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I'm starting to think Twitter is a simulation. It's designed to make you think other people can drive engagement/get more followers with posts, and the algorithm is curated as such to trick you into thinking if you try harder, you can break it somehow.
All my tweets literally get 1 or 2 views each time (which I'm fairly certain is just me clicking on them). I'm verified, have nearly 200 followers, and still, none of them see anything I post.
On the other hand, whenever I leave a reply in a twitter thread, my reply tweets have on occasion gotten hundreds/even thousands of likes, many replies and bookmarks. My experience on this platform has shown me that the only real way for me to get engagement/new followers is by being a 'reply guy'. But I can never attract newcomers to my account by making public posts.
There is probably a highly technical explanation for this that only those 'in the know' can explain to me, but from my point of view, it feels like there is no point whatsoever to posting tweets.
From the makers who gave you this:
Ketchup sachets could be banned in British restaurants under new EU net zero laws
gbnews.com/news/ketchup-sach…
Oh for fuck's sake... so we are just going to give reparations money to those former slaves aren't we? It's not like bond yields are at an historic high. It's not like our debt-to-GDP ratio is nearly 100%. It's not like we are spending hundreds of billions of pounds on welfare and disability benefits, and billions more on pensions and healthcare.
Hey, while we're at it, why don't we spend another hundreds of billions more on a "women tax" where we just give women money for having vaginas, and we as men have to pay for it? Or we could take this further and get a "gay tax" and a "minority tax". How about we just all print money, and chuck it in a massive pit and then set the pit on fire, and charge everyone for it? Or maybe a champagne and caviar tax so that politicians can wine and dine on more expensive food and we snubs have to pay for it?
I mean, if we're gonna bankrupt ourselves as soon as possible, might as well go all out, right?
🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham is “open” to payouts in health and education for Commonwealth countries to make up for Britain’s role in the slave trade
[@Telegraph]
What in the Holy mother of fuck is going on over there? Zelensky is responsible for torturing teenagers?
"Britain has a housing crisis. We need to build more houses!"
Meanwhile, the houses:
The average new-build property has 130 defects, according to specialist inspection company HomeSnag.
I visited one with Tom Britton and his team to find out why so many of Britain's shiny new homes are scarcely fit for purpose.
Read: telegraph.co.uk/money/proper…
Credit: @HomeSnag
I just made the decision to delete and remove the Twitter app from my iPhone. I suddenly feel way better. My mental health yesterday was better than it had been in a long time.
This app is addictive. I've created/deleted accounts several times over the years, but cannot shake the addiction to needing to know what's going on in the news cycle. But removing the app from my phone seems to have cured that unscratchable itch.
This seems like a great idea. I will no longer need to worry about making videos that go against Youtube's TOS, or having to migrate to a new channel.
youtube.com/watch?v=ed92RpaN…
Some good news at least!
They're going to bring the £20,000 ISA limit back.
I'm glad they are doing this. Now I can commit to my long-term savings goal.
A lot of my online Twitter use is my typing a comment on a controversial/heated thread... and then deciding at the last second: "No, I shouldn't bother engaging with this", deleting the comment, and moving on.
Finally! This is a good implementation that will allow us to avoid AI generated slop if we want to. Now we can prioritise human creators!
✨️ Okay yall, so I noticed Youtube has been cracking down on AI! Yay!
There is now an option to say your video/short does NOT have AI--
Tell me why when I clicked "No" my short absolutely TANKED!!
My previous short before had 5k views without choosing anything.
My new, simular, short barely had 20 in an hour after choosing "No"
I re-uploaded it without clicking anything and just a few minutes already has 100+ views.
Has anyone else noticed this???
I'm going to test this out again but what???
Is anyone still labouring under the illusion that Israel is our ally?
Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israel to support Argentina over the Falklands, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Israeli prime minister told diplomats to change his country’s official position and join Buenos Aires in calling for direct talks over the future of the islands.
🔗 telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2…
Can someone explain to me how a ‘cybersecurity crisis’ means we might have to stockpile 3 days of emergency food and drink rations!? What the hell is going on?
BREAKING: UK government urges citizens to stockpile at least 3 days of emergency food & water amid the global cybersecurity crisis.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The UK government's advice to have 3 days of emergency supplies on hand is not directly related to current cybersecurity issues.
Recent cybersecurity incidents were referenced as an example of unexpected events that can occur, not as a direct reason to stockpile supplies.
bbc.com/news/articles/…
bbc.com/news/articles/…
Why is it that hardly anybody engages with my regular tweets here, but every once in a while, when I reply to threads, I can get hundreds (sometimes thousands) or likes, reposts, and even bookmarks?
Is there some kind of secret to the algorithm I don't know about?
How clowned and beyond parody is our clownshow of a government!?
This entire article reads like an Onion or Sunday Sports headline!
It is literally not possible to create effective political satire anymore in this day and age, because the world has gone completely mad.
🚨 NEW: Glasgow museum removes Egyptian mummies over lack of consent from the dead.
