Notices by joanne mcneil (jomc@friend.camp)

I need to set up a website and a newsletter for a new project. What are the easiest, fastest, cheapest (if not free, close to it), services to use now with the least tyrannical/fascist leadership?

(Basically I’m looking for the closest thing to circa 2004 Blogger and circa 2014 Tinyletter. Does anything like that exist anymore??)

:blobuwu:
https://www.newyorker.com/best-books-2023

I was struck by this (rather well-written for the nyt) profile of a poll worker in rural WI, who has counted votes for years.

made me think of how most people my parents age or older live ordinarily lives away from public attention/scrutiny and media coverage.

it's hard for me to imagine someone existing like this / a profile that could possibly be written like this in two, three decades

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/us/wisconsin-votes-ballots.html

sorry I can't quite articulate this better but what I mean is, you are either abstain (in a slightly antisocial way) or make "day in the life of a poll worker" tiktoks (or fall somewhere in the middle).

but the ideal, for so many ways of living/working/relating to others would be if we could take our privacy for granted.

i dont think social media is net negative as much as the big tech form of it is corrosive. but also, if you are under 40ish- 50ish, you are either sharing your life online or deliberately avoiding sharing your life online. ambivalence isn't really possible anymore.

Right now, tech coverage is overwhelming culture / trends-based or focused on product reviews because careful reporting on a technical level is enormously time consuming—and publications do not prioritize rigor.

I talked a little bit about this several years ago in the run up to the AI boom:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/25/ai-artificial-intelligence-social-media-bots-wrong

With renewed interest in the future of the web at the moment: I’d love to do more reporting* on network protocols, the W3C, Common Crawl, etc—and bring historical perspective to the subject— but I can’t currently make it work $$$-wise

If anyone hears of grants or other opportunities, please let me know!

More reporting like this:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/06/email-inbox-anxiety-work
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/aol-facebook-america-online/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/21/yahoo-answers-eccentricity
https://medium.com/@jomc/we-dont-need-corporate-social-media-f93ba128ebb5
https://bookshop.org/p/books/lurking-how-a-person-became-a-user-joanne-mcneil/10354946?ean=9781250785756

🚗✨

The audiobook for WRONG WAY is currently on sale for **$2.99** on Audible. No idea how long this sale will go on, but I can say the performer, Jennifer Jill Araya, did an incredible job—and biased as I am—I can't recommend her work enough.

https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Wrong-Way/dp/B0CJ3WYRTL/

https://www.audible.com/pd/Wrong-Way-Audiobook/B0CJ459RL7?qid=1714176884

grateful for this review on Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/Wrong-Way-Audiobook/B0CJ459RL7?qid=1714176884

Amazon has a near monopoly on ebooks and audiobooks. But in non-discounted audiobook times, I recommend ordering from Libro.fm, which supports indie bookstores

https://libro.fm/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=joanne+mcneil

For the first time in two (2) (TWO!) years, Bookshop dot org shows the paperback of LURKING is in stock. Please pick up a copy from them or your favorite indie bookstore ✨🌈💾https://bookshop.org/p/books/lurking-how-a-person-became-a-user-joanne-mcneil/10354946?ean=9781250785756

just typed the word "dune" into google maps because i want to watch dune like i'm an ninety year old using a smartphone for the first time in my life

WRONG WAY is out TODAY! I put my heart into this novel and it's been my greatest joy to see responses like this on Goodreads and social media. Please order a copy from your local independent bookshop

https://www.portersquarebooks.com/book/9780374610661

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5628686025

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzWj7AOLBFU/

It's terrifying me how swiftly OpenAI entered public consciousness, and how much it reminds me of Google and Facebook in 2009.

Especially how Sam Altman is right now charming Washington (Democrats, especially it seems).

And that it's unfolding in a moment of financial crisis/uncertainty (in 2009, it was GFC; now it's a post-covid world of people scared the floor will fall out under them)

it's interesting how often new users begin requesting Mastodon features after they sign up. even if the requests are sometimes phrased in an entitled way, it shows they understand the experience is flexible and users/developers have more control.

Compare this to Instagram, where just about everyone would love to be able to post links. But there are no campaigns for URLs on Instagram bc there's no one visible to complain to about it.

see a toot: "In the rush to replace Twitter, let's not act hastily and dismiss the many ways that algorithms empower users. The benefits of engagement metrics & content curation are oft misunderstood. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater"

click on bio: "Founder and president of the Surveil-Ya-Face Corp, YC class of 2016"