Notices by Elena Rossini ⁂ (_elena@mastodon.social), page 2

3 THINGS I'm grateful for when it comes to the #Fediverse:

1: I (almost) never see any AI slop. I'm subscribed to @404mediaco and I'm constantly horrified by their articles on AI slop - so common on Meta platforms. Not here. So #ThankYouFedi.

2: I'm never force-fed content by people I don't follow – so common in other places where algorithms rule. My time & attention are treated with RESPECT.

3: People here protect the privacy of children / don't post their pics. Consent is BIG. #ThankYouFedi

Good morning Fedi friends!

Please join me in giving a warm welcome to my interns Riyen (@patel.riyen) & Sam (@samaaberg). They will be working with me through the end of June on videos promoting the Fediverse. This is their #introduction.

Sam & Riyen are two talented film students who are #NewHere: a mere 7 days ago they had no idea what the Fediverse was. I have the immense honor of introducing them to it.

We are filming this week! Send us good vibes 🎥✨ #EleFediVideos

Good morning Fedi friends!

The day starts on a bright note, seeing the results of the Canadian elections 🇨🇦

Yesterday was the 1st day of pre-production for the Fediverse promo video. FASCINATING discussions with my interns. I understood so many things about the Fediverse from the POV of people not familiar with it.

The concept of servers / instances and software can be confusing. I finally got a breakthrough thanks to FediDB.

Today we’re reworking the script.

Have a great day everyone!

@stooovie they know we'll make videos about the Fediverse and are super intrigued. But I told them to hold off (for now) from looking into details about various software. We'll go over this together

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm! ❤️

So, following your encouragement, I will do weekly blog posts sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of my Fedi video(s).

My two amazing interns will be helping out for the next 8 weeks... and they know NOTHING about the Fediverse (we kept things this way so they'll look at the script with fresh eyes and provide feedback from the POV of our ideal audience).

Today I get to tell them about #ActivityPub - exciteeed 🥰

#EleFediVideos

@jan aw thank you for the wonderful support Jan 🥰

Feeling SO MUCH PRESSURE for this video LOL - hoping to do a good job 😅

@citizenk thank you Serge!

Yes, I think it would be cool to share the process - I’m in this unique position of working with people who know nothing about the Fediverse and sharing their POVs and reactions could be super interesting…

Anyway, I really appreciate your support ✨

@cwebber thank you Christine! 💜

Thinking of you and @evan this morning as I need to explain what ActivityPub is to my two interns 🤗

Good morning Fedi friends!

Exciting times: today I have the first production meeting with my 2 interns to make a video about the Fediverse 🎬

On the agenda this week: finalizing the script + creating a shot list.

My interns are students in their early 20s who know NOTHING about the Fediverse (aka my ideal audience). It’ll be fascinating to gauge their reactions and incorporate their feedback.

Would you be interested in a production diary (in the form of weekly blog updates?)

#EleFediVideos

Good morning Fedi friends!

So it is decided (and thank you for voting in yesterday's poll!)

I will create a series about "People of the Fediverse" - doing short, written interviews with fascinating people posting on here - across ages, nationalities and professions.

The impetus behind it? In a week I will start production of videos promoting the Fediverse and I won't have time anymore to write 2,000 word posts for #TheFutureIsFederated. Q&As are more manageable for the next 2 months 😅

#blog

@aral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog 🙄

I just watched the most brilliant TED Talk by Carole Cadwalladr "This is what a digital coup looks like"

🔗: https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_this_is_what_a_digital_coup_looks_like

It's filled with memorable, superb quotes about the broligarchy. A must see, to be shared widely.

But then I looked up Cadwalladr's online activity. She uses Bluesky for social and Substack for publishing. This is impossibly incongruous after her incendiary TED talk.

Honestly, it made me sad. One place is owned by crypto bros, the other is funded by A16Z...

@lrreynolds thank you for your note. I'm planning to write about this very problem in this week's issue of #TheFutureIsFederated.

I actually used Substack for 1+ year and moved my newsletters away in Jan 2024 when its owners refused to remove or demonetize Nazi content.

There is evidence that VC-backed Substack is on the highway to enshittification. An interesting read: https://radoncnotes.com/2024/09/26/enshittification-of-substack/

The pivot to video reminds me of how Facebook did the same with publishers - and it didn't go well

@lrreynolds thanks! The point I will make is that VC-backed Substack invests a lot of money in marketing / creating the illusion that it's the only easy publishing platform out there. Ghost actually provides a free moving service and Beehiiv has a media collective to help indie journalists.

Personally I wouldn't use a service that also hosts the likes of Milo Yiannopoulos, Naomi Wolf and countless other problematic publications.

Another interesting read: https://micahflee.com/not-only-is-substack-right-wing-broligarchy-garbage-its-way-more-expensive-than-ghost/ by @micahflee

Good morning Fedi friends!

A mini 🧵 following yesterday's heated reactions to my toot (https://mastodon.social/@_elena/114329716368251856).

I have the utmost admiration for Carole Cadwalladr's work and advocacy. She's absolutely phenomenal.

The point I failed to make is that IF EVEN CC - who speaks so eloquently against the Broligarchy - ends up on bro-funded social and publishing networks, then we are all in trouble.

IMHO the tech stack we choose is a form of implicit endorsement. But we can resist.

(cont' - 1/3)

@erikkemp I'm aware of it and I even did it in the past to bridge my GoToSocial account.

It's just that the culture of the two places is SO DIFFERENT.

Bluesky reminds me of the old Twitter days and a desire of broadcasting messages to friends and strangers with the ultimate goal of being seen. By as many people as possible.

The Fediverse to me feels more about genuine connections, sans ego. Learning, conversing...

I realize this is a highly subjective personal take / I respect differences

@erikkemp yes. an issue I see is interesting people with both Fediverse and Bluesky accounts who now post far more frequently on the latter... and they're not bridging because they have accounts in both places.

So one would assume they've gone quiet on social but they are in fact posting so much more frequently there...

@erikkemp yeah I don't like speculating but maybe part of the appeal of the other place is the broader audience (as in, not so niche).

I don't know, I'm just sad to see for every one post they publish here, they publish 10 there... with a very different tone, too.

Others (including favorite authors, photographers, cinematographers) have completely abandoned Mastodon in favor of Bluesky and aren't even bridging their accounts

There should be a word for it: the feeling of disappointment / sadness when you realize interesting people you got to know on the Fediverse have since decamped to Bluesky.

Of course, there must be valid reasons for it. Still, this makes me a little sad.

I have a dormant Bluesky account and from time to time I check in and see them posting so much there.

Not me. Why? I don't trust a place funded by Crypto Bros -> https://www.blockchaincapital.com/portfolio

I'm 1000% ALL IN on the Fediverse, not going anywhere ❤️

One of my favorite things about being a parent is that I'm constantly learning fascinating facts about the world - stuff that I normally would not be exposed to.

My child's current obsession? Drawing flags.

So yesterday I bought her a book about flags and we learned about the #Wiphala (her favorite flag in the book) - "a square emblem commonly used as a flag to represent some native peoples of the Andes."

Find out more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiphala

#TIL