https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/public/ recent bookmarks from matthewmcvickar 2023-01-18T21:44:45+00:00 http://livelaugh.blog/posts/how-to-grow-a-web-presence/ matthewmcvickarthe places we grew our careers and social circles on have all been damaged beyond repair by men who, despite having billions of dollars, look like they have the suds and the emotional intelligence of a paper straw 5 minutes after it has entered my iced latte. they're surrounded by yes-men with less-money who are about half as smart as the character i played in my early satire days. i truly hope they all find the immortality they seek, and also that they then get trapped in quicksand, respectfully.]]> internet technology business https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:498937841c05/ 2022-07-15T15:30:09+00:00 https://www.globalantiscam.org/post/confessions-of-a-scambaiter-part-i matthewmcvickarScambaiting is the action of conversing with a scammer for a prolonged period of time so as to distract him/her from further scamming. --- I will admit that scambaiting began as a form of vengeance. A few weeks fresh from my scam discovery D-Day, the urge to seek some form of justice still raged through my veins. I began with language apps, then stemmed into Facebook and dating apps. In the beginning, the goal was only to waste the scammer’s time. After a while, it became a form of dark therapy, allowing me to relish over and over that I had “played” the “player” -- I was in on the charade before the scammer could even begin his charade. There was no sympathy for scammers, just a burning desire to know why they would scam sincere and kind people. I had heard that some scammers were human trafficked into their job, but I couldn’t believe it. It was to me another ploy from the scammer playbook -- engender sympathy from victims to maximize profits. My perspective has shifted since then to a better understanding of the industry, one in which things are not totally black and white. I’ve also gained a better perspective of what can be lied about and what can’t. The following tales highlight some of the most memorable moments since I started scambaiting last August. I hope to put a face behind the people involved in scamming and shed light on human trafficking. […] Luckily for Daddy, his workplace is kind. All employees receive a minimum wage base pay, plus a 16% bonus for successful scams. They live in a relatively clean dormitory, and no one is beaten or hurt. Workers may go out freely on certain days, being tourists at the Burj Khalifa, shopping for groceries, or visiting fresh fruit farms. The employees, most of whom have likely never before left their home country, overall appear to be enjoying their scam life. This can be juxtaposed next to the weekly influx of victims we receive in our victims group, many of whom are in tears or suicidal. Many of whom lost their life savings. […] Recently, Daddy showed off his $21k bonus from scamming an individual out of nearly $138k. He was so excited he could barely sleep for days.]]> security internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f09d157c9564/ 2022-07-15T15:27:42+00:00 https://maxread.substack.com/p/whats-the-deal-with-all-those-weird matthewmcvickarThese texts are usually the lead-in to romance scams that usually end with fake crypto deposits, written so as to imply wealth and success on the part of the scammer, who is often an abused and captive worker operating multiple phones and attempting to con several people from a compound operated by shady gambling rings somewhere in Southeast Asia. […] Now what? It seems likely we can expect this species of pig-butchering scam to eventually fade into the background, thanks to victims getting wise and authorities cracking down. An interview with the subject of the GASO rescue mission suggests that the scam rings’ operations in Europe and North America, at least, are not as profitable as they’d hoped…]]> security internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:828a033fbbd1/ 2022-05-29T00:02:29+00:00 https://github.com/rzashakeri/beautify-github-profile matthewmcvickarThis repository helps you to have a more beautiful and attractive github profile, and you can access a complete set of tools and guides for beautifying your github profile. 🪄 ⭐]]> internet webdevelopment https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:53bd1e5ea2e5/ 2022-04-21T17:03:02+00:00 https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/ matthewmcvickarThis is a solar-powered website, which means it sometimes goes offline ☼ --- Low-tech Magazine refuses to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. A simple, sensible, but nevertheless controversial message; high-tech has become the idol of our society.]]> energy internet webdevelopment https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:4c272e046014/ 2022-03-16T15:39:00+00:00 https://github.com/rapka/wordle-list matthewmcvickarA handy compilation of games based on Josh Wardle's Wordle. Including Dordle, Quordle, Worldle, Heardle, and more.]]> games internet language https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:b472c3a029ed/ 2022-01-23T05:28:17+00:00 https://covidartmuseum.com/ matthewmcvickarThe world’s 1st museum for art born during Covid19 quarantine]]> museum covid19 art internet photography https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:e1c032a5a19d/ 2021-12-14T19:28:41+00:00 https://frogitivity2.tumblr.com/ matthewmcvickar art internet mentalhealth https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:b4f0146445ad/ 2021-12-06T21:03:16+00:00 https://toneindicators.carrd.co/ matthewmcvickarWhat they are, why you should use them, and how to use them.]]> communication internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:3675b7a517c3/ 2021-08-08T05:04:16+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/21557375/bunny-the-dog-talks-researchers-animal-cognition-language-tiktok matthewmcvickarWhen Bunny presses “Settle, Sound, Ouch,” she might be using a novel string of known words to tell someone to quiet down, or she might be pressing a random series of buttons while confirmation bias on our part does the rest of the work. Even Devine says that she thinks Bunny’s “speech” is primarily operant conditioning, where Bunny has made an association between pressing a button and something happening. A true understanding of language goes beyond simple associations, and involves pulling unique combinations of words together into narratives.]]> internet dogs pets language https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:98b50dd7ff90/ 2021-08-08T05:02:39+00:00 https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/08/06/talking-dogs-aac-devices-buttons/ matthewmcvickarPet owners and cognitive scientists are exploring if we can teach dogs to speak with buttons, called AAC devices. --- “I do have to say, ‘Okay, how much am I reading into this?’ How much of this is anthropomorphized and how much is like, I’ve already interpreted these buttons in this way, so I’m going to continue to interpret and it becomes its own sort of dialect?” she says. “I try and remain open to all of the possibilities.”]]