#social-networking — Public Fediverse posts

Tesco alerts police as supermarket becomes latest victim of scam ‘endorsement’ ads
By Rob Davies

Exclusive: Supermarket joins line of firms and sports stars including Bellingham and Haaland to have their image hijacked via ads

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/sep/13/tesco-scam-endorsement-haaland-bellingham-casino

#Scams #Tesco #Barclays #Gambling #Business #Consumeraffairs #Money #Supermarkets #Facebook #Meta #Instagram #Advertising #Cybercrime #Socialnetworking #Internet #Media #Technology #UKnews #Intellectualproperty #Law #Regulators #TysonFury #LewisHamilton #Monzobank #TheGuardian #RobDavies

Tesco alerts police as supermarket becomes latest victim of scam ‘endorsement’ ads https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/sep/13/tesco-scam-endorsement-haaland-bellingham-casino #Scams #Tesco #Barclays #Gambling #Business #ConsumerAffairs #Money #Supermarkets #Facebook #Meta #Instagram #Advertising #Cybercrime #SocialNetworking #Internet #Media #Technology #UkNews #IntellectualProperty #Law #Regulators #TysonFury #LewisHamilton #MonzoBank

Social media users could opt out of the algorithm if Australian government has its way – but that’s a big if
By Josh Taylor

Even if the legislation passes, tech companies may still find ways to frustrate its intent and keep Australians hooked on their feed

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/08/social-media-algorithm-opt-out-australia

#Instagram #Meta #Facebook #Australianews #Australianpolitics #NewsCorporation #Socialnetworking #Technology #TheGuardian #JoshTaylor

Social media users could opt out of the algorithm if Australian government has its way – but that’s a big if https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/08/social-media-algorithm-opt-out-australia #Instagram #Meta #Facebook #AustraliaNews #AustralianPolitics #NewsCorporation #SocialNetworking #Technology

It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta | Joan Donovan
By Joan Donovan

The CEO is the throughline in a history of billion-dollar blunders that have caused real harm, culminating in last week’s settlement

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/sep/04/mark-zuckerberg-resign-meta

#MarkZuckerberg #Technology #Meta #Facebook #Socialnetworking #Media #TheGuardian #JoanDonovan

It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to resign from Meta | Joan Donovan https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/sep/04/mark-zuckerberg-resign-meta #MarkZuckerberg #Technology #Meta #Facebook #SocialNetworking #Media

#Fediverse today consists of apps and app platforms. It is entirely app-centric.

Since fediverse (luckily) didn't attract much corporate attention yet, it is dominated by #FOSS culture, where people on the #SocialWeb are all "users" that are dependent on FOSS developers to serve their needs. Every dev focuses on their app features first and #interoperability second, leading to a patchwork of poorly integrated apps, and a janky overall experience. The app delivery model is not much different than Web 2.0.

A paradigm shift is possible, to a #SocialNetwork of apps and services, a service-oriented #fedi. The efforts around the #ActivityPub API can be the enabler of this shift.

In this new paradigm devs introduce solutions to a unified #SocialNetworking space, delivering new services to participants on the network. On top of a robust Protocol Layer they model social use cases in the Data Layer, integrating with services and building blocks already available.

https://coding.social/blog/prosocial-web

Big tech goes to Hollywood: is Silicon Valley ready for a silver-screen reckoning?
By Steve Rose

Its moguls are ripe subjects for drama, and there is huge anticipation for forthcoming features The Social Reckoning and Artificial. But other projects have failed as the film industry is increasingly colonised by IT empires

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/aug/30/big-tech-hollywood-the-social-reckoning-artificial

#Film #Culture #Socialnetworking #TheSocialNetwork #AaronSorkin #MarkZuckerberg #SamAltman #LucaGuadagnino #AlexGibney #ElonMusk #Filmindustry #TheGuardian #SteveRose

Turns out TikTok is fun, huh? I've had the app on my phone all this time but I almost never opened it.

#sofiaflorina #ソフィアフロリナ #tiktok #sns #socialmedia #socialnetwork #socialnetworks #socialnetworking #socialnetworkingsite #socialnetworkingsites #socialnetworkingservice #socialnetworkingservices #fun #video #videos #videosharing

Key witness in Meta trial says terms of settlement insufficient to halt apps’ harms to teenagers
By Nick Robins-Early

Exclusive: Arturo Béjar, an ex-Facebook employee and whistleblower, said outcome ‘is not an all clear to say the product is safe’

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/26/meta-trial-witness-settlement

#Technology #Meta #USnews #Instagram #Facebook #Media #Socialnetworking #Socialmedia #TheGuardian #NickRobinsEarly

