Hello, world. I’m MacDara Conroy, and this is my blog.


Tag: web culture

Max Read: Notes on it's so over/we're so back

Ostensibly, it’s an analysis of online reaction to the LK-99 story but there is, as the saying goes, a lot to unpack here. The drama angle, for instance, speaks a lot to me, as a wrestling fan; it’s also alarming to think that ‘the real world’ might be reduced to the storytelling dynamic of pro wrestling (which I love dearly, but come on). #link

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A few technical words about Upsideclown, and some thoughts about audiences and the web

Matt Webb on the return of his communal short fiction blog, and how it fits on the internet today: “It seems to me that, sometime in the last 17 years, the web forgot the simple pleasure of making, and appreciating what’s made, together.” (Cynical old me thinks that’s because ‘the web’ isn’t a thing anymore; it’s all smartphones and social media and clickbait and humanity’s worst tendencies laid bare. Sigh.) #link

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A Brief History of SETI@Home

Who didn’t have this on their computer around the turn of the century? And the project is still going! Best of the web, no doubt. #link

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When Fans Take Their Love For Twitch Streamers Too Far

This brand of obsessiveness is nothing new, but the way the internet breaks down so many barriers — between online celebrities and their fans; between private data and, well, anyone who wants it bad enough — lends a far creepier edge than ever before. #link

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A Platform for Trolls

“Sensible people — people who care about things like acceptance and inclusion — were complaining about Katy Hopkins being on the show. They talked about how they weren’t going to watch the show, and everyone inside the same echo chamber of opinions repeated the same thing, over and over again. Meanwhile, the people who were insulated from the uproar, the people who don’t know who Katy is (or worse, the people that agree with her) just watched the show anyway. Along with, I’ll bet, a lot of the people who said they wouldn’t. And then come the complaints to RTÉ and the cycle continues.” Yep, I was part of that echo chamber, I’ll own that. It still rankles that RTÉ refused to entertain complaints before the programme, as if the prospect of sheer wrongness doesn’t count, but RATINGS. #link

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Read more blogs

Blogs are still going, even if the denizens of the internet have moved to social media apps and all that noise. On a related note: The Favelog Writes Itself — on building a self-updating website that archives and catalogs your personal collections of favorites, saves, stars, and likes around the web. It’s something I’ve wanted for a while but haven’t technically been able to do, what with not using Wordpress and all. #link

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