017 - Hive Minds
HIVE MINDS
So, this week has been a very rough Thanksgiving for me. Account got compromised, leaving a Xbox sitting alone collecting dust, my Thanksgiving dinner was leaving a bad stomach ache and all I did during all your "deal savings" black cyber Monday Tuesday Friday was simply put - sleep in.
As I am without an Xbox, I did decide to take advantage of the steam sale going on and pick up a few favorites.
But during all this - I had to rely on Microsoft Customer Support from Reddit and Twitter and a chat window.
And I will say, Microsoft has been very helpful throughout this, and basically told me in the nicest way "sorry, we can't do anything for this, it's a manual activity and they are backed up, but sending good vibes" and I do think they mean it.
But it got me wondering - Twitter is on the verge of collapse. Elon Musk is an idiot, but most people who know how he operates his companies know that. The smartest thing about him is his ability to take credit for other people's work, and give the appearance of being a "genius".
As we've been talking about in the paywalled news segment and, by association, various segments.
But the question remains - "where am I gonna go because Twitter became such a shitshow?"
They are unbanning terrible people, he wants to go "against woke", while simultaneously losing advertising - he could've bought 4chan and done the same thing for less!
The truth is - I think Elon is setting this up for failure, and it's going to have governments, plural, stepping in after a few months, when it gets really bad. Like SpaceX being more NASA but Cheaper, this is what will happen with the service.
I suspect those who got fired or walked away because of Elon's really dumb email proposition are getting amazing parachutes and will use their capital to make "the best social media app". But, that will take time, and simply put - we don't know when or what that is.
But for now, you got a few alternatives. Cohost, Mastodon and Hive.
But also I'll tell you what I've been doing as well - first, I am signing up for all of them, because hey, I gotta get the account before it gets big, but also going back to classics.
Cohost - it feels like Tumblr, with the look of a late 90s AOL Coffeehouse. You can post texts and images and link to everything, but I'm confused by how it could get new people when Tumblr already exists, unless suddenly I can get hardcore yaoi fanart on there. Which I think isn't possible.
Mastodon is full of toots and servers and different rules, it's like when you join a discord server and join the rules and never return to (I see you, people in my server). The problem is the confusion of how to get names as it's much like an email address. Are you a MASTODON DOT SOCIAL or WTF BIZ OR something else? I don't think it'll ring as media, such as YouTube or on Television can't just say "follow us on Twitter at Jordha" they have to go through a few hoops.
Hive has become the "new Twitter" lots of people have joined it, including me, I'm @jordanhass there! It has images, it has an ask box, but people don't know the T.O.S. and what personal information they want from us - WHY DO THEY NEED TO KNOW I'M A PISCES. One such thing going around is that one of the developers is a "Trumper", to which I feel isn't a red flag, considering THEY ARE ASKING YOU FOR YOUR PRONOUNS. Most trunpy folks are still stuck on "what's a pronoun" or trying to use "pronouns in bio" as a gotcha - and if you recall, the place you're leaving, is owned by a billionaire that's more in common with Donald than the alleged Red Cap. As you know, people can change identity, and it is very possible, they are very young and could change, because I know we all had an edgelord period, and perhaps, that's possible here as well. But safety and security, especially on that small scale is very worrisome.
However, as the alternate, it's still picking up the slack, but you'll have to enjoy the loading circles and busted timeline, features that people assumed would happen when Twitter would happen - I mean it will, but it's just foreshadowing.
Now, let's answer the question of "what am I doing?"
First off, I'm still using Twitter, I think you could delete the app on your phone, and just do browser, and use it less, but for me. I have just moved it away from my "home" on my phone.
As a helpful mental tip - find your primary app and place it where you often tap. Lower Right corner if right handed (lower left if left) and just use those spaces for what you like - Discord, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
For me, I have replaced the Twitter Bird, for the Tumblr box. I think Tumblr is getting a resurgence since freeing the nipple, and it's ability to find fandoms is amazing, I think most people who are dorky reactionaries won't join Tumblr because it's YouTube Reactionaries consider it "FULL OF SJWs" or whatever embarrassing vomit they'll conjure up this week.
They have chat, ask boxes and more, and I find it enjoyable. I can find some Kirby, find some Nightwing, see some shitpost and learn about a Martin Scorsese movie that doesn't exist. It's one giant improv comedy podcast show these days, and I'm happy about it. As somebody who still wants to use text to have comedy. (And can't vogue dance my crippling depression on TikTok)
And finally, right above it - I'm using an app called "Awful" which is an unofficial Something Awful Forums app. Back in the day, yours truly was a goony goon goon, but now that Lowtax has kicked the bucket, the place has gotten way better. Yes, there is still a bit of offensive posting, but it's met with the kind of irony that I think is vividly missing from any channer turned Twitter user. I have been reading about Professional Wrestling, talking Jeopardy and Taskmaster, and seeing a ton of fantastic memes, my favorite channel is Cholesterol Clubhouse that's all about fast food. And if you know me, you know I love to MUNCH! the barrier to entry is $10 and for $5 more you get an Avatar and $10 you get the premium features, and I think that includes private messages.
And considering Social Media is one big message board - I think it's time to go back to the only message board that matters, SORRY FARK (does Fark Still Exist?)
I know it's not for everybody, and for some, that worry about being banned and losing $10 is scary, but I argue that community-driven pile of money with community moderation is still a better time than paying a subscription service where you, the listener I'm talking to now, are the commodity. And everything you like and follow is part of some algorithm. Because we're human, we aren't perfect, and we sometimes want to know about weird movies in addition to the music of Weird Al Yankovic.
So I got my Hive,I Got my Tumblr and I got Something Awful. If you're going to go to Reddit, that's on you. But that's just one big YouTube Comments section and you know how much of a cesspool that place could be.
