Notices by ted byfield (tb@tldr.nettime.org)

🎩 @jeffreyfisher

@DrakkenZero @hypebot For decades, wannabe-savvy types used Godwin’s “law” as a mathy-sounding way to dismiss signs of fascism, then — surprise! — it turns out fascists really were everywhere. 🤔 And now, instead of showing a bit of humility for what he enabled, he’s cooking up new nonsense.

The, uh, *emerging* journalistic standard for mentioning #Twitter is “X, the _______ formerly known as Twitter,” but there’s some disagreement about whether it’s a site, a platform, an app, etc. So let’s stick to what everyone agrees on — Formerly Known as Twitter — and just use the acronym “FKT.” Example usages: “omg did you see his fkt?!” (noun) or “he fkt it, then lots of people refkt it” (verb).

Every once in a while a top-notch observation disguised as a meme comes around, and I think this is one.

Long, fine piece on #SVB and #VC: "To put it more plainly, for the past 10 years venture capitalists have had near-perfect laboratory conditions to create a lot of money and make the world a much better place. And yet, some of their proudest accomplishments that have attracted some of the most eye-watering sums have been: 1) chasing the dream of zeroing out labor costs while monopolizing a sector to charge the highest price possible (A.I. and the gig economy); 2) creating infrastructure for speculating on digital assets that will be used to commodify more and more of our daily lives (cryptocurrency and the metaverse); and 3) militarizing public space or helping bolster police and military operations."

https://slate.com/technology/2023/03/silicon-valley-bank-rescue-venture-capital-calacanis-sacks-ackman-tantrum.html

@Michigander Pre-internet version: “Got some extra hot water? Don’t throw it out — freeze it so you can reheat it later!”

Top-notch observation disguised as a meme. It's not new, but it's great.

There have been waves of debate about the relative de/merits of different ‘after-twitter’ platforms and about the propriety of people promoting ‘commercial’ (=bill-paying) work. But one thing that’s gotten a bit lost (at least in my corner of the fediverse) is plain-old promotion of specific, solid indy #journalism. Like Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) and Noah Berlatsky (@nberlat). Their Substack-based newsletter does what critics of major outlets say journalism *should* do: consistently meld detailed coverage with critical analysis of the bigger picture. Today’s issue is a great example. Most people would be forgiven for not caring too much about New York State’s governor nominating some MAGA CHUD to a state court. But the sharply detailed way Rupar and Berlatsky cover it casts these events in terms of a critique of the larger fetish for #bipartisanship, which has national and even global impact. It’s not their fault that US journalism is a disaster, or that we lack better ways than Substack/etc to sustain them. On the contrary, I think they (and many others, notably Judd Legum, @juddlegum) are doing the daily work of building better kinds of journalism. Since they probably need to be a bit delicate in how they promote their publications, maybe others can take a few minutes when the mood strikes to give them — and other indy journos — a lift?

https://aaronrupar.substack.com/p/kathy-hochul-hector-lasalle-bipartisanship