Mastodawn

Ricky de Laveaga 1d ago

famebot 1d ago

What do you use to author DVDs nowadays?

Ricky de Laveaga 1d ago

famebot 1d ago

The gig panopticon 👁️

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/21/ai-trainers-identity-cost

Thousands of people are selling their identities to train AI – but at what cost?

Gig AI trainers worldwide are selling moments of their lives, including calls and texts, to AI companies for quick cash

The Guardian

Ricky de Laveaga 1d ago

Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)

⁠

Mar 15

Painting of a Cherub 🖼️

Ricky de Laveaga 1d ago

None Hitwonder Mar 12

If computers are so smart, then why have I been identifying motorcycles for them for a decade?

Ricky de Laveaga 2d ago

famebot 2d ago

Even #Bluesky, a supposed alternative to the decaying toxic mess known as X, is a giant data trap.

“In April 2025, Bluesky raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Crypto”

“The Atmosphere currently contains about 20 billion public records—the posts, likes, comments and other interactions” (including blocks + mutelists are public lists).

Anyone who doesn’t see the next move needs only look to #Reddit.

Thanks @_elena for drawing attention to this.
https://bsky.social/about/blog/03-19-2026-series-b

Bluesky's 2025 $100M Series B Lays Foundation for Open Social Web - Bluesky

In April 2025, Bluesky raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Crypto. Since our Series A, we've grown from 13 million to over 43 million global users.

Bluesky

Ricky de Laveaga 2d ago

Matt May 2d ago

One thing that's standing out to me as an American in Mexico is how they actually communicate about government services online and on social media. Here's how to register to vote. This is the consumer protection agency hotline. Here's how to get public health insurance for citizens and residents. These are our govt-backed home loans, with 12mo off interest-free if you lose your job.

Just really reminds me how much you have to claw and scratch to access services in the US. That's on purpose.

Ricky de Laveaga 2d ago

Show thread

Elena Rossini ⁂2d ago

@blogdiva 🎯🎯🎯 and blocks, which are public information.

You can infer so much about someone from the accounts they are blocking. And guess who the most blocked accounts are? No need to guess actually, it’s all out in the open on clearsky.app

Ricky de Laveaga 2d ago

Show thread

Elena Rossini ⁂2d ago

Mike Masnick, who sits on the board of #Bluesky, claims the team was too busy to announce the series B funding (see screenshot).

But something is fishy.

Even the VC firm - Bain Capital Crypto - isn't listing Bluesky anywhere on their website: https://baincapitalcrypto.com/portfolio/

Why the mystery? Was Bluesky afraid of a public backlash & asked to keep the information under wraps?

Sorry if I keep repeating myself but I will forever be skeptical of Bluesky and think of the tale of the scorpion and the frog.

Ricky de Laveaga 2d ago

your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦2d ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@_elena/116260876501374382

soOoOo…

been pondering this Bluesky mess, and i think i found a reason for why Bluesky executives didn't want people to find out they took 100 million from Bain Capital:

❝ "The Atmosphere currently contains about 20 billion public records—the posts, likes, comments and o͟t͟h͟e͟r͟ i͟n͟t͟e͟r͟a͟c͟t͟i͟o͟n͟s͟ ❞

what other interactions are there beyond posts, likes and comments?

oh, right: DIRECT MESSAGES.

so is this why they kept quiet? that the money was contingent upon them redefining public to include DMs?

Ricky de Laveaga 2d ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@lapcatsoftware/116261958233295081

Death once had a near-Chuck experience.

🌐	https://rdela.com
🐙	https://github.com/rdela