#if i want to be on instagram/bluesky/twitter/threads i'd be there but i'm not and that's the point

[evilasiangenius]

This is what Tumblr has to say:

"The new dashboard is here to stay, and there isn’t a way to switch back to the old dashboard, so we’re committed to improving the new experience."

I believe this is called, "Fuck you, get used to it, we're a shitty Twitter clone now."

[larkingame]

hello folks! I hope that January has treated you all well and that the beginning of 2024 has been kind to you so far. welcome to the second public update for larkin's monthly development of 2024! 

Personally, January seemed to fly by for me, and while it did provide a lot of time for work, it also posed some challenges and taught me a few things. The first of which, is the fact that the new Larkin is a //big// undertaking, bigger than I think even I realized when I first set out on this journey. While turning Larkin into an RPG, with dice rolls, stat checks and the like is a decision that I'm still very happy with and proud of my progress on--it's going slower than I'd necessarily like. To illustrate this to you, the prologue of Larkin currently sits at about 55k words, while the original twine prologue was at just about 21k words in it's complete scope. The big difference there being, in those original 21k words I managed to get the plot moving and the Preacher and Wyatt on their way to Nevada, but in the time that I've been working on the RPG version of Larkin, I've only just about gotten finished with the first major encounter. It's slow going, and I'm working really hard to ramp up the production speed--adjusting my schedule to wake up at 5:00 am to work for a few hours before work and school, and then coming home and working on larkin until about 1:30 am (as much I hate this fact, I //do// in fact need //some// sleep.) Even with all of my free time dedicated to work on Larkin or catching those few precious hours of sleep, I'm still not entirely happy with the speed at which I'm working on it--and I'm still experimenting to try and figure out what works best that helps me produce quality work with a quick turn-around. 

That being said, one of my new systems I've implemented to try and alleviate my production stress is that I've started dropping two updates to the game every week. The first update comes on Thursdays and is called what I've dubbed a 'Bulk' Update, it essentially builds on the choices/routes that have already been presented to the player, giving you room to explore your environment/develop your character compared to the Sunday 'Streamline' Update, that furthers along the plot of the story. Later tonight I'll be posting an update roadmap for the month of February on Patreon. 

Other brief updates about the progress of the game. For one, I've been working with two artists—one who is producing some art that'll be used as future patreon physical rewards and another who's putting together portraits of all the game's main characters that I am. Sickeningly excited about, considering that this artist is my current favorite working artist of all time. In total there's going to be sixteen character portraits that you'll be able to unlock throughout the course of the game, with slight variations depending on our relationship with that character. Other than that, me and my assistant Phillip are in the process of really trying to build a bigger social media presence for Larkin, so we'll be launching twitter/threads/bluesky/instagram and editing the tiktok pages for Larkin, that I'll drop in a card later tonight as well. I’ve also introduced another patreon tier of $1 for those of you who are wanting more consistent updates on the game development on Patreon!

STATS: 

PROLOGUE WORDCOUNT: 55, 750 words

ROUTE TRACKER: 1.5/11

PROLOGUE WORDCOUNT GOAL: 150k

[fakeoldmanfucker]

since i saw you have so many zuck post and i'm a little bit invest in it like you so i want to ask some question about threads since i don't want to have another social media because i have so much now

1. does moskovitz actually interact with zuck there? i saw them following each other

2. does saverin made an account and followed zuck?? since i don't know if that is his real account, tbh if he actually followed zuck, became one of the new users on threads i'd be surprised because i thought he already didn't care much about either fb or meta in general

also I saw zuck posting tsn reference there for threads and commenting gif of tsn too

sorry for my sloppy english, hope you reply

Hi anon! Thank you for your ask!

What I need everyone on Tumblr to know is that Mark is basically trying to reinvent himself. He's been the butt of a lot of jokes for about a decade now, and this bout with Elon, and Elon's fumbling of Twitter, has presented a prime opportunity for Mark to reboot his public image. This means he's responding to people's posts on Threads, making jokes, and yes, referencing The Social Network.

