Aug 17, 2021 | algo, networking
Bluesky , the Twitter-funded effort to create a decentralized social network standard , has finally found a project lead — the creator of Happening, Jay Graber . Bluesky and Graber have also begun hiring for the project’s first developers, meaning the slowly gestating project might finally become a bit less “blue sky” and a bit more real.
Source: Twitter’s decentralized social network project finally has a leader
Aug 17, 2021 | games & graphics, mobile, networking
The general consensus among the terminally online would seem to be that the internet is a miserable place just barely made tolerable by the idiots and well-meaning naifs whose screw-ups at least provide something to ridicule. But is there a scientific basis for this generalized feeling? How has social media actually impacted mental health, per the research? For this week’s Giz Asks, we reached out to a number of experts to find out.
Source: How Has Social Media Impacted Our Mental Health?
Aug 16, 2021 | networking, trends
In 1994 — before most Americans had an email address or Internet access or even a personal computer — Philip Agre foresaw that computers would one day facilitate the mass collection of data on everything in society.
Source: He predicted the dark side of the Internet 30 years ago. Why did no one listen?
Aug 16, 2021 | algo, networking
Popular dating app Tinder announced on Monday that the new “ID Verification” feature will soon be available to all users around the world. As the name suggests, this option will let users ensure that their profile on the social network is authentic and from a real person.
Source: Tinder will soon roll out ID Verification to ensure profile authenticity
Aug 14, 2021 | audio, justice & equality, networking, trends, video
Public interest journalism may not be salvageable. But more than being saved, it needs to be radically rethought.
Source: The News Is Dead, Long Live the News!
Aug 14, 2021 | games & graphics, networking, trends
The internet doesn’t take a shift like this lying down. Over the past year, a new home-related polarization has also erupted online, with several publications pitting the decor styles against each other: “Minimalism Is Dead. Meet Maximalism,” crowed one Vox headline while Harper’s Bazaar asked, “Minimalism vs Maximalism: Which Is More Stylish?”
Source: More Is More: The End of Minimalism
Aug 14, 2021 | games & graphics, networking
On Thursday, Twitter updated the design of its app and website. Some users were baffled by a change to the “follow” and “unfollow” buttons that could lead one to mix them up. Others took issue with the new Twitter font, Chirp. While the social network boasted that Chirp is designed to be more accessible and amplify “the fun and irreverence of a Tweet,” many tweets complained that not only is it harder to read, users are complaining of headaches .
Source: Why Is the Internet Up in Arms About a Font?
Aug 13, 2021 | games & graphics, networking, trends
Where last year I was all about growing plants and facilitating life, this year my video game lockdown obsession has been flesh-eating monsters. Bit of a departure from Animal Crossing, I’ll grant you, but I’ve really gone all in with the whole rotting corpse vibe.
Instead of joyfully handing villagers dumbbells or weird outfits, I’ve been playing Telltale’s Walking Dead games, scavenging for cans of food between shotgun shots to zombie faces. I’ve been deep-diving into the pop culture annals for zombie content, from Evil Dead to The Last of Us — and even a dab of Plants vs. Zombies, which is a little too telling, if you ask me.
We are certainly in a very different headspace in the year 2021.
Source: An ode to my dead, decaying Animal Crossing island
Aug 13, 2021 | justice & equality, networking
How a handful of volunteer moderators have kept one of the platform’s premier dating subreddits from becoming a recruitment portal for the manosphere
Source: A Red-Pill Army’s Insidious Battle to Take Over Reddit’s Largest Dating Forum
Aug 11, 2021 | networking, trends
Both faculty and students at dozens of schools interviewed by The Associated Press say they are concerned about how easy it is to get fake vaccine cards. Across the internet, a cottage industry has sprung up to accommodate people who say they won’t get vaccinated for either personal or religious reasons. An Instagram account with the username “vaccinationcards” sells laminated COVID-19 vaccination cards for $25 each. A user on the encrypted messaging app, Telegram, offers “COVID-19 Vaccine Cards Certificates,” for as much as $200 apiece.
Source: Fake COVID-19 vaccination cards worry college officials
Aug 10, 2021 | algo, networking
Hello World Buckle your seatbelts, because a trio of researchers just published an unusual research paper that claims that blockchain technology — the decentralized ledgers behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin — fit at least some criteria biologists use to define life.
Source: Scientists Say Blockchains “Fit Some Definitions of Life”
Aug 10, 2021 | networking, trends
For a cohort famous for feeling stupid and contagious, as Kurt Cobain put it, Generation X has turned downright self-congratulatory. The regular slighting of our generation in pop demographics is officially a source of performative delight.
Source: TikTok Smells Like Gen X Spirit
Aug 10, 2021 | algo, networking, video
The search giant announces a number of protections for people under 18, including making YouTube video uploads private by default.
Source: Google will let minors request to have their pictures removed from image search – CNET
Aug 9, 2021 | networking
At a time when ‘Satanic Panic’ ran wild, PODSnet helped connect occult practitioners on the early internet. Now, it’s preserved as a digital grimoire.
Source: Before TikTok, Witches Traded Their Spells on This Ancient Internet Forum – VICE
Aug 9, 2021 | algo, justice & equality, networking
Colombia-based call center workers who provide outsourced customer service to some of the nation’s largest companies are being pressured to sign a contract that lets their employer install cameras in their homes to monitor work performance, an NBC News investigation has found.
Source: Big Tech call center workers face pressure to accept home surveillance
Aug 9, 2021 | games & graphics, networking, trends
Fueled by Gen Z, text-heavy meme posts, often paired with nonsensically unrelated pictures, are turning the photo and video app into a destination for written expression.
Source: Text Memes Are Taking Over Instagram
Aug 8, 2021 | networking
When you buy something on Amazon, the e-commerce giant isn’t always the one making the sale; an estimated half of all products sold on Amazon come from third-party sellers.
Source: Go read this look at how Amazon third-party sellers pester customers who leave bad reviews
Aug 8, 2021 | algo, networking, video
Earlier this year, videos of Tom Cruise started popping up on TikTok of the actor doing some surprisingly un-Tom-Cruise-like stuff: goofing around in an upscale men’s clothing store; showing off a coin trick; growling playfully during a short rendition of Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash Into Me.”
Source: A look at Metaphysic, a company which uses deepfake tech to create ads and restore old film; its founder went viral on TikTok for deepfaking Tom Cruise (Rachel Metz/CNN)
Aug 7, 2021 | algo, justice & equality, networking
Robinhood traders have earned the most attention, but they’re only part of a larger story about class stagnation and distrust.
Source: America’s Investing Boom Goes Far Beyond Reddit Bros
Aug 7, 2021 | justice & equality, networking
Online advertisers are always trying to sell you something, and in the case of slip-on sneakers or leather handbags, that something is pretty clear. But other times, the motive behind a sponsored post is less transparent. Why, for instance, are oil companies buying prime space in your social media feed to prattle on about “innovative” climate solutions and visions of a “lower-carbon future”?
Source: Big Oil spent $10 million on Facebook ads — to sell what, exactly?