Key witness in Meta trial says terms of settlement insufficient to halt apps’ harms to teenagers https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/26/meta-trial-witness-settlement #Technology #Meta #UsNews #Instagram #Facebook #Media #SocialNetworking #SocialMedia

The faces behind the feeds: Gen Z’s private lives and public posts – in pictures
By Gabrielle Schwarz

For the first digital natives, there are two places to express yourself: in the comfort of your own room and online. Photographer Niccolò Rastrelli set out to find out how the identities compare

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/aug/22/the-faces-behind-the-feeds-gen-zs-private-lives-and-public-posts-in-pictures

#Photography #Artanddesign #Culture #Socialmedia #Instagram #Facebook #Digitalmedia #Socialnetworking #TheGuardian #GabrielleSchwarz

Hot or Not Built the Internet We’re Still Swiping Through

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/story/hot-or-not-built-the-internet-were-still-swiping-through/

Reel-ing it in: Meta is paying influencers to promote teen accounts
By Johana Bhuiyan

Tech Transparency Project’s report shows whenever governments mull platform regulations, company recruits influencers to promote its safety features

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/18/meta-pays-influencers-teen-social-media-ban

#Meta #Children #Childrenshealth #Instagram #Mentalhealth #Health #Facebook #Media #Technology #Society #Socialnetworking #TheGuardian #JohanaBhuiyan

Reel-ing it in: Meta is paying influencers to promote teen accounts https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/18/meta-pays-influencers-teen-social-media-ban #Meta #Children #ChildrensHealth #Instagram #MentalHealth #Health #Facebook #Media #Technology #Society #SocialNetworking

One thing about every time bsky shits itself and I have to login again is that I'm reminded once again that they've managed to fuck up their login page so that it's incompatible with Firefox's password management, something that feel like it takes a special brand of incompetence to pull off.

#SocialNetworking #Bsky #CrappySoftware

Over 180 projects have decided not to use AI moving forward: https://noailist.org/ - projects include video games, non-profit orgs and tools, and lots of software projects.

#noai #antiai #withoutai #tech #software #games #programming #developers #videogames #nonprofit #tools #technology #llm #socialmedia #networking #socialnetworking #messaging

‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/05/journalist-taking-on-tech-fascists-silicon-valley #LifeAndStyle #DonaldTrump #TheSuperrich #FarRightUs #TheFarRight #ElonMusk #AiArtificialIntelligence #Palantir #SiliconValley #Openai #PeterThiel #SocialNetworking #Technology

‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley
By Steve Rose

As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/05/journalist-taking-on-tech-fascists-silicon-valley

#Lifeandstyle #DonaldTrump #Thesuperrich #FarrightUS #Thefarright #ElonMusk #AIartificialintelligence #Palantir #SiliconValley #OpenAI #PeterThiel #Socialnetworking #Technology #TheGuardian #SteveRose

Want an update on the Weekend at Bernie’s clown show that is W Social? No? Me neither, but here we are…

So before we start, let’s recount the whole dystopian raison d’être of these Davosian clowns: to be a EU®opean “alternative to X” that ­– cue the 1984 theme tune – verifies your identity to ensure that only “real people” are on it (real is what your government says it is).

Now, let’s fast forward to last week, when TikTok set up an account on W Social.

That’s nice, isn’t it? One surveillance capitalist lending their support to another? Kumbaya and all that. The only problem? (spoiler alert), it wasn’t TikTok. (Shocking, I know.)

The account, Identity Verified™ by EU X – sorry, W Social, was a spam account and immediately labelled as such by BlueSky moderators. (Don’t you love a “decentralised” system where a post on an EU server, accessed from another EU server, is moderated by our benevolent Big Brother in Trumpland, by the way? I know it just warms the cockles of my heart. So much sovereignty! But I digress…)

So @_elena calls them out (someone has to while @EUCommission is busy preparing for their honeymoon after expressing their undying devotion to W Social recently on every social platform¹):

https://mu.social/profile/elenarossini.com/post/3mqob7shxks2t

Anna Zeiter – W CEO, Stanford’s own, and ex-eBay executive (such sovereignty) – replies with this absolute zinger:

> “We are just verifying if some [sic] is a human and at least 18 years old. Users are then free to choose their own user name. This (human) user apparently chose the name TikTok.“ (https://mu.social/profile/anna.wsocial.eu/post/3mqoepm7m2k2z)

Read that as many times as you like until it really sinks in.

These incompetent clowns (dangerous competent clowns but incompetent clowns nevertheless) make people go through a ridiculous 13-step identity verification stage² and then… umm… you get to choose whatever identity you want.

🤡🤡🤡

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re incompetent. It would be worse if they were competent, given they’re a closed-source venture-capital-funded startup determined to prove your identity.

