When social media first came into my life, it brought the promise of connection. Facebook connected college-aged adults in a way that was previously impossible, helping shape our digital generation. Social media was our superpower and we used it to great effect.
Yet social media today is a noisy, demanding, mental health threat. They send distracting notifications, constantly urge us to “like and subscribe,” and try to trick us into endless scrolling. They have become the sirens that lure us to their advertising-infested shores with the saccharine promise of dopamine.
beware of sirens
How can we stay connected and still defeat these demons that have seeped deep into our world?
streetpass for mastodon
A few weeks ago I came across a great browser extension for Mastodon, StreetPass. The creator, TVler, created it to help people find each other on Mastodon. As you browse the web, StreetPass automatically searches for Mastodon verification links, creating an archive of Mastodon accounts from the blogs and personal websites you visit.
StreetPass is a beautiful example of cool technology. When StreetPass finds a Mastodon profile it doesn’t grab your attention with a notification, it quietly adds the profile to a list, knowing you’ll check in when you’re ready.
StreetPass recognizes that there is no need for an urgent call to action. Instead it allows the user to focus on their browsing, enriching their experience in the background. The user engages with StreetPass when they are ready and on their own terms.
StreetPass is open source and available for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.
Inspired by StreetPass, I applied this technique to RSS feed search.
blog quest
Blog Quest is a web browser extension that helps you find and subscribe to blogs. Blog Quest automatically checks each page for searchable RSS and Atom feeds (using ). rel="alternate" link) and silently collects them in the background. When you’re ready to explore the aggregated feeds, open the extension’s drop-down window.
The extension integrates with multiple feed readers, making subscription management almost effortless.
Blog Quest is available for both Firefox and Chrome. The project is open source and I encourage you to create your own variants.
omnipresent yet hidden
I reject the dead internet theory: I see a living internet filled with humans who are sharing their experiences and looking for connections. The erosion of the engagement-driven web is well underway, accelerated by the AI sloppiness. But the independent web operates on a different incentive structure and is immune to this effect. Humans naturally create, connect and share: we always have and we always will. If you choose software that works in your best interest you will find that it is possible to make meaningful online connections without the mental threat.
Check out StreetPass and Blog Quest to discover a decentralized, independent internet that puts you in control.
You can’t drown out social media noise by shouting loudly, you have to whisper.
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hello!
I’m Robert Alexander, a DevSecOps consultant available for contract work. This blog contains some of my work and thoughts on software, cloud, and security. You can subscribe to my posts with your favorite RSS client.
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