> dogs pets language internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:353a199144e5/ 2021-07-26T04:22:49+00:00 https://thebaffler.com/kate-takes/dont-let-people-enjoy-things-wagner matthewmcvickarAn issue common to all of our LPET posters is that they think criticism means forbidding people from enjoying media in general. First of all, people are just as allowed to *dislike* things as they are permitted to enjoy them—you can’t trick them into changing their minds with your authoritarian meme posting. Second, I introduce this radical idea: you can still enjoy things while being critical of them—it can even lead to a greater appreciation of societal and historical context, and it can make you usefully wary of the role the shit forces of the world play in the media we consume. It can also help us maintain our political and social integrity while watching or reading or listening to whatever is offered to us. For example, my peacenik, anticapitalist proclivities may make me critical of many mainstream blockbusters, but they also afford me a greater appreciation of movies like ‘Office Space’ and Dolly Parton’s classic ‘9 to 5.’ Finally, though our LPET posters think otherwise, it is indeed possible to *like some things about a piece of media and dislike things about that same piece of media all at once*.]]> criticism culture internet film politics https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:ab7cdd79999e/ 2021-05-28T16:33:50+00:00 https://everydayexperiments.com/invisible-roommates matthewmcvickarInvisible Roommates is an augmented reality (AR) application that would make visible how the devices in your home interact with one another. The application would make use of existing technology to portray the different devices connected to your network as little living characters, playfully illustrating how these pieces of technology communicate while making it easier for you to understand what is happening in your home.]]> iot internet privacy augmentedreality https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6a2a8063ae01/ 2021-02-19T19:59:58+00:00 https://neal.fun/ten-years-ago/ matthewmcvickarSee what the internet looked like on February 19th, 2011. See what it looked like ten years today for a handful of popular sites (CNN, NYT, Amazon, Apple, IMDb, GoodReads, etc.).]]> archive internet web https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:d63356265769/ 2021-02-19T19:35:28+00:00 https://fraidyc.at/ matthewmcvickarFraidycat is a desktop app or browser extension for Firefox or Chrome. I use it to follow people (hundreds) on whatever platform they choose - Twitter, a blog, YouTube, even on a public TiddlyWiki. There is no news feed. Rather than showing you a massive inbox of new posts to sort through, you see a list of recently active individuals. No one can noisily take over this page, since every follow has a summary that takes up a mere two lines. You can certainly expand this 'line' to see a list of recent titles (or excerpts) from the individual - or click the name of the follow to read the individual on their network.]]> internet socialmedia privacy https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:72926e346413/ 2020-10-08T16:46:23+00:00 https://www.monkeon.co.uk/sameenergysnap/ matthewmcvickarBelow are images which Twitter users have described as having the Same Energy. Your challenge: match the 6 pairs.]]> twitter game internet meme https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:5217d11d954e/ 2020-09-23T04:21:31+00:00 https://themarkup.org/blacklight matthewmcvickarA Real-Time Website Privacy Inspector Who is peeking over your shoulder while you work, watch videos, learn, explore, and shop on the internet? Enter the address of any website, and Blacklight will scan it and reveal the specific user-tracking technologies on the site—and who’s getting your data. You may be surprised at what you learn.]]> privacy internet surveillance https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f6cf82246d43/ 2020-08-27T19:13:34+00:00 https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/08/9987054/new-teacher-challenge matthewmcvickarThe cruel New Teacher Challenge is a viral prank making its way through TikTok that uses disabled faces like mine as the punchline. --- So far, TikTok hasn’t done much to combat this online hate. When people report accounts that have been using my photos in this challenge, they’ve received statements that TikTok has found no violation of the platform’s rules. It’s not just there. When I’ve reported Twitter accounts for posting photos of a blobfish to bully me, more often than not, Twitter says it doesn’t violate any rules either. I want to be clear: I am violated. Every single time. Each photo, taunt, and cruel word is a clear violation of my dignity and my worth as a human being. And every time these platforms fail to take action, they’re sending the message that this bullying is okay. So many disabled people have become inured to our appearance being mocked. That’s not something we should ever have to get used to.]]> disability internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:0302efe7f8cc/ 2020-08-24T19:26:05+00:00 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/23/business/media/how-zeynep-tufekci-keeps-getting-the-big-things-right.html matthewmcvickarMany tech journalists, entranced by the internet-fueled movements sweeping the globe, were slow to spot the ways they might fail, or how social media could be used against them. Dr. Tufekci, though, had “seen movement after movement falter because of a lack of organizational depth and experience, of tools or culture for collective decision making, and strategic, long-term action,” she wrote in her 2017 book, “Twitter and Tear Gas.” That is, the same social-media savvy that hastened their rise sometimes left them “unable to engage in the tactical and decision-making maneuvers all movements must master to survive,” she wrote. That’s a lesson many social movements have learned since those days, and this summer’s Black Lives Matter protests locked in some immediate political gains. […] An area where she might be ahead of the pack is the effects of social media on society. It’s a debate she views as worryingly binary, detached from plausible solutions, with journalists homing in on the personal morality of tech heads like Mark Zuckerberg as they assume the role of mall cops for the platforms they cover. “The real question is not whether Zuck is doing what I like or not,” she said. “The real question is why he’s getting to decide what hate speech is.” She also suggested that we may get it wrong when we focus on individuals — on chief executives, on social media activists like her. The probable answer to a media environment that amplifies false reports and hate speech, she believes, is the return of functional governments, along with the birth of a new framework, however imperfect, that will hold the digital platforms responsible for what they host.]]> sociology internet covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:d95a988889fb/ 2020-08-13T19:46:19+00:00 https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property/guide-to-youtube-removals matthewmcvickar video copyright youtube internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:a522b90b4b4f/ 2020-08-09T18:46:32+00:00 https://www.nocode.tech/ matthewmcvickarCurated directory of the best free resources and tools for non-technical entrepreneurs. Packed with the best discount codes for your favourite online tools.]]