Notices by Bret Carmichael (bretcarmichael@mastodon.social)

The UK expressed intent to summon #Musk over disinformation spread in the UK via #X. In response, Musk, as head of DOGE in the US government intends to counter-summon the UK, so he can instead accuse them of censorship. Three things are true. Musk has a business operating and earning money in UK that is subject to its laws. Second, Musk believes he bought the US Government. Third, Musk is using his money and quasi-government role to regulate speech abroad like China does.

Another reminder that when #Musk talks of defending free speech, he’s only referring to speech with which he agrees. Musk is trying to elect a President. #Twitter / #X is his tool, and he can’t have content that would undermine his efforts to earn votes for #Trump.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24255298/elon-musk-x-blocks-jd-vance-dossier

WordPress has confirmed that it terminated WP Engine's access to the plugin repo. Any legal consequences aside, this presents a lot like a malware attack. Instead of installing malware directly, WordPress is blocking WP Engine sites from receiving security updates that might prevent it, including critical severity ones.

https://wordpress.org/news/2024/09/wp-engine-banned/

#WordPress #WPEngine #infosec https://mastodon.social/@bretcarmichael/113200552326161842

@eaton @FeralRobots There are other ways for handle this for sure. For example, they could modify the open source license for future versions of WordPress. This punishes users though, because WP Engine's customers are all WordPress users.

@FeralRobots I don’t believe that’s the point though. I think the core grievance is that WP Engine is extracting large sums of money from other people’s work — like a parasite — while contributing little in return. I’m not saying that’s actually true. I have no idea. It’s how I interpret the complaint.

@BeAware I think that will change; that Thread will make good on its commitment to federation. Threads users will be able to follow Mastodon accounts. However, similar to how Mastodon works, the local timeline contains only posts from that instance. On Threads, the home feed is the local timeline, plus followed accounts. There are already >200M users, and notable figures have incentive to go there for audience. They're not incentivized to search off of Threads.

It’s more lucrative for content creators and outlets to be on Threads for more access to more followers through its algorithmic timeline.

This explains why some #Mastodon users have left for Threads to have their accounts followed by Mastodon users.

For users seeking a large follower audience, Threads algorithmic timeline represents more opportunity while also benefiting form access to Mastodon users with little cost to Threads. 2/🔚

#Meta #Threads

#Meta is willing to and unworried about federating #Threads both because it creates good will, and it’s good for business. This is not a “Meta is evil” argument.

Threads’ advantage is; its algorithmic timeline only includes user content from other Threads users. As a result, Threads users largely only follow other Threads users, because Threads content is all they see (with exception to quotes posts). 1/🧵

#Musk has little to lose by suing advertisers in GARN. He already told them to f**k off. They’re probably not coming back to #Twitter / #X regardless. CEO Linda Yaccarino does have something to lose. Advertising relationships have been critical to her career success. In vocally supporting the lawsuit, she’s hitching her wagon to Musk and setting those relationships on fire. If she leaves Twitter, her future career prospects are dim.
https://www.axios.com/2024/08/13/x-ceo-linda-yaccarino-ad-industry-reset

@pfefferle I didn’t delete mine either. Instead, I deleted all my tweets and likes. I kept my handle, even though I have no intent to go back. If X deletes, oh well.

This is good for #Ghost, its users, and readers. Newsletters will be accessible to #Mastodon users and 175 million #Threads users. They’ll be readable in user feeds. People who don’t want or pay attention to email will have a convenient way to access and bookmark content from writers they follow. For paid newsletters, it’s a lever to convert readers of free articles into paid subscribers, and it lets users chat directly with the content/authors.
https://mastodon.social/@Sarahp/112752215642744014

#Musk diverted critical #AI hardware from Tesla to #Twitter to develop its #Grok chatbot. It’s possible that AI features will entertain some users, but fewer people are installing the app, #X is losing users, and #Threads is growing at its expense with less features and no user-facing AI features. Musk is focused on gimmicks while ignoring the basics — creating a safe place for users and brands. Adding AI to X is just burning money and #Tesla’s AI roadmap.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/05/x-plans-to-more-deeply-integrate-groks-ai-app-researcher-finds/

This is a smart move by @Mastodon. #Twitter / #X journalism is struggling, and #Threads doesn’t want journalism. Mastodon is leaning into it though, “To reinforce and encourage Mastodon as the go-to place for journalism, we’re launching a new feature today.” I think this is a lever for differentiation; making Mastodon more valuable to journalists and users.
https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/112718231305707672

@Gargron @viticci That’s how Google works. You can block bard bit from LLM training, but you have block googlebot to be excluded from generative search results — effectively deleting you from search entirely. This is extremely problematic for a company that owns 85% or search. Give us your content, or don’t exist.

@evan @evanplus @mike This is a great experiment for monetizing content on the #fediverse. There’s an already-established business model for paid groups. You may also want to create a public account that acts as a lead magnet for the paid one, sharing snippets or occasional free private content. Otherwise, it might be a black box or hidden. Very broadly speaking, many people prefer to pay with attention (ads) over paying with real money, so I expect to see ad placements in content as well.

@dansup @supapp @pixelfed It’s only a requirement of large messaging platforms. To set the context of just how large a platform needs to be, Apple’s iMessage is exempted.

@Gargron @PCMag My guess is inauthentic behavior; that lots of likes and retweets are the product of bots. Twitter can obfuscate the bot problem by prioritizing views to create the illusion of authentic impressions.

@Gargron @carnage4life Disney+ seems like a contributor to box office failings. There’s no urgency to go to the theater when you can wait a few months and effectively get if for free.

For #Mastodon users who are concerned about #Threads:

1. Good news. If you were worried about #BlueSky eating #Mastodon and the #Fediverse’s lunch, that’s over now. Meta backed ActivityPub. BlueSky’s not beating Mastodon, and it won’t replace Twitter.
2. Threads onboarding is super-easy. When it federates, it’ll add millions of users. But, you don’t have to go anywhere. You’re already here. Meta can’t make you switch to Threads.

🧵 1/n

@Gargron I’d never heard of them. Great share. 🎵