've listened to this on and off since and today it sounds just a ridiculously good and 10/10 bangers album.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cdeTka4a8Rk

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Before we move on to Threads, let's take a quick detour to TikTok (stay with me lol).

It's hard to talk algorithms without mentioning TikTok's For You Feed. I think it's particularly relevant here, as TikTok offers a sharp contrast to Bluesky's strategy of courting established voices.

During lock down in 2020, I remember people talking about TikTok as the place where anyone could go viral...

ChrisWere@toot.wales ("Chris Were ⁂🐧🌱☕") wrote:

Part 2 of the #Freebooters Christmas quiz special, this time we play Wavelength. Exclusive to #PeerTube

https://video.thepolarbear.co.uk/w/2RzUTbDENEH37oVussAESZ

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

RE: https://toot.cafe/@baldur/115803826226244090

I made sure to include English subtitles on this to make it more approachable for all of you non-Icelanders 🙂

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Back. Side note: I'm firmly on the left. Just in case anyone discovers this thread and hasn't heard me speak on anything else.

I don't identify with liberals all that much these days. I dislike the term "leftist" because it has lost all of its meaning and is now used to describe someone who criticizes corporate democrats but isn't a conservative.

So, I'm on the left. Abolish #ICE, the surveillance state, and healthcare insurance companies. Less corporate democrats. More democratic socialists.

Boosted by ChrisWere@toot.wales ("Chris Were ⁂🐧🌱☕"):
chris@video.thepolarbear.co.uk ("Chris Were but on PeerTube") wrote:

Freebooters quiz 2025 special! Part 2: Wavelength

https://video.thepolarbear.co.uk/w/2RzUTbDENEH37oVussAESZ

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

Minnesota has criminals, and Minnesota has Somali residents. Equating the two is a gross logical fallacy.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/12/30/minnesotans-have-been-following-this-tale-of-local-con-artists-for-years-its-nothing-new/

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

💃 DANCE BREAK 🕺

This thread is brought to you by Photographs & Memories: Jim Croce's Greatest Hits

Jim doesn't make "dance music" per se. More like swaying music. So, sway away. I'll be back in five minutes.

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/photographs-memories-his-greatest-hits/1509297879

Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6hA3DNhDECjwU9ZKgngqc9%5FVk-uSRR63&si=IE1T9vz80Cg6UBZU

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/17PK4yXNTBKQg5BSRIPvtd

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that the folks at Bluesky are asking themselves two questions:

1. Is there a large enough audience outside of Twitter for the top 100 accounts? (No)

2. Can BS distance themselves from Liberal Twitter 2.0 now that they've created this monster, and attract new voices? Younger voices? (🤷)

To recap, Bluesky used its *algorithm* to gain users, despite heavily promoting their "build your own experience" ecosystem.

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

I don't particularly love the "Bluesky is a liberal eco-chamber" argument because I think it leads to silly conclusions (imo). But, its premise isn't wrong.

Bluesky handed out microphones to all the political accounts at Twitter. Naturally, it attracted the types of people who like what those folks have to say.

But those accounts are polarizing. Not necessarily just for their politics. But because after a decade, they haven't done much to move the needle. I think people want fresh voices.

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
jasongorman@mastodon.cloud ("Jason Gorman") wrote:

Most teams don’t see the impact of "AI" code generation on systemic outcomes because THEY'RE NOT LOOKING.

https://codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/12/30/the-ai-ready-software-developer-18-productivity-you-keep-using-that-word/

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
emilymbender@dair-community.social ("Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her)") wrote:

I enjoyed doing this interview for El Mundo, especially the last question (English translation [actually original, since the interview was in English] of that in this short thread:

https://www.elmundo.es/papel/historias/2025/12/30/6952b5bc21efa0a0388b4594.html

🧵>>

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Now, Bluesky never outright admits that it heated posts for VIPs. But if you were on BS during and after the migration, it's not exactly a huge leap in logic to conclude that the Bluesky algorithm favored some accounts over others.

Also, this is not an indictment necessarily. I'm not yet speaking to the morality of this strategy. Just that it likely occurred.

And, perhaps, the strategy of courting liberal Twitter has, or will eventually, come back to bite them in the ass.

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

So it's safe to say that Bluesky's growth strategy was to cater to the big Twitter personalities, particularly the political accounts (whether that was intentional or not idk but that sure was the result).

The BS team parked user names for some Twitter celebrities, and when those people signed up, BS presumably used its algorithm to "heat" posts so that they'd gain back their followers fast.

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Despite amassing over 30 million MAU, Bluesky doesn't have any homegrown celebrities. Why?

