Tag: whatsapp

  • On Extroverts and the Stifled Online Conversation

    On Extroverts and the Stifled Online Conversation

    Reading Time: 3 minutesToday I was considering joining someone’s Whatsapp Running Community until I heard the phrase “I am the only one that can write messages and I let people answer polls”. For me, as a netizen of the 90s web, this is a red flag. It is a red flag because if all you…

  • On Quitting Whatsapp Chatrooms

    On Quitting Whatsapp Chatrooms

    Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen I worked as a deicer I was working such unsociable hours that my personal life took a hit. Friends would often discuss going to climb at 19:00 or so but I couldn’t. I had to be up at 02:00 to be at work by 04:00 ready to deice planes. After a…

  • The Declining Case for Social Media Giants

    The Declining Case for Social Media Giants

    Reading Time: 3 minutesYears ago I was interviewed by the RTS to speak about Twitter and my conclusion is that it would never pick up in Switzerland because there are too few users and they’re too dispersed. That is still true. Social networks that are alive and well are Meetup, GoSocial, Strava and Whatsapp. It’s…

  • On WhatsApp and Netiquette

    On WhatsApp and Netiquette

    Reading Time: 3 minutesI was thinking of taking a break from Whatsapp for three weeks. I have this desire, and need because I am tired of how people use Whatsapp. They create groups, where strangers are added. People with no deep knowledge of online communities delete posts that are sometimes not spam. Other people complain…

  • Thoughts on WhatsApp and GoSocial

    Thoughts on WhatsApp and GoSocial

    Reading Time: 4 minutesBefore Whatsapp was bought by Facebook it was a great platform for people to chat with family and friends. When Facebook bought Whatsapp, many people, including myself, migrated towards Signal to avoid remaining in the Facebook sphere of influence. Social groups, and their luddites remained on Whatsapp, so we had to revert…

  • The Burning Desire to dump Whatsapp

    The Burning Desire to dump Whatsapp

    Reading Time: 4 minutesToday I went for a long hike after going for a long bike ride yesterday. I am pretty tired. I shared three photos that were directly relevant to a group’s activities and they were deleted. I wouldn’t mind, if they were not linked to the community, and to an activity organised by…

  • The Absurdity of Whatsapp for Event Planning

    The Absurdity of Whatsapp for Event Planning

    Reading Time: 4 minutesYesterday it happened again on Whatsapp. Someone said ‘avoid having too much chatter on this group, there are hundreds of people. When I see such messages it frustrates me because at its core Whatsapp is designed for people to have conversations. The idea that we would join Whatsapp chats, to speak very…

  • Whatsapp With the Signal

    Whatsapp With the Signal

    Reading Time: 2 minutesFor a while Whatsapp was a fantastic cross platform messaging tool for friends, families, groups and more. It was cross platform, fast and convenient. Eventually rather than rely on Facebook Messenger and Facebook, Facebook bought Whatsapp to consolidate its monopolistic grasp on the social web. As a result of this I tried…

  • Sliding from iOS to Android Despite Whatsapp and Signal

    Sliding from iOS to Android Despite Whatsapp and Signal

    Reading Time: 2 minutesRecently I switched from an Iphone SE from 2020 for a Fairphone 4 and the migration has been easy, except for two apps. Whatsapp and Signal. With Android it’s easy. You backup to Google Drive and you can slide between Android devices with ease. With iOS the backup is in iCloud so…

  • Playing Wordle

    Playing Wordle

    Reading Time: 2 minutesI saw the little boxes, and then I saw that the New York Times had an article on the distraction so I read about it. It’s a game some people were playing via whatsapp during the lockdown, spread to friends, and then it spread wider and wider. Boiled down Wordle is hangman…