> apps webdevelopment webdesign internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:440d824d2714/ 2020-08-09T18:03:06+00:00 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/style/challenge-accepted-instagram.html matthewmcvickarA representative from Instagram said that the earliest post the company could surface for this current cycle of the challenge was posted a week and a half ago by the Brazilian journalist Ana Paula Padrão. Others have noted that women in Turkey began sharing black-and-white photos recently to raise awareness about femicide. Though the portraits have spread widely, the posts themselves say very little. Like the black square, which became a symbol of solidarity with Black people but asked very little of those who shared it, the black-and-white selfie allows users to feel as if they’re taking a stand while saying almost nothing. Influencers and celebrities love these types of “challenges” because they don’t require actual advocacy, which might alienate certain factions of their fan base.]]> culture feminism activism internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:7f26828a7ef4/ 2020-07-17T16:50:10+00:00 https://window-swap.com/ matthewmcvickarLet's face it. We are all stuck indoors. And it's going to be a while till we travel again. Window Swap is here to fill that deep void in our wanderlust hearts by allowing us to look through someone else's window, somewhere in the world, for a while. A place on the internet where all we travel hungry fools share our 'window views' to help each other feel a little bit better till we can (responsibly) explore our beautiful planet again.]]> travel video internet covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:fe2d320dde07/ 2020-07-08T20:33:09+00:00 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1280859257970159618.html matthewmcvickarI think this is why the "cancel culture" moral panic gets under my skin so much. *So* many of Americans' false unof people and events come from the fact that the media was traditionally run by a tiny number of gatekeepers.]]> media news internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:61bd4264a42a/ 2020-06-26T18:12:57+00:00 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mg7g3y/how-to-make-a-not-racist-bot matthewmcvickar racism bots internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:09c11f7fdd1b/ 2020-06-17T03:50:34+00:00 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/science/social-media-bots-kazemi.html matthewmcvickarIt sometimes seems that automated bots are taking over social media and driving human discourse. But some (real) researchers aren’t so sure. --- Defining the bot is a tricky problem; technically, it could be any automated account, like a news aggregator, or amplification software, like Hootsuite. Mr. Kazemi found many bots tweeting about Covid-19, including neighborhood health clinics using marketing software to post daily pandemic P.S.A.s about washing your hands. He also found that humans were often mistaken for bots. Consider the “grandpa effect,” as he called it: people who were mistaken for bots because they used social media in “uncool or gauche” ways, he said. Users fond of hitting the share button on news articles also resulted in false positives. This led Mr. Kazemi to wonder whether Botometer should be renamed “Normiemeter.” He tweeted: “Can you imagine the headlines? ‘50% of accounts tweeting about Covid are normies.’”]]> bots internet twitter spam https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f3834a0c71e9/ 2020-04-23T16:38:02+00:00 https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/tiktok-report-benees-supalonely-and-the-inexplicable-power-of-vibeyness/ matthewmcvickarIn our new recurring series, we look at the good, the bad, and the straight-up bizarre songs spreading across TikTok via dances and memes. --- TikTok’s trend-setting prowess has given famous people an even greater incentive to dip their toes into the mortal world. A little song and dance comes with the possibility of a handsome reward, at least for the musicians: hits that soundtrack TikTok memes clobber their way to the top of Spotify’s Viral 50 with the rapaciousness of King Kong scaling the Empire State Building. It usually works like this: some impossibly cool teenager with above-average rhythm choreographs a dance; said dance must be rudimentary enough for anyone to learn—give or take a few hours and several YouTube tutorials—but dynamic enough for you to look impressive if you put in the work. Like a fast-casual burrito, TikTok dances are customized from the same basic ingredients, but adding something new and spicy to the mix can work wonders. Particularly fresh choreo—or at least moves backed by the right influencer—can single-handedly rocket a song to the top of the viral charts.]]> memes music internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:9fc2a9d56aa7/ 2020-03-29T01:13:08+00:00 https://a.currents.fm/about matthewmcvickarWe're a playlist platform that directly supports independent music, built on our streaming integrations and powerful curation tools. The closest analogy for what we are would be Patreon for music or Substack for playlists. We enable artists to create a space to elevate the music and artists that they enjoy for their fans and accept tips from supporters. You can think of it as a newsletter of music, featuring thoughts alongside selections for fans to listen to. We enable fans to have a closer connection to their favorite artists via curated playlists, personal thoughts, and early previews of their work.]]> music internet playlist https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:19e5b1671a0a/ 2020-03-28T19:22:09+00:00 https://www.servicerelief.us/start/ matthewmcvickarUse these instructions to get up and running with helping your community! Kick off your city's relief efforts as we all learn to cope with COVID-19 with this starter powered by Gatsby, Airtable, and community efforts. This project is aims to make it as easy as possible to launch and manage an index of resources in your city during the COVID-19 pandemic.]]> mutualaid internet webdevelopment covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:21a72ec42cb4/ 2020-03-28T19:13:57+00:00 https://whileathome.org/ matthewmcvickarStay up to date on tools, resources, and supports made necessary during this time. #WhileAtHome is a clearinghouse for credible information and action steps.]]> internet covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:cefbda796b0a/ 2020-03-28T19:13:11+00:00 https://mxb.dev/blog/emergency-website-kit/ matthewmcvickarIn cases of emergency, many organizations need a quick way to publish critical information. But existing (CMS) websites are often unable to handle sudden spikes in traffic. Like so many others, I’m currently in voluntary quarantine at home - and I used some time this weekend to put a small boilerplate together for this exact usecase. Here’s the main idea: • generate a static site with Eleventy • minimal markup, inlined CSS • aim to transmit everything in the first connection roundtrip (~14KB) • progressively enable offline-support w/ Service Worker • set up Netlify CMS for easy content editing • one-click deployment via Netlify The site contains only the bare minimum - no webfonts, no tracking, no unnecessary images. The entire thing should fit in a single HTTP request. It’s basically just a small, ultra-lean blog focused on maximum resilience and accessibility. The Service Worker takes it a step further from there so if you’ve visited the site once, the information is still accessible even if you lose network coverage. The end result is just a set of static files that can be easily hosted on cloud infrastructure and put on a CDN. Netlify does this out of the box, but other providers or privately owned servers are possible as well.]]