Bluesky's top 100 accounts are a who's who of late stage liberal twitter—just a bunch of bloated 40 year olds coming up with decreasingly clever analogies for orange skin and tiny red cocks. BS top 100 is also not very diverse which we may get to, idk.

I've heard Bluesky described as a millennial retirement home. Not exactly the vibe you'd hope for as a young media platform.

https://vqv.app/

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

Mastodon* is in desperate need of a rebrand and a repositioning in the minds of the general public (imo).

There's no reason why a Mastodon address couldn't come with all the cachet of a public library card, or a PBS tote bag—that is to say something that signals “I am more than just a content creation machine for a corporation.”

It could be a status symbol for all the right reasons.

*The collective brand, so much as the general public sees Mastodon as such.

fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:

There's so many entry points to this topic, it's hard to know where to start. But, I think the most fun and interesting start is to dissect the strategies of other microblogging platforms. Particularly during the "great migrations." Then explore why it's perhaps impossible for Mastodon to compete on those terms without abandoning its core values.

This is a freestyle, so I ask for some grace in my words and the story's pacing.

Let's start with #Bluesky

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

"The Grand AI Disconnect"

> AI is running only slightly ahead of child molesters in the public imagination.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-grand-ai-disconnect

I'm sure it'll be fine and there's no chance that the public will turn on everything related to tech and software once the house of cards tumbles down. Great industry to be associated with, etc. etc.

Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
uglyreykjavik.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy ("Ugly Reykjavik") wrote:

Left to rust.#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #landscape #nature #naturephotography #landscapephotography #streetphotography #abandoned #decay #rust #trees #sky

pzmyers@freethought.online ("pzmyers 🕷") wrote:

They're not just evil, they're also stupid.

https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/12/30/are-republicans-just-crazy-pants-dingle-bunnies/

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

Finally, a few of the earliest photos I've taken, at least in terms of deliberate practice. I took them on a Yashica SLR in the mid- to late-nineties in Reykjavík. #photos #film #blackandwhite

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

I took these four photos in 2000, or thereabouts, my last job in Iceland before moving to the UK was as a vision mixer in a news studio. These were taken either at work or on my way home. #photos #film #blackandwhite

jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:

how nice of you @CARROT

Boosted by kornel ("Kornel"):
lorax@dresden.network wrote:

There's no excuse, not to make .deb files for #rustlang projects anymore with cargo-deb!
https://github.com/kornelski/cargo-deb

I know it's existed for a while, but I just found it recently and as a Debian user, would love to see wider adoption.
While some people may be able to install most programs from cargo, a lot of cool projects just can't be used by less experienced #debian, #ubuntu and derivatives users.

So if you are working on a project that not only targets #devs, make it easier for newcomers and publish a .deb file as well.
(cargo-aur also does this for #arch)

Boosted by kornel ("Kornel"):
stopthatgirl7@famichiki.jp ("Stop That") wrote:

Only two more days till we get to live on Mars, y’all!!

Boosted by ratatui_rs@fosstodon.org ("Ratatui"):
orhun@fosstodon.org ("Orhun Parmaksız 👾") wrote:

Wow, this is extremely pretty ⏰✨

🕒 **sigye** (시계) — A gorgeous terminal clock.

💯 Supports FIGlet fonts, animated color themes, reactive backgrounds & live-configurable visuals.

🦀 Written in Rust & built with @ratatui_rs

⭐ GitHub: https://github.com/am2rican5/sigye

#rustlang #ratatui #tui #terminal #clock #ascii #design #terminal

Attachments:

• gifv: 7a8808d4dadbb6d4.mp4

baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason") wrote:

The author of The Cat and I, Brynhildur Jenný, explains why she draws by hand and isn't fond of drawing with a tablet or iPad (English subs included)

Brynhildur Jenný útskýrir afhverju hún handteiknaði myndasöguna, Kötturinn og ég, og er ekki hrifin af því að vinna í tölvu #bók #myndasaga #bækur

Fáanleg í verslunum Pennans: https://www.penninn.is/is/book/kotturinn-og-eg

Attachments:

• video: A short video where an illustrator, Brynhildur Jenný, talks about how much more fun drawing by hand is, in a voiceover while her illustrations are shown on screen.

Boosted by jwz:
exador23@m.ai6yr.org ("Hippy Steve") wrote:

🤔

Boosted by jwz:
infernusgoatus@kvlt.zone (":googlyeye: Stlex :googlyeye2:") wrote:

RIP Cecelia Giménez, whose effort to restore a religious painting gave us a legend.