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jwz wrote:

2025 music wrap-up, and mixtape 256.

Here is some new music that I enjoyed in 2025. Despite the absolute shitshow of everything about this year, it was a pretty decent year for music! In only vague and fickle order of favoriteness ...

https://jwz.org/b/yk1E

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
signalapp@mastodon.world ("Signal") wrote:

It's been a big year at Signal. Thanks to you, more & more people are speaking privately and freely. Thanks to you, we hit the top of app stores in multiple countries & served as critical global comms infrastructure. It's an honor to build Signal for you, with your support. 🩵

Boosted by ChrisWere@toot.wales ("Chris Were ⁂🐧🌱☕"):
rosie_108@toot.wales wrote:

Some excellent brunching this week in the WereBeard household - French toast the other day and sausage and hash brown burgers today! All #vegan obvs. Here's a flannel for your drool...

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

What Mark Zuckerberg saw in Mastodon and what he tried to replicate is what makes Mastodon special.

Zuck tried to replicate the feeling of community you get on Mastodon. Some Fediverse leaders sold us out, and tried to help Zuck, which is upsetting to me and a topic of a different discussion. Anyway,

Zuck saw community as Mastodon's most valuable attribute. And I think there's value in his observation.

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

@daedalouseros @fromjason @Sylvhem

It's gonna sound a bit strange but I find it comforting here because of that. I feel like I can go outside and touch grass and go back in later in the day and still find interesting things going on. Reminds me a bit of pre-smartphone era, where the Internet was something you logged in, had a fun time, and then you went on your way to do whatever else with your life.

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
daedalouseros@hollow.raccoon.quest ("Daedalous Eros") wrote:

@Sylvhem@eldritch.cafe @fromjason@mastodon.social @TheJournalingFrog@mastodon.social I remember that well.

But my point is that what keeps people on yet another sinking ship is the same thing that kept them on Twitter when it also turned into a sinking ship: FOMO.

I think the way we "rebrand" is to have things that are worth not missing out on. And I think we already do, but the things that make Fedi special aren't immediately obvious.

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

Personally, I’m pretty sure the core skills in software dev are perishable.

This would explain why many senior devs see diminishing returns from LLMs over time. The skills necessary to spot when LLMs fuck up might be deteriorating over time.

Boosted by taral ("JP Sugarbroad"):
juliusgoat.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy ("A.R. Moxon") wrote:

I genuinely do think that asking them to name when they’ve apologized for being white is extremely revealing. Same with eg “we’re not allowed to express our beliefs.” Oh? What beliefs? Making bigots own their bullshit positions with detailed explanations exposes the bullshit of their positions.

Boosted by taral ("JP Sugarbroad"):
juliusgoat.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy ("A.R. Moxon") wrote:

And their objection isn’t that they have been compelled to make such an apology, because they never have. What they object to is that others feel the conviction to not only confess to racism’s crimes but seek to make reparation. What this tells us is that social pressure is extremely effective.

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:3le7dvxqc2rhvyswiida2cgf/post/3mb56bhztoc2h

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
daedalouseros@hollow.raccoon.quest ("Daedalous Eros") wrote:

@TheJournalingFrog@mastodon.social @fromjason@mastodon.social people are afraid of missing out. They've been convinced that without a "for you" feed, they might miss something.

Consequently, I think that's how bsky stomped all over Masotdon during that pivotal point in time; bsky had the whole exclusivity thing going, yet it aggressively spread. So everyone was far more eager to get on bsky, then everyone was on bsky, so now everyone's afraid that if they leave, they'll start missing out.

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
morrick@appdot.net ("Riccardo Mori") wrote:

@fromjason I’m forming this impression as I go, so I might be wrong or off. In my opinion, one basic thing that would help Mastodon feel more user-friendly is some kind of onboarding process that de-nerdifies the approach to the platform. One important barrier to entry for a lot of regular folks I tried to bring here is — as you hint at — the language and paradigm. They expect a one-click account creation. I start mentioning “instances” and their gaze gets glassy.

Boosted by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
leroy@indiehackers.social ("Leroy") wrote:

@fromjason I don’t know where to reply, so I’ll do it to your original post.

I think it’s interesting that you use the words ‘audience’ and ‘community’. I don’t care for an audience. I care for a community. A community is one which I can both provide to and gain from.

I just thought your word choice was insightful and I need to ruminate on it!

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

When Threads launched, Zuckerberg's strategy was to determine which aspect of Mastodon were the most appealing, then he positioned Threads to be that until he didn't need to anymore.

Threads pretended to a community-driven, decentralized platform with a techie vibe in hopes of stopping the flood of users leaving Twitter for Mastodon.

When he accomplished that, he changed threads dot net to threads dot com, and it's on to the next one.

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

On to Threads. The most interesting of all.

It's impossible to cover the entirety of Threads' strategy. Their parents have endless resources and cash. They tried a lot of stuff. Including, but not limited to, their tried and true methods of amplifying anger and resentment.

But it wasn't its algorithm that made the threads strategy so interesting. It was their ability to mimic Mastodon.

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

@fromjason Agreed. I've seen a bunch of folks not wanting to engage with Mastodon because it still has the shroud of impenetrability around it, despite not actually being that difficult to grasp.

I do wonder how this will work without an algorithm though. A lot of people don't want to lift a finger to curate their experiences anymore.

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.