He also uses Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/technologyconnections
Also my take is that unlike Facebook, Instagram and others with YouTube at least you still can use subscribers page, on Facebook for example you need to use something like clean my feeds grease monkey script.
I think boring company wasn’t…
At least 4 and he himself: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/elon-musk-companies-conflicts.html
Section 230 allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google have mass media that’s also personalized to each recipient. You can influence anyone’s views by serving content that pushes their buttons.
They just use section 230 to be able to push any content, and section 230 protects them from consequences.
Why should they be protected this way? TV, radio, newspapers are liable for posting false information.
You think that social media gives you a platform, but since they decide what others see, this is just an illusion. Your content won’t be visible unless they determines it should be promoted.
This is likely why social media companies are so deep into generative AI. With it they no longer need people to generate specific content.
It’s also important to distinguish freedom of speech (protected by the first amendment) from free speech (a made up concept meant to bastardize on the former and to allow social media post whatever they want anonymously, like this ad).
That’s why I said removed or changed. It should be changed in a way that wouldn’t apply to big sites, but still could somehow buy used by hobbyists as it was intended to.
Though I’m quite sure his team will do the exact opposite.
It’s the feed that I think Facebook started, but everyone uses. You think you are posting things and your friends see them, but in reality Facebook (or whomever it is) really controls who sees it (if anyone).
You just have illusion that you have a platform when you don’t.
I think this is also the reason why social media companies are all deep into generative AI. With it they no longer need to even have humans produce content they want to show to others.
That section should be repealed or rewritten. It was originally meant so hobbyists running forms wouldn’t be responsible for content posted by the users.
Currently companies like Twitter, Meta, Google etc can control what is shown to users and hide behind this protection.
trump’s admin change will likely make it worse though.
There’s a lot more, but they don’t stand out. Look at cars that don’t have a radiator and if course a tailpipe.
Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about – a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union – and take its side.
Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multiple-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections. Vote in local and state elections while you can. Consider running for office.
Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.
Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.
Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.
Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.
Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate with others.
Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Tyrants seek the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have hooks.
Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay. Then you will have made a free choice that supports civil society and helps others to do good.
Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends in other countries. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to use of the words “extremism” and “terrorism.” Be alive to the fatal notions of “emergency” and “exception.” Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it.
Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.
Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
From https://substack.com/home/post/p-155209838
The 20 lessons are from the Timothy Snyder book: On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century
A must read.
Also recording related to current events: https://substack.com/home/post/p-156483784
It’s no surprise that social media companies are working on AI their platforms are no longer social, they are just tools to control public opinion.
Other governments and oligarchs will pay any money to have that kind of power.
With all the trailer capacity available it will be able to carry one, maybe even TWO packages!
Yes, why? That’s the stupidest thing to do.
That doesn’t matter, his current customers are governments and oligarchs who want people to have certain opinion.
It’s decentral eyes still relevant? I was reading that it use was now discouraged.
It actually looks like ByteDance is blocking them to generate uproar. The law only required to remove the app from app store
This is crystal clear now, but it was less clear before.
I started saying that social media finally figured out how to monetize the platform and it’s customers aren’t people, aren’t even companies, the customers are now billionaires and foreign governments.
Actually US is late to the party: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_TikTok
Why no loops.video?
Well the 3% is just interesting tidbit, but the video should be watched by everyone.
The main point is that we are being trained to not think independently and let the sites tell us what to think. Our current political situation is exactly because of this.