Daily note for 17 April 2023

  • Blog formats from Giles Turnbull. Just terrific.
  • Super interesting discussion about content moderation and specifically Substack. The use of internet platformsto spread hate speech is a problem as old as the internet, but it’s clearly not good enough for those stewarding platforms to stand back. The ‘Nazi bar’ analogy is new to me but it’s a good one I think.
  • I’m a member of a couple of Discord communities, but I have absolutely no idea how to navigate them.
  • Had the misery of watching most of Forest v Man Utd yesterday afternoon. The centre of midfield seemed completely absent for most of the game, I am really not sure what Danilo and Freuler bring to the party. Surridge came on up front and didn’t really demonstrate he is up to Premier League quality. It all felt a bit random – perhaps due to the injuries and size of the squad. But I think, especially given Bournemouth’s good form, we have to be likely relegation candidates unless something remarkable happens.
  • I do wonder how much the double @ sign in Mastodon addresses puts people off. I know it does me. How can you trust something where such a key element is so ugly?

Daily note for 14 April 2023

This is a(nother) thing I am trying to get back into the habit of blogging regularly, recording and reflecting.

  • I’m using Obsidian as a text editor for these notes. It has a connector to WordPress which means I can publish them at the end of the day with a single click. Having an offline space to be typing into seems to make it easier to leave things unpolished
  • I attended OneTeamLocalGov for the first time this morning. Nearly 30 folk there I think, some interesting things discussed – lots around training and skills, as well as re-using tech in councils (so difficult!) and making change happen
  • Getting back to reading Dave Winer regularly. So dedicated to blogging, openness, better comms, news and sharing. An inspiration!
  • I have read 20 books this year so far, not bad going. Mostly thriller type things and historical fiction (Sharpe, etc). But also some history and literary stuff. Currently on the first Falco novel by Lindsey Davis. Not sure it’s for me.
  • I found the discussion between Tom Holland and Paul Kingsnorth pretty gripping. I enjoy the former’s work on The Rest is History podcast hugely, although I find his books a little too broad-brush for my liking. Kingsnorth I am endlessly fascinated by.