How wonderful to see this again

 I'd forgotten that it even existed! It's obviously a whole load of my old Dailybooth photos, cut together, a second at a time. 

Dailybooth was great - obviously, it presaged other photo-staging sites: without it, no Instagram, that's for sure. So, in the end, it was hugely influential. And, its influence lives on in sites like BeReal (which, similarly, I love) 

Faking a policy on deepfakes.

 Here's a story from the BBC, about how Facebook intended to crack down on celebrity ad scams. You'll know the sort of thing if you've spent any time on social media recently - oh, here's Joe Rogan, or Elon Musk, filmed in what looks like a podcast interview, talking about how they can make fortunes playing some sort of hokey app, or whatever. It's an AI voice-changing scam.

Well, I saw the same ads you did, knew it was all BS, and just thought I'd ignore it, as I was able to discern right, from wrong. But after a few weeks, I then thought - well, why the hell not? And decided to report some of them. It's not the sort of thing I normally do, because - who's got time for that, eh?

But - let's try. 

I reported half a dozen instances. Same ad, the one with Joe Rogan, and Elon Musk. Very recognisable fake, 100% a scam. Reported it as a scam. "Celebrity impersonation". ticked all the boxes, as far as Facebook's complaint procedure goes. So far, so good. I sit back and wait. And today, I got half a dozen messages back from Facebook. They didn't remove the ads. 

If something so blatant, so egregious won't even pass their censors, you have to ask yourself, if this is not a simple case of their automated scam protection systems failing - is it something more egregious? Because, to me, it looks like they know what's happening, and they'll make a show of pretending as if they care, but they don't. they don't give a shit about you, or me, or anything. 

I'm starting to think that we're facing the death spiral of social media. Despite its huge influence (and initially, its massive potential), this wave of misinformation, distortion, lies and bullshit just can't continue. We need to return to a sense of our own independence, online. Our own domains, our own blogs, our own voices. We need to regain our personal digital sovereignty, and we need to do it before SM can wreak any more havoc. 

This is where my head is at.

 Absolutely incredible article about the way that Social media is corroding our society. In essence, SM is bad for trust in Governments, Media, Institutions and people in general. So, if you have people who lose faith in governments, they lose trust in what that Government is saying. As we've always hoped, it's the Government's job to give us the normal, boring facts about everyday life . Jobs numbers, statistics, reports. And now, social media has made an entire generation distrust all of those facts. They just want to "do their own research". Facts are dull, and conspiracy is way more exciting. There's a visceral thrill to the sort of whacked-out nonsense that SM gives us. So, that's what people want. I thought Trump was a bug, but he's a feature, of the oncoming wave of idiocy, that'll wash over us all. As we sit and preen, with our performative social posts, about our favourite fabric conditioner, how we're working with brands, and how we can monetise AI to give us a side hustle. 

That performative aspect of SM has been gnawing away at me, over the last few months. I've obviously been deep in SM, as the band has worked its hardest, throughout 2024. Honestly, I think that corrosive effect has been eating me alive. You end up in thrall to the cold, dead voice of social media, enslaved by the audience, working to stay afloat and alive. 

What I always loved about a blog was its authentic voice. This is MY voice. the blog is me. I can watch as the letters I type coalesce into recognisable words and phrases. There's no gap, between thought and expression (thanks, Lou). I'm not a performing seal, I'm not attempting anything other than to make my way through my own life. I'm free of any outside pressure, other than my own shitty impulses. 

At the moment, I'm contemplating changing, a little. Perhaps throttle back from Facebook, a bit. Save the more integrated posts about myself (longer ruminations on what I've been doing, the music I love, and so on) for here. Otherwise, I'm just harvesting likes and clout. I'm a performing monkey in a Zoo. And, on current evidence, it would seem that the Zoo is overrun with feral creatures, hellbent on eating each other alive. I'm determined to stop feeding the frenzy. 

 The Sun rises on the blog, once more. Social media is becoming a swamp, and I've fancied some anti-social media - and these days, that's blogging. It's solitary, contemplative, and it feels like no one really bothers to do it much - an immense shame. So, with this shot of an Ashtead sunrise, I hereby pledge to try and "give it a go", one more time. 

Westway has been such a huge part of my online life, and it's been there at times of need. So, I'm going to try and rely on it again.

I know I've been a bit lax, re: updates

But it's odd to think that, during my *ahem* fallow period, about a dozen social media startups have started, been, and gone.
Mind you, i'm still getting emails from ello. what the hell happened with that? Anyone got any ideas?

Friendfeed went down today

And finally got back up on line.
I've been using friendfeed for around five years - a lifetime in social media, and it's still the model for what I'd like to see from a social network. Committed users, engaging content (with massive engagement from users), dynamic time line, and above all, a sense of community that turns strangers into friends.
It's still there, and it still does it better than anyone.

