Many of us will know of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a long-standing comic strip by Zach Weinersmith. Sometimes he can make me laugh out loud. As an "old-school" computer operator, programmer and analyst, way back in my distant youth, I did so when I read this one. Click the image to be taken to a larger version at the comic's Web page (which will also allow you to read the mouseover text attached to the original image).
While on the subject of computer technology, there's an interesting article about Steve Krug, one of the pioneers of Web design. He thinks social media is the worst thing that's happened in the last forty years.
He lays out his ideal version of social media. Users wouldn't be able to have more than 100 followers, which would tamp down on virality. Short-form videos would also be more difficult to find — only available via search and subscriptions, not through a curated algorithm — and wouldn't be "spoon-fed to you in such large doses," he says. That's a level of friction that he'd enjoy.
"There could have been a really good life for social networking that could have been a benefit to society," Krug says. "It hasn't gone in that direction at all."
He's especially worried about kids. When he was young, there were only three TV stations. Still, his parents didn't let him sit in front of the television every day after school, so he went to run around with the neighborhood kids instead. It benefited him, he says.
"They're designed for addiction, because that's how they make money," Krug says of the social platforms.
There's more at the link. Recommended reading.
Peter
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