Society

If it walks like a duck...

David Volodzko has reduced me to something I rarely encounter as a culture critic.

L.A. County’s Sheriff’s Department is famed for deputy gangs. These cliques function little differently to any other gangs, complete with tattoos, rituals and criminal enterprises, and …

A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

Why the debate about social media is not about tech or the internet at all.

The Opposite of Good Fires is Wildfires.

A dazzlingly fast chatbot cannot replace the authentic and reflective voice of a thinking, living human being.

The layoffs were announced to staff on July 5th.

Meta’s take on mimicking Twitter feels like it was built around brand safety. You don’t get fulfilling internet experiences when you build around brand safety.

The strategy for winning is simple: do good work and tell the world about it. In that order! This implies some level of stealth as you are doing the good work. If you plan to lose weight, don’t announce it… lose the weight and then do the reveal. Early feedback frames the problem and might … Continue reading Stealth, not secrecy

Republican nominee engaged in so-called stochastic terrorism with his remarks about “Second Amendment people” and Clinton

1. The use of mass communication to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable. 2. Remote-control murder by lone wolf.

In 2011, an anonymous blogger defined the term “stochastic terrorism”. Stochastic terrorism is the use of mass commun

Rick Anderson, University Librarian at Brigham Young University, writes on a peculiar fact of library life: false and misleading copyright warnings to be found by photocopiers. Under certain condit…

Twitter’s eroding reign over microblogging may collapse as Meta’s new platform, Threads, emerges as a serious contender, with a staggering 30 million users signing up on launch day. Increasin…

The threat suggests that Threads is the most serious rival yet to Elon Musk’s chaotic social platform.

Student-led groups focused on AI Safety have popped up at Stanford University and other schools, backed by billionaires fixated on the AI apocalypse

not as a cause

Drawing on traditional Mexican design, artist Christie Tirado spotlights Washington’s agricultural workers and those who perform essential services.

A new study from the European Audiovisual Observatory shows that more than a third of on-demand providers have U.S. parent companies as well.

$160k to binge-watch “The Witcher”?

The Secret Menu of McDonald's Supersized Failures, from McTrains to McPlanes & Beyond - Uncategorized - Messy Nessy Chic

In Quebec, residents of the former town of Asbestos find their stories cast in shadow by the feared resource that shaped its landscape

The notion that public investment crowds out private spending has taken a beating lately.

The Famous Parisian Potheads of the Belle Epoque - Editor's Picks - Messy Nessy Chic

Musk tries to claw back $90M from firm that forced him to complete Twitter deal.

Meet the President's Daughter, a "Wild Animal That Had Been Put Into Good Clothes" - Editor's Picks - Messy Nessy Chic