A turtle giving itself a scrub

Rainbow Slug

56K votes, 468 comments. 20M subscribers in the Damnthatsinteresting community. For the most interesting things on the internet

[deleted by user]

85 votes, 61 comments. 140K subscribers in the browsers community. Topics on web browsers.

[deleted by user]

317 votes, 68 comments. 93K subscribers in the googlecloud community. The goto subreddit for Google Cloud Platform developers and enthusiasts.

True in my case

3.9K votes, 105 comments. 36M subscribers in the memes community. Memes! A way of describing cultural information being shared. An element of a…

Every tech product right now.

2.9K votes, 59 comments. 36M subscribers in the memes community. Memes! A way of describing cultural information being shared. An element of a…

casualcreator

GalaxyKate - maker of many interesting things

Bubbles

Independent blog posts, ranked by the community. Good stuff bubbles up. The rest pops.

The Speech

132 votes, 31 comments. 87K subscribers in the InterviewVampire community. AMC’s Interview With the Vampire and r/TheVampireLestat🩸

The case against efficiency: friction in social media

Social media platforms frequently prioritize efficiency to maximize ad revenue and user engagement, often sacrificing deliberation, trust, and reflective, purposeful cognitive engagement in the process. This manuscript examines the potential of friction—design choices that intentionally slow user interactions—as an alternate approach. We present a case against efficiency as the dominant paradigm on social media and advocate for a complex systems approach to understanding and analyzing friction. Drawing from interdisciplinary literature, real-world examples, and industry experiments, we highlight the potential for friction to mitigate issues like polarization, disinformation, and toxic content without resorting to censorship. We propose a state space representation of friction to establish a multidimensional framework and language for analyzing the diverse forms and functions through which friction can be implemented. Additionally, we propose several experimental designs to examine the impact of friction on system dynamics, user behavior, and information ecosystems, each designed with complex systems solutions and perspectives in mind. Our case against efficiency underscores the critical role of friction in shaping digital spaces, challenging the relentless pursuit of efficiency and exploring the potential of thoughtful slowing.

Substack Writers Concerned as Subscriptions ‘Plummet’ Due to Follow Feature

Substack writers are expressing their concerns about the platform’s following feature on social media, which some argue is suppressing their subscription growth.

furry🪶irl

321K subscribers in the furry_irl community. Furry memes for the fur in u ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

My Software North Star

Loris Cro's Blog

Quiet Posters by @why.bsky.team

Posts from your quieter followers