Tag: The Internets!

Various and Sundry

The State of Online Gaming, the Gated Internet, and, of course, the Money

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I am not the biggest gamer nor the biggest technology maven, but even so, one sees news about how much more all content is being pushed online, how more companies are trying to have consumers access things by apps, and how controlling access –to the internet and apps– is key to many corporations making money. Into that sphere of information comes this longform article by Nick Statt at The Verge about a recent flashpoint between…

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Various and Sundry

Supporting your friendly local bookstores…

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

So many industries are being shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, the retail section overall is suffering, but specifically, small retail businesses are hurting. What with coming from a family of librarians and book-lovers, I’m especially keen to see independent book shops weather this latest storm, so I was happy to see an article earlier this month about how one online outfit, Bookshop.org is helping brick-and-mortar operations have an online footprint too. My “unread” bookshelf is…

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Various and Sundry

Navigating Being Online, Offline, and Increasingly In-Between

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

After Wednesday’s post that focused a great deal about how to curate one’s persona online, I was surprised that I hadn’t written at length about Jenny Odell and her efforts to help people curate their involvement in the “attention economy.” I’ve found the article bears repeat reading, because there’s so many different ideas it raises and so much that you, personally, need to reflect on. And yes, I mean need. At its core, and related…

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Various and Sundry

The Internet’s Altar of Umbrage

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’m working on some other posts related to fandom. One is a follow-up in the Crisis of Infinite Star Treks series (where I talk about fan involvement with Star Trek throughout, but specifically go into more here and here.) I’m also working on a longer piece about getting one’s own creative work out there and developing fans oneself. One struggle I’ve had of late has been how much the Internet thrives on hate and outrage.…

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Various and Sundry

I, for one, don’t welcome our net ‘bot overlords…

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Though from reading Max Read’s piece in New York magazine, it’s kind of moot whether I welcome them or not: a huge portion of the Internet is fake. I mean, it’s not that it’s a huge surprise that the Internet is full of automation to simulate traffic for ad revenue purposes, engage people for some Machiavellian monetization motives, or otherwise amplify some ill-conceived echo chambers… But it’s depressing to have it validated to such a…

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Site Update

My Social Media Strategy, Revealed

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Not unlike business plans, it seems like one needs to have a “social media plan” these days. In the past year, many people I know have abandoned Twitter or left Facebook or joined Instagram. And I seem to be in the midst of that periodic flurry of people following me on Twitter or giving me a long treatise about why they want to connect with me on LinkedIn. So for future edification, but mainly for…

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Various and Sundry

Flash will not be Savior of the Internet Universe

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Okay, this is old news for most of you. It should be noted that –despite what I’m sure at some point were Adobe’s (and Macromedia’s) intentions– Flash was never going to be the savior of the Internet universe. Nevertheless, if you need some good news this Friday, be reminded that Flash is will be, as of 2020, not just merely dead, but really most sincerely dead.

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Producing

Threat Alert Thursday: Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Since mentioning yesterday about creatives needing to put their marketing hat on and be the small businesses they are, it seemed like a good idea to share this article from The Hartford about various types of cyber attacks that can befall small businesses. Our creative endeavors often fall into this realm. The article also links to a brief guide that, in order to get it, harvests your email (again, a reference to yesterday). It’s not a…

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