Now to your questions:

Yes! Dustin and Mark are actually still really close. Dustin's mentioned going on vacation with Mark fairly regularly (for whatever that means for them). Dustin had access to the pre-release launch of Threads and was user # 3037 (as indicated on his Instagram account), and he generally talks about Mark a lot, mostly to defend him/hype him up. He's been talking about Mark a lot lately, because of the drama with Musk and with the launch of Threads, but Mark has been pretty consistently mentioned in his Twitter posts, going back for years. Dustin seems to be particularly excited about Threads, probably because he feels let down by Twitter and the promise of Bluesky, and also because Dustin still owns a 0.6% stake in Meta, which is worth something like $5 billion. Dustin as well as other early Facebook employees have expressed a feeling of nostalgia and excitement akin to the early days of the company, both from the product development side as well as from the consumer side. Anyway, it seems that Dustin's penchant for micro-blogging and Mark's role to promote Meta's new app have combined and allowed them to publicly communicate for the first time in at least a decade. It has been, honestly, delightful to watch. See the bottom of the post for screenshots of their interactions.

Judging by the Instagram account linked to the Threads account, Saverin really is following Mark. (I judged whether or not the Insta account was real by scrolling through who he follows: some weather accounts, someone with the last name that's the same as his wife, someone who's either a sister or cousin, Fox News. These interests correspond with the types of accounts he follows on Twitter; it's most likely really him.) I agree, it is kinda of insane that Saverin joined so early; it's possible he sold the rest of his shares because B Capital got a big infusion of money at the end of 2022, which corresponds with the fund they raised earlier this year. It's also possible he converted his shares from Class A to Class B, but this move still loses him power. He doesn't really have any incentive to be interested in Meta, not anymore. And yet, Saverin was just under the 2 millionth member to join Threads (1,920,187). Taking into account that 30 million people(/brands) joined Threads in the first day, Saverin was an early adopter. At the same time however, in addition to likely not having any financial interest in the company, Saverin doesn't post very often on Twitter (most of which are reposts of articles) and has only ever posted to Instagram twice, and not since 2014 at that. It's interesting to me that he apparently cares so much to be on Threads so early since he doesn't seem to be that fond of micro-blogging or Instagram anyway. At the least, he is a private person, more private than even Mark has ever been, and he is likely on Threads to lurk rather than to post. Which brings me to the point that Saverin is following Mark. He's also following a number of influential Meta people, including important early employees (none of them follow him back). Combined with the fact that Saverin consistently puts "Facebook co-founder" at the top of all of his bios, regardless of his current projects and investments, this paints an image of a petty man who wants to be relevant. It may be interesting that Saverin follows Mark, but don't expect anything to come of it. Saverin lost his chance to make any amends with Mark and anyone else a long time ago.

Bonus: Mark posting a TSN gif? For some reason?? Even though the post he was replying to didn't even mention TSN? (it's a screenshot of the gif of the moment when Eduardo gives Mark the money to go to Palo Alto for the summer while they're hiring interns)

[elllteo]

Big List of Places to Post Art (That aren't twitter or insta or tumblr):

Sourced from one lil art freak who loves jumping between one million ships.

Hi! I have been on almost every conceivable art sharing website that has any credibility, and some that certainly don't. Here's a non-comprehensive list of the ones I've at least HEARD of, starting with ones I know well at the top and working our way down.

Quick note: These are just alternatives! I definitely do still use Tumblr and Twitter to post art, but these are ones I've had mixed successes with. Hopefully there's something here for everyone to poke around with. You have options!!

Artfol (Mobile + Web, in beta but Solid):

Artfol is very similar in function to Instagram but like, nice. Genuinely kinda nice. Very art and oc focused, just kind of pleasant to post to? Not much by way of solid communities, but there's "Community Challenges" you can participate in (think DTIYS stuff but under a whole tab you can poke through and take part in) and you can even host your own challenges at any time. Supports a commissions tab, heavily leans towards Visual Arts (so writing and music and other things aren't possible to really share). Explicit art isn't allowed (thanks to the apple app store) but suggestive art is.

Bluesky (Mobile + Web, In Beta, Need a code, Twitter clone and Solid):

Bluesky (aka "Wow, I can't believe it's not Twitter!") is the most popular twitter clone so far and it's a very solid social and art sharing platform. You need an invite code to get in, so far, but every person currently there generates one code a week and I've seen lots of threads on twitter and elsewhere sharing codes to get more artists on there.

