The Weekly Review — Issue 6
The Weekly Review — Issue 6
Goodbye to my social media norm
Finally! It is that time of year when I get two weeks off from work. The perk of working in a school is the holidays. I can recharge my batteries, catch up with work commitments, follow personal interests and spend time with my family.
Getting rid of some social media platforms…again
I feel this is an ongoing carousel of me joining a social media platform and deleting it. I need to keep to my principles and move on. Yesterday, I decided to delete my X/Twitter, Instagram and Threads accounts.
I don’t want to go into it with much detail because I have previously written about my issues in the past. Yet, I keep coming back. Let’s face it — Twitter is a mess. A big, ugly mess to say the least. I have no time for the circus that Elon Musk has created. There is less value in the service, increased advertisement exposure, and questionable content moderation.
As previously mentioned in another post, I still don’t understand Instagram. I thought Threads was going to be the answer. Unfortunately, Threads is like posting in a personal journal. Absolutely no interaction whatsoever.
I’m sticking with Mastodon via AllThingsTech. I also have Twos World through the Twos App.
The weird experience of no YouTube viewing
In my previous Weekly Review (Issue 5), I went on about my dislike for Google and how I was boycotting their products. I have to say that this week has been weird without YouTube. Dare I say — I miss the platform. It was the go-to place for quick informative discussion on a products, services, and ideas. I’m still sticking to my guns on this one. No YT for me.
With the absence of YouTube, I have found myself reading more and exploring other avenues, such as listening to music and podcasts. I have discovered an alternative to YouTube called Rumble. It is by no means a true substitute for YT, but I feel it has some offerings I appreciate. More about Rumble in the Media Bookmarked section.
Apple Books is better than I thought
I just want to put this across right now — Apple Books has a habit tracker that encouraged me to read more.
I was looking into the price differences between Apple Books and Amazon after I received an email to say the Amazon Kindle app was ending their support for Mac. It was not a real issue because I tend to read on my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. However, there are times when I want to read my highlights and notes, which makes the Mac app a perfect companion. It’s annoying that the Mac app is being discontinued, but it is no big deal. I’m sure others would claim otherwise.
Amazon plans to replace the current Kindle for Mac with a new and improved app sometime in the future.
I don’t know why I didn’t think of using Apple Books sooner. I can access the service through my Apple iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air. It synchronises my progress and collection seamlessly. I have two audiobooks and a collection of books on there.
I noticed a lot of the books I wanted to buy were cheaper than what was on offer through Amazon’s website, both physical and digital.
The highlighting and note-taking experience feels better for me. I like how I can quickly see all notes and highlights in a view I prefer over the Kindle. There is a section for read books, including a timeline of when I had completed the book. Adding a book review is easier to complete through the app, too.
The whole experience in Apple Books feels cleaner, intuitive, and faster than the Kindle experience.
Saved Articles
Altruism: Examples and How to Practice It
Altruism, a selfless act, has been on my radar for the past year after a discussion at work about how it can be emotionally draining. Helping others with their problems is noble, but there are consequences for your actions. You have to be careful of the impact it can have on yourself as you take on their emotional baggage. There are many ways to be altruistic without putting yourself out. This article talks about the different approaches to altruism.
Stoicism 5.0: The unlikely 21st century reboot of an ancient philosophy
This is an old article, but it talks about stoicism in a world of cynicism. I won’t paraphrase the article. Simple put — there are some things we can control and others that we can’t control. We need to be careful of the mental energy we use through the application of rational thought. It’s worth a read.
Media Bookmarked
This section was previously called YouTube bookmarked. In the event of my Google boycott, I decided to have this area for an all-encompassing place of media. I want to be more inclusive with what I consume and find interesting.
I have been a fan of the Land of Giants podcast for some time now, ever since the first season that featured the rise of Amazon and Jeff Bezos’ success. Season 5 on The Apple Revolution is a particular favourite of mine.
I have finished Season 8, which covers Tesla. It has a good insight into how Elon Musk runs his businesses, and subsequently became the final push for me to delete X/Twitter. I don’t want anything to do with him and his practices.
Ironically, I have started Season 9, which will run through the timeline of Twitter. Listening to the trailer and burb for the season, I see it will bring up the demise of Twitter through the hands of Elon Musk. This is certainly going to be a popcorn season for sure.
Rumble (Video sharing service)
I had never heard of the YouTube alternative before. It was only when I heard a news clip on the radio mention Russel Brand on Rumble that I thought I would see what it was all about. I knew about 9Gag, Bitchute, Dailymotion, etc. Those felt more geared towards the American audience. I’m not saying anything American is bad. Simply put, I have no interest in your politics and division. Britain has enough of this itself.
Anyway, Rumble offers similar to the others mentioned above, plus the live-streaming of LoFi music, news, categories and less intrusive adverts ( if any). Using the browse button, you can find a nice selection of categories to choose from.
Rumble doesn’t have the quality videos that you would find on YouTube. The platform reminds me of the early days of YouTube, with amateur content prevailing. There are some YouTubers who have started to upload their content on Rumble as well as YouTube, so I think this might draw others onto the platform.
I’m not at the point of creating anything just yet. However, I can see myself creating content on Rumble in the future.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my post. It means the world to me.
Mark @ CodeMacLife
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