Tag: social-media

New Worlds

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

I am disappointed in America’s wealthiest entrepreneurs who faun over this country’s new President. They’re quickly realigning their businesses to meet his demands by removing fact-checking, DEI hiring, and more.

I plan to leave Facebook, which is a tough decision because Facebook has recorded years of my social history, preserved personal photos, and enabled ongoing connections with long-time friends.

I have disconnected from America’s leading newspapers. Instead, I am listening to podcasts and exploring other alternatives. I’m finding interesting new sites, like Substack, which was begun by Jennifer Rubin, a long-time key columnist who has resigned from the Washington Post.

Instead of continuing to communicate on FB, I’m turning to another social site, Bluesky (an alternative to X [formerly Twitter]). Bluesky feels more balanced to me and is growing in popularity. I’ll be posting on Bluesky under the moniker “Bendgal.”

Leaving the major newspapers and FB has been almost as challenging as leaving a family. I know business is business, and winning needs most often adjusting and going with the flow. But seeing those multi-billionaires bowing and scraping to America’s strange new leadership is doing me in.

Dear Friends: I can’t totally drop out but can shift to reasonable alternatives. Diana

Startin’ Over

Monday, November 25, 2024

I’ve joined BlueSky, an app that echoes the original Twitter. I always enjoyed Twitter’s challenge of posting a cogent thought without using more than 28 words. When Twitter became X, I preferred to leave the site entirely. BlueSky has had a growth spurt of newbies who appreciate a liberal-trending social site. Count me in.

Unable to create a satisfying self-introduction, I took a noncontroversial path by posting a picture of Pimmy, my donkey; she’s always a winner. Over several days, I’ve explored the site, finding found accounts to follow. I am considering ways that I want to contribute.

I plan to make contributions in two streams. One will use my “BendGal” moniker, which reflects the importance of my home and animals, to share about home-based activities. The other will use an alternate moniker to share my thoughts and opinions about widespread social and political issues.

The future of BlueSky is a matter of wonder. One may hope the site remains uncorrupted by the uber-wealthy and controlling, who might infiltrate and drive their focused messages home to the masses.

Dear Friends: Following the elections, I’m still on re-start. Diana

Smarty

Saturday, July 20, 2024

I can’t leave the topic of wants vs. needs because “the wants” grabbed me again yesterday. I discovered polarized “smart sunglasses,” and they are my latest must-have.

The glasses can do much that smartphones offer. A wearer stays active physically while connected to the Internet. Through the glasses, one can listen to music and podcasts, ask questions of a smart assistant and receive answers, find locations and businesses, and more. A tiny area near each lens has a camera for capturing images and creating videos.

Smart glasses eliminate the need to hold a smartphone in one’s hands. I imagine wearing smart glasses while walking with and photographing my dogs (and simultaneously hearing music or a podcast) or riding horseback and enjoying those benefits. I assume smart sunglasses appeal mostly to folks who spend lots of time in the great outdoors.

Those outdoors may be nearby. Consider homeowner garden devotees who spend lots of time outside, digging, planting, cleaning up, and often wearing sunglasses.

A young co-worker explains that the new smartphones coming out soon will have AI-assisted advantages beyond those of current smart sunglasses. Maybe so, but that still will require having a smartphone in hand and manipulating it.

So, I’m debating: whether to purchase unneeded sunglasses or keep hard-earned money. My brain has become bombarded with struggles between wants vs. needs. There’s a mature me who knows better than to spend my money on another nonessential item.

Dear Friends, Now, I’ll leave it here, and later today will make a decision. Diana

Unknowns

Monday, May 13, 2024

Studying the effects of music on the human brain has also taught me about the historical development of classical music. Music has always existed among people, but the earliest was local and ethnic. Early human music-making was for singing and dancing. Formal and notated music didn’t start shaping until 400 C.E., and it achieved its greatest potential in the 1700s and 1800s. Developing classical music needed a thousand-plus years.

I started thinking about the speed of change. Everybody knows that everything happens faster than ever today. A little comparing astonishes for human creativity has become very speedy.

There’s a history of technology suggesting that technological change has become exponential, erasing our view that change is common sense or ‘intuitive linear.’ Humans once could expect a century to bring “100 years of progress.” However, at today’s rate, we can anticipate experiencing more than 20,000 years of progress in this century.

It’s all because of technology. Today’s access to energy, electricity, sanitation, and clean water has transformed the lives of billions. Additionally, transport, telephones, and the internet allow humans to collaborate globally. Emerging technologies ensure that a single innovation in one type of technology propels improvements in another.

Essentially, we’re exploring a new world. It’s forcing us to try to see ahead and rethink our old assumptions. Adjusting to an uncertain future tests how well we understand ourselves.

Dear Friends: We’re all pioneers discovering daily, and hoping we’ll all adjust. Diana