Darnell (Seize The Day)

I was finally able to watch the video from @dot_social@flipboard.video in which @mike@flipboard.social of Flipboard fame interviews @rklambo@threads.net & @pcottle@threads.net from Threads.

It also occurred to me how surreal it is that potential competitors are having a casual conversation about ActivityPub. It would be like Microsoft sharing a meal with Netscape.

One surprise was the fact that Threads chose ActivityPub over rival federated protocols as ActivityPub was:

• already recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
• battle-tested for almost a decade
• already had a plethora of great apps built on the protocol

Another surprise is that many Fediverse developers helped Threads debug an issue that was tricky for Meta to figure out, & that there is continued cooperation between developers.

Unfortunately, there was no discussion on when Threads will launch an iPad app or if they will reconsider allowing third party developers to create a third party Threads client (the latter would be my preference).

Whether you love, loathe, or are indifferent about Threads, it was a great conversation to watch. Also, it will be interesting to see the Fediverse expand 100-fold when both Threads & Flipboard fully federate later this year.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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Previously, there were unofficial reports that Threads had surpassed 190 million users (I am not sure how the third party company was calculating their metrics as they were wrong before), but Meta has revealed that the service is still growing at a relatively healthy pace all the while introducing a new feature in beta.

Meta's Threads app now has more than 150 million monthly users, an increase of about 20 million new users since February. Mark Zuckerberg shared the latest user numbers during Meta''s first-quarter earnings call, saying that the app “continues to be on the trajectory that I hope to see.” [...]

Threads users may soon have a new way to clean up their timelines. The app is testing a new archive feature that can be used to manually archive individual posts or automatically hide posts after a set period of time, Adam Mosseri shared. (Engadget)

Reaching 150 million users is an impressive milestone, although I expect that number to dip slightly once Turkey’s 🇹🇷 ban of Threads takes effect on April 29th.

One statistic Threads has yet to reveal is how many users have activated ActivityPub, which, from my anecdotal observations, is probably less than 1%.

As far as archiving goes, it is an exciting feature that might appeal to privacy-conscious users. A better option would be auto-delete after a certain number of days, a popular feature in Mastodon.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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It is alarming that the House of Representatives in Congress are once again attempting to justify banning TikTok from the eyes of millions of Americans 🇺🇸.

“This bill protects Americans and especially America’s children from the malign influence of Chinese propaganda on the app TikTok. This app is a spy balloon in Americans’ phones,” said bill author Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican. [...]

ByteDance intends to exhaust all legal challenges before it considers any kind of divestiture if the TikTok ban becomes law, according to people familiar with the matter.

“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually,” a TikTok spokesperson said Saturday. (Bloomberg)

There was at least one Congressman by the name of Ro Khanna willing to stand up to this silly bill, & he posted his response to the evil ban on TikTok & YouTube.

This TikTok ban was snuck inside a foreign aid package bill, making it unlikely that the US Senate will ignore it.

[House Speaker Mike] Johnson’s foreign aid plan includes three bills that separately fund Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region, along with a fourth bill that includes various GOP-backed foreign policy priorities as a sweetener to entice Republicans to back the proposal. Those provisions would include seizing frozen Russian assets to fund the Ukrainian war effort along with legislation that could result in a nationwide ban on the popular social media app, TikTok. (USA Today)

Unfortunately, @potus@threads.net will sign the bill into law if it clears the Senate.

Today, members of both parties in the House of Representatives voted to advance our national security interests by passing urgently needed legislation delivering critical support to Israel and Ukraine, and aid for those impacted by conflict and disasters around the world.

I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk. (President Joe Biden)

Suppose the United States 🇺🇸 can ban TikTok. In that case, they can ban any social networking site for any reason, including sites on the Fediverse originating from hostile nations like China 🇨🇳 & Russia 🇷🇺 (which would upset @admin@pravda.me, which is a top ranked instance).

The United States 🇺🇸 is not immune from electing another authoritarian as President, who would most certainly abuse this measure to silence online gatherings of dissidents who are upset about their policies.

Banning TikTok is a dangerous slippery slope that could enable Congress and the President to ban any site deemed a national security risk, leading toward further online erosions of liberty.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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For those interested in hosting their own Pixelfed or Castopod instance on their domain, K&T Host currently offers free hosting as part of a beta test.

