My week of Monday 31 October to Sunday 6 November 2022 included more food and drink outside the home than I’d planned, and I spent too long rejoicing in schadenfreude over the dramas at Twitter, but I did get a few things done. I even set up a Mastodon account, just in case.
Podcasts
- The 9pm Extra: Vertical Hold episode 403, “Has Elon Musk sunk Twitter? Should Medibank pay its cyber-ransom?”. It was great to be on Vertical Hold again, especially since I could talk about the Musk-Twitter dramas. However the story has moved on, and below there’s some links to more recent stories.
- I recorded the podcast on submarines on Thursday morning my time as planned, but haven’t had time to edit it yet.
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Articles
- Digital developments from Canberra 12, 5 November 2022. Parliament wasn’t sitting this week, but there’s been some action on several fronts.
You can read my previous writing at Authory, where you can also subscribe to an email compilation of any new stories each Sunday morning.
Media Appearances
- On Monday I spoke about Elon Musk and Twitter on ABC Melbourne. There’s also a bit about ravens and crows for some reason. This must all be horribly out of date by now.
- The ABC posted this too. Their identical version is at Free bird: What does Elon Musk intend to do with Twitter?.
Photos, Videos, Corporate Largesse
None of any of these things. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to be notified when new videos appear.
Recommendations
First, a whole bunch of updates on the Musk-Twitter drama.
- Musk’s Twitter updates app to start charging $8 for blue checkmark.
- “The more Musk’s actions don’t make sense from a commercial point of view, the more I become convinced that this is about politics for him, specifically ingratiating himself with the American right and with Beijing. A brief thread with the evidence.”
- “One of the things I occasionally get paid to do by companies/execs is to tell them why everything seemed to SUDDENLY go wrong, and subs/readers dropped like a stone. So, with everything going on at Twitter rn, time for a thread about the Trust Thermocline.”
- Meta’s Oversight Board to Elon Musk: Stop Pissing Off Twitter’s Advertisers.
- Twitter sees sudden mass layoffs as Elon Musk admits ‘massive drop’ in revenue.
- UN urges Elon Musk to ensure Twitter respects human rights.
- Does anyone really think Elon Musk cares about supporting creatives on Twitter?
- And finally, for people thinking of moving to Mastodon, “As a heavy tweeter/content creator who is now maintaining BOTH a Twitter and Mastodon presence, here is a short guide to what I have set up, how to do it and lessons I’ve learned, for others.”
And in other news:
- How Online Mobs Act Like Flocks Of Birds.
- This week’s best headline: Ultra-MAGA ‘Hot Babe’ who claimed Obama is a Illuminati lizard turns out to be a Chinese spy.
- Almost Real: The Fleeting Fame of Hunan’s Imitation Idols. “Campy knockoff bands offering cheap fun echo the discontent associated with China’s billion-dollar music.”
- I’ve very much enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club and the first sequel, The Man Who Died Twice.
- Finally, a comparison with Musk’s layoffs at Twitter, there’s the process described in Payment company Stripe cuts 14 per cent or 1120 employees from its workforce.
The Week Ahead
Parliament is sitting Monday through Thursday this week, although I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to pay that much attention. I’ve got a lot of work for clients this week, plus all of these things.
On Tuesday I’ll post that episode of The 9pm Edict about submarines with H I Sutton of Covert Shores.
Tuesday night sees the penultimate Bond on Tuesday with the fourth Daniel Craig film, Spectre (2015). Find a stream and get ready at 8.30pm AEDT. We press PLAY at 8.40pm.
On Thursday, rescheduled from last Thursday, I’ll be launching a new Pozible crowdfunding campaign, The 9pm Hardware Refresh 2022. It’s been more than seven years since my last major hardware purchase and my MacBook Pro really needs to be replaced before it becomes urgent again.
[Update 9 November 2022: I’m pushing back the start of ths crowdfunder again to a date TBA. I’ve been told that new MacBook Pro models are expected later this month and I’d like to see what happens to the product line-up before making any decisions. The campaign will still start before Christmas, and now run into the new year.]
Friday is the start of the Australian Museum’s FrogID Week, which actually runs for ten days, 11–20 November. Why not identify some frogs?
On Sunday I’m heading to Blacktown for an orgy of Whitlam nostalgia. On the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam launching the “It’s Time” campaign that eventually elected him as Australia’s prime minister, in the very same room, Senator Penny Wong is delivering the 2022 Whitlam Oration. If you want to join me, it’s free.
There’s also a companion exhibition, DEDICATED to the DEDICATED: Whitlam, the Arts and Democracy. Sunday is its last day, so Senator Wong’s lecture is effectively its closing party.
[Update 13 November 2022: Alas, the Orgy of Goughrophilia is cancelled, at least for me. I’m a bit sneezy and sniffly today. Best stay in.]
Further Ahead
- TwoSet Violin concert, Singapore (but it will also be livestreamed, which is how I’ll be watching it), 16 November 2022, 7.30pm SGT / 10.30pm AEDT.
- Victoria state election, 26 November 2022. I’ll probably do something special.
- Annual Industry Boat Cruise, Networking Event & After Party 2022, which is an invitation-only event for the communications and internet industry, Sydney Harbour, 1 December 2022.
- Watterson Christmas Party, Sydney, 2 December 2022. This is another invitation-only event, this time by one of the better tech public relations firms. Also, this is traditionally a very long Friday afternoon.
The 9pm Hardware Refresh 2022 crowdfunding wrap-up, 8 December 2022, 9pm AEDT.- Everything Open, Melbourne, 14–16 March 2023 (TBA).
- NSW state election, 25 March 2023. I’ll definitely do something special for this one.
- The Sydney Dialogue, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, online, 4–5 April 2023.
- Coronation of Charles III, 6 May 2023, although I have no idea what I’ll actually do about it.
[Photo: A feral Mexican fleabane aka Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) seen at Bunjaree Cottages on 6 November 2022.]