Editor of Tedium, freelance writer, and man obsessed with terrible jokes. (Formerly ShortFormBlog.)
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I am working on a crazy project.
I plan to combine the archives of ShortFormBlog on WordPress and ShortFormBlog on Tumblr into a single site, using the static site generator Eleventy. Iâve already done a good chunk of the exporting. Between the two sites, there are 36,000 posts. We had numerous contributors over the years, with about half a dozen regularsâbut even given that, Iâm responsible for most of the posts. Iâll keep the Tumblr archives online so you can follow the notes if you wanna, but Iâve long wanted to merge these archives into one piece, as complicated as it sounds.
The ten-year anniversary of the âofficialâ shutdown of ShortFormBlog hits in October. I will have it ready before then. I hope.
#es#holy shit ernie#how did you post that much#how did you not break tumblr#what an insane archive#goddamn dude
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I made a thing. Hereâs hoping it helps you with your next Google search.
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More on the Automattic mess from my pals at 404 Media:
We still do not know the answers to all of these questions, because Automattic has repeatedly ignored our detailed questions, will not get on the phone with us, and has instead chosen to frame a new opt-out feature as âprotecting user choice.â We are at the point where individual Automattic employees are posting clarifications on their personal Mastodon accounts about what data is and is not included. The truth is that Automattic has been selling access to this âfirehoseâ of posts for years, for a variety of purposes. This includes selling access to self-hosted blogs and websites that use a popular plugin called Jetpack; Automattic edited its original âprotecting user choiceâ statement this week to say it will exclude Jetpack from its deals with âselect AI companies.â These posts have been directly available via a data partner called SocialGist, which markets its services to âsocial listeningâ companies, marketing insights firms, and, increasingly, AI companies. Tumblr has its own Firehose, and Tumblr posts are available via SocialGist as well. Almost every platform has some sort of post âfirehose,â API, or way of accessing huge amounts of user posts. Famously, Twitter and Reddit used to give these away for free. Now they do not, and charging access for these posts has become big business for those companies. This is just to say that the existence of Automatticâs firehose is not anomalous in an internet ecosystem that trades on data. But this firehose also means that the average user doesnât and canât know what companies are getting direct access to their posts, and what theyâre being used for.
This story goes deeper than the current situation.
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This article punched me in the gut. If we create a world where our creativity will just be siphoned off by some jerk with access to the cloud, whatâs the point anymore?
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Not happy today. If they break WordPress and Tumblr in an effort to make a little scratch, it is going to be such a shame for the open internet.
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A quick point on the regwall here: As they noted here, 404âs regwall is in direct response to concerns about AI siphoning their contentâthe very concern the article raises for this site.
Please understand that this is not a big company youâre trying to work around. This is four people in a worker-owned co-op. (I used to contribute to Vice, these folks are my pals.)
I guess it's real:
archive.is failing to get around the paywall, sorry. You can either register to read it for free, or read the pdf here. Feel free to reblog with a more permanent link: https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/e0b6eaf6-07d5-4a1e-a90c-50efd4f07157
Biggest takeaways are:
It's happening
There will be a switch to opt out
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Ten years ago today, I made the internet mad by pointing out that there seemed to be a lot of commentary about Flappy Bird, often of significant depth and thinking, and often beyond what the developer of the game actually put into what he made.
Of the single-serving Tumblrs I made over the years, this was my most successfulâand controversial. It went viral and drew a lot of attentionâsome of it quite snarky. People were upset that I pointed this basic fact out.
Within a year, the joke would be on me, because I would become known for being the guy who writes long-winded commentaries about everything. The irony is rich, I know.
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In case youâre annoyed that you have to share all your thought nuggets on six different platforms, you should know that we solved this problem in the â90s.
#es#i pulled this GIF from a Taylor Swift lyric video#i regret nothing#threads#social media#twitter#fediverse
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ââFrom my perspective, Twitter is done as a platform for serious tech conversations,â Stamos said, who previously was the chief security officer at Facebook.â
TFW the attribution says more than the quote. (via CNN)
#es#iâm sure he has good opinions#but he was a C-suite exec at Facebook!#he ainât the guy you ask about this
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Since every jerk on the internet has to have an opinion about Threads, hereâs mine.
TLDR: The slick UX of a platform worth billions of dollars is definitely in danger of getting weaponized.
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If only you knew.
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There was once a time that people put pull-off metal soda can tabs into the can, then drank it. Guess what happened next.
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youtube
I know this sounds absurd to say, but I think this video kind of shaped my worldview.
Dan Deacon, performing live on Savannahâs WSAV, circa 2006.
#es#dan deacon#they actually gave him airtime on local TV!#i saw him last year#he is still one of the most engaging performers out there#Youtube
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Finally, the name for my IDM project has shown itself
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