Saturday, April 15, 2023

Parler bites the dust

Headline:

Parler is no more

The one-time popular alternative to Twitter has had its ups and downs, rumors of its sale, and the sale falling through.

Now, users today are being greeted with an announcement that Parler no longer exists.

I was on Parler for a couple of weeks. While it wasn't the gratingly unpleasant experience that Gab was, it also felt like a big pile of meh. So I left. I tried Gettr for maybe a few days, and I left that platform, too. Did I try anything else? I can't remember. And maybe unmemorability is the heart of the problem. When a platform is that bland, why stick with it? Gab is probably the only real free-speech alternative to Twitter, but Gab is rife with bigots who treat the service as a safe space from which to project their vile ignorance. I've heard the standard reply: Just use the "mute" button. I'm sorry, but I don't want to waste my time muting half the goddamn platform. I left LinkedIn ages ago, too, and the same is true for Facebook/Meta and Instagram. So I'm off all social media, and I think my mental health is better for it. No chasing after "likes," no seeking approval from people I don't even know. My headspace is a lot clearer as a result. I started with blogging, and I'll end with blogging.



2 comments:

  1. Yeah, no big deal to me, either. I'm still on Facebook even though I despise that mother Zucker. I very rarely engage in political discussions anymore; it's just a tool for me to keep up with friends and family. Also, it's easy to upload the photos I take to FB, then save and download them to use on my blog.

    I am glad to be far away and disengaged from the insanity back home. I take my morning blog stroll, where folks like you keep me informed about what's going on, and pretty much leave it at that.

    The world is going to shit. I'm old so maybe I'll be gone when it hits the fan. That seems more and more unlikely though.

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