AnilI am trying to talk less about social media drama on here, but I will say it is sort of my personal hell to have spent roughly two decades thinking deeply about decentralized social media, content moderation policy, managing bad-faith actors, systematic online abuse, and the role of journalists in the architecture of generative online platforms, and see a broad public discussion going on where the loudest voices are all approaching this with “I don’t know much, but here’s my first thought!”
Peter Bronez@anildash where have you consolidated and summarize your work? I would love to review it.
RenéePresenting: The Consolidated Works of Anil Dash
https://anildash.com/posts/
I didn't even have to google it, I just made a wild guess... but that also exists.
@reneestephen yes, I did look at @anildash ‘s profile, see the link, and visit the site before posting.
That website does not provide any indication that anildash has thought deeply about the topics he mentioned. The first five posts are about:
1) cooking
2) 9/11
3) coffee
4) healthcare
5) puzzles
So I looked at the about page, which tells me that he’s “a tech entrepreneur and writer, and someone who's trying to make technology more responsible.” Ok?
@reneestephen now if I keep scrolling, the 9th post is on topic https://anildash.com/2022/04/a-web-renaissance/ it seems to have some interesting points, and I will read it.
But there is no overall thesis. No entry point. What does he believe? Why should I trust him? Why is he correct?
You have to balance doing good work and telling people about it. @anildash asserts his expertise and body of work is undervalued, but doesn’t state them very clearly.
@PeterBronez @reneestephen if you think that third post is about coffee, I can’t help you.
So I went and read the article. That’s a horrible experience and I’m sorry it happened it to you.
It seems your thesis is “Our institutions have no capability for responding to crisis with compassion.” That’s not stated until the end of the article.
@anildash @reneestephen Here’s what I see as a first time visitor to your site, trying to figure out what you’re about, and scrolling to that article:
Title: “I went to a coffee shop”
Above the fold: “[cw: violence] I just wanted to capture this story here once so I don't have to tell it to anyone again. Because, while I am okay now, it is unpleasant to keep having to repeat the story to new people over and over. The short version is, I was…”
@anildash @reneestephen if you’re frustrated that people aren’t engaging with your ideas, try to communicate them more concisely. Make them more accessible. Reduce the digging someone has to do to get the point.
If I were in your shoes, I would
(1) create an evergreen page on the website that summarizes the philosophy you feel is ignored unfairly
(2) Be more intentional about blog post titles, taking some lessons from news headlines
@anildash @reneestephen In the spirit of the original question, is there a particular blog post that you feel summarizes your philosophy?
Something that communicates the questions that you’ve thought deeply about and see other folks stumbling through for the first time?
(1) this is like if someone gave ChatGPT the prompt "mansplain."
(2) I'm going to be more intentional about using my block button in the future.
Robert@reneestephen @anildash love that the op refers to people screaming from the rooftops "I don't know much, but here's my first thought" and this guy decided the thread could use an example