Why I'm keeping this blog going

Well, it's simple really: nearly ten years. That's how long I've been doing this - sure, there have been periods of inactivity - but it's a huge chunk of my life! This 25% segment covers all of the incredible stuff too: my reincarnation as a Radio DJ, the divorce, the rebirth of the Joneses, the actual birth of my children.
Blogs are a little old hat now - everyone's got Tumblr, haven't they? But there's something about a blog -it's polite, measured, and slightly aloof. It's a place where you lot can actually find out what I'm like, as I tend to speak with my real voice. How many of you out there use facebook in a (let's face it) slightly preening fashion? I know I do - it's all about the smart remark, the witty rejoinder, the devastating putdown. In essence, facebook has actually become Lamebook, and most people seem to like it that way (it is great entertainment, after all)
But a blog - that's calmer. Quieter. I like it that way, and I'm keeping it that way.

...And one more thing

I think I should whack a few random posts up here quite soon - just to get rid of all of the Amplify posts on the front page. It was fun while it lasted, but it's gone. In the strange world of social media (hello Shadowglobe!) that's just the way it goes.

I was ready - Or was I?

Well, I was ready for the feelings of love that washed over me - I expected them, almost anxiously, towards the end of the labour. I just knew I'd be full of love for the tiny little bundle that we'd created, I knew I'd be more in love with my partner than ever before. I knew I'd be praying (despite myself) for health, safety, and happiness.
What I wasn't prepared for was the absolute outpouring of love and affection from all of my friends. Be it on Friendfeed, Twitter, texts or emails, it was deeply humbling. I've got a wonderful family now, but it makes me realise I've also got a great group of friends. Thanks to all of you.
And welcome to Marnie Rose Tandy Baker, 10/02/2010

Well, that was an interesting month!

Interesting for one reason: I'm back on the airwaves! I'm now on the newly-launched NME Radio, doing the afternoon show. It's been a long time, but it feels great to be back on air. Shadowglobe is currently in "wait" mode, but it Will return: we're eagerly anticipating launching V.02, so watch this space for news of that as well.
Apart from that, I've been massively busy with my friendfeed page, so if you're wondering what happened to the long stream of links and videos I normally post, well, they're on friendfeed. It's turned into one of those services I simply can't live without: I can't recommend it highly enough. If you have any interest whatsoever in Social Media, you need to sign up.

More on my Twitter profile....

And let's face it, Twitter is one of the only programmes I know where extra apps actually seem to add value :)
So, without any further ado, here's my Tweetcloud.

Just updating all my Twitter settings.......

So if anyone out there isn't following my updates, join me over at Twitter x

This is GREAT :)

Sign up and make your own mixtape, then share it with the world!
More details here... and i've already made my first mix, and should you wish to hear what it sounds like, here it is!

I get the feeling....

That this is the start of a very slippery slope. It seems that a million facebook users have already been using this app, and filling their computers with adware as a result.... how long before this becomes the norm, as opposed to the exception? Social Networking has been such a great success over the past couple of years that it was an obvious target.....

The fallout from the Oink shutdown has been interesting...

This is perhaps the most thought-provoking insight into how the site worked.
(original story here)

Hurrah! for Web Development!

We've seen Hard URL's go up on Shadowglobe in the last few days, and there's a Wall on the way as well! All of this has been keeping me busy, but I musn't grumble.
another thing I musn't really grumble about is the onset of winter: despite me raising my collar, shivering slightly, and gritting my teeth in the face of yet another chilly blast of arctic air, I actually quite like the cold. When I was young, all I wanted was to be warm- warm houses, thick duvets, wooly blankets, sunshine, hot baths....as I've grown older, I actually like the cold. There's something crisp and clean about the winter, something definite.

Have you ever paid for a ringtone?

You might want to read this.....

Wonderful:

Brad Fitz on the social graph "problem"
Interesting that he's also totally advocating the use of openID as a way of organising your sites; it's something I've meant to do for a while, but haven't got round to just yet. Time to do some research.

It's all been videos on here the last couple of days, hasn't it?

Well, here's another:

Mainly for the fact that I adore the song, but also because it feels like a Friday song, doesn't it? It seems full of hope and anticipation, of joyful release, and letting your hair down. Also, it's worth pointing out that prior to actually becoming the band we all know and love as Aberfeldy, they were working as a Devo tribute band. For that reason alone, they deserve your unending admiration.
Lot's to be done today, some forum attention, playlist blogging, profile tweaking......and maybe, searching for a new office. All of that and a dash to Victoria station at the end of it all. if it wasn't for the dhal and chappatis in the middle of it all, I'd be flagging.

For those of you out there who remain unconvinced by Twitter...

Today was a really rather remarkable day. We managed to have the first London Mornington Crescent game on Twitter, and highly enjoyable it was too; though I suspect productivity in a number of offices across the capital may have suddenly experienced a marked downturn in productivity.
Hey ho.
:)
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