> disaster urbanplanning webdevelopment internet covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:540d5cf8ee91/ 2020-03-24T18:11:08+00:00 https://qz.com/quartzy/1738478/how-teens-on-tiktok-are-perpetuating-racist-stereotypes/ matthewmcvickarPretending to be black on social media, even without the face paint, is a form of blackface. --- Access to other cultural groups can be found online, of course. However, the access is limited and usually not a direct educational exchange, often inhibiting, rather than cultivating, a deeper understanding of other groups. Many teens learn about other cultures from the media they’re constantly consuming, rather than having real-life relationships and friendships with people who belong to the cultures they’re tapping into. As a result of their real-life segregation paired with their access to social media, not only are young people unconsciously perpetuating racist stereotypes, they’re appearing foolish to millions of people online in the process. For example, in these two videos (one and two) that have gone viral on social media, several young white people are seen throwing up gang signs, seemingly unknowingly, as a funny trend. It can be assumed that they saw these signs somewhere online, thought they were cool, and taught them to their friends. They may very well know nothing of the meaning or connotation of these signals—context that probably would be provided in a more diverse circle. But who is available to let them know the actual meaning of what they’re doing, if their schools, neighborhoods, and social circles are not diverse?]]> racism internet gen-z https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:9d70e50c8eac/ 2020-03-23T16:36:32+00:00 https://theoutline.com/post/8852/time-for-some-completely-unhelpful-coronavirus-game-theory?zd=1&zi=f2tipyf4 matthewmcvickarHistorical precedents and doomsday projections serve their purpose, but focusing on the worst-case scenario is a great way to make yourself sick with anxiety right now. --- Reading about the worst-case scenarios at a time like this is about as helpful as licking the handle of a shopping cart. […] I’m not saying that we should not be concerned about coronavirus. We most undoubtedly should be. But at a time like this, worst-case scenarios are not your friend, unless you like being friends with things that give you nightmares. It can be easy to catastrophize, to let your mind wander into doom and gloom, to feel like you have no control over events shaping your life, when you’re stuck inside seemingly watching the world crumble around you. It’s important to remember, though, that just as the coronavirus has enjoyed such a rapid spread because we live in such a physically connected world, our digitally connected world may just mitigate it. […] Just stay inside, stay safe, and stay away from that really scary coronavirus story, and the next one, and the one after that.]]> internet psychology covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:cb65fd671684/ 2020-03-23T05:00:12+00:00 https://www.w3.org/blog/2020/03/css-x/ matthewmcvickarPeople have argued that there should be new versions with a certain frequency. But not too often, because people don’t have time to read too many announcements. And people will want to write books about the new version, or develop talks and courses about it, which takes time. As Jen Simmons wrote, quoting Chris Coyier, ‘a tremendous number of books, courses, and conferences were dedicated to CSS3’ even though there is no definition of what CSS3 is. The working group certainly never defined it.]]> internet css https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f605d8caa211/ 2020-03-19T00:10:51+00:00 https://www.substation.me/ matthewmcvickarSubstation DIY is a free, open, and secure way to set up simple recurring payments and member messaging — as easily as pressing a remix button and adding credentials for Braintree and Mailgun. Try the demo, learn more, then remix your own!]]> diy internet art commerce https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:477cb96024ca/ 2020-03-17T01:32:05+00:00 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NyrEU7n6IUl5rgGiflx_dK8CrdoB2bwyyl9XG-H7iw8/edit#heading=h.jb9co2l7jt1p matthewmcvickarFriends, as we scramble to move our offline interactions online, this is an emerging initial place to share, curate and organize resources. It could really use the loving attention of a great curator!]]> community internet events covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:2ed0db62c4e1/ 2020-03-14T23:11:26+00:00 https://theoutline.com/post/8784/bernie-bro-stereotype-twitter?zd=1&zi=ifvhboyl matthewmcvickarThe caricature of Sanders’ vitriolic online supporters has driven political conversations for nearly four years, but at what cost? --- And within mainstream American politics, Bernie Sanders is nearly singular in his sustained resistance to the establishment logic that motivates these disastrous decisions. So the thinking goes: For his entire time as an observable figure, he has been right, and nearly everyone else has been wrong. He has never needed to evolve; his positions were fully formed from the start. This is not exclusively true, but whatever; a record of leftist foresight and nuance that has, on balance, turned out to be mostly correct in comparison to his peers is unbelievably seductive to people cursed with paying attention in a country that broadly does not. If I can pick out a genuinely identifying characteristic among all my friends who support Bernie, from the very online to the very not, it’s that they prioritize this quality. In the context of American politics, he feels like a revolutionary, though of course he is an elected politician. That his congressional record appears middling can be hand waved off with an acknowledgment of his prevailing milieu; it’s not so easy to dismantle institutional power when almost all of your colleagues are dedicated to propping it up. But as president, when public rhetoric and private whipping can force the chains of bureaucracy? Then maybe, just maybe… And with climate change and the endless wars and the brewing pandemics and shoddy health care and all of the myriad afflictions making life hell for a plurality of Americans, the necessity of electing the one candidate who seems to understand the urgency of wrenching back control feels paralyzingly clear to those who’ve done the reading and allowed themselves to feel one flicker of empathy. Hence the Bernie Bro affect: a righteous and logic-driven correctness about the trajectories and realities of American society, because haven’t you been paying attention, coupled with the combativeness inherent to the internet, where everyone likes to believe they are right, all of the time. Social media and all its related platforms offer an incredible opportunity to be correct, in public, and that Bernie’s overall argument looks so good on paper makes it easily repeatable when faced with the truly astonishing amount of stupid, banal bullshit repeated everyday on the internet. There is always someone to argue with. […] That is what I detect most within these collective spasms of Bernie-driven passion: the disbelief at how dumb all of this is, how the evidence for what we need is right there and yet the forces that be (and their followers) believe otherwise. […] But that such a niche phenomenon has captivated political discourse for so long reveals fundamental ideological disagreements about how the internet should be used, cutting across generation and gender and race and so forth with no fixed understanding. It is a real issue that sprawls far beyond Bernie, and can’t be as simply waved off as “old people don’t get the internet” — evidence shows it’s plenty of young people, too. One person’s ingrained harassment is another’s victimless shit-talking is another’s revolutionary action is another’s technically right, but being an asshole about it, and in a world where everyone expresses their opinion all at once, there is no easy way to gain consensus.]]