Notices by myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)

If you are fanatical about reducing waste you may remember to mention that it annoys you that the rulers you purchased for your students come individually wrapped in plastic to the supplier. People around you will remember the goal of reducing the volume of trash— if only to stay on your good side but maybe when they have the chance to make a big decision that idea will be closer to the surface.

It’s not that your actions alone will save the world. Your actions are another way to speak.

It’s been fashionable to dunk on “individual activism” in favor the f targeting the corporations and wealthy individuals responsible for the greatest impact.

And I am the last person who’d yell at a tired working mom for using a disposable plastic straw.

But there *is* something powerful about small individual actions: call it stigmergy

When an ant moves a bit of soil the action itself can serve as a cue for others to take the same action.

I have not needed the #USpol tag much as of late. I will only post about things that are actionable.

And here is an action you could take: try to do the same... before you share the horrors think about if you are participating in starting up the drama machine again.

Can you reframe it so there is something people can DO?

My enthusiasm for supporting individual journalists, and smaller news-makers has increased.

And despite not being a "people person" I'm very motivated to show up to help in any way that I can with concrete actions.

I hope you are doing the same and I hope that when you need help you ask for it.

When it came to "following the news" I made some big mistakes in the past few years. I was lazy. Letting myself get sucked into the day to day noise of the political circus.

I've already seen that my energy can be better spent doing just about anything else.

I really wanted to believe "nobody is above the law." I mean, that's never been true, not really, and now there is ample proof all around us.

It's amazing watching new outlets that would from time to time correctly asses just how much of a threat this new government presents before the election go full "I for one welcome out insect overlords" and try to make this out to be normal.

"We have to work with them."

No you do not.

My last bits of trust, which were already deeply compromised in the large media producers that weren't overt right wing propagandists has been totally shattered.

There is an old theory that paying Telling people that, yes, they are doing all the the horrible things you thought they would just makes us feel helpless.

When sharing news I will ask myself "is this *actionable* ?" If it isn't? I might not be worth talking about.

Trump is a reality TV star and the nation is enthralled with the drama. The court cases, the cabinet picks, "how dare they!" "How awful!"

Is there a "Linear Algebra Done Right" but it's Statistics?

* Slim little book
* Has a perspective
* Boils down the subject but with rigor
* Medium hard and math-facing in presentation

@HauntedOwlbear

This is another axis. And not one that isn't impacted by the first. But I don't think that marginalized voices are helped by not having some notion of Journalism as a difficult, and important endeavor rather than just being a human GPT mouthpiece for whoever pays you. Because that idea that journalism could Do Things and even that it's Needed is kind of new when you think about it.

And Journalism can happen within in any media including Social Media.

Journalism wasn’t always an academic discipline with prizes & prestige. I get the feeling there are people who wish they could put it back in the “trash writing, work-a-day propaganda milling for hacks & second class writers” box.

They even seem to be winning.

This is why I get so passionate about the need to recognize social media in the same way. To hold it to not just standards of decency but of excellence.

Because it’s *media* and for many it’s their primary exposure to media.

@KraftTea @eosfpodcast @danilo

I don't see the upside for BlueSky doing this and fully expect it to never happen.

However if enough people start collecting here they may need to rethink that stance. If their users feel like they are missing out? Well then the dam might come down.

I would love to see that happen.

@Remittancegirl @Daojoan

Being human has always meant thinking about what people will think of what you are doing. What outfit should I wear? Should I say this joke in this room?

There has always been a performance aspect to living in congregation with other people. Your audience can shape you. It can shape you for the worse or for the better.

I wouldn't use alt text, I wouldn't know as much about trans people, I wouldn't question when things are US centric as much if not for social media.

@deilann

I assume it's just an easy way to keep people from that nagging FOMO that comes from going into a new holding pen.

But currently you can either be on the fedi and see all of blueSky AND the thousands of servers of the fedi.

OR you can be on blueSky and only see what blueSky wants you to see. And they pinky promise they will let you see everything... eventually it's just so... "technically complex" (it isn't)

@deilann

Mandatory banner statement that I think it's good that people are moving from X to blueSky. And it's nice that some are bouncing over here too.

I really didn't like it when a year ago a lot of people here said that we couldn't grow this place *quickly* but I'm more accepting of slow growth. As long and it's growing, especially in diversity.

My current focus is nonprofit orgs. I think they can be brought over and they can be another anchor. This is an ultra marathon not a sprint.

I'm deeply skeptical about all the noises blueSky has made about "federating." Let's define what that would mean so we are on the same page: people in the fediverse could follow blueSky accounts AND blueSky users would be free to follow anyone on the fediverse rather than being in a censored space.

We already have the first one. But without both? It's not really federation.

BlueSky has said they will do this, only pressure from their users can force it to happen.

@Jackiemauro @servingworlds @eosfpodcast @HumToTable

People learn to use terrible UI all the time. It's not good to dismiss complaints about UI, because that's insular. And the insular quality isn't very welcoming.

But email remains a dominant force in communication. If email were invented today everyone would have to use gmail or not be able to email someone not on the same service. A few crazy people would talk about "open email" and try to get people to try it.

@Jackiemauro @servingworlds @eosfpodcast @HumToTable

I'm not even talking about "change" just basic outreach. It's not that hard to use the fedi once you get in and the learning hump is less than some other social media in some ways. You see the people you follow. It's less mysterious. There aren't ads distracting you.

I no longer think design choices are the major problem. It's a combination of culture and simply not being a corporation or something that can get an investment hype cycle.

@servingworlds @eosfpodcast @HumToTable

That is what I'm doing and it's very discouraging to find that people in that place are working against me. Or might hate what I'm trying to do.

@HumToTable @eosfpodcast

A large popular platform can be a safer, more diverse & more welcoming space.

I strongly dislike the tendency of people to abscond off into private communities. I don't like places that are not public & open. Mostly facebook groups convinced me that such places can be the most toxic places possible online.

I want a big public square and the intersections that such a place makes possible. I don't just want to talk to math people and tech people. I hate the isolation.

@tillshadeisgone

OK but in my experience no internet space isn't "anti-black" it's just that racism is less annoying when there are other black people around in numbers. And likewise I bet the same thing is true for trans people and many others.