Just a guy in Vermont trying to connect all the dots...
Dan York
Author's posts
Dec 05
The Beauty of Ad-free Mastodon Versus an Ad-full Twitter
This morning I opened up the Twitter app on IOS and found myself surprised - and annoyed - by how many ads I was seeing. I started counting:
1, 2, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad….
I repeated this several times after refreshing the feed. It seems that there’s an initial ad after 2 or 3 tweets, and then the pattern was consistent - every fifth tweet was an ad!
Repeating this in the web browser, the count looked like:
1, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad, 1, 2, 3, 4, ad...
I wondered in a tweet if Twitter’s advertising was always this intrusive and I had just not noticed… or if Twitter in their desperation was just pushing more ads?
Or, as I put at the end, is that I am now used to Mastodon with no ads?
I don’t know whether Twitter is pushing more ads now or if it has always been this way, but I do think my perception this Monday morning is probably because I *have* been using Mastodon far more than Twitter these days. (You can find me there at https://mastodon.social/@danyork )
And there is a beauty there in NOT drowning in ads!
Now, to be clear, someone has to pay for the servers and services needed to run any social network. Twitter has chosen to do so via advertising, as has Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and pretty much every other social media service.
I you choose NOT to rely on advertising, as Mastodon servers (a.k.a. “instances”) are right now, you have to have some other business model. Some I’ve seen include:
- Individual server operators just paying for the server / services themselves (can work on a small scale)
- Donation pages / requests via services like Patreon
- Operation by a nonprofit that is supported by donations of various forms
- Operation by a commercial company
I thought I saw someone setting up a Mastodon server and requiring payment to have an account on the system, i.e. a subscription of sorts. I can’t find that site right now, but I could totally see someone doing that.
The beautiful thing about the decentralization and federation of Mastodon and other “Fediverse” servers is that people can try out MANY different business models and find what works for them.
And right now, there is a strong ethos within the Mastodon community to not have advertising and to rely on these other models. People are encouraging other users to help sponsor whatever server you are using. So far this seems to be working… although we’ll see as more and more people migrate to Mastodon.
I do expect that at some point we may see some Mastodon servers supported by advertising. But it may be more in the form of banner ads or other display ads on the Mastodon web interface, versus the intrusive ads directly in the feed. (Ads in a feed would probably quickly be blocked by admins of other Mastodon servers!)
We’ll see. But in the meantime, for as long as I can I’m going to continue enjoying the ad-free experience over on Mastodon! See you there!
Dec 04
Dear Duolingo – I am doing fewer lessons since your "learning path" change on November 1
Dear Duo,
I’m not sure your new “learning path” that you rolled out on November 1 is working quite the way you wanted it to. At least for me.
You see.. yesterday I did not do a single French lesson!
Why not? Simple… because now that you have forced users along a single path, I know that when I do the one lesson I have available for me to do, I will then be rewarded with a “15-minute double XP boost” (I will receive double the “experience points” (XP) for each lesson.) And during the day yesterday, I didn’t have a block of time where I knew I could have another 15 minutes to do more lessons. I had random moments of 5 or 10 minutes, but not a larger block of time. And sure, I could have just done a lesson and NOT used the 15-minute double-XP period, but at this point I’m DEEP into the gamification, and so I want to use those time periods to get more points!
The result was.. I didn’t do any French lessons.
Finally, about 9:00pm I realized I hadn’t done any Duolingo, and so I went in to do a practice session to at least continue my streak. But it wasn’t one of the regular lessons.
Somehow, I don’t think this is what you want people to do.
To back up a bit and provide some context, I started using Duolingo a bit over 9 years ago in July 2013. I started paying for Duolingo Plus (now “Super”) 3 or 4 years ago. I’m currently on a 415-day streak, and I’ve bought into the gamification to the point that I’m in the “Diamond League” and work each week to get enough XP to stay in that league.
So I’m all in.
But your November 1 change is seriously affecting the way I’ve used the app. It used to be I would work in several different skills at once. And if I was challenged for time, I could just so lessons in multiple different skills, potentially bringing several skills to be one lesson away from being complete (which would then get the reward of the double XP boost). Then, when I had a block of time, I could start completing those skills to get the double XP boost.
Now, that approach isn’t an option. I have to keep moving along a path. I can’t work in multiple skills at once. (I can switch to another language and do lessons there, but then that is diluting the time I want to spend learning one language.) I understand your view that this is a better way of learning, and maybe I’m just that grumpy guy who is resistant to change, but it is a VERY different way of working than how I’ve been doing it for the past 9 years.
I do wish there was the option to work on different skills and not be so locked into the same path. Maybe I’m missing something with the new redesign, but so far I haven’t figured this out.
Sincerely,
A previously enthusiastic Duolingo user who is less excited now
Dec 03
Mastodon Grows To Over 8,000,000 Users (and probably more)
Boom! About six hours ago, one count of Mastodon users crossed over 8,000,000 users! The latest hourly count of the @mastodonusercount bot as I write this is:
8,015,904 accounts
+2,333 in the last hour
+54,536 in the last day
+398,175 in the last week
It’s fascinating to watch the growth:
12 days to grow from 6 to 7 million, and then 15 days to grow from 7 to 8 million. How long will it take to grow to 9 million?