> politics internet twitter berniesanders https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:8da1ace9cfe6/ 2020-02-26T17:22:31+00:00 https://disquiet.com/2020/02/25/cellular-chorus-patricia-wolf/ matthewmcvickarEvery time you invoke the Cellular Chorus page, a random audio file will be set as the browser’s default. (There are currently 64 different audio files in all.) Then let them play, all of them at once. Move the devices around the room. Don’t let any single device take prominence. Adjust the volume accordingly. Use the pulldown menu or the forward/back buttons to alternate between tracks. Note how the same file will sound different on your rattly old tablet than it does on your brand new laptop, how your humble kitchen speaker can’t hold a candle to your bleeding-edge smartphone.]]> sound music portland internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:a8257d5dad1a/ 2020-02-24T22:43:12+00:00 http://civicplatform.org/ matthewmcvickarCIVIC Platform is a technology environment that makes institutional data more accessible, enabling creative applications and analysis. We connect resources and a nationwide network of collaborators with complex information challenges in the public interest to build projects on CIVIC’s open technology frameworks. Our vision is for public data to be available as a vital resource for collaboration and group problem solving -- accessible programatically, in common formats, with excellent documentation, using secure and reliable technology. The technology is only part of the challenge. Custodians of this data in government, nonprofit, and academia face barriers of limited funding, access to talent, and unique compliance. We’re building the teams and systems to make it happen.]]> politics government portland technology internet data urbanplanning https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:687e88cceacf/ 2020-02-21T20:42:26+00:00 http://www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/the-wonderful-world-of-tools-made-by-small-teams-solo-devs-and-shareware-weird-beautiful-and-experimental-things-to-be-creative-in-an-analysis-on-building-for-approachability matthewmcvickarSince starting development on the Electric Zine Maker I’ve been hoarding links to interesting, unusual, strange, small, or just cute tools. This has grown to be a strong area of interest as I’ve been diving into what even makes a tool approachable… How much experimental UI or humor is too much? Do people even want tools that are goofy? What else is out there from creators making small and interesting tools that solve a variety of creative problems?]]> art internet tech https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f68036eee15c/ 2020-02-21T20:01:31+00:00 https://tinysubversions.com/notes/the-bot-scare/ matthewmcvickarIt's clear upon inspection that the media narrative about an influx of Russian or otherwise foreign bots influencing politics in America is built on flimsy data and enormous leaps of logic. Further, the narrative empowers conspiracy theorists to make essentially whatever claims they want about anyone. The bots that do exist are drops of water in the ocean of social media, but I believe that the effect of constant front-page news stirring up fear about foreign influence can have far-reaching negative effects on any democracy.]]> internet history america russia trump security https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:28a92fa6de1e/ 2020-02-21T19:41:57+00:00 https://simplesharingbuttons.com/#intro matthewmcvickarCreate light-weight, mobile-friendly sharing buttons for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other social networks -- it's all completely free!]]> socialmedia internet webdevelopment https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f257668ca1f6/ 2020-02-21T19:34:48+00:00 https://css-tricks.com/a-guide-to-console-commands/ matthewmcvickarThis guide covers what’s available in the console object of Firefox and Chrome as they are often the most popular browsers for development and they do have a few differences in various aspects of the console. The new Chromium-based Edge is essentially the same as Chrome in many ways so, in most cases, the console commands will operate much the same.]]> javascript webdevelopment internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:00e8badba73f/ 2020-02-20T22:58:27+00:00 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/19/pop-star-producer-or-pariah-the-conflicted-brilliance-of-grimes matthewmcvickarBoucher has recently seemed at a loss to regain control over her career, and naive about her role in its dissolution. But Miss Anthropocene reveals an astute understanding – evidently well honed – of humanity’s worst impulses and how to appeal to them. […] Against all odds, Miss Anthropocene is a beautiful and emotionally complex album: Boucher’s continuing personal testament to creativity as resistance against destruction, and an unlikely optimistic gesture that still believes art can be a powerful force for social good. It also finally finds Boucher reconciled to her relationship with the public. On Miss Anthropocene, she is a mirror, inviting us to examine the source of our bad faith.]]> music fame culture internet celebrity wealth https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:df813aa76b40/ 2020-02-19T20:51:11+00:00 https://thewirecutter.com/blog/what-to-do-amazon-purchase-fake/ matthewmcvickarIt’s easier than ever before to mistakenly buy a counterfeit or knockoff product online. Here’s what to do when it happens to you. --- 1. Stop using the thing 2. Write to the seller 3. File an 'A-to-z Guarantee' claim 4. Contact your credit card company 5. Write to the brand 6. Leave feedback for the seller 7. Replace what you have by finding an authorized seller See also: https://thewirecutter.com/blog/myths-about-counterfeit-products-debunked/ https://thewirecutter.com/blog/amazon-counterfeit-fake-products/]]> shopping internet economics https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:d74c072e7f37/ 2020-02-19T20:49:35+00:00 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/why-is-there-so-much-christian-sonic-the-hedgehog-fan-art.html matthewmcvickarSonic exists right on the edge of “family-friendly” and “edgy as heck,” making him a potent figure for Christian youth. --- Sonic the Hedgehog is the most perfectly crafted piece of pop culture to pull into the Christian youth demographic. In the ’90s, Sonic the Hedgehog was legitimately cool. There is also nothing immediately objectionable about his existence. He’s made of bright colors and a family-friendly design with poppy music with no lyrics to be misconstrued as corrupting. […] More than even Mario, more than Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, more than Bubsy and dozens of others, Sonic is perfectly made for the whole of the internet and all the groups milling about on it. The blue blur is a smirking spiny mammal who somehow looks just as comfortable next to a quote from the Book of Revelations as he does in an Impact-font meme declaring “KISS MY ASS, DUANE.” And God bless that hedgehog for it.]]