Hello… Echo…

It seems to be getting harder than ever to stay in contact with people, or get the word out, with what Cory Doctorow calls the “Enshittification” of the Internet having progressed to its current state.

Social media has become focussed on extracting as many $ as possible from users, which means blocking any communication between them that might be commercially valuable. “Want to tell all of your friends that you’re looking for work, or starting a new business?” they ask. “Pay for an ad! Or boost your post for $10!” they answer.

It was bad enough that we were the product, but now we’re supposed to pay for the privilege?

No, thank you.

I’ve wandered onto Mastodon, and started hanging around a bit on Quora, where I am constantly amazed by the peculiarly phrased questions that pop up. Quora told me that I’m “monetized” and had me set up a “Space”. I’ll be incredibly startled if they ever pay me a dime, but at least they’re not asking me to pay to create content for them, so that’s something, I guess?

My consulting gig has concluded, so I’m going to be helping a friend with their Kickstarter fulfillment, and working a few days a week at a local retail shop, just to keep busy. I’m looking forward to having more to do, even if none of it really qualifies as a “good use of my time”. 😏