Tag: community

  • On Extroverts and the Stifled Online Conversation

    On Extroverts and the Stifled Online Conversation

    Reading Time: 3 minutesToday I was considering joining someone’s Whatsapp Running Community until I heard the phrase “I am the only one that can write messages and I let people answer polls”. For me, as a netizen of the 90s web, this is a red flag. It is a red flag because if all you…

  • The Morning Run to Breakfast With Cyclists

    The Morning Run to Breakfast With Cyclists

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteYesterday I dropped off my bike for a service. I noticed that the rear wheel no longer seemed to be true so I took it to a bike shop. They confirmed that some of the bike spokes were about to fail. Due to this technical issue I left my bike with…

  • A Quiet Whatsapp Experience

    A Quiet Whatsapp Experience

    Reading Time: 3 minutesFor a year or more I was part of GoSocial, because I’m curious. The experimental community is based on Whatsapp group chats. There is “one” chat per city, whether Nyon, Bale, Lausanne and others. I was part of Lausanne and Geneva. The first thing that struck me is that the community uses…

  • On WhatsApp and Netiquette

    On WhatsApp and Netiquette

    Reading Time: 3 minutesI was thinking of taking a break from Whatsapp for three weeks. I have this desire, and need because I am tired of how people use Whatsapp. They create groups, where strangers are added. People with no deep knowledge of online communities delete posts that are sometimes not spam. Other people complain…

  • On Solitude, Cycling, and Whatsapp

    On Solitude, Cycling, and Whatsapp

    Reading Time: 2 minutesThe more I use Whatsapp, in the Post pandemic age, the more toxic I find it. Last night I wrote something innocent. I wrote about rotisserie chicken and the temptation to have some before drinks. So far, so normal. Someone I never met, and never talked with, in person, put a crying…

  • Thoughts on WhatsApp and GoSocial

    Thoughts on WhatsApp and GoSocial

    Reading Time: 4 minutesBefore Whatsapp was bought by Facebook it was a great platform for people to chat with family and friends. When Facebook bought Whatsapp, many people, including myself, migrated towards Signal to avoid remaining in the Facebook sphere of influence. Social groups, and their luddites remained on Whatsapp, so we had to revert…

  • This Isn’t a Recovery Ride

    This Isn’t a Recovery Ride

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday’s moderate recovery ride was hard. It was hard because we were riding at up to thirty kilometres per hour for sustained periods of time. We were riding fast from Geneva, to Nyon, and then again from Nyon to Geneva. With a small group you can afford to push like this. Witha…

  • Looking for Conversations in the Age of Facebook Dominance

    Looking for Conversations in the Age of Facebook Dominance

    Reading Time: 2 minutesA few days ago someone wrote something about chocolate croissants. I then wrote something about Chocolate easter bunnies. A third person then said "please don’t have conversations, there are hundreds of people reading this exchange". This is on WhatsApp. WhatsApp is, or at least was, an IM client. For those of a…

  • A Bluesky Flame and the Case for Anonymity

    Reading Time: 2 minutesIn the golden age of social media I went from tweeting with a pseudonym to tweeting with my own name. This was as true on Twitter as on Facebook. There was a sense of community that meant that we were safe to use our own names, rather than nicknames. That age ended…

  • Twitter Account Deactivated

    Twitter Account Deactivated

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday I finally took the step of deactivating my account, and then reactivating it, and then this morning deactivating it again. Normally when I lose interest in a social network I just forget about it and I’m done. In this situation I didn’t forget about it though. I went a step further.…