You can create and curate specific feeds using keywords and phrases - and you can follow other peoples feeds (so, say you make an art only feed, or a sketch only feed, people who want to follow JUST that can follow those!) and they're still developing better ways to let people tag and curate their experience. Big bonus is that NSFW IS ALLOWED HERE, and they have self tagging options. HASHTAGS ALSO MATTER. They help people find you!

(More below the cut! VVVV)

Mastodon.ART (Web + 3rd party apps):

Mastodon.art (not to be confused with any other instance like Mastodon.social) is an Art-themed social media site that you may or may not heard of. There's a lot of discourse over how confusing it can be - it truly feels like the Linux of social media - but in my experience if you take the time to get to know it, it can be very nice and rewarding to post to! Community is big here so interacting with other artists is not only encouraged, its really the only way to feel at home here.

There's plenty of guides on how Mastodon works - you can even host your own if you don't like how Mastodon.art is run. Frankly, there's plenty of art sharing sites hosted via Mastodon, so if the rules and regulations of .art isn't to your liking, you may find a different one that is. Shop around and find a community that sounds right for YOU!

Cohost (Web):

Cohost is like tumblr but you can post NSFW, LMAO. It's still being worked on by a dedicated and nice team. They seem very transparent and post good updates. I've liked what I've seen so far, though there's not nearly enough people on here for me to use it as much as I'd like to. So get on here!!! Please. I'm begging lmao.

A significant factor is that NSFW is allowed here and there's a lot of nsfw artists using it for that purpose. This isn't inherently bad, but is worth knowing!

Inkblot (Mobile, I cannot recommend Web, at all):

Inkblot is like an alternative to Deviantart and got a big push for a while after Sheezy.art went down and Buzzly.art also tanked while Twitter simultaneously shat the bed. It's fine in the app, but the website is bad. Like it is genuinely impossible to use consistently bad. The app has ads, it is a small start up team, but the team seems dedicated and posts updates and has an active roadmap.

I do not find myself using this one at all, purely because it's very clunky, but I know several other artists who do. The potential is there; There's comic support which is rad and lots of tagging features, but it all depends on if you're willing to stick it out and see.

Honorable(?) Mentions:

Itaku - Mostly furry art at this point, I'm not sure if that was the original point but that's what it's become. I have no experience with it, I just know it exists and people use it.

Pillowfort - Another tumblr clone, has dedicated groups to post art to depending on themes, you can do a lot here but the times I've tried to use it, it felt awkward and a little empty. There may be more people using it by now, though!

Furaffinity - I mean. Yeah. You know what this is and if you don't, well. Furries do.

Artistree.io - Purely a commissions selling platform, not social media. Still worth a mention, I have little to no experience with it, but they do not take a cut.

VGen - Similar to artistree but is in Beta, mostly geared towards Vtubers, illustrators, etc with that similar thematic style.

Toyhou.se - Character repository. Great for uploading characters and any art or story writing you do for them - the community can be. Wack. Not exactly an art sharing platform per se, but great for hosting your oc galleries if that's your thing. Customizable profiles is a plus.

CharacterHub - Not sure how I feel about this one. Alternative to Toyhouse but they have a weird beta thing in place and are "only inviting the best artists/story writers to keep community quality high" and while I was invited, and the site has fascinating features, I am REALLY not a fan of that ethos. Hard to find info but if you have questions feel free to ask and I can try to find out for you!

------

I hope this list is helpful for people!! There's a ton of micro art communities on discord, too, if you look around and reach out. The biggest thing I recommend if you're trying to move away from Twitter/Tumblr/Insta/Etc is not just posting on new sites, but interacting with the people already there. I know that sounds really obvious, but the biggest thing I see artists struggling with on new sites is building up that first few follows.

Don't focus on follows, focus on the community you want to be a part of. The follows happen more naturally from there, and it feels good to interact with other peers and make friends that way!

