Hello Reader. I’m in Jail. It’s nice here. I’m in (Facebook) jail
How copping a Facebook ban helps sow the seeds of change. Or Gen X angst.
I have been so busy this month that I wrote this at the beginning of November and only got to posting it now. I was released from Meta isolation on my birthday, 12th Nov. I’ve been considering if that’s a backhander or a gift ever since. Enjoy!
Apart from showing my obvious age with a song on repeat in my head, the jail stuff is real. Facebook jail, that is. A now defunct online feminist portal had a Facebook page that had memes on it. It’s come back to haunt me in the shape of a ban. The content that apparently is “child exploitation”. Of course it was not. But considering the last time I posted anything was four years ago, the whole thing raises more than a few questions for me.
1. What fresh new AI moderation hell is this that ancient memes are now ban level offences?
2. Does it really take over four years to address alleged child exploitation content on Facebook?
3. Would a three-day ban be fitting if it were true? (NO!)
4. Am I relishing the absence of Facebook too much? (YES)
5. With the increasing use of AI by platforms, how many more errors can we expect? (MANY)
Bonus thought:
Facebook increasingly acting like a burn out shopkeeper who hates their job but stays open anyway because they haven’t got a back-up plan, slowly but surely alienating even the most loyal of customers. It’s Bernard from Black Books, but without the funny side.
Screenshot of the animated film clip “Hi Dad - I’m in jail”.
Tales from the online crypt
Google is doing its best to blend the internet. X, formerly Twitter, slides further and further down the digital S bend for losing the product’s shape, disinformation, Nazism, communication, moderation, its market position, bots – you name it. LinkedIn may act like a sunny, professional cheerleader who has finally discovered how to talk at the water cooler on a freelance level. But a recent project showed me freelancers have to be careful about putting too much love in the LinkedIn basket. The lack of blue collar adoption, the precarity of youth mental health and employment, the impossible amount of scam and spam content create cracks in the digital dream. Not to mention its own Cambridge Analytica style crisis after being caught out for manipulating users for five (?!) years.
I would dish on Instagram, but where else will I put my dog photos? So, I won’t touch it’s prettiness bias, mental health harm issues, controlling threads and accounts, adding words like ‘terrorist’ to user bios, and ignoring reports of harmful content.
“But Bex, the problems were always there,” I hear you snort.
Maybe so. But maybe, the relationship has changed. Am I so old (over it?) now I cannot tolerate the platforms and the problems? Or have they become such mature products they are iterating themselves to irrelevance?
Is this another old Gen Xer waving the “I don’t know how to do that” flag, too tired to keep up with the AI wave? (me)
Or is it Gen X founders being too arrogant to realise the heyday is over and nobody will jump the hoops required? (them)
Where’s a gif of the taco girl saying “Why not both?” when you need it?
Do I care? Or more broadly, do I care enough to be learning the new Facebook at 50, 60 or beyond? <insert shuddering sounds here>
I know I am not alone. But as Pearl Jam plays in the supermarket reminding me I have reached peak middle age, I do wonder what do we do as the generation that landed online in the age of grunge and haven’t really stopped to consider the alternatives ever since? What does ageing gracefully digitally even look like?
Beyond my digital-life crisis, the world continues
Freelance Jungle member fabulousness
Paul Gordon is discussing digital law with ABC Adelaide. Martin Sully talks to someone who transforms waste plastic into remarkable furniture. Keshi Sacdalan unveils Kwentuhang Creative Podcast, a platform celebrating Filipino-Australian creatives. Anna Featherstone shares a summary of a Dune co-author’s journey. Jaccob McKay is teaching himself Instagram Reels by admiring November blooms. Meanwhile, Siobhan Skipworth showcases her ink work with gold highlights. Liel Bridgford’s podcast, (Un)marginalised, a Melbourne Award finalist for Access and Inclusion. Check out all the finalists here. The State Library of Queensland acquires rights to Nance Haxton’s podcast 'Streets of Your Town’.
Small things made of happiness
I just wrapped up working on a sold out Illawarra Festival of Architecture and Design.
I am pleased to say I am working with three sensational artists from my local area for the next six months, all thanks to a wonderful program from South Coast Arts.
Jess Harkins and I were the opening session for the International festival of death and dying, Lifting the Lid, on November 17th. The action replay of How to Flip the Script on death and dying is coming shortly (so stay tuned).
Join me as we wrap up the year that was with a special stress down with crafting and fun on December 8th from 12:30pm to 2pm, Sydney time.
Let’s give productivity one last boost with the last of the Patreon-powered virtual coworking for the year on December 8th, 2023.
And make sure you are a Patreon member to receive the Freelance Jungle Planner and take part in January’s sit in planning session.
I honestly don’t know what to think or how to feel about our digital slide into chaos, reform, and reflection. But I know this – things are no longer the same. And that is almost freeing.
Come celebrate my return to the digital landscape https://www.facebook.com/groups/freelancejungle
Love and other confusing feelings I feel for these digital spaces,
Rebekah
As one Gen-Xer to another, I'm done with trying to please the algorithms. I think that too much of our experience on social media is now mediated by algorithms. My own engagement fell off a cliff last year and the thought of learning and tweaking and adapting my social media strategy just made me feel resentful. I have heard the same from other freelancers and sole traders. I don't want to work for the algorithm. I'm trying to find other ways of branding and marketing myself.