elfpie

Transcript here: https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=zKcPGV6bGFM [you can skip to the first "(mellow music)" to avoid the ad]

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I still don’t remember how I started watching a channel about primarily fashion, but the insights I get there would hardly come from anywhere else. This video reminded me of the media conflicts we are experiencing now, with big corporations pretending they have a symbiotic relationship with their audience / customers / employees while exploiting them for maximum gain.

The video talks about a marketing practice that makes use of influencers instead of big (expensive) celebrity names for their campaigns and how they basically work for free. About how brands manipulate both the people they work with and their audience.

I've been thinking about the arguments that are increasingly common when dealing with tech: "it's too complicated" and "I just want something that works".

My father gifted a used computer to me and my brother when we were kids. Ours to use, ours to take care. He would pay for the eventual screw up, but we had to walk several blocks carrying the tower to get assistance.

I messed up a lot over the years, mostly because I wanted to explore the little that I knew and learn more. I had some magazines that expected everything to go well if instructions were followed and no access to internet forums to ask for help. I was limited to just one language as well. I had to find a way out. Nowadays things are much more simple and really just work, until they don't and I can't really fix them.

In this world, what people can do is complain. Or offer a report of how things went wrong and wait patiently. It's not even that common for people in general to just go back to the version that worked. There's no version, only the app we use or can't use and it's not our responsibility any kind of maintenance.

I have to confess I was going in another direction when I started, but things are really limited from a consumer's point of view. In part, it's our fault for not wanting to deal with the burden of knowledge, it inevitably takes the control away from us, but big tech really approves and incentives this behavior.

As with so many problems I see in the world, education is the solution. And educating ourselves might be the only dependable option.

Transcript: https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=3XGIxUXDWqw

The video shows how alternatives may not be real solutions for many of those in need. I see it as an example of how we shouldn't theorize solutions based only in our limited point of view or accept blindly that those in power did their due diligence and are not just in it for optics.

It’s a video about sexuality as a gaming mechanic. The same way you might play as a mage or a warrior, you can choose who your character is interested in. Except you don’t realize you have an option until someone else that played the game in a different way tells you. There’s a focus on bisexual erasure as well.

If the video is too long for you, watch the first twelve minutes and you will get the gist.

You can read the transcript here: https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=iZGkxUTbDqw

Watching this now, it’s hard not to think about social media and how the ecosystem is tailored to make you see exactly what you want. We will always interpret the world though the lens of our personal past experiences, but tech is able to steer us away from anything that challenges our point of view these days. It’s a common practice for big companies to edit their products to comply with the demands of specific cultures or the powers that be.

There are the players and the world. There are well-crafted narratives and player choices. Being able to role play as much as you want is good, and the same can be said of a world that adapts to your decisions. On the other hand, experience something that is beyond or at the edges of my imagination has great value, and a world whose personality changes solely for my benefit is limiting in a way I’ll never be aware.

This is not a comparison between Tildes and Beehaw. The question really is what constitutes a safe space, but looking at them side by side was at made me think about this issue. I’m new in both communities and I’m aware that they are in a state of adaptation with all the newcomers, something to keep in mind. Another detail to be considered is that the space I talk about is the limitations (rules and guidelines) in which the community can exist to create their own culture.

Firstly, Tildes is not a safe space and doesn’t intend to be. It’s far from being a free for all with rampant toxicity either. You go there if you want to have healthy discussions with people that know better than to cross the line when expressing themselves. That line, though, is more defined by practical consequences. You derail the conversation into something that goes in the direction of nasty and it will be cut down.

At Beehaw, I see a desire to avoid unnecessary grief. A user might have a bad day and say something in a way that rubs others the wrong way, but that will not be the norm and I imagine it’s expected that people will take notice when called out.

Both places incentive productive discussions, but Beehaw puts its users well being above all else. I believe there’s a gap between the two that can’t be filled by anything else. I think this gap is what is necessary to create a safe space. No fuzzy line that can easily be crossed, but a ditch.

With all that said, in a somewhat obvious way, I see safe spaces defined by how you make the people inside it feel. Basically, safe to exist and safe to engage. A space in which you don’t have to fear being hurt, even if that’s an impossible guarantee. In a safe space, if things go bad, there will be plenty that have your back.

Hostile spaces, on the other hand, are marked by the lack of care for safety. The world is a dangerous place and you should just deal with it or stay locked at home.

That’s probably enough from me. What are your thoughts? What do you look for in a safe space for discussions? And how do you know if you are in the right place?

I went for a ride this morning expecting to get a feel of my new tires. It was a thick fog day with all the people that think they don’t need lights (drivers and riders) getting invisible too fast for comfort, so no full speed downhill. I also missed my exit and the (dirt) roads look mostly the same for long stretches, particularly when I can’t see the background. Unfortunately the path lead nowhere and, while tracing back, I strangely got to the road I wanted by accident.

I’m still a beginner, but I explored different routes and got lost enough to not worry about not being sure where I am and checking the map. Truth is, I enjoy it. Learning the ins and outs of the small secondary rural roads, going up and down rocky roads, loose rocky dirt roads, sandy roads, mud roads, everything, is so much fun. Recently I stopped to admire the view as well. I ride solo by the way.

I should’ve realized it sooner, but the reason I like my bicycle is how it lets me go to places I wouldn’t go otherwise. The limits of my freedom expands. Going around the same route faster and faster is not for me. Going farther without going anywhere is pointless. Riding is an exercise I chose and I can have all the benefits by just having fun.

That’s me. What kind of fun do you find while riding?