Written by Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Today’s bird song
Northern Mockingbird, 350 South Madison Avenue, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, USA. Comes with a drone airplane.
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Dear patient readers, I am currently working hard to submit the latest HICPAC conference. Unfortunately and understandably, they’re going to stick with baggy blue. So this is an open thread. However, let me explain my recent experience with social media.
Twitter (“X”) forgot the golden rule that moderators (or moderation algorithms) don’t understand exaggeration, especially when it involves violent rhetoric, and you were banned until you removed an offensive exaggerated post. When I tried to do so, I got stuck in an endless display of captchas — VPN? Cookies? — and got really banned for trying so many captchas (which definitely makes you look like a bot on Twitter’s version of Skynet).
So I thought I’d give BlueSky a try (The Zuckerberg™, not Threads, no, no). As readers may know, liberal Democrats are pretty much claiming victory in leaving Twitter for BlueSky, which they hope will spell the end of Twitter (BlueSky’s global It’s a bit premature, given the current user base (20 million total, Twitter’s 611 million), if that number is any good at all.
So I created a Blue Sky account. BlueSky then showed me my timeline and asked me to like seven posts to train the algorithm (admittedly, a second one that only included posts from accounts I followed). (but I haven’t followed anything yet).
Timeline originally posted by: AOC.
If you scroll down a little bit, it’s Taylor Swift.
oh.
Blue Sky, right?
Anyway, I went through the process and found some accounts that I could actually follow (e.g. Trisha Greenhalgh), so I wasn’t completely off social media. (I also have a Mastodon account, but it’s hard to use because threading isn’t possible, at least with the reader I’m using.)
Within a week, Twitter determined that my number of captures was below the bot threshold, so I logged in and removed the post in question.
And I have to say I’m glad to be back. Twitter has some quiet little neighborhoods that can’t be rebuilt anywhere else. Additionally, if you’re a professional doomscroller, as I am, Twitter is a much better platform (not that it’s a better platform, but it’s a worse one). Twitter is a fire hydrant. BlueSky is a garden hose. The “hell scene,” as users affectionately call it, is like a cosmopolitan city like Manhattan. Blue Sky is like a local city (and I don’t mean an “underrated destination”). He jumped on whatever he jumped at, even if Twitter was owned and run by an abusive 13-year-old tech kid billionaire. Of course, if you want a calm and raw atmosphere, BlueSky is the place for you.
Furthermore, if the BlueSky numbers level out, we would have a good indicator of the current size of the population suffering from TDS. 1 million so far. Interesting results! (I predict that the PMC will once again find itself simply lacking the class power to achieve its political goals.)
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Plant Contact Information: Readers, please feel free to contact lambert. [UNDERSCORE] stretcher [DOT] the current [AT] Yahoo [DOT] com to (a) learn how to send a check if you’re allergic to PayPal and (b) learn how to send an image of a plant. Vegetables are okay! Fungi, lichens and corals are considered honorary plants. If you want your handle to be credited, just put it in parentheses at the beginning of your email: (like this). Otherwise, we will use your initials to anonymize you. Click here for the previous water cooler (with plant). From Ukchumni:
Ukchumni writes, “Sierra mushrooms.”
If you’ve never sent a photo of your plants to Water Cooler, why not give it a try? It’s easy, it’s fun, and you’ll get compliments! (If you need directions, see below.)
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Readers: Water Cooler is an independent business and is not part of the annual NC fundraiser. The material here is Lambert’s and does not represent the views of the Naked Capitalism site. If you find a link you particularly like or an item you can’t find anywhere else, don’t be afraid to express your gratitude in a tangible way. Remember, the tip jar is for tipping. Receiving regular positive feedback will make you feel good and let you know that your coverage is moving in the right direction. I get worried if I don’t receive any donations for 3 or 4 days. More specifically, small, ongoing donations help cover our expenses, so I take small donations into account when setting fundraising goals.
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