Tag: Reading.am

👓 The IndieWeb Movement Will Help People Control Their Own Web Presence? | Future Hosting

Read The IndieWeb Movement Will Help People Control Their Own Web Presence? by Matthew Davis (Future Hosting)
The early vision of the web was one of a decentralized and somewhat anarchic community where we each had control over our own content and our own online presence — that’s a vision that Tim Berners-Lee still endorses, but it’s one that’s put in jeopardy by the relentless centralizing tendency of big companies. And that’s why I find the Indie Web movement so interesting — not as a rejection of the corporate influence, but as a much needed counterbalance that provides the technology for people, should they so choose, to build an online presence of their own devising without giving up the communities and the connections that they have built on existing networks.
A short and succinct definition of the movement and just a few of the positive pieces. I think the movement is further along than the author gives it credit for though.

👓 WordPress’s owner is closing its San Francisco office because its employees never show up | QZ

Read Wordpress's owner is closing its San Francisco office because its employees never show up by Oliver Staley (Quartz)
Automattic, the technology company that owns WordPress.com, has a beautiful office in a converted San Francisco warehouse, with soaring ceilings, a library, and a custom-made barn door. If you like the space, you're free to move in. The office at 140 Hawthorne went on the market after CEO Matt Mullenweg came to the realization not...

👓 Delta, Bank of America End Sponsorship of New York’s Public Theater Over Trump-Like ‘Julius Caesar'” | Hollywood Reporter

Read Delta, Bank of America End Sponsorship of New York's Public Theater Over Trump-Like 'Julius Caesar' (The Hollywood Reporter)
“No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of 'Julius Caesar' at this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values," the airline said in a statement.
Even satire can’t be treated respectfully anymore.

Where’s the possible angle on the story that these companies are doing this for potential Trump retribution? What about other sponsors? Are they experiencing customer fall-out over their support of the piece? This story stopped far too short.

👓 Small Businesses Cheer ‘New Sheriff in Town’ After Climate Pact Exit | New York Times

Read Small Businesses Cheer ‘New Sheriff in Town’ After Climate Pact Exit by Landon Thomas, Jr. (New York Times)
Local firms’ leaders around the country remain widely supportive of President Trump, even as some chief executives of big corporations pull away.
This may be the definition of mediocre reporting, and possibly worse because it was one of the biggest stories of the week. It’s nice to have a story telling us what the other parts of the country are feeling. What they’re completely missing here is “WHY do these people who really have no experience with the science think this is the correct direction?” Other than repeating sound bites they’ve heard (most likely politicians say) on television, what are their reasons for cheering? They need to be prodded several questions deep to find the real underlying reasons.

I suspect that most small businesses don’t have very solid reasons, if any at all, for their cheering.

Addendum: Even worse, I heard the head of the EPA reference this particular article to support his own arguments on Meet the Press this morning. Because of this it would have been even better if the underlying reason for their joy was covered.

👓 Fuck Facebook | Daring Fireball

Read Fuck Facebook by John Gruber (Daring Fireball)
Treat Facebook as the private walled garden that it is. If you want something to be publicly accessible, post it to a real blog on any platform that embraces the real web, the open one.

Content that isn’t indexable by search engines is not part of the open web.

—John Gruber

👓 Three Strategies to Defend GOP Health Bill: Euphemisms, False Statements and Deleted Comments | Pro Publica

Read Three Strategies to Defend GOP Health Bill: Euphemisms, False Statements and Deleted Comments by Charles Ornstein (Pro Publica)
Since the passage of the American Health Care Act, Republican members of Congress have tried to swing public opinion to their side. ProPublica has been tracking what they’re saying.
We really do need more transparency in government. A bit of truth wouldn’t hurt either.

Continue reading 👓 Three Strategies to Defend GOP Health Bill: Euphemisms, False Statements and Deleted Comments | Pro Publica

👓 Where Countries Stand With Donald Trump: A Crib Sheet | The Atlantic

Read Where Countries Stand With Donald Trump: A Crib Sheet by Uri Friedman (The Atlantic)
The American president tells the man behind a brutal anti-drug campaign that he is doing a “great job.”
 

Continue reading 👓 Where Countries Stand With Donald Trump: A Crib Sheet | The Atlantic

👓 Jared Kushner’s Role Is Tested as Russia Case Grows | New York Times

Read Jared Kushner’s Role Is Tested as Russia Case Grows by Glenn Thrush (nytimes.com)
It is unclear how Jared Kushner’s high-profile woes will affect his hard-won partnership with his father-in-law, perhaps the most stable in an often unstable White House.

👓 Trump used to be more articulate. What could explain the change? | STAT

Read Trump used to be more articulate. What could explain the change? by Sharon Begley (STAT)

STAT asked experts to compare Trump's speech from decades ago to that in 2017. All noticed deterioration, which may signal changes in Trump's brain health.

STAT reviewed decades of Trump’s on-air interviews and compared them to Q&A sessions since his inauguration. The differences are striking and unmistakable.

Research has shown that changes in speaking style can result from cognitive decline. STAT therefore asked experts in neurolinguistics and cognitive assessment, as well as psychologists and psychiatrists, to compare Trump’s speech from decades ago to that in 2017; they all agreed there had been a deterioration, and some said it could reflect changes in the health of Trump’s brain.

👓 Facebook blocks Pulitzer-winning reporter over Malta government exposé | The Guardian

Read Facebook blocks Pulitzer-winning reporter over Malta government exposé by Julia Carrie Wong (The Guardian)
Temporary censorship of Matthew Caruana Galizia – who worked on the Panama Papers – raises concern over Facebook’s power to shape the news
I agree wholly with Ben Werdmuller.  Here’s yet another example why journalists should be posting their material to their own websites first before syndicating it to Facebook. Sure Facebook may help you get more eyeballs, but it doesn’t help if you’re locked out of your account or the content disappears altogether.

I’d written about some ideas related to this in the recent past: The Indieweb and Journalism.

I’m happy to help any journalist who is interested in creating their own easily maintainable website that uses Indieweb principles.

👓 Introducing Susan’s Book Club | Susan Fowler

Read Introducing Susan's Book Club by Susan Fowler (Susan Fowler)
I've been searching for the perfect monthly book club for years, one that could send me new science, math, philosophy, and technology books every month. I contacted several publishers, reached out to various existing companies, and nobody seemed to be interested. Finally, earlier this year, after he...

👓 Life Without a Destiny | Susan J. Fowler

Read Life Without a Destiny by Susan J. Fowler
I have no singular destiny, no one true passion, no goal. I flutter from one thing to the next. I want to be a physicist and a mathematician and a novelist and write a sitcom and write a symphony and design buildings and be a mother. I want to run a magazine and understand the lives of ants and be a philosopher and be a computer scientist and write an epic poem and understand every ancient language. I don't just want one thing. I want it all.