A key point is … this is NOT the total count of ALL Mastodon users!
As noted in the bot description, it is the "User Count Bot for all known Mastodon instances”. The key word there is “known”. Mastodon is a decentralized network where anyone can set up their own Mastodon server. They don’t have to tell anyone. They don’t have to ask permission. They just gave to download the source code and set up their own server.
They can then choose to federate - or not - with other Mastodon servers. It is certainly possible that there are more Mastodon servers out there that haven’t been incorporated into this count.
Still, this is a “good enough” approximation of the user count to be able to look at the phenomenal growth. I’m excited to see where this all goes!
Congrats to all involved!
And of course you can find me there at https://mastodon.social/@danyork (or search on @danyork@mastodon.social )
Dec 02
The Ongoing Twitter Migration is a Reminder That on the Internet, There Are No Permanent Favorites
The ongoing Twitter migration highlights one of the characteristics of the Internet that colleagues wrote about back in 2012 in what they called the “Internet Invariants”:
There are no permanent favorites.
We remember MySpace. AltaVista. Friendster. And SO MANY others..
In their moment, they seemed THE place to be.
And then suddenly they weren’t.
Twitter will fade, as will Facebook/Meta, and all the others.
New things will emerge. In time, they, too, will fade.
The cycle continues.
[Originally shared on Mastodon - https://mastodon.social/@danyork/109347347499021562 ]
Dec 01
#100DaysOfBlogging – Let’s Do This!
Joe Brockmeier, who I’ve known from back in the amazing early days of Linux in the early 1990s, recently posted to his Mastodon account:
With the renewed focus on owning your content and DIY web / #IndieWeb ethos, I'd love to encourage folks to think about more long-form content.
Mastodon allows for longer thoughts than the birdsite, but I miss the days of blogrings, conversations in comments, and so forth. I don't think we're going to get back to blogging's heyday, but a revival would be great.
And with that, he announced he was going to do a “100 day blogging challenge”. As he writes, “let’s get those RSS feeds going again!"
He then invited others to join in on the creation of long-form content:
If you’re reading this, consider this an invitation to start or dust off your own blog and update it regularly. If 100 days straight is too much, how about twice per week?
So… okay, Joe, I’m in! Since I said way back on January 1 that I hoped to create more content this year… and haven’t really… let’s see if I can finish strong!
I’ve long wanted to start writing again on sites that *I* control, versus writing on the platforms and social sites. (See… POSSE … from four years ago! 🤦♂️)
Today is December 1 - a random site on the Internet tells me that 100 days from today will be March 11, 2023.
Let’s see if I can go that long. If so, hopefully it will then be back to being a “habit” that I will just continue indefinitely.
To be clear, I’m not going to commit to write here on THIS site alone for 100 days, although maybe that would be good. My goal will be to write across my various personal sites and other sites like CircleID and the Internet Society’s blog. I’ll also be scheduling content in advance, since I don’t expect to actually be writing on Christmas. We’ll see!
If you care to follow along, or just want to hold me accountable 🙂, you’ll be able to see my writing at danyork.me. In theory, that little calendar on the right side should show a bold date from here on out to March 11!
Care to join in?
Let’s bring some more long-form content back to the Web! (Tip: you can use this site to find your end date.)
Nov 21
FIR #299: From the Metaverse to the Fediverse and Back Again
Despite the forecasts of some pundits, it is still too early to predict Twitter’s complete collapse. Still, it is not outside the realm of possibility. (Since we recorded this episode on Saturday, November 19, CBS has halted its activity on Twitter, blaming Elon Musk’s “turbulent and potentially devastating moves following his takeover of the company,” according to Variety. It is worth considering the consequences of Twitter’s demise. How big a loss to society at large would it be? We can take that idea one step further. With Facebook experiencing its own declines and Gen Z demonstrating a preference for smaller social networks over broadcast-style social media, what would happen if social media completely faded into the background? Also in the November episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report:
- Thousands of Twitter users are migrating to Mastodon, a Twitter-like interface with some important differences, the key being that it is not owned by a single entity. Instead, it is a federation of Mastodon “instances” (including one Shel has launched for communicators). The fediverse could be awesome, one report suggests, assuming we don’t screw it up — and average users are able to figure it out.
- Gallup has released a study on how connected people feel to others, whether it’s in person or online. It’s a field of study that has gotten scant attention in the past and the results could be useful to marketers.
- There’s some nation-building going on in the metaverse, with one Pacific island country building a digital twin to preserve its heritage as global warming raises sea levels, threatening to completely submerge it. Another country — a physical entity not yet recognized by the global community of nations — is working with an architectural firm to build a metaverse version that it hopes will be the primary place its citizens interact.
