Navigating Social Media - Just Find And Read The Good Stuff

[This starts with an introduction that you can easily skip.  "Starts Here" is where I get into some recommended reading. Not books, Not 280 character platitudes.  But serious, thoughtful articles.]

INTRODUCTION

 'Influencer' as used today is a disgusting word for me.  I was reminded of this last night when we watched Manosphere on Netflix.  Louis Theroux  interviews 'manosphere influencers,' basically men who populate social media on various platforms advocating for a world of alpha-males and subordinate females and showing off their (apparent) wealth.  Basically, it would seem they are using the internet to make as much money as possible.  It doesn't matter to them if they say hateful and stupid stuff; truth and reality are irrelevant.  Just hits and followers.   

As a novice blogger 19 years ago, I quickly learned that various businesses were willing to compensate me to plug their products (always said, no thank you) and that the more controversial my headlines, the more hits I would get.  (That was back in the day of Sarah Palin, and if I mentioned her in a headline, I'd get considerably more hits.)

I wouldn't say the show is hard-hitting, but for people who don't wander off into the darker corners of the internet, it's probably enlightening.  It helps to understand where the White Christian Nationalist and bullying cosplayers in the Trump administration get their material.  The BBC has its own review that highlights some young men who follow the toxic ranters and say, "Wow, I didn't know it was that bad."  Is that supposed to reassure us?  

In the worlds of Twitter, and TikTok, Only Fans, ad nasuem, this has become a way for some folks to make decent money, and has turned what was once a potential international communication, exchange of ideas platform, into a medium whose monetization logic promotes hate and extremism.  

But even among those platforms who offer no hate (well try to minimize it), there's still a good deal of attention seeking and fluff.  You can read a 2013 post explaining my reluctant dive into Twitter. I stopped checking Twitter when Musk bought it and moved to Spoutible and Bluesky.  Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but the toxicity is kept to a minimum and both get me links to stories and articles I wouldn't see elsewhere.  I share a few below.

POST STARTS HERE

There is so much 'news' happening daily that it's almost impossible (and unnecessary) to have a deep understanding of everything.  Rather, I wanted to point out some articles that cut through to the guts of some issues.  

The Worst Acquisition in History, Again: Warner Bros. by SCOTT GALLOWAY

"After six months and eight failed bids, the Ellisons made the Warner Bros. Discovery board an offer they couldn’t refuse. The potential Netflix acquisition would’ve been akin to fusing LVMH and Walmart — HBO’s prestige TV and Warner’s iconic IP, plus Netflix’s scale. Paramount Skydance buying WBD is the fusion of a dog and a car bumper traveling 80 miles an hour. Spoiler alert: It’s not going to end well."

This is an amazing piece that tells a story I did't get about this merger elsewhere.

Also A Review of Habermas - Matthew McManus

Jürgen Habermas died last week at the age of 96.  He'd kept writing almost to the end.  

"To some, Habermas is the greatest philosopher of our time. . . For others Habermas is the court philosopher of the German center-left SPD or perhaps at most the EU."

I briefly dipped into the world of Jürgen Habermas as a grad student.  I was mightily taken by what I read,  but never took the time to delve deeper into his other works.  But he's an important figure in 20th Century thought who, I'm guessing, most people have never heard of.   This is a chance to learn a bit about him in a relatively easy essay on two books about him.  (This is a substack article that while not requiring money, does make you pay with your email address.  I have found putting a fake email seems to work, at least for now.)

Nicholas Field:  Double Book Review: Newsom and Shapiro Memoirs Shed Some Light on 2028 Hopefuls  

 I think Governor Gavin Newsom has been useful in the fight against Fascism, but I wouldn't want him to be president.  I didn't know much about Governor Shapiro beyond election headlines. This article raises some issues we should pay attention to.  In any case, Nick Field gives more background to store as the presidential primaries come into view. 

‘The dream is to be a standup, but everyone who knows me says: Please don’t’ – Riz Ahmed on  chaos, comedy, and defying categorisation"  - Simran Hans

 The arts are important to human life.  I didn't know this performer, but found the interview interesting.

This article includes Riz
in various fashion shots

I'm going to check out Relay on Netflix tonight to see him act. 

Anyone paying attention has noticed the rising number of people of South Asian heritage  in a variety of fields in the US and the UK.  This interview gives a glimpse at what the world looks like from their perspective.

"Ahmed describes Mirza [his wife] as 'a truly creative person' whose writing 'floors me every day', though he says they try not to discuss work too much at home. 'I probably try and hassle her for her opinion on things a lot more than she needs to hassle me for mine on writing. She doesn’t want my GCSE English ideas,' he says, self-deprecatingly.

But while he may wear it lightly, Ahmed’s intellect is no secret. A working-class British Pakistani kid from Wembley who won a scholarship to private school, he got into Oxford to study politics, philosophy and economics, a typically star-making degree favoured by politicians, broadcasters and public intellectuals. He has never felt as if he was a natural fit for the establishment, but has always found a way to navigate it."

A reminder that people of color often have much better credentials than their white counterparts, credentials that belie the claims that somehow they got their positions through 'DEI.'  He sounds like a much healthier male than those interviewed by Louis Theroux.  

"How often does he see his parents these days? 'All right, Auntie. Jesus Christ! You’ve got me on the hook here. Lemme get my calendar out,' he says, pretend-reaching for his phone. 'I try to see them very regularly,' he says. Every week, every month? Ahmed looks at me quizzically. 'Are you Asian?' he says, noting my own Punjabi-Sikh heritage. 'You’d have a chappal flying at you through space and time if it was every month.' A chappal is a slipper, jokingly deployed by Asian parents of all backgrounds as a form of discipline. 'Of course, at least every week. A few times a week.'”

I've got a few more saved up, but this should keep you more than occupied if you follow the links.