> videogames culture christianity internet fandom https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:88b66233bcc7/ 2020-02-19T04:54:55+00:00 https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-a-long-lost-indian-disco-record-won-over-crate-diggers-and-cracked-the-youtube-algorithm/ matthewmcvickarRupa’s Disco Jazz is nearly 40 years old and more relevant than ever.]]> music internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:21fedf0b5384/ 2020-02-12T18:05:07+00:00 https://github.com/18F/technology-budgeting/blob/master/handbook.md matthewmcvickarOnly 13% of large government software projects are successful.1 State IT projects, in particular, are often challenged because states lack basic knowledge about modern software development, relying on outdated procurement processes. Every year, the federal government matches billions of dollars in funding to state and local governments to maintain and modernize IT systems used to implement federal programs such as Medicaid, child welfare benefits, housing, and unemployment insurance. Efforts to modernize those legacy systems fail at an alarmingly high rate and at great cost to the federal budget. […] This handbook is designed for executives, budget specialists, legislators, and other "non-technical" decision-makers who fund or oversee state government technology projects that receive federal funding and implement the necessary technology to support federal programs. It can help you set these projects up for success by asking the right questions, identifying the right outcomes, and equally important, empowering you with a basic knowledge of the fundamental principles of modern software design.]]> government technology software internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:33b2c7d20724/ 2020-02-10T16:40:07+00:00 https://theoutline.com/post/8655/billie-eilish-rap-backlash?zd=1&zi=lzsuk4rd matthewmcvickarThe internet is built to highlight the dumb stuff famous people say. --- But when no part of our context-collapsing feedback loop is built to accommodate stakes, and considering the speed and vitriol with which Eilish was attacked, I can further understand why artists choose to distance themselves from the press in favor of doing their own. There is almost no upside to being ensnared into a controversy like this, even if it’s manufactured.]]> internet celebrity https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:140d7b9fee76/ 2020-02-10T16:30:33+00:00 https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/a-software-engineers-advice-for-saving-social-media-keep-it-small/ matthewmcvickarDarius Kazemi believes social networks should be run like small communities rather than massive businesses --- After speaking at a conference recently, Kazemi was approached by a group of Twitter designers who asked him how they could apply his principles to the platform. He said he didn’t think it was possible. “As long as [big social media companies] are operating in the same way—harvesting eyeballs, working on advertising revenue, and needing venture capital investment—I don’t have a lot of advice for them,” he says. What Kazemi’s proposing is something structurally different than how social media giants operate. They can scramble to change their privacy policies and try to combat hate speech, but really, they’re just too big. “I feel like they’re doing what they can at this point, but they’re almost at a dead end,” he says.]]> internet socialmedia https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:2f8c7b126d32/ 2020-01-30T22:21:49+00:00 https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-deadspin-writers-reunite-for-super-bowl-blog-sponsored-by-tech-company-dashlane matthewmcvickarThe irreverent “Unnamed Temporary Sports Blog Dot Com” is underwritten by a password-security company and features not-so-subtle digs at Deadspin’s bosses.]]> sports blog internet self work https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:b25c2e22c15e/ 2020-01-29T17:54:42+00:00 https://yap.chat/ matthewmcvickaryap is an ephemeral, real-time chat room with up to six participants. your messages appear and disappear as quickly as you type them, which means unless you pay attention to what everyone says (for once), you’ll miss it. after creating a room, you can embed a piece of media (a video, a website, or something else) for your group to discuss or just shoot the sh*t.]]> chat socialmedia internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:4c9c8c6f23db/ 2020-01-26T05:33:50+00:00 https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/12/26/guide-to-using-reverse-image-search-for-investigations/ matthewmcvickarReverse image search engines have progressed dramatically over the past decade, with no end in sight. Along with the ever-growing amount of indexed material, a number of search giants have enticed their users to sign up for image hosting services, such as Google Photos, giving these search algorithms an endless amount of material for machine learning. On top of this, facial recognition AI is entering the consumer space with products like FindClone and may already be used in some search algorithms, namely with Yandex. There are no publicly available facial recognition programs that use any Western social network, such as Facebook or Instagram, but perhaps it is only a matter of time until something like this emerges, dealing a major blow to online privacy while also (at that great cost) increasing digital research functionality. If you skipped most of the article and are just looking for the bottom line, here are some easy-to-digest tips for reverse image searching: • Use Yandex first, second, and third, and then try Bing and Google if you still can’t find your desired result. • If you are working with source imagery that is not from a Western or former Soviet country, then you may not have much luck. These search engines are hyper-focused on these areas, and struggle for photographs taken in South America, Central America/Caribbean, Africa, and much of Asia. • Increase the resolution of your source image, even if it just means doubling or tripling the resolution until it’s a pixelated mess. None of these search engines can do much with an image that is under 200×200. • Try cropping out elements of the image, or pixelating them if it trips up your results. Most of these search engines will focus on people and their faces like a heat-seeking missile, so pixelate them to focus on the background elements. • If all else fails, get really creative: mirror your image horizontally, add some color filters, or use the clone tool on your image editor to fill in elements on your image that are disrupting searches.]]