Also, for funs, My links + Art

My Artfol || My Bluesky

what social media platforms do you recommend to other artists? Personally, I'm liking Tumblr and that's about it lol. The IG/Twitter algorithm is really tricky for me personally

Feel free to share your socials below so we can connect as well! Mine are: IG, Twitter, this Tumblr lol

[theprurientside]

Thursday afternoon

I shut down my Twitter account back in April of 2022. My stated reason at the time involved Elon's initial announcement of the takeover - I wanted nothing to do with anything of his even back then - but past that I was deeply tired of it anyway. That sort of short-form text-based social media service was and is dissonant, shallow, and above all mentally exhausting.

It was with this in mind that I momentarily hesitated to sign up for Threads when it was introduced last year, but I eventually said Why Not This Might Be Fun Again, and so I'm account number three million and something. And an invite to Bluesky from some fellow ex-Twitter FVSMs (Friends Via Social Media, a term I just invented but which really should exist) eventually followed.

If either is not quite as bad as Twitter, even in its pre-X pre-right-wing-horrorsphere incarnation, neither is still healthy.

The human mind is not built for social media, certainly not that kind. We prefer a certain logical flow, or at least a series of concepts within defined parameters. (This place still works pretty well in that respect. So does Instagram, although my Black friend down in Atlanta reports a far more dispiriting experience lately.) But the kind of chaos that Threads and Bluesky deliver serves only to absolutely drain life and energy in an attempt to follow and respond appropriately.

So I wonder if those aren't a fair part of what's been wrong for the past near-year, if not for a near year before that. That part is a little easier to understand.

Word to anyone who doesn't live to make their LinkedIn profile look as shiny as possible (and dear God is that a whole different pit of despair as far as social media is concerned): there are certain things that you will take on in your professional life that will not work. This unfortunate situation is as unforeseeable as it is unpreventable. It just turns out that way.

Like this: Summer of 2022 I'm called into the Provost's office and asked to take over a smallish but well-regarded program on campus. Sure, I said cheerfully, I'd be happy to do it and wow thanks for the raise and all that and this will be a perfect way to build my admin credentials and this should be great because (and I distinctly remember saying this out loud) that program pretty much runs itself.

The program does not run itself, and my attempt to run it since that day has been an ongoing fiasco. It's too much, I have other very important things happening, life is a mess, and so on until I'm walking around looking utterly dazed.

To all you: It doesn't have to be like that! Herewith, five rules of program management:

Know your people. Maybe don't pick the introverted and very obviously (if undiagnosed) ADHDish guy to run a program that requires plenty of outreach and contact and day-to-day organization, on top of that person running the biggest academic department on campus.

Smooth program handover is important! Don't pick your new program leader two weeks before the current leader takes an admittedly well-earned two-month vacation back to her homeland halfway around the world and goes completely dark.

Change one thing at a time. Don't add too many new administrative complexities at once, like formal program agreements between participating institutions (many) and individual consent forms for each participant (hundreds). Process implementation is important.

Manage growth. It's not easy or healthy to have your program double in size within a year especially if your program leader still feels like he's two months behind with the old group and those extra administrative processes.

Be flexible in staffing. If your program leader visibly looks both crushed and bewildered and keeps dropping hints about wanting to disappear, it may be useful to have discussions about what is best. You'd be surprised at how agreeable this person may be!

So yeah.

Plus the mental processing in the aftermath of the second motorcycle theft (and this one has totally disappeared from the face of the Earth), plus the new baby and a toddler on an exponential learning track, plus [waving arms around at the insane state of the world]. Sigh.

It hasn't been a fun year and a half or so. My audacious success at getting in shape has backslid pretty much to point zero, a matter not helped by knee surgery last September. (Can I say this sincerely?: I miss running. Badly.) I can barely stay awake through the three-year-old's evening dose of Mickey Mouse cartoons. Trying to get regular and gratifying physical relations going with a post-baby A has been a fraught process for both of us with no guarantee of reliable anything and almost accidental cases where it's been good.

There are answers out there. Getting out from underneath that insane program is one, and that's in process; getting back into everything I want to do for the department is another. Someone somewhere was asking about a plan for staying in shape after 50 and I still think I totally nailed it when I said "bicycles, moderate dumbbells, Mediterranean diet, and lots of sex", and that actually is the current outline. Oh, and on that note if I don't ditch those two accounts then I should at least mostly forget they exist. (I really do have to check Facebook for the first time in a few years someday soon, though.)

It'll be better. It was before. It's just getting back there again - and then past it.