> “Yes we have a business model, it’s not a philanthropy, we are not a B corp, we actually want to make money.” – Anna Zeiter³

But, what I want to know is this: Why has @EUCommission embraced a proprietary, closed-source, corporate ghost town with 14,300 accounts, 90% of which have not posted even once (in other words, with only 1,259 accounts that have ever posted)⁴ when there is a thriving non-corporate fediverse with millions of active people on it.

Could it have anything to do with identity verification, surveillance, and control?

And if so, why can’t they even get that right?

Looking forward to seeing how long @EUCommission can drag the corpse of W Social around before people realise it’s dead.

Oh, and how does this make the whole “European alternatives” thing look? Not good. Not because there aren’t excellent European alternatives but because the folks at the commission are either too clueless or too corrupt to recognise and support them.

So, yeah, how’s your Monday going?

¹ e.g., https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/116770333053823108, etc.

² https://aseachange.com/@elena/statuses/01KVD55YBYVM3B46ACQTECDMT2

³ https://blog.elenarossini.com/the-untold-story-about-w-social-unconventional-beginnings-strategic-pitches-conflicting-signals/ (from the YouTube video that they since deleted. Nice transparency there, clowns.)

⁴ Run this script in Node 18+ to reproduce the numbers from their PDS yourself: https://codeberg.org/aral/gists/src/branch/main/wsocial-pds-stats.js Also see https://blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-a-broken-ghost-town/ and https://blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-fictional-metrics-and-the-beauty-of-open-data/

#WSocial #EU #sovereignty #socialMedia #socialNetworking #mastodon #fediverse #activityPub #ATProto #startups #EUCommission

Meta trying to destroy whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, US senator says https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/17/meta-whistleblower-sarah-wynn-williams-us-senator-josh-hawley #Meta #Technology #Facebook #UsNews #Media #SocialNetworking #WorldNews #MarkZuckerberg

Meta trying to destroy whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, US senator says
By Michael Savage

Republican Josh Hawley accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of relentlessly pursuing and attempting to bankrupt her

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/17/meta-whistleblower-sarah-wynn-williams-us-senator-josh-hawley

#Meta #Technology #Facebook #USnews #Media #Socialnetworking #Worldnews #MarkZuckerberg #TheGuardian #MichaelSavage

EU accuses Meta of failing to tackle mental health risks of ‘addictive design’ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/10/eu-accuses-meta-failing-tackle-mental-health-risks-addictive-design #Meta #EuropeanUnion #SocialMedia #Facebook #Instagram #SocialMediaBans #InternetSafety #DigitalMedia #Media #SocialNetworking #Technology #Children #UrsulaVonDerLeyen #Society #Europe #WorldNews

@wjmaggos

As we discussed before I use different definitions, which I think fit better in how they shape our thinking around designing use cases in support of our social #communication online.

So, once more, I consider..

Social Networking is any direct or indirect human interaction between people.

That includes offline, where we social network for ages. And recently online since the rise of the #internet. We want #offline and #online to extend seamlessly into each other in support of our daily needs.

The crux is, we are still very primitive in learning how to do online social communication well enough. Lots to learn. We underestimate #social online.

#SocialMedia is a subset of #SocialNetworking against this definition. Moreover its an app-centric notion, same as #Microblogging is. And it shows: #fediverse duplicated existing centralized platforms' app functionality.

We want to focus on our modes of communication across different social contexts, and ability to express ourselves.

More Federated Than Ever at Muz4Now
#humanbeings #socialnetworking
#SocialMedia https://muz4now.com/2025/more-federated-than-ever-at-muz4now

More Federated Than Ever at Muz4Now
#humanbeings #socialnetworking
#SocialMedia

More Federated Than Ever at Mu...

I give up.

I have tried every way I can to establish a private instance for all of my #fediverse and #socialnetworking needs. I've tried Hubzilla, GNUSocial, and Friendica, but maintaining the cost of a virtual private server isn't justifiable to me and those apps don't play well with shared hosting, which is all I can afford right now (and I don't have the space to set up a personal server).

The fact of the matter is that the only self-hosted application that checks the boxes of being a) dead simple to install on shared hosting--preferably through Softaculous since I just don't feel like jumping through hoops, b) well-supported, c) easy to use, and d) able to connect with both ActivityPub and AT protocols is WordPress, which I am reluctant to use because Matt Mullenweg is a pretty detestable as a human.

That said, I am holding my nose and using WordPress as my social networking hub until and unless something that isn't tainted with Mullenweg's nonsense comes along, so here I be.

I am rebuilding my profile and follow lists, and I apologize to those of you who seem to get a new follow request from me every other day, but I plan on this being the last time until the unlikely WordPress-killer comes around.

Thank you for your patience.