Mastodon Feed: Posts

Boosted by kornel ("Kornel"):
phire@phire.place ("jenny (phire)") wrote:

27 notes on growing older resonated more than I would like to admit https://www.ian-leslie.com/p/27-notes-on-growing-older

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

That said, if you are interested in a deep dive into the concepts of decentralization and whether or not Bluesky meets its definition, Christine Lemmer-Webber has two fantastic and compelling essays on the subject.

Not to out myself as a nerd but I've read both twice and they're really good, imo.

https://dustycloud.org/blog/how-decentralized-is-bluesky/

https://dustycloud.org/blog/re-re-bluesky-decentralization/

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

Again, It's important to note that this, whatever this is (lol), is not a debate whether or not Bluesky is decentralized, or if Threads is part of the Fediverse.

This is an outright rejection of the decentralized vs centralized, and Protocols Not Platforms dichotomies as a way to improve the www and undo the harms of the "platform era."

This is an exploration of what I've been calling Communities Not Markets.

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

FYI apparently Amazon has a feature in beta that scrapes the web stores of companies (and independent artists) not on their website, allowing you to buy the items on Amazon. Basically they act as a middle man, without your consent, to put your stuff on their marketplace. They're doing this to artists right now.

https://bsky.app/profile/houseofdarkly.bsky.social/post/3mb7znamirs2r

#art #artists

Boosted by jwz:
marioguzman ("Mario Guzmán") wrote:

Mac OS X Mountain Lion (left) vs macOS Tahoe (right)

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

I want to talk a little about the Communities and Markets dichotomy because I believe it to be a more effective communication strategy than decentralized vs centralized.

So I want to share some thoughts I wrote a couple years back. And why I believe Mastodon is or can be positioned as a community, and why other platforms are markets.

It's been a challenge for me to articulate this idea. So I've been writing here and there. Here's my first toot that attempts to explain

https://mastodon.social/@fromjason/112197613650671616

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