Atomic 🦌 @atomicbutterfly@awoo.space

Discord is doing well because - among others things- it allows people to cluster and meet around interests or identities.
It functions like an online version of meetup.com

The servers that do well are heavily moderated and have admins and assistants sparking discussion, or hosting voice chats or watch parties at well publicised times. It’s work. Something I do not envy them for doing.

I wonder if that’s a way to make social media more human and less flamey.

Socialising is hard. Making friends is hard. Maintaining or creating a social group is hard. Community building is hard.

And we’re kind of like the people in wall-e for doing this online because we’ve gotten so used to recommendations and who to follow lists.

But I think that’s what will ultimately decide which platforms last and get the most users. And it might be down to having human mods here to make it better than the other hellsite.

The way apps have all been designed to be addictive has this effect where :
1. merely being functional as intended is annoying.

We expect to be surprised and delighted. And like all addictions, we then need more of the effect to even notice it - eg TikTok and 7 second videos.

2. Doing more effective, meaningful things are less rewarding that doing fast, less effective things. Eg duolingo is rewarding and addictive. But less effective than babble.

We bemoan services like insta, Spotify, twitter .. but it comes down to being able to discover new content that’s right for the user at just the right intervals. And that’s hard to do right without a lot of user data.

Even switching from Spotify to Apple Music, it’s the dopamine rush of the new playlist I find myself missing, despite understanding how much data it takes across 3-4 apps to make it appear so intuitive.

Man. I really have 3 accounts on this platform
Cos it’s easy to forget which instance I even signed up on. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Kinda interested in the age group of mastodon new signups.

When working with a client who’s not familiar with project management or task management tools, what’s your preference?
Do you have an oboarding board/project to teach them how to use it? #freelancing #webdev

I really don’t want to impose a new PM tool on anyone but I feel that there is a need to have threaded conversations stay visible for reference, even after a task or idea is closed, because potential spec drift is the only thing you can always rely on.

It’s really weird how people react to different media: I’m fine talking through email and chat, but getting Dropbox or Trello comment notifications fills me with anxiety.

I’m not sure why? Maybe because they are often disconnected from context of past conversations/requests?

I kinda wish there was a way to post on instance level only. But I guess that would open up mastodon to hinky, unmanageable communities.

So flesh eating wasps that can fly with weight is now a thing. Annnnnd I’m never leaving the flat.

Drinking coffee and this song pops into my head
https://open.spotify.com/track/2JaacgyWJ9GZhLe4t4r7Be
"Ah the second summer of love is here so tell your angry friends

To throw away their Gaultier and grow their hair again.

Acid on the radio
Acid on the rain...
Acid in the calico
Acid in the rain."

Obviously, if the weakness is getting drunk and attacking people with broken bottles... may need to see someone about that, but you know what I mean.

It's funny how narratives can make you feel like something is a weakness when it's really a strength.

Example: I tend to be a little bit of a cultural outsider in most environments. I just am.

Except this means my social group is very diverse across education, finance, experiences, cultures etc. Which is *good* in my job.

Don't buy into common narratives. Find how your "weakness" is your secret superpower.

Honest bio:
"[my name] makes clicky clicky and tappy tappy and ready ready a lot, for long time. She makes wipey wipey around the house for burb and hubs." <--I would talk to this person, but.. dunno about others

You know what I really, really suck at? Writing intros about me. Or introducing myself in general.
Mostly cos I see myself as a collection of thoughts that are ever evolving as I learn and experience new things.