Bonum Certa Men Certa

Social Control Media is Bad and the Solution is to Reject All of It



Video download link | md5sum 31f2d2720770a44f03834a821fc01e1a Changing From Bad to Another Bad Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: Some voices online and offline suggest to people "alternatives" to Twitter, but many of those are just another Twitter; perhaps the best way forward is to leave all those social control networks behind because there's more to life than pursuing recognition through mostly meaningless and utterly worthless digital "likes"; those evaporate years later and nobody truly cares about them (nobody on his or her deathbed will regret not getting more "likes", symbolising neither accuracy nor any other merit)

THE slug of the video above is quitting-rather-than-changing-social-control-media because we really ought to collectively quit what's toxic rather than hop from one toxin to the next toxin. Social Control Media is inherently bad (it's modern-age sharecropping) and there seems to be solidified consensus about this in Geminispace.



Many people simply lost sight of what the Internet should have all along been about and, for a period of time, actually was about. Addictive behaviours or "gamification" can cloud people's judgement and many people nowadays think or feel like they actually need some presence in sites they don't control. Surely we can do better than that, can't we?

"Why not take advantage of these crises to explore digital independence?"In the video above I don't focus on my personal journey but instead leap to the conclusion that "social" [sic] "media" [sic] is generally a complete waste of time. To make matters worse, it's very volatile or temporary. It's subjected to many changes, including change of mission, ownership etc. It's just so temporal and precarious. What you join today isn't what it'll be next year or in 5 years. To make matters worse, you won't be a participant in agenda-setting or direction of such platforms. Even those who self-host some federated instance will sooner or later be forced to get on with the show, adapting to changes -- both desirable or repellent -- in other instances (or pods in the case of Diaspora).

Facebook is trying to take advantage of severe crises in Twitter (see links below), but do people really want Mark Zuckerberg as their patron and master? Why not take advantage of these crises to explore digital independence? It's definitely doable and it pays off in the long run.

Many politicians and newsrooms lost their power with the demise of Twitter. Let them eat crow. They put themselves in the mess because of mindless outsourcing, lacking foresight or reason.

Moving like a drone or a zombie from one platform perceived to be "hot" (many users/bots) to a "hotter" platform may leave people subjected to Chinese crackers/weapons. Get off the drug, stop looking for stronger drugs.

Related/contextual items from the news:

  1. Meta Introduces ‘Threads’ Because It Wants In on the Twitter Exodus

    Mark Zuckerberg, otherwise known as the Musk of Meta, evidently wants some of the ex-Twitter users that Elon has been shedding from Twitter to join the fun on Instagram.

    Last weekend was tough for users of Twitter. Not surprisingly, this has led to another mini-exodus from the platform, with Mastodon reporting that more than 300,000 new users signed up over the weekend. The steady stream of users away from Twitter has evidently caught Meta’s attention, because they’re releasing Threads, a new mobile app that makes Instagram more Twitter-like.



  2. The reason behind Twitter’s tweet reading limits: Elon Musk can’t pay bills, is cutting costs

    Elon Musk can't pay, or rather is not willing to pay a lot of the bills that running Twitter accrues. That may be one of the reasons why Twitter has set a limit on reading tweets, and why he wants only Twitter Blue users to have access to TweetDeck...



  3. Twitter imposes limits on tweets you can see per day as Instagram’s rival platform gets ready to launch
    In case you missed it, here is what has been happening, Twitter introduced limits to the number of tweets users can see daily.



  4. Meta’s Twitter-Killer ‘Threads’ Coming July 6

    Meta is all set to launch its Twitter killer, Threads, available now for pre-download on the iOS App Store, with a release date of July 6 for iOS and Android.



  5. Lost your blue check? Here are 5 Twitter alternatives that won’t let you down
    If you're fed up with Twitter's rigid rules and verification system, there are Twitter alternatives that can meet your social networking demands while also allowing more flexibility and enjoyment.



  6. How Twitter Rate Limit Exceeded Affects Your Twitter Experience
    Twitter rate limits how many tweets you can view daily to stop data scraping. Find out how this impacts you and what other platforms you can use.


  7. TweetDeck – Powerful Twitter Dashboard Now Only for Verified Users
    Learn why you should verify your TweetDeck account right now. Verification protects your account from spam and abuse while also making you appear trustworthy to other users.


  8. As Twitter’s woes continue, Meta looks set to launch a new competitor called Threads


  9. Twitter now wants you to pay to use TweetDeck

    Twitter is going to stop offering its web-based TweetDeck service for free, delivering a huge blow to users who relied on the platform for social media comparative analysis and content monitoring.



  10. A list of the social media sites trying to compete with Twitter
    As Elon Musk’s antics on Twitter continue to wreak havoc, some users have chosen to find refuge on alternative social media networks.


  11. Game on as Meta launches 'Twitter killer' Threads app

    Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is set to deliver a blow to Elon Musk as the tech billionaires’ rivalry goes live with the launch of Instagram’s much-anticipated Threads platform, a clone of Twitter.

    Analysts said investors were salivating over the possibility Threads’ ties to Instagram might give it a built-in user base and advertising apparatus that could siphon ad dollars from Twitter as its new CEO tries to revive the microblogging company’s struggling business.



  12. Zuckerberg takes on Musk as Meta launches Threads app

    With Twitter already on the ropes, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg has delivered another blow to Elon Musk, ramping up the tech billionaires’ rivalry with the launch of Instagram’s much-anticipated companion service Threads, a challenger to Twitter.

    “Let’s do this. Welcome to Threads,” Zuckerberg wrote on Thursday in his first post on the app, along with a fire emoji.€ 



  13. Special Episode: Meta’s Twitter Rival Arrives, with Adam Mosseri
    Instagram Threads — it’s like Twitter, except it’s not run by Elon Musk.


  14. Threads: What to Know About Instagram’s ‘Twitter Killer’ App
    Here’s what to know about Instagram’s new app for public conversations and how it differs from Twitter.


  15. How Musk and Biden Are Changing the Media
    This unlikely tag team has helped kill the demand and the means for journalists to brand themselves.


  16. Meta launches Twitter rival Threads but faces delays in Europe over privacy concerns
    Facebook behemoth Meta officially launched Threads, its text-based rival to Twitter, on Wednesday, with more than five million sign-ups in the first few hours – but its release in Europe has been delayed over data privacy concerns.


  17. Game on: Meta takes on Twitter with new Instagram Threads
    Meta Platforms Inc. today launched Threads, a microblogging and messaging app linked to Instagram that’s set to take on the increasingly troubled Elon Musk-owned Twitter Inc. Threads is being pitched as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app.


  18. Threads feels just like Twitter—and not always in a good way
    As a Twitter addict, I’ve been worried by Elon Musk.




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