Greg Spradlin @spradlig@social.cleverlibre.org

I like Mastodon more than Twitter because I don’t get any death threats, and if I did, they’d probably be just beautifully written.

#introduction

Hello, i am Andrea and I prefer to call myself a digitalmaker because i like creativity and free software.
It’s a fascinating point of contact between art and free technology.

I studied Audiovisual and Multimedia Communication Technology at the University of Ferrara (IT).

Recently interested in #activitypub, #xmpp and #rss protocols for a free and decentralised web and #fediverse

I like also to learn new languages because i feel like a citizen of the world.

We're having a conference in Edinburgh: SYCO10, the tenth symposium on compositional structures. Today Emily Roff spoke about ways of analyzing social networks that go beyond graph theory - which is good for describing *binary* relations - to structures that describe *higher-order* structures.

For example, simplicial complexes let you talk about teams of people.

She said a lot of cool stuff... but I was shocked when she mentioned some work I did with @gregeganSF.

(1/n)

#NewUsers Welcome!

Now that the craziness of today seems to be slowing down how about taking this new jalopy for a spin?

- Click on the "# Explore" label on the right
- Where it says "Search or paste URL" type in #introduction" and hit return
- Click #introduction in the list below
- Meet other new users
- Reply, Boost, Favourite, and Bookmark posts
- Click on the name to see their profile page and Follow them if you want to
- Consider posting an #introduction yourself

#twittermigration

That pic of Elon Musk & Jared Kushner with their Saudi overlords is everything you need to know about who they are.

The Washington Post and NYT response to the
platform arbitrarily banning its reporters shows how
liberal institutions really struggle when dealing with
the far right.

They quietly negotiated behind the scenes to keep
their reporters on there, essentially leaving independ-
ent journalists and the intercept's journalists out in
the cold. This is before we even get to the targeted
purge of anti-fascist accounts that has gone largely
ignored by the mainstream press.

This meant that Musk was able to silence large
amounts of his critics while weakening the hand of
the liberal outlets. It has set the stage for a periodic
cycle of purges now.

| also want to be very clear here, this is a critique of
the editorial boards of these institutions and not the
journalists who were banned for covering Musk.

The only way to win that interaction is to go nuclear
and impose as many costs on Musk as possible
through a coordinated response on the front pages
of the major outlets with something like a blacked
out front page with the faces of the journalists below
a with a big with the headline

"MUSK BREAKS HIS WORD; KILLS FREE SPEECH, PURGES JOURNALISTS" etc.

Anything short of that means you're applying
pressure when you are in a weaker position to do so.
This is difficult for liberal institutions because of their
belief in civility politics, pretense of impartiality and
defacto trust for other institutions.

#twitterdammerung

*Reposted due to accidental deletion when trying to edit a typo

If you start being active here only after another bluebird meltdown - please, PLEASE stay for longer. Post regularly. Interact with people. Give mastodon a chance and you will see how different this platform is. Unlike birdapp which gave me additional unneeded anxiety (I have quite a lot this year already), here I always feel welcomed, seen and appreciated. ❤️
Place doesn’t make a difference. People do. And here people are fantastic.

In 20 minutes, archival recordings: Preston plays #Bach #Mozart #Mendelssohn #Liszt and #Messiaen in #Morrow https://www.worldconcerthall.com/en/schedule/archival_recordings_preston_plays_bach_mozart_mendelssohn_liszt_and_messiaen_in_morrow/73020/ #wch

With the latest wave from the #TwitterMigration, I figure it's time for a re- #Introduction

I use #socialmedia & my #blog to keep folks apprised of what's going on in our govt and then get plugged into activism. Here to elect #Democrats. #VoteBlue #Democracy #VotingRights

I dislike how political news tends to be so negative, so like to share #goodnews to show that progress is being made. I'm also a huge fan of editorial #cartoons.

Finally, if you want to connect to your former #birdsite friends or want help navigating Mastodon, ping me -- I'd be happy to help!

Honestly moving to Mastodon from the bird site feels like I just switched to PBS after years of exclusively watching a reality TV show called, I don't know, EXTREME HATEFEST: ORGY ISLAND or something.

Like, yeah, of course it's going to be a little jarring but trust me it's better this way.

Locked out of my Twitter account for telling folks I’m on Post and Mastodon. 🤷🏻‍♂️ https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1604588443010482176?s=46&t=tl57_tRJeNEGnUy6VekkCA

like lol dude he’s been baselessly accusing individuals of pedophilia and rolling out the welcome mat for literal Nazis but the link thing is fucked too

Start with the user experience and work backwards to the technology you need.

Steve Jobs once famously said, "you've got to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology. You can’t start with the technology then try to figure out where to sell it."

This quote has stuck with me. We should focus on who we're building for, what problems they have, and whether our current options available are falling short.

#softwareengineering

Oh this is too good. Since Twitter is now blocking Mastodon links, someone has created a link shortener to hide them. Gotta love the URL:

https://spacekaren.sucks/

@xor »New Twitter rules don’t mention YouTube so feel free to share!! https://youtu.be/GBDpPVTolvs «

https://mastodon.social/@JxckS/109536576764917403

I think all those “How to Mastodon” articles are going about it all wrong. They start by explaining federation and talking about how to choose a server. Yes that’s the first step but it’s also where we lose people. Just put that aside. Start by talking about how you use Mastodon, all the great apps, the culture, etc. Then end with the first step, that “all you have to do is pick a server to get started” and explain how. You have to hook a fish before you can reel it in.

Who is Taylor Lorenz and why should we care?

She's a technology columnist for the Washington Post, suspended this evening from Twitter apparently for asking Musk to comment on a story involving Musk. Musk is demonstrating that he can extort censorship from the media with the ban hammer. Taylor was targeted to be an example. Other journalists are put on notice it's not them...this time, and reminded to toe the line. This is about press freedom. That's why we all should care.

#twittermigration

#MastodonNews Dec 18, 2022

Another nice Mastodon/Fediverse explainer...

The Hill: How Musk may reinvent the internet without even trying >>> https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3778329-how-musk-may-reinvent-the-internet-without-even-trying/

[Musk's] new Twitter policies and the digital refugees he created, most fleeing to the heretofore obscure Twitter-like platform Mastodon, could give birth to a very new type of social media experience.

Mastodon uses an open and free social media protocol, ActivityPub...

#twittermigration
More News >>> https://medium.com/@mastodonmigration/sharing-advice-and-assisting-with-the-great-mastodon-migration-53c1a286b805#cfd1

@Omer - join Mathstodon! As far as I can tell that's the only instance of Mastodon that renders LaTeX, which is what I'm using here. I can write simple things using unicode, which everyone can read:

Φ² = Φ + 1

But fancy equations require LaTeX. Sorry, that's just how math works.