For Pixelfed Folks

Get Pixelfed hosting that works for you

Store and share your photos without compromising your data security and privacy. Get started now, with free setup and migration. [...]

Massive storage

Scale your data resources up to 10TB for massive file storage. Upload your image to your App Cloud account to create your own image cloud with Pixelfed.

Security first

Why take risks with your site? K&T Shield protects Pixelfed with custom security that is always up-to-date. K&T Shield also provides extra security to your sensitive administrative pages. [...]

Built for speed

Pixelfed is faster than ever. You start out with optimal resources, based on what Pixelfed needs to work best. Handle more traffic with triple compute power and micro-caching for faster load times. (via K&T Host)

Beta test users start with 1 gigabyte of RAM & 20 gigabytes of storage (you might be able to request more during the beta test.

For podcasters less interested in photos & more interested in audio, here is K&T Host’s Castopod offer:

For Castopod Citizens

Speed up with Redis

Speed up Castopod with Redis caching. Redis is a great way to speed up a busy Castopod instance to keep content flowing. Redis is available in every Castopod service. [...]

Full SSH access

Access your Castopod instance directly on the server over SSH. Manage Castopod using command line tools including the built-in “php spark” command. Configure Cron, backups, and updates over SSH.

Control your data

Build your online presence with Castopod. All of your data and metadata are stored on privately owned and managed hardware using entirely open-source software. Post, upload, share, and access info without tracking.

If you are wondering if these deals are too good to be true, the caveat is that K&T Host will offer free hosting, albeit temporarily, to test out these Fediverse platforms on their servers.

What is the beta testing program?

The beta program is a period of time in which new applications become available for testing before general availability. The purpose of this program is to solicit feedback on how well new applications work, and to diagnose and resolve any issues with the hosting.

What do I get out of it?

Beta testers receive free hosting of the application during the beta program, plus three months free hosting after the beta program ends. Should beta testers continue hosting the application, there is a 20% discount for the life of the hosting service.

What are the requirements?

1) Bring your own domain, or sub domain to use. K&T does not provide domain registration services.

2) Install, manage, and test the selected application, and report any issues you run into. (via K&T Host)

Another caveat is that beta testers will receive lower priority support during the testing phase, which will change once the beta is over.

Is it worth it‽

This beta test may not be for everyone. Still, for those seeking to sample their entrance into the Fediverse via Pixelfed or Castopod, this is a great way to experiment with these ActivityPub platforms without risking losing money.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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On April 29th, Meta will officially deactivate Threads accounts for anyone residing in the nation of Turkey 🇹🇷.

To comply with an interim order of the Rekabet Kurumu/Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), we will shut down Threads in Türkiye from Monday 29 April. We know this will be very disappointing for the many people in Türkiye who engage on Threads with their community. [...]

The TCA recently issued an interim order prohibiting the sharing of data between Threads and Instagram. We disagree with the interim order, we believe we are in compliance with all Turkish legal requirements, and we will appeal. The TCA’s interim order leaves us with no choice but to temporarily shut down Threads in Türkiye. We will continue to constructively engage with the TCA and hope to bring Threads back to people in Türkiye as quickly as possible. (Meta Newsroom)

Although Turkey 🇹🇷 is banning Threads over technical & legal reasons, those active on the Fediverse on other platforms should be aware of the dangers of putting all of your Fediverse eggs 🥚 in one ActivityPub basket 🧺.

Fedi-citizens should consider using multiple platforms on multiple instances, just in case a government:

• Blocks an instance or the hosting service of your instance
• Seizes a domain from your preferred instance (Afghanistan 🇦🇫 seized the domain from a pro-LGBT instance)
• Sanctions a large scale DDoS attack against your instance

For example, according to China Firewall Test:

• four of my instances are partially blocked in China 🇨🇳 (both of my WriteFreely instances, my Misskey instance & my Pixelfed instance) due to who I have chosen to host with
• two Fediverse instances are entirely blocked (alas Flipboard & Threads!)
• The other five instances (one Mastodon & four WordPress) are fully available.

If possible, I would advocate either solo hosting or using less popular (albeit more minor) instances which most governments usually overlook.

While there is nothing wrong with creating an account on a more prominent instance, more often than not, they are the target of government anger (for trivial or political reasons), which means followers may not be able to follow your Fedi-adventures if your instance is blocked.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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🦹🏾‍♂️ WordPress Workarounds: 💻 Darnell (TeleVerse) 🌍 Darnell (Africa) 👨🏾‍🎨 Darnell (Creative Outlet)

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Previously, there were reports that Elon Musk was laying off 10% of their workforce, or approximately 14,000 employees from Tesla.