- Whether you believe it is ethical or not, there is a fair amount of ghostwriting going on in the social media space, notably with ghostwriters cranking out LinkedIn thought leadership posts for executives. But there’s more than that, with one social media ghostwriter, for example, earning close to $200,000 so far this year writing mainly Twitter DMs for employees. We’ll dive into this emerging cottage industry.
- Dan York’s Tech Report is a buffet of topics this month, ranging from the fate of Twitter Spaces to Walmart’s Augmented Reality effort, and from enhancements to TikTok Live to Google’s “Live View in Maps.”
The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, November 21.
We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.
You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is also available.
Links from this report:
- How big a loss to society would Twitter’s demise be?
- Twitter Is Collapsing, and Nothing Can Replace It
- European Parliament to summon Elon Musk
- Twitter has ‘50% chance’ of the major crash during World Cup, says insider
- The Age of Social Media Is Ending
- The Fediverse Could Be Awesome (if we don’t screw it up)
- I Want to Like Mastodon. The Decentralized Network Isn’t Making That Easy
- How Connected Do People Feel in the Age of Social Media?
- An entire Pacific country will upload itself to the metaverse. It’s a desperate plan – with a hidden message
- Island nation turns to metaverse to preserve its disappearing heritage
- Inside Liberland, the Balkan micronation becoming the first country to be built in the metaverse
- Social Media Ghostwriters Are a Thing Now. How This 24-Year-Old has Made $193,581 this Year
- Don’t Have Time to Write Articles and Social-Media Posts for Your Business? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Hiring a Ghostwriter for Maximum Growth.
- What Will This Twitter Ghostwriter Do Now?
- Everybody wants to be a LinkedInfluencer. And the biggest power users are turning to ghostwriters.
- This Ghostwriter Made $200,000 Last Year Writing Tweets for Venture Capitalists
Links from Dan York’s Report
- Twitter Spaces update (Twitter thread from Evan Jones)
- Twitter Spaces for Communities (Twitter Thread from Twitter Communities & Spaces)
- Reddit Talk Updates: scheduled talks, vote in room, and Talk Host Program
- Reddit Now
- Reddit Public Access Network is Going Away
- Walmart unveils virtual fitting room to push shoppers to buy more clothes
- Use new AR features to shop for beauty products and shoes
- Google Maps’ new ‘Live View’ AR feature launches in London, NYC, LA, and a few other cities
- Snap and Amazon partner on AR shopping in the Snapchat app, initially for eyewear
- Snapchat for Web is now available to all users worldwide
- Snapchat rolls out more advanced video editing tools with Director Mode
- Discord launches activities with light games and a new app store
- Welcome to WhatsApp Communities (Twitter thread)
- The problem isn’t that Elon Musk owns Twitter – it’s that you don’t (Substack chat expansion)
- Introducing New Features to Facebook Groups
- Enhancing the LIVE TikTok community experience with new features, updates, and policies
- Inspiring creativity with our new TikTok editing tools
The post FIR #299: From the Metaverse to the Fediverse and Back Again appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
Nov 21
LEO Satellites for Internet—Why the Next Two Years Are Critical
Can Low Earth Orbit satellites that provide Internet access help close the digital divide, or will they create more challenges? Our paper explores these questions.
The post LEO Satellites for Internet—Why the Next Two Years Are Critical appeared first on Internet Society.
Nov 15
FIR #297: A Stirling Example of Augmented Reality
The Scottish city of Stirling is investing in the creation of Augmented Reality (AR) layers throughout the city, available on a free dedicated app, to become what they claim is “the first augmented reality city.”
The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, November 21.
We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.
You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is also available.
Links from this report:
- Stirling to be world’s first augmented reality city with tourism app
- Unlock a New Reality Today (Stirling AR app website)
- Hundreds to gather at historic Scottish castle for ‘year’s most exclusive’ crypto and Bitcoin event
The post FIR #297: A Stirling Example of Augmented Reality appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
Nov 09
FIR #296: What Elon Musk Can Learn From Patrick Collinson
Twitter and Stripe both laid off employees last week. The contrast between how these layoffs were conducted is striking. One CEO went to great lengths to ensure the employees remaining post-layoff would feel the least amount of survivor’s guilt and be ready to move forward. The other didn’t seem to care how survivors felt. Neville and Shel examine these approaches and some of the other fallout from Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in this short midweek episode of “For Immediate Release.”
The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, November 21.
We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.
You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is also available.
Links from this report:
- (Neville’s blog post)
The post FIR #296: What Elon Musk Can Learn From Patrick Collinson appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
Nov 03
FIR #295: The Value-Add Potential of NFTs
Neville attended NFT.London, the UK version of the NFT.NYC, which has been held since February 2019. There, he attended sessions that covered various topics, but he was particularly struck by those addressing the value-add potential of NFTs as well as their community-building characteristics. He reports from a semi-quiet corner of the conference in this short mid-week episode.
The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, November 21.
We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.
You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is also available.
Links from this report:
The post FIR #295: The Value-Add Potential of NFTs appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