> security photography privacy internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:838357628742/ 2020-01-26T04:47:22+00:00 https://threshold.us/c/cancelprime/amazon-alternatives matthewmcvickarWelcome to the most lovingly curated selection of Amazon and Prime alternatives anywhere. We aim to make giving up Amazon easy and to encourage more people While Amazon's monopolistic stranglehold on our economy has made it increasingly difficult to completely avoid supporting them, we've discovered that—contrary to conventional wisdom—it’s often possible to find lower prices, sometimes substantially, by shopping elsewhere. You just have to know where to look...]]> amazon shopping internet consumerism https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:08937d686ddc/ 2020-01-23T18:57:55+00:00 https://goaccess.io/ matthewmcvickarGoAccess is an open source real-time web log analyzer and interactive viewer that runs in a terminal in *nix systems or through your browser. It provides fast and valuable HTTP statistics for system administrators that require a visual server report on the fly.]]> analytics webdevelopment internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:50aae25e0298/ 2020-01-12T06:13:06+00:00 https://commento.io/ matthewmcvickarA fast, privacy-focused commenting platform. Commento has not, does not, and will not gather your personal information to sell to advertisers, third-party trackers, or other organisations. Pay what you want. Regardless of how much you pay for Commento, you'll get access to all the features. It's that simple.]]> blogs comments internet webdevelopment https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:416211281c89/ 2019-12-11T20:37:30+00:00 https://anildash.com/2019/12/10/link-in-bio-is-how-they-tried-to-kill-the-web/ matthewmcvickarBut killing off links is a strategy. It may be presented as a cost-saving measure, or as a way of reducing the sharing of untrusted links. But it is a strategy, designed to keep people from the open web, the place where they can control how, and whether, someone makes money off of an audience. The web is where we can make sites that don’t abuse data in the ways that Facebook properties do.]]> internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:78b1c55e95ab/ 2019-12-10T18:17:17+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/3/20980741/fake-news-facebook-twitter-misinformation-lies-fact-check-how-to-internet-guide matthewmcvickarIn advance of the 2020 election, a guide to fighting viral fake news, disinformation, and simple misunderstandings across Twitter, Facebook, and the web. --- There’s a term called “context collapse” that’s very useful when discussing internet news. Popularized by scholar danah boyd, it describes how the internet “flattens multiple audiences into one” — if you’re browsing Twitter, for example, an offhand comment from your friend sits right alongside a statement from the president of the United States. Internet news suffers from its own variation of context collapse: no matter how far away or long ago a story happened, it can sound like it’s happening right now, in your neighborhood.]]> internet journalism socialmedia https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:5104c0d94630/ 2019-12-10T18:16:34+00:00 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/30/opinion/social-media-future.html matthewmcvickar We don’t have to lose our digital public spaces to state manipulation. What if future companies designed media to facilitate democracy right from the beginning? Is it possible to create a form of digital communication that promotes consensus-building and civil debate, rather than divisiveness and conspiracy theories? […] Twitter and Facebook executives often say that their services are modeled on a “public square.” But the public square is more like 1970s network television, where one person at a time addresses the masses. On social media, the “square” is more like millions of karaoke boxes running in parallel, where groups of people are singing lyrics that none of the other boxes can hear. And many members of the “public” are actually artificial beings controlled by hidden individuals or organizations. There isn’t a decent real-world analogue for social media, and that makes it difficult for users to understand where public information is coming from, and where their personal information is going. […] The legacy of social media will be a world thirsty for new kinds of public experiences. To rebuild the public sphere, we’ll need to use what we’ve learned from billion-dollar social experiments like Facebook, and marginalized communities like Black Twitter. We’ll have to carve out genuinely private spaces too, curated by people we know and trust. ]]> facebook internet socialmedia https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:e1e37ef32039/ 2019-12-10T18:12:03+00:00 https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/11/wikihow-history-founder-jack-herrick-good-internet/601627/ matthewmcvickarwikiHow embodies an alternative history of the internet, and an interesting possibility for its future. --- “The web offers us an opportunity to build whatever we want. We’ve chosen, by the way we’ve put the incentives, and the way users behaved, to spend all of our time in four big web properties,” Herrick tells me. “We didn’t have to do that, and we still don’t have to do that. We can build this web of small towns. You can get your information from small providers that have your best interests at heart and aren’t trying to just mine you for data. The web could be a totally different place.”]]> internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:2d334997dd0f/ 2019-12-05T19:13:15+00:00 https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?uri=nyt://newsletter/0d1c9bd2-e7cc-4e54-8628-9abef6550ed5&te=1&nl=smarter-living&emc=edit_sl_20191205 matthewmcvickarPreparing for your eventual demise is a gift your loved ones will appreciate even as they mourn your loss — and it will give you peace of mind in the present, too. Most people have thought about setting up a will and doing other estate planning, but you should also arm your family with the most essential information they’ll need in the immediate days and weeks after you’re gone, preferably in one easy-to-access place. Here’s how to set up a digital version of Myrna’s “little black book” for simple and secure information sharing with family members and trusted friends.]]