Val

The “read only” bullshit was always a lie. A child has control of all of our payment information and a fifth of the US economy. This is a coup.

I wonder if republicans would protest the broken US legal immigration system in the if they knew that mandatory vaccination is part of the process. Lol.

When Zuckerberg says he wants more “masculine energy” in tech—a field that is already heavily male dominated—he’s further normalizing the exclusion of women and gender queer people from the workplace to strip them of their financial independence in the industry and upward mobility in society

Couldn’t have said it better. It scares me that this is something that is not being discussed as much within tech circles. We are taking multiple steps back and barely have any allies in this industry.

Having this internal battle myself. It just does not feel the same. I don’t feel like putting effort into talking about tech stuff when that app might as well end up like X.

TikTok as we knew it died when it went dark this weekend. It’s still dead.

I deleted Facebook. Can't lie, that was my most used social media app. If we don't all collectively stand against meta, this can get a lot worse than just banning an app. Meta has planted millions in the pockets of politicians to get this done. #fuckmeta #banmeta

Same. It’s like muscle memory at this point.

Feeling a deep sense of loss by losing TikTok. It’s like a part of me died. I dedicated so many hours to content creation.

You Blamed DEI for Hurting Your Career. Now What? For people who pin their failures on diversity, corporate America’s DEI retreat removes a barrier—or maybe an excuse.

this confirms something i have long suspected, which is that certain people are told that their professional and academic failures are because of “affirmative action” or “DEI” as a way to avoid difficult conversations about their mediocrity www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

The Death of The Big Tech Dream Job

Wrote a substack article on the idolization of big tech by CS youth during the 2010s—and how that dream has slowly turned into a nightmare. The alternative? More sustainable employment options.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

Genuinely hope that TikTok doesn’t sell—even if it means a ban. It’s time the US stops bullying international companies into handing over power to US tech oligarchs. Another app destroyed by another Zuck or Elon-esque type is the last thing we need right now.

On the one hand, starting over and getting going on a new social media platform is daunting, and maybe even kind of annoying. But at the same time, it's a fresh start — a new day with opportunities for new creative connections. I like that.

Dear Tech Companies,

No. We don't want "A.I." anything.

We don't want A.I. social media "friends."
We don't want A.I.-generated news reporters or anchors.
We don't want A.I. to curate our music or make our movies.

We REALLY don't want A.I. put in charge of our insurance claims or kids' education.

The inability to see women and other underrepresented individuals as human beings, and the refusal to acknowledge their lived struggles, can only push a person into a deeper level of darkness. A sane and well-socialized individual would never rejoice at something like this.

Aside from the usual claims of female coworkers being mere “unskilled diversity hires”, there’s a common trend of “300k TC, big tech, no gf”, “Successful but sad and lonely.” Do the men in tech rejoicing in this decision not realize that they are further pushing themselves into a hole of loneliness?

I was able to read through the internal replies to this post, and while I saw a fair amount of employees speaking out against this decisions, it was quite jarring to see so many openly rejoicing in it. I then remembered the Blind app… and the many misogynistic posts by anonymous big tech employees.

I would like to continue educational tech content. With DIE under attack and questionable tech ethics all over, it feels more urgent than ever. But where do we go? Bluesky/Substack feel like tolerable replacements to Twitter. But what about short-form video content…?

Way too much is going on in the first week of 2025. We are a few days away from Inauguration Day and the possible TikTok ban, plus apps under Meta feel increasingly unsafe and unethical to use. It feels like the beginning of a new dark age in terms of media consumption and communication.

I’m starting to realize that I should approach every app on my phone with the following questions: “How does this app make me feel?”, “How will spending time on this app impact the rest of my day?”, “What is something positive that I’m getting out using this app?”, “Is this app rotting my brain?”

I will still pop in as it is useful for world news/pop culture at times, but will try to limit my usage to 5 minutes per day. Did not realize the effect that it has on my mood until I had a frame of reference.

So far a lot of the content that I’m seeing here is quite positive and discussions are fairly measured. The app overall makes me feel calm. Going back to Twitter and seeing all the propaganda and arguments that rely entirely on hatred gives me a bit of whiplash… and then anxiety…

A tale of two platforms:

BlueSky user numbers have hit a new record high in recent days, while the number of people deleting their accounts on X/Twitter has rocketed 🚀

the world would be a way better place if all the tech bro dudes who fanboy out over James Kirk actually ran their workplaces like he did

receipts