Category: Blog

Crazy to think that I’ve been on Twitter for some 15 years or so. And for many years, Twitter was my favourite place on the internet. These days, not so much.

Twitter bots, trolls, and alts

When I joined the platform all those years ago, the community was great. These days, there are so many bots, trolls, alts, and generally nasty bigot types, it’s not a fun place to be. And I’m a straight, white, middle-aged man. For those that are not straight, white middle-aged men, it’s even worse.

The Elon Musk takeover is the icing on the cake. Like me, he’s an advocate for free speech but unlike me, he thinks free speech is a licence to attack anyone you like for any reason. He also seems to think it’s okay to use his online influence to influence the price of stock and cryptocurrency. He seems to be above the law in that respect.

And with that, I am done. For now, at least. If the situation changes, I may go back to Twitter but for now, it’s just a signpost to my Mastodon account.

Mastodon for the win

Speaking of Mastodon, that’s where you’ll find my drivel from now on.

Mastodon is different in many ways. First and foremost, it’s not owned by anyone. It’s decentralised, which means users connect to community-run servers around the world. And that also means moderation is essentially community-based too. Freedom of speech is still promoted but the general rule is: don’t be an asshole.

If you’re looking for another place to spew your brain puke, Mastodon seems like the best option for now.

The problem with Mastodon

The main problem with Mastodon is that it’s not easy to get set up. Most social media users don’t understand decentralised networks and the business of finding a server is complicated to say the least. As far as decentralised social media goes, it’s been that way for about a decade, so don’t expect it to change any time soon.

Get @ me on Mastodon

Lastly, if you want to find me on Mastodon, you will find me here:

@pilchard@tweetrex.co.uk

At the time of writing, the web version of my Mastodon account seems about three days behind the app version. Not sure if this is a bug or something. Could be a few of those.

It’s not that I don’t understand it. I do. I totally get it. I just don’t like it.

Like every mass-market content platform (or social media site if you prefer), there is good content on TikTok. In fact, there’s a lot of GREAT content if you can be arsed to find it.

But therein lies the rub. It takes the algorithm a really long time to work out what you like and it’s far from laser-focused when it does. In the meantime, you’ll have to put up with endless scrolling through memes, dances, disrobing, and live feeds of people sitting, doing literally nothing.

My biggest gripe is that I have to remember to turn the speaker volume down to zero before I open the app. Not doing so means you get all of the above but LOUD. Even those sitting doing nothing are usually doing it to a soundtrack of autotuned crud.

On top of this, I can’t really see a reason as to why I would want to share anything via this platform besides a few cheap shots to promote my own music (which is available via the TikTok music search functionality).

Right now, it’s not for me. But who knows, maybe I’ll use it as a promotional tool sometime in the near future.

Oh, you can follow me on there if you want. I go by the moniker, @pilchardmusic.

Why should we bring back the imperial system of weights and measures? Is it easier to use than the metric system? No. Is it a global standard? No. So why?

Because it’s British. It’s British, so it’s great. It’s a reminder of when Britain ruled the world.

To anyone that isn’t a flag-shagging nationalist, it’s just a symbol of oppression and exploitation, and a stupid number system that makes no sense.

Just drop it. It’s time the imperial system was six-foot under.

What kind of idiot thinks the way to solve America’s gun problem is more guns?

Of course, he would say that at a rally for gun nuts.

Fix your fucking gun laws.

How many more kids have to die?

The temperature is rising, the flowers and blossoms are blooming, and the critters are getting busy. That can only mean one thing. Spring is here!

Time to get outside.

Today on Twitter, Elon Musk said the acquisition of Twitter is being postponed.

Something to do with fake accounts. Don’t care.

As you’d expect, Twitter stock bombed immediately. Could this be the reason why he made the announcement? Maybe he wants to save himself a few billion and snap it up for a lower price.

This is not unexpected, given how he manipulated crypto stocks by making announcements relating to his own crypto activity.

Shit or get off the pot, Elon.

Going to the barbers terrifies me.

Having someone that close to me for an extended period is bad enough but the worst part is the conversation. I’ve got nothing to give. I will be expected to give. Nothing will be given.

I still remember that time my fish and chips came with a pickled egg instead of the pickled onion I ordered.

I took a bite. Of course I took a bite.

I shouldn’t have taken a bite.

It tasted like I imagine rotting flesh or roast dog poo to taste.

I never want that near my face again.