Somehow on today’s show we end up waxing nostalgic about the Sci-Fi of youth: namely, Babylon 5 and Star Trek: The Next Generation. But don’t worry, there’s also plenty to look forward to, such as throwing off the shackles of our corporate web overlords and embracing the scrappy technology of the IndieWeb. (Recent rebel activity was spotted on the surface of the planet Earth, in the city known as Portland in the state of Oregon.)
But wait — THERE’S MORE! Next week, I’m launching a new segment called Share and Tell, and you are invited to send in your stories of your first experience of the web. What first captivated you about the web? What motivated you to go online and explore the web? What was it like to experience this amazing new technology for the first time? Just send me an email (jared AT jaredwhite.com) with the subject Share and Tell, and I will share your story on my show next week, along with your first name, and (if you wish) a link to your website. I can’t wait to hear your responses!
There's no doubt that Riven is the G.O.A.T. of puzzle adventure games as pioneered in the 1990s, and this year we're blessed with the tremendous opportunity to fall in love with Riven all over again, as Cyan has developed and published a modern remake in glorious real-time 3D.
I’ve often found that most of the people out there who have genuine talent and real success are more than happy to pass their well-founded wisdom on to others. Unfortunately, those experts who have a proven track record, having made predictive claims grounded in reality over time, are often not the popular figures in our society. With alarming frequency, many “influencers” with high follower counts are fairly good at one thing: influencing…not the actual topics they claim to understand based on real-world expertise. Let’s discuss.
Generative art, aka artistic output that's produced by a sophisticated set of parameters, cycles, connections, and yes, even algorithms, has been around for decades—especially in music—and has a prestigious and invigorating history. More importantly, generative art tools have helped usher in countless new art forms. Contrast that with…well…y'know.
A tale of two Threads: one—the Threadiverse—is a subportion of the Fediverse dedicated to replicating the kind of experiences we’re familiar with on Reddit, Hacker News, and the like; the other is Meta’s fast-growing competitor to X. Not confusing at all! 😂
Sigh. It's frustrating to still feel like an early adopter of open web technology. How many years has it been? 25? 30? But here we are, trying to convince the masses that you can use open protocols, networks, and software to build lasting publishing businesses and outlets for your creativity.
Microblogging is an artform, just like any other creative endeavor people publish on the web. In this episode, I talk about one of the subtle techniques I sometimes use to microblog which increases the likelihood of engagement and boosting—but beware! You can definitely overdo it, and you can also manipulate people with it if you're a bad actor. Use responsibly.
How I *might* be willing to acknowledge an ethical approach to using generative AI tools, and why virtually all tools in widespread use today fall *wildly* short in the morality department—which makes the embrace of these tools by corporations incredibly disappointing. But can we thread this needle? Is there a viable path forward? Let’s discuss.
Folks have been talking about different terminology and ways of describing this brave new world of decentralized social networking. But with Threads’ staggering growth to 150 million MAU (Monthly Active Users), combined with its embrace of the colloquial term “fediverse”, I make the case that fediverse is here to stay. I also touch on the recent news around Google’s flailing leadership causing Googlers to get real grumpy real fast.
People will remember the “browser wars” of the 1990s, but they may not remember the “webtop wars” — that is, the battle for who will control the Push Technology which transforms your OS desktop into a tuner for live web channels. Learn about this fascinating blip in early internet history which eventually gave rise to a much simpler technology still in use today…one might even call it Really Simple (Syndication).
