Thoughts On A Sunday Morning

My frustration with Meta continues to grow mainly because my Good Noise reach is increasingly throttled since I refuse to pay to “boost” my posts. I understand that Meta is a business and since I choose to use it, I have to do so under their terms.However, as these businesses continue to increase their dominance, we (especially those who value “freedom”) should be aware that “Freedom of speech in a monopolized media system proves that the right to raise your voice is different from the ability to be heard.”

Before someone jumps in and says, “see, we are losing our freedom,” I should point out that this is the same as it ever was. In my recent presentation, I shared an Adbusters ad produced about 20 years ago for ”Buy Nothing Day.” Despite having the money to run the ad, it was refused by every network except one. The reason given - it didn’t fit with the worldview their other advertisers wanted. This is also another example of how our spectrum of ideas is limited.

I also continue to be frustrated by the number of AI generated/modified photos that “photographers” continue to share. Maybe even worse is the number of people who share them as “photography.” 

And even more worrying are the number of people who share these images ironically (they are trying to make fun of the images?) but because people don’t get the irony, they think they are “real.” Is this what is meant by a post-ironic world?

This seems to take to extremes something I’ve been harping about recently - social media makes the extraordinary ordinary. Which, in my opinion, is backwards. We should remember that the ordinary is extraordinary. This has become a guiding light for my photography.

As I look out our back porch window, I can’t think of many things more extraordinary than the beauty of our trees at this stage of their circle of life.

Happy Sunday!