The thing about so-called 'creeping fascism' is that it doesn't actually creep. It's loud and overt. What's insidious is how quickly those loud, overt changes are normalized.
I used to check into every restaurant and bar on Foursquare. Those thousands of location pins felt like memories. Now they feel like evidence.
New piece on how our voluntary self-surveillance became a potential tool of authoritarian control - and what we might do about it:
On bridging between networks vs cross-posting:
"Theyโre similar, but theyโre different in some important ways. Notably, bridging results in more unified conversations, while cross-posted conversations are more fragmented."
That's why Bridgy Fed's approach is so interesting - and, imo, important.
"Yes, you read that right. A law supposedly designed to protect children now requires victims of sexual assault to submit government IDs to access support communities."
Seeing these images of starving children barely holding onto life while my own two year old sleeps soundly in bed upstairs is devastating. These poor parents; these poor children. I would be going out of my mind. I would hold a grudge forever. Who wouldnโt?
When my mother took singing lessons after a double lung transplant that extended her life, what she wanted to sing at her public recital was the Elements Song by Tom Lehrer. She transcribed the words onto a legal pad that I keep near me to remind me of the lifeforce and love that it took from her to be able to do that. Thank you, Tom. And love you always, Ma.
And now, an executive order that calls for the involuntary institutionalization of the homeless and mentally ill without due process or clear release criteria.
What if public networks became a platform for communities to create their own local media, not just consume it? After devastating federal funding cuts, here's one idea for rebuilding NPR and PBS around community co-creation, open platforms, and human-centered, prototype-driven design.
