Thoughts

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it is nuts for someone who runs a crypto media outlet to write this, and even more nuts for Time magazine to publish it

By Laura ShinOctober 29, 2024 9:00 AM EDT Shin is the founder of the crypto news outlet, Unchained, host of the Unchained podcast, and the author of The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze As a journalist, I try not to reveal personal opinions. But I’m breaking that rule today, because as an American, there’s something I, a progressive Democrat and a journalist who has covered crypto for more than nine years, have to speak up about.

i respect laura shin’s work but suggesting she’s a neutral observer is about as bananas as suggesting i am

i will say it is brave of her to “come out” as a progressive in the crypto world, which is heavily pro-trump and prone to attacking anyone who isn’t. i’m sure that wasn’t an easy decision given her business.

Citation Needed endorses Kamala Harris for president, if you're looking for somewhere to put those WaPo subscription dollars.

https://www.citationneeded.news/

“our lead shares our philosophy that technology should serve the user, not the reverse

this is why they focus on blockchains, a technology basically always used at the expense of its users”

Bluesky Announces Series A to Grow Network of 13M+ Users October 24, 2024 by The Bluesky Team Bluesky now exceeds 13 million users, the AT Protocol developer ecosystem continues to grow, and we’ve shipped highly requested features like direct messages and video. We’re excited to announce that we’ve raised a $15 million Series A financing led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, SevenX, Amir Shevat of Darkmode, co-creator of Kubernetes Joe Beda, and others. Our lead, Blockchain Capital, shares our philosophy that technology should serve the user, not the reverse — the technology being used should never come at the expense of the user experience. Additionally, this fund has a uniquely deep understanding of our decentralized foundation and has extensive experience building developer ecosystems, so it’s a natural partnership as we continue to invest in the ATmosphere (the AT Protocol developer ecosystem). This does not change the fact that the Bluesky app and the AT Protocol do not use blockchains or cryptocurrency, and we will not hyperfinancialize the social experience (through tokens, crypto trading, NFTs, etc.). To ensure we and our users benefit fully from this expertise, partner Kinjal Shah will join our board. Kinjal shares our vision for a social media ecosystem that empowers the people who use it, and we are glad to have her support as we invest in driving the adoption of decentralized social. With this fundraise, we will continue supporting and growing Bluesky’s community, investing in Trust and Safety, and supporting the ATmosphere developer ecosystem. In addition, we will begin developing a subscription model for features like higher quality video uploads or profile customizations like colors and avatar frames. Bluesky will always be free to use — we believe that information and conversation should be easily accessible, not locked down. We won’t uprank accounts simply because they’re subscribing to a paid tier. Additionally, we’re proud of our vibrant community of creators, including artists, writers, developers, and more, and we want to establish a voluntary monetization path for them as well. Part of our plan includes building payment services for people to support their favorite creators and projects. We’ll share more information as this develops. Bluesky’s open technology, the AT Protocol, makes a whole ecosystem of apps possible. We’re excited that developers have already begun building their own applications with totally different purposes from the Bluesky app. For example, Smoke Signal is an events app, Frontpage is a web forum, and Bluecast is an audio app (that includes karaoke with licensed songs)! We hypothesize that monetization strategies like subscriptions, domain-name registrations, and payments to creators will enable these independent apps to grow as well. With every month that passes, the need for an open social network becomes more clear. We’re very excited about where we’re headed — we’re building not just another social app, but an entire network that gives users freedom and choice. Thank you for joining us.

i do think the degree to which bluesky is stressing that they do not use blockchains really underscores how toxic even a faint whiff of blockchain has become to any normal platform

After I refused a bribe to remove a @web3isgreat post about alleged crypto pyramid scheme co-founder Roman Ziemian, I’ve now received a fraudulent copyright claim aimed at forcing me to take it down

DMCA Takedown Notice Inbox Michael Woods <legal.michaelwoods@gmail.com> 4:06 AM (4 hours ago) to molly Michael Woods Address: 1693 Reynolds Alley Los Angeles, California,90017 Phone Number: (408) 915-8288 Email: legal.michaelwoods@gmail.com Subject: DMCA Takedown Notice I, Michael Woods, would like to draw your attention towards I have one copyrighted content on your website https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com. This page content has been copied from our website !! Unfortunately, I didn't authorize or approve you to post them on your website. Original Copyrighted Work Content: https://worldnewsmediaexpress.blogspot.com/2024/08/futurenet-founder-arrested-for-alleged.html Published on 18 Aug 2024. Unauthorized Infringing Content: https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/single/futurenet-founder-arrested Published on 19 Aug 2024. Kindly act expeditiously to remove this infringing or unauthorized content post from your website ASAP. Under Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act I want the article to be removed and the location of the infringing material. I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the infringing web page is not authorized by the copyright owner, or its agent, or the law. I have taken fair use into consideration. I declare, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner, or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Electronic Signature as Provided: Michael Woods legal.michaelwoods@gmail.com</legal.michaelwoods@gmail.com>

The BlogSpot website that is rehosting my post and claiming to be the original is full of other such posts from other websites, suggesting this is part of a wider campaign to scrub information about Ziemian.

This is another plus to hosting your own work, by the way. They can still take it up the chain to my service providers, but I don’t have to worry about filing a counterclaim with the webhost because I AM the webhost.