Ad-driven social media platforms are willing to tolerate monumental volumes of abusive users. They’ve discovered the same thing the Mainstream Media did: negative emotions grip people’s attention harder than positive ones. Hate and fear drives engagement, and engagement drives ad impressions.

#Mastodon is not an ad-driven platform. There is absolutely zero incentives to let awful people run amok in the name of engagement.

@malwaretech@infosec.exchange

My microcosmic validation of this is my wife asking 2-3 times in the past month if I’m aware of [something negative driving engagement] and my response has been ‘Nope, I don’t see anyone sharing that on the #Fediverse.’

I still use #BigMammoth (thx to @jensorensen@mastodon.social for that 😆) to keep up on politics daily so I’m aware of what’s going on. But the lack of an #algorithm or clear profit motive means the Negativity du Jour™ isn’t pushed to the forefront for everybody and comes to attention naturally if it has staying power.

https://escapingtech.com/tech/opinions/i-was-wrong-about-mastodon-moderation.html

Arp Laszlo
Hi, I’m Arp! I got diagnosed with ADHD at 49, and now I'm trying to figure out what's me, what's masking, and just about everything else. I make comics (when imposter syndrome isn't striking) and write about life as a creative Indian-American. I’m self-taught, self-employed, and self-flagellating.

More Notes & Asides

Is there anything that #PrivateEquity has improved? #Bowling’s more expensive because of it, #housing is more expensive, stores like #Sears have been ruined by it. https://jacobin.com/2024/05/private-equity-bowlero-ruining-bowling

Enquiring minds want to know. Published 20240417 10:51AM EST

Hey – it’s #ADHDObsessionWednesday! I want to hear from my #adhd peeps: what’s your current obsession or passion? I’m still obsessed with #Mastodon, the #Fediverse, and the possibility of a better internet. So I added a bunch of #IndieWeb features to my new site. (I was gonna do this on Monday but… I got distracted & forgot 😆)

There is a special place in hell for the part of my #ADHD brain that runs the #coffee maker WITHOUT ADDING ANY COFFEE GROUNDS. #GRRRRRRR #ADHDLife #AdultADHD

I’ve gotten deeply into #UrbanPlanning in the last few years, abetted by a lifelong dream of living in #Europe. I discovered #Youtube channels like @nerd4cities@mstdn.social, @notjustbikes@notjustbikes.com, & #CityBeautiful that spelled out what makes places livable & why European #cities tend to be better. It’s changed my mind on where I’d like to live, from ‘I want acres in the country’ to wanting denser populations & walkability – & where city finances aren’t held hostage by parking lots & roads. This #video highlights some good & bad things about #Valencia, Spain (aka my hopeful retirement locale), but what shocked me was the 80% home ownership figure, vs 65% in the US. Americans like me tend to associate #apartments (aka #flats) with renting, but not in Europe. There’s a better way of living, and I’d like to experience it. #CityNerd #NotJustBikes

A lot of Claire Paniccia’s marketing advice resonates with me because her thing is helping neurodiverse entrepreneurs. As one of her target audience, I’ve tried a lot of Conventional Marketing Wisdom that (surprise) failed and (no surprise) just added to the reasons I have to self-flagellate while making connecting with people feel more like a chore than an interesting or fun thing to do. This bit from her latest newsletter (the image) hits the spot. The idea that I don’t text a friend at a specific time every week is so common sense yet . I’d much rather have a friend-like relationship with people interested in my efforts than be a robotic provider of content. If you dig this, go check her out. She’s the only newsletter I subscribe to that I actually read. ClairaPaniccia.com

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