Is This A Blog
So, this is probably more obvious to all y’all than it is for me, but I think this qualifies as a blog?
The only barrier for this is that I often struggle with the idea that people might want to hear from me. However, if you follow this site on RSS, then I suppose you specifically show up to hear from me.
This does help me get over the barrier!
Something I’ve been thinking about, which I want to lean into with this blog-like format, is that this planet has recently suffered a horrific episode, inflicted by a small number of corporations, each of which felt that it was their rightful role as de-facto techno-deities to carve up the online population into isolated pockets of walled data farms. These corporations worked hard to convince their prisoners that this is the whole internet, and that there is no reason to explore beyond the walls.
I used to be on Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc, so this is not me on a high horse, here. I’m processing my past experiences on the internet, and I’m realizing that I was a slow-boiled frog, who unknowingly bought into this idea that the internet could only be meaningfully found on these few data-farm sites. I grew to feel increasingly uncomfortable with this, and reviewed my boundaries.
Over time, I’ve realized what I think a healthy internet probably looks like…
A wide-open void, with an uncountable number of glittering lights in the dark. You look at a few, keep track of your favorites, and give them a way to notify you of important changes, if you so choose. No clusters, no walls, and no data theft.
We can still be social. We can chat on Matrix or email or however else. By leaving these hyper-dense, corporate surveillance clusters behind, we are not necessarily sacrificing our connectivity; we are just asserting control over how our information is given, and how we want to be social.
And hey, if you still want to stick with the corporations for whatever reasons, then I trust you’ve weighed the costs and benefits for yourself, and I respect that.
Still, though, I think many people online are slowly starting to realize that they might not have considered all of the options, and are finding ways out of these walled mega-sites. At least, speaking for myself here, this has been what my own journey looks like.
Some of you who know me personally will remember that I am a huge Comaduster fan. His new album, MEMORY ECHOES, is now available across all the usual music enjoyment places.
This album, similar to what he did on Darker Matter, provides what is possibly the closest answer that electronic music has to death metal as a genre. 10/10; highly recommended. If you enjoy heavy, distorted synths, with haunting vocals about the terrifying transience of precious memories, all wrapped up with extremely masterful mixing prowess, then you have a name to look for!