• The Daily Mail has revealed that Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has taken several ancient Egyptian human remains off public display, including the coffin containing the remains of a priest named Nekht, a mummified right hand from the Valley of the Kings, a mummified male head and a mummified right foot.
• Glasgow Life, which runs the museum and is funded by Glasgow City Council, said the items were removed as a mark of respect under its draft human remains policy.
• The policy states that human remains should only be shown where there is documented and informed consent from the deceased individual or their descendants.
• A sign now in place of the exhibits reads that the remains have been removed from the display as a mark of respect, reflecting contemporary museum practice.
Tracking retweeted
为什么我认为,今天的欧洲,本质上就是一个穿着高定西装、端着红酒杯的福利版大清。
如果把19世纪的晚清和如今的欧洲放在一起对比刨析,你会发现这两者的病灶、心态和衰弱的剧本都一模一样。
何出此言,论据如下:
其一,欧洲把道德与合规当成天朝礼法,把中美科技看作奇技淫巧
当年乾隆和晚清士大夫面对英国的蒸汽机、火车和洋枪洋炮,第一反应不是恐慌,而是居高临下的道德鄙视,认为那是毫无教化的奇技淫巧,只有大清的孔孟礼治才是人类文明的最高形态。
今天的欧洲老爷看中美,心态一模一样。
他们打心底里瞧不起硅谷的野蛮生长的科技新贵,更瞧不起中国没日没夜卷出来的超级供应链。
在欧洲老爷们眼里,中美这是没有灵魂的野蛮内卷,只有欧洲高举的环保主义、数据隐私、多元平权和每周35小时工作制,才是人类文明的天朝礼法。
他们沉溺在道德审美上的优越感里,用文明裁判的姿态掩盖自己在生产力上的全面阳痿。
其二,欧洲的奢侈品和燃油车,就是当代的茶叶、丝绸与瓷器
大清曾经靠着农业文明攒下的极致老底,茶叶、丝绸、瓷器,赚走了全球大量的白银,甚至狂妄地认为外国人不喝大清的茶叶就会便秘而死。
欧洲过去几十年吃的老本,本质上就是工业2.0时代攒下的茶叶和瓷器,包括法国的LV与爱马仕、德国的BBA燃油车与精密阀门、瑞士的手表与医药。
欧洲人同样产生了一种致命的幻觉:
认为无论科技怎么改变,中美的新贵们永远得排队买欧洲的皮包和机械,欧洲永远可以靠着祖传的品牌溢价和专利护城河,躺着收割全世界的财富。
直到中国出现的新能源车直接打穿德国汽车工业的底裤、AI 的兴起开始重构工业软件与研发范式,欧洲才惊觉自己的丝绸瓷器不再是不可替代的硬通货了。
其三,布鲁塞尔的罚单经济,就是当年的广州十三行
大清闭关锁国,但又馋洋人的白银,怎么办?
搞出了一套广州十三行体制:
自己不搞工业、不搞航海,就在通商口岸设卡,制定最繁琐的规矩,向外国商人征收高昂的规礼银和买路钱。
今天欧盟总部的布鲁塞尔,正是数字时代的广州十三行。
自己孵化不出OpenAI、英伟达、字节跳动,就写全世界最厚的《AI法案》和《数字市场法案》。
你美国科技巨头想进欧洲4.5亿人的市场?
可以,先按我的规矩交几十亿欧元的反垄断罚单。
用行政设卡和司法敲诈来代替产业竞争,结果把真正的创新者全挡在门外,把自己彻底锁死在旧时代。
其四,从入关八旗退化成提笼架鸟的铁杆庄稼
满清八旗刚入关时(对应欧洲的大航海和早期工业革命),那也是敢拼命、敢流血的凶悍战力。
但承平日久,八旗子弟拿上了国家包养的铁杆庄稼(世袭俸禄),迅速退化成只会提笼架鸟、抽大烟、听戏的寄生阶层。
到了晚清财政破产,朝廷哪怕敢克扣一点点旗饷,八旗兵不打洋人,先在京城闹事。
今天欧洲的高福利选民,就是当代的八旗子弟。
二战后几代人吃尽了工业霸权的红利,把高福利、长休假、终身不解雇当成了天经地义的铁杆庄稼。
现在老本吃光了,法国国债飙到GDP的120%,政府刚想砍610亿欧元预算自救,这群平时连班都不愿多加的当代旗人立刻冲上街头,把143年历史的市政厅烧成灰烬。
其五,既得利益死保风水,把每一次洋务运动扼杀在摇篮里
晚清不是没有明白人,李鸿章、曾国藩也想搞洋务运动,也想修铁路、架电线。
但为什么搞不成?
因为朝堂上的清流派御史、地方上的乡绅和漕运利益集团百般阻挠:
说修铁路会惊动祖宗龙脉、破坏风水,买机器会夺了纤夫的饭碗,最后连修好的淞沪铁路都能被清廷买回来亲手拆掉扔进海里。
当一个帝国把祖宗留下的存量当成永恒,把既得利益的枷锁当成道德皇冠,它的结局在两百年前的紫禁城就已经写好了。

























