man-of-doom

[man-of-doom]

Eulogy to a Blue Canary

So this will be a long read, so strap in.

Also, there may be a pinch of Politics here so just bear with me.

We live in interesting times. As of this writing, a certain bird app will be under new management. And let’s just say that the new management… isn’t particularly truthful about things. On top of other things.

Who knows what might’ve compelled the new management to buy one of the largest platforms in the world. Supposedly, it was being dumped by a significant other over reactionary views (which have since intensified). Or maybe it was attempting to avoid revealing some particularly embarrassing (or unsavory) texts in front of a court of law.

Or maybe it’s the attempts to weasel out of a bad deal, including the courtship of hostile foreign powers in the midst of shaky world events.

It sure wasn’t out of altruism to maintain a “public square at its best”, was it?

But evidently, that was considered “good enough”.

Either way, the new management has already promised so many things, so many plans for the blue bird. Let’s have things like human verification, while also cutting more than half of the staff within the first week of ownership. Let’s have moderation handled by bots which has surely worked like a charm in the past.

Maybe a mandatory subscription plan would help a company be profitable for once?

But for sure, we’ve gotta do something about “keeping things balanced” and open the floor to all discussion. Perhaps, we could do away with permanent bans altogether because even the most hateful voices deserve to be heard (and yes, that was seriously considered)! It doesn’t matter if someone tried to literally overthrow a world power, all’s fair in the marketplace of ideas!

“Consequences, what are those?”

It’s hard to see why the new management would do such a bang-up job with one of the largest social media networks in the world.

After all, there’s the meteoric resurgence of a certain politics that values cruelty over human dignity (and it just won’t go away), not to mention that entire groups of minorities are already within the crosshairs.

It’s definitely not a bad idea to add napalm to the flames, evidently.

All extreme ideations aside, one might argue that a certain bird app has always been an open sewer, and they would be correct.

It’s true that the blue bird gives people the opportunity to be their absolute worst selves, regardless of affiliation or identification. It’s a place where the Dunning-Kruger effect runs rampant, and ignorance effortlessly triumphs over nuance.

Where full-blown verbal or even psychological abuse is considered “holding someone accountable”.

So yes, it would probably be for the net benefit of mankind if the blue bird ceased to be.

And one would argue, nothing would fundamentally change, right?

After all, the new management is just another capitalist billionaire who answers to no one.

That would be one of the best-case scenarios.

The new management’s entire MO is to hype up something revolutionary only for the promise to be half-kept at best, writing checks that can’t (or won’t) be cashed.

Maybe some chicanery the new management pulled will eventually come back from the grave as a vengeful spirit.

On the other hand, the new management will now know the deepest and darkest secrets of all who dared to sign a contract with the canary in the coal mine.

As long as the new management gets to make $10 billion instead of $9 billion a month, information can easily be bought. The information available at the new management’s fingertips would be sold at the highest bidder.

And that’s not even getting into influence that can be wielded by bad actors with impunity (perceived or not).

Ultimately, I find myself of two minds as a result: elation that maybe the great blue bird will finally bleed, and existential dread over the blue bird’s capability of its own butterfly effect.

Add to this the connections I’ve made on that one site, and emotions get even more complicated.

Either way, I will always come to appreciate and treasure the time I spent there, and the new people I’ve come to befriend as a result. (And hey, at least I was able to extend some of those connections beyond just that one site.)

But in the end, we’re the ones with the power, aren’t we?

Social media sites operate on Highlander rules. The more heads collected in a profile picture, the more power one contains.

We may not be getting the Prize anytime soon, but at least we’ll have defeated the Kurgan.

But we’re only at the training phase for now.

[man-of-doom]

Hello there.

So obviously, I’m Man of Doom and I figured making a Tumblr page was actually a long time coming (I remember when I was much younger, I’d pretty much lurk here but never actually got around to making a page for myself).

Honestly, I debated making one even today since I wasn’t sure if it’d be worth it to air out my own personal thoughts, but then I realized not only would it be a good idea for my mental health to keep a journal of sorts, but also to ensure that for the connections I make, I’m always my true self rather than presenting myself as someone I’m not.

So yeah, pronouns are he/they, not to mention that I do cosplay, Doom stuff (and also assorted interests), and a fair amount of writing.

Expect a lot of rambling from here on out. You have been warned.