However, Elon Musk could soon lay off one-fifth of his workforce (28,000 employees).

Musk’s most decisive action came Monday when he announced the layoffs of more than 10% of the company’s staff, which totaled over 140,000 employees at the end of 2023. There are signs the cuts could eventually go much deeper: Last week, Tesla managers were asked to provide the company with a list of 20% of their employees to consider for layoffs, said a former employee involved in those discussions.

Several other Tesla executives also announced their departures from the company on Monday, including one of Tesla’s most senior executives, Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development. (The Information)

Although this layoff ratio is not as bad as X (where 80% of the employees were laid off), reducing a fifth of your workforce is significant, as well as a corporate morale killer.

I do not think Tesla is in danger of going bankrupt. However, Tesla will need to figure out alternate avenues for revenue as consumer demand for electric vehicles is dropping.

Unlike many rivals, Tesla’s options are not limited to automobiles, as the company also sells batteries & solar panels to clients as well.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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A handy plugin by WordPress has been released, which can help to decrease the loading time for your WordPress-powered website.

The only caveat is that you will only see the results on two Chromium browsers.

The Speculation Rules API is a new web API that [...] allows defining rules to dynamically prefetch and/or prerender URLs of certain structure based on user interaction, in JSON syntax—or in other words, speculatively preload those URLs before the navigation. This API can be used, for example, to prerender any links on a page whenever the user hovers over them. Also, with the Speculation Rules API, “prerender” actually means to prerender the entire page, including running JavaScript. This can lead to near-instant load times once the user clicks on the link as the page would have most likely already been loaded in its entirety. [...]

While the Speculation Rules API has been available in Chrome and Edge since version 109 in general, the particular subfeature needed to unlock the aforementioned functionality is called “document rules”, which was only recently added in version 121. This post describes the latest enhancements to the API in more depth.

In other words, at the time of writing this post end users will need to use either Chrome 121+ or Edge 121+ to get the benefits of this feature. However there are no adverse effects for users on other browsers, as this is a progressive enhancement. Therefore using the Speculation Rules API on your website is safe regardless of the user base. (Make WordPress Core)

While WordPress users are recommended to install the plugin, it is rather odd that only the top two Chromium browsers are initially supported.

As Speculative Loading was already being perfected by Mozilla, I am surprised why Firefox was not included on the list of compatible browsers for the plugin.

Firefox’s omission by WordPress could be due to the former’s market share, which according to Statcounter is surprisingly in fourth place (behind Chrome, Safari, & Microsoft Edge).

Hopefully, the Speculative Loading WordPress plugin will figure out how to work with non-Chromium browsers in the future, as many people enjoy experiencing the web outside of Google’s influence.

Note: Discovered via @martinibuster@mastodon.social on Search Engine Journal

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Over on Threads, @wedistributemedia@threads.net asked an interesting question as to why the United States 🇺🇸 government is communicating to the Fediverse via @potus@threads.net & @whitehouse@threads.net instead of using their self-hosted server.

This question is something I would like to know as well, although it appears as if @hello@social.wedistribute.org answered their question in a recent blog post.

Here are my thoughts, based on my limited experience working for both tech startups and government. [...]

Aside from choosing an official platform to stake operations on, there’s also the matter of finding an ideal third-party vendor. Currently, managed Fediverse hosting services are still in their infancy, and I’m not sure they’re up to scratch for what a government entity demands: comprehensive compliance requirements, service-level agreements, user training and onboarding materials, and promises pertaining to security upgrades and threat mitigations.

There may also be requirements for custom development, for example, integrating federal single sign-on, such as ID.me or something similar. There would also need to be a deployment strategy for various users, departments, and bureaus. It may be possible for an existing government IT provider to adopt Mastodon or another platform and develop everything needed here, but it’s much harder for any business started in the Fediverse today. (We Distribute)

Sean Tilley (@deadsuperhero@social.wedistribute.org) makes some valid points in this post, & to my knowledge, there are only two ActivityPub platforms used by members of the United States 🇺🇸 government:

• Mastodon: According to a report by @danielschuman@mastodon.social on First Branch Forest, a small number of Congressional leaders are already using Mastodon. This could indicate that Mastodon has been approved by the United States 🇺🇸 federal government for use by public officials.
• WordPress: Yes, many government websites are already powered by WordPress. Also, Automattic (the company behind WordPress) already has an Enterprise WordPress VIP option that is already pre-approved by the Federal government.