> death internet technology privacy https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:d9603275455f/ 2019-12-04T20:03:42+00:00 https://giphy.com/paulrobertson matthewmcvickar art anime internet animation https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6d133a353447/ 2019-12-04T19:53:21+00:00 https://href.cool/2010s/ matthewmcvickar culture internet humor art https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:8b4221e52afb/ 2019-12-04T18:38:54+00:00 https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/12/tumblr-year-review-2019-nsfw-ban-memes/602911/ matthewmcvickarThe engine of internet culture is chugging along, changed. ​​​​ --- While porn creators belonged to tightly connected subgroups, they were linked to the rest of Tumblr’s network “with a very high number of ties,” and their productions “spread widely across the whole social graph.” In other words, they weren’t quarantined in some illicit corner of the site—they were woven into its basic fabric: The average Tumblr user in the sample followed 51 blogs, two or three of which tended to be specifically pornographic, and another two of which tended to be “bridge” blogs, run by users who were particularly likely to reblog porn. […] Plenty of new, younger fandoms sprung up on Tumblr this year, according to Brennan, but it’s notable how much of what showed up on the year-end list for what has always been the most creative and arguably the most important platform on the web was regurgitated from other sites—or bland continuations of aesthetically unchallenging trends that have been popular for years. (Like the biggest pop star in the world.) Tumblr can still be funny and strange, and there is still no better place on the internet to be a fan of something, explore a social or sexual identity, or reblog a convoluted joke about being young and online.]]> internet pornography culture sexuality https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:82df1068819c/ 2019-12-04T18:20:33+00:00 https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-creepiest-pictures-on-the-internet matthewmcvickarJia Tolentino speaks with the mysterious administrator of the Cursed Images Twitter account, and considers what makes the images there so creepy. --- Knowing the stories behind the cursed images does not always make them less creepy. “Cursed image 1783,” showing a woman encased in medical equipment with balloons wreathing her face, is from an Associated Press story about a woman in Memphis who died after a power failure shut off the iron lung she’d lived inside for almost sixty years. “Cursed image 1627,” showing a terrible plasticine figure in a waste-green pool, is from a Daily Beast story about a seventy-year-old man named Robert whose pastime is dressing up as a life-size doll. These images hew to the Freudian description of the uncanny: a sense that something once familiar has become terribly strange. Seeing a flock of flamingos crammed into a dirty public bathroom is uncomfortable, whether you know that the photo was taken at the Miami Zoo during Hurricane Andrew or not.]]> internet culture photography https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:17126a3440e9/ 2019-12-04T18:18:46+00:00 https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/how-we-came-to-live-in-cursed-times matthewmcvickarJia Tolentino writes on the uptick in uncanny or unpleasant things being described on Twitter, Reddit, and other social-media platforms as having “cursed energy,” a phrase that has come to signify anxiety and malaise. --- These are quite obviously cursed times: Donald Trump is somehow still the President; more than a quarter of the birds in North America have disappeared since 1970; and children keep having to take to the streets to plead with our lawmakers to protect their lives. But it is hard—given the sheer extent of what is crumbling around us, and also the natural limits of our individual scopes of vision—to take in the fullness of contemporary cursedness all at once. It’s easier, perhaps, to see dread in individual objects: an eBay listing for a Sonic costume photographed on a child-size mannequin; a drawing of Mickey Mouse with a flesh-colored skull, holding a black, ear-shaped cap; a photo of a brick of ramen being cooked in Mountain Dew.]]> culture internet america https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:b9309a41f3fd/ 2019-11-24T18:59:29+00:00 http://www.fimoculous.com/decade-review-2010.cfm matthewmcvickarThis page, compiled by @fimoculous, aggregates all of the lists related to 2010s decade.]]> lists time culture internet https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:89c6dd971b0d/ 2019-10-25T17:47:57+00:00 https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/20/facebook-isnt-free-speech-its-algorithmic-amplification-optimized-for-outrage/ matthewmcvickarThe problem is that Facebook doesn’t offer free speech; it offers free amplification. No one would much care about anything you posted to Facebook, no matter how false or hateful, if people had to navigate to your particular page to read your rantings, as in the very early days of the site. But what people actually read on Facebook is what’s in their News Feed … and its contents, in turn, are determined not by giving everyone an equal voice, and not by a strict chronological timeline. What you read on Facebook is determined entirely by Facebook’s algorithm, which elides much — censors much, if you wrongly think the News Feed is free speech — and amplifies little. What is amplified? Two forms of content. For native content, the algorithm optimizes for engagement. This in turn means people spend more time on Facebook, and therefore more time in the company of that other form of content which is amplified: paid advertising.]]> facebook internet speech https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:499c75721252/ 2019-10-15T04:59:27+00:00 https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/is-there-a-fairer-way-for-streaming-services-to-pay-artists/ matthewmcvickarAs some of the pro-user-centric arguments hint, which option you prefer is partly a decision about cultural values, not economic cost. When you buy an album, no matter how many times you play it, you are making a conscious choice that it’s worth your hard-earned cash. With the existing streaming model, your money is not a direct investment—it is at the mercy of collective listening habits. Whether we want a system that rewards the conscious choices of individuals—versus, say, algorithms piping in modern-day muzak 24/7—is a question about more than dollars and (fractions of) cents.]]> music internet musicbusiness https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:5e7c6a60e115/ 2019-09-05T06:22:56+00:00 https://popula.com/2018/11/11/amazons-endangered-species-world-culture/ matthewmcvickarIt might not sound like much, but text-string searches represent the lowest impediment to the free flow of information. To be able to search a whole giant corpus at will for the needle of your desire in the Brobdingnagian cultural haystack means that your personal interests needn’t take a back seat to corporate imperatives of any kind. Full, absolute text searches should be the goal for all searchable databases. […] American business practice in our time consists not only in offering an attractive product, but also in throwing as many spanners as possible into the works of your competitors. The goal is not to become one among many, but to crush all alternatives. This may explain why, in the first dot-com boom that began in the mid-1990s and ended in April of 2001, so much money went to the acquisition and eventual strangling of so many promising mom-and-pop online startups. These businesses must not be allowed to grow, or they must be acquired, in order that markets might be captured by those who’d attracted the most power in the form of capital—not through any particular excellence of product, or of management. With the results that you see all around you. In the opinion of this former bookseller, Amazon represents a threat to the commons; a threat to libraries; a threat to independent publishing; a threat to an informed, intelligent public.]]> capitalism internet tech https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f73050547f4e/