Five Links #41
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Absorbing
Five links for your inbox from this week.
1. The Dangerously Irresponsible IAB – Bob Hoffman
Bob Hoffman on fire again (emphasis my own):
The advertising industry was successful for many decades finding appropriate targets for advertisers without spying on the public. But the online ad industry claims that tracking is an essential part of their business model. This is the equivalent of saying that online advertising is such a weak force that the only way the industry can survive is if it is allowed to spy on the public.
As I said at the beginning of this piece, advertising is necessary for the continued operation of the free web as we know it. But tracking is not. The problem is not advertising. The problem is tracking.
The IAB and other trade groups have been complicit in opposing every serious attempt to reign in the excesses of the adtech industry. Instead they have put forward frivolous proposals like the laughable and cynically named “Privacy for America” program that protects the industry’s interests but undermines serious attempts to protect consumer privacy.
Mr. Cohen’s remarks were ignorant and irresponsible. His assertion that people opposed to the dangerous practices of the online ad industry are “extremists” and want to “eliminate” the advertising industry are absurd. Sadly, this is not surprising coming from the IAB. The IAB has the disgraceful ceo it deserves.
As ever, it’s worth reading the whole thing.
2. omg.lol
This is a very cool idea. Pay $20/year, get a Linktree-style personal page, email forwarding (and sending via Fastmail), DNS and much more.
Love the branding and design, too.
3. Facebook employee claims he was fired for refusing to perform negative testing
Killing someone’s cellphone battery puts people at risk, especially “in circumstances where they need to communicate with others, including but not limited to police or other rescue workers,” according to the litigation filed against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms.
“I refused to do this test,” he said, adding, “It turns out if you tell your boss, ‘No, that’s illegal,’ it doesn’t go over very well.”
Quelle surprise.
4. Fedi Garden
A neat little resource to help discover small and medium-sized Mastodon instances.
5. Bespoke walking boot-making process
When I read Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, one of the takeaways was how people in the Financial Independent, Retire Early (FIRE) movement often go on to fill their free time learning hard things. It’s always fascinating to see the work that goes into a handmade products, and watching these walking boots being created is no different.
Projects + other things
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Over on my studio site, I recently added a few principles that guide my work – it’s a work in progress:
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My Unoffice Hours are available every other Wednesday. Next slot: 22nd February.
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Until next time,
Dave