What About Other ActivityPub Platforms‽

I am unsure if any other Federated open-source platforms are able to be Federally compliant.

The only other open source software that might be able to pass a federal audit is probably Minds, although I will try to confirm that later on by asking @jack@minds.com, @ottman@minds.com &/or @john@minds.com later on.

Although many Fediverse developers may shrug at the idea of working with the Federal government, securing contracts (which can be worth millions) to help governments establish a presence in the Fediverse might be something to consider (as Fediverse developers would boast a distinct advantage over larger rivals like Google & Meta).

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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Image Credit: The Matrix

I came across this information via @silverpill@mitra.social, who had some hard words regarding Matrix’s predicament.

But it appears as if Matrix needs help to stay fiscally afloat.

Historically, Matrix development has been largely been funded by Element, the company set up by the team who created Matrix in order to fund their work on it. As unpopular as VC funding is in some circles, the Matrix community owes a huge debt of thanks to Element's investors (Status, Notion, firstminute, Dawn, Automattic, Protocol Labs and Metaplanet) and Amdocs for funding over $50M of work on both Matrix and Element since 2017. Having a large professional team paid as their day job to maintain Matrix has helped enormously against xz-style attacks.

However, this model is simply not sustainable: these days, Element is focused on being able to pay its own costs rather than being dependent on further VC investment. This leaves a massive hole in funding for Matrix, and we've already seen the impact of this with projects like Dendrite, Low Bandwidth Matrix, Account Portability, P2P Matrix and Third Room no longer able to be funded by Element (for now). Meanwhile, the remaining core team is stretched. [...]

Particularly in the wake of the xz/liblzma attack, it seems that governments may be more aware that they and their societies depend enormously on FOSS infrastructure to operate. Free and open source software has literally become shared digital public infrastructure. And much like shared physical public infrastructure – bridges, roads, sea defences, etc – FOSS maintenance should be funded by governments on behalf of the taxpayer. (Matrix Blog)

What the Matrix team is arguing for is controversial as well as unprecedented. They desire not mere grant money (which most people would not have an issue with) but continued support at the taxpayer's expense.

However, a more significant issue is that most governments on Earth do not give out taxpayer money for free as there are sometimes unspoken requirements the receiver must adhere to for the sake of continued funding.

If Matrix were successful in receiving funds, they would burn bridges with millions of people who would suspect that governments were funding development to create back doors or “bugs” for eavesdropping.

Note: video contains language some audiences may find offensive.

Instead of seeking financial assistance from governmental authorities, maybe @matrix@mastodon.matrix.org should offer premium services for members, similar to what @element@mastodon.matrix.org offered before they dramatically raised their prices.

If Matrix offered affordable, managed hosting solutions upon custom domains, they could attract enough customers to the point where they would no longer need government support, as the latter would probably also end up as a customer.

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

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Google (or should we say Alphabet) is trending to conquer yet another realm, although this time, it is in an arena that is slowly collapsing on itself.

Amid the gloom, though, one company has stood out: YouTube TV, which has grown from zero subscribers in 2017 to 8 million in February this year, making it the third biggest provider of traditional subscription TV in the U.S. after Charter and Comcast. [...]

It has been successful enough that YouTube TV believes it can keep growing even as traditional carriers shrink, perhaps reaching as many as 30 million households, according to two people with knowledge of its business plan. That would make it the biggest traditional TV service in the U.S. Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, told analysts on a recent quarterly earnings call that Google is even contemplating expanding YouTube TV overseas. (The Information)

YouTube reaching 30 million is easy because the video behemoth boasts 2.7 billion users (props to Social Shepherd for finding this stat).

Despite its massive size, I do not see YouTube competing with streaming services like Netflix as the latter is known for hosting professional & original content, while YouTube’s strength is merely broadcasting other people’s content (most of it by amateurs).

👨🏾‍💻 by @darnell@darnellclayton.com 🔛 @darnell@darnell.day 📧 darnell@darnell.day

🕺🏾 Follow my adventures upon: 🐘 Darnell (One) 🦁 Darnell (Movies, Opuses, Entertainment) 📸 Darnell (Out Of Office)

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