Hi! I'm Michael Donaldson, and I write about music on 8sided.blog, license and publish music through 8DSync, and make music as Q-Burns Abstract Message. I think about music all of the time. My guess is you do, too.
This is the sixteenth episode of Ringo Dreams of Lawn Care, a newsletter loosely about music-making and music-listening and how technology changes the culture around those things.
Each episode of this newsletter has a theme song. This week I revisited an old sketch from early 2019 and made it new. It’s a weird and nervous one, a song for hesitantly walking through dark forests, unsure what’s hiding behind a thick congregation of trees. It’s titled “Forced Landing,” and with it ringing in your ears, I hope you enjoy this week’s ramble.
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First off, there were tornadoes yesterday evening. I happened to look up from dinner preparation and saw a dark funnel working its way across the horizon. We're safe and, though there's a lot of damage not far from us, thankfully, there aren't any fatalities or injuries. I wrote more about it on the blog.
Oh, and I'm writing a lot more on 8sided.blog. As I move away from social media and further into the 'indie web' (more on that below), I've decided my off-and-on blog should rank high on my agenda. I aim to have at least one new post each day. There won't be too much overlap with this newsletter, though there will be some dialogue between the two. And if I decide to post a piece from the newsletter on the blog, it won't appear until about a week after. For example, an adaptation of last week's ramble about honking cars and socially distant concerts will go up on the blog today or tomorrow. (The Road Rave was postponed to June 20, btw.)
So I'd be stoked if you think to check the blog on occasion. Even better, add it to your RSS reader if that's what you're into (you should be). I'm bathing this newsletter and the blog in the spirit of experimentation and adventure, and there will be lots to write about as I navigate the Isles of Blogging. Just watch out for tornadoes.
Now on to the next experiment …
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I'm testing out the platform micro.blog. At first glance, this looks like a Twitter alternative, as Twitter falls under the same 'micro-blogging' genre. The user types in a short update — 280 characters on micro.blog, links and Markdown code not included — and followers will see it. But on micro.blog you can go over the character limit. Then your full post moves over to a personal blog while a truncated version — linking to your post — appears in the feed. So, it's like a combination of Twitter and a blogging platform.
The differences are more substantial than that. There are no targeted ads, or any advertising, on micro.blog. Instead, users pay $5 a month for an account. This fee not only means the platform doesn't need ads but also keeps out the bots and most of the trouble-makers. This factor gives micro.blog a different feel than other social media places we're used to. And as you may have guessed, the downside (?) is that there are also a lot fewer people there.
I haven't touched on the most remarkable thing about micro.blog yet. When you post, there's not a lot of opportunity for adrenaline-rush feedback. There are no 'likes' or hearts to click — you won't receive the warm fuzzies of a tweet that's hearted dozens of times. And, even more alien, you don't know who follows you. You don't even know how many people follow you. No one could be following you. Or hundreds. No way to know. You can see who other people are following — this helps with discovering who is on micro.blog. But if they follow you? That's a mystery.
The only tap on the wall you'll get from the cell next door is when someone responds to your post. And, being the only option, this seems to encourage people to interact. So far, in my limited experience, the users on this platform are friendly as can be. I've peeped in on a couple of disagreements, which were some of the nicest, most civil disputes I've seen. That's jarring when you're used to the discourse on Facebook or Twitter.
I signed up to experience a subscription-supported social media platform. That is, one that doesn't do things like suck up personal data, use algorithms to hide posts, tolerate bots and unsavories to strengthen user numbers, or amplify contentious posts to increase angered engagement. I intended to give it a go for a couple of weeks solely for research and then move on. It's educational, and I'm enjoying myself. It's like I've stepped into an alternate timeline (no pun intended). I might stay.
Sometimes I wonder why I even need social media or an outlet like micro.blog. There is the 'social' in social media — keeping touch with friends. I would hope we could stay in touch with each other regardless. Then there's the town-crier aspect. We want to tell others about the cool things we've found, like that hilarious video or the article that totally captures how we feel. I also like using social platforms as a notepad to keep track of things I might want to remember later (like those hilarious videos and spot-on articles).
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The cry to 'delete Facebook' is particularly loud at the moment. It's always been in the background — remember six years ago when everyone was going to ditch Facebook for Ello? But with all the recent infuriating activities of Zuckcorp, many have reached a tipping point. And rather than a threat of 'we're leaving for someone else,' the voices are simply saying, "We're leaving."
Here are one blogger's reasons for leaving. And here's a zeitgeist-y piece in Wired with instructions for deleting social media accounts. Writer and investor Om Malik is vocal about this, too, writing, "If you believe that Facebook is causing long-term damage to our society, and you don't agree with their values or their approach to doing business, you can choose to leave." But it's author Alan Jacobs who really speaks to the punk rock kid living inside my brain:
When you use the big social media platforms you contribute to their power and influence, and you deplete the energy and value of the open web. You make things worse for everyone. I truly believe that. Which is why I'm so obnoxiously repetitive on this point.
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Kickstarter founder Yancey Strickler has written about what he calls The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet. He bases his thesis on the metaphor of wandering through a forest at night, which seems quiet and empty. But the forest is teeming with life — everything's just hiding.
Strickler believes this is what the internet will become as people go off into their private groups and corners of the 'indie web.' Then Facebook, Twitter, and corporate social media will get left with the users who are screaming, antagonizing, and spreading untruths. Strickler fears that rather than isolating ugly voices, the 'dark forest' might increase their influence:
It's possible, I suppose, that a shift away from the mainstream internet and into the dark forests could permanently limit the mainstream's influence. It could delegitimize it. In some ways that's the story of the internet's effect on broadcast television. But we forget how powerful television still is. And those of us building dark forests risk underestimating how powerful the mainstream channels will continue to be, and how minor our havens are compared to their immensity.
I'm doubtful. I think there's a difference between what Strickler calls 'the mainstream internet' and the manipulative, corporate, and closed internet we're escaping. The screamers and the antagonizers are already doing a great job influencing powerful media, and they do it partly by influencing us. We talk about this ugliness on social media, we argue and engage with it, we even 'retweet' or share its messages with or without commentary. Then our reactions are amplified by an algorithm that feeds on conflict and anger. Often we spread the awfulness by merely being alongside it.
I don't think it's their forest we're hiding in. If any part of the internet is 'mainstream', then it's the part that's not closed-off, disagreeable to our values, and sucking our personal data like mosquitos in a rank swamp. Inverting Strickler's analogy, we should aspire for a forest where we can walk freely in the daylight. Let's push the screamers to hide in the darkness.
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tl;dr: I'm making moves to leave Facebook and its associated platforms. Eventually, you'll solely find me on this newsletter and 8sided.blog.
I'll have a longer post on this soon (it will be on the blog so that I won't belabor to my newsletter readers). And one thing I'd like to explore — I'm so curious! — is how to promote music things without social media. Specifically, how can we do record label promotions without Facebook? Social media makes us feel it's required — which in itself is a red flag — and I am sure artists might think twice signing with a label that's not on Facebook or social media.
But I question the value of a Facebook presence. We all know that Facebook squashes its organic reach more every year, forcing page managers to pay for 'boosts' if they want their pages' followers actually to see posts. I'm always struck by how ridiculous that practice is when I write it down, but we've come to accept it as normal. I'd prefer to put my energy where a label's fans have access to any post or newsflash, and the label, in turn, has direct access to those fans.
A request for my readers: If you have one, give me the name of an artist or label — prominent or otherwise — who avoids a presence on Facebook or social media in general. I'd love to make a list and maybe even talk to a few for a future piece.
Here's one. Frank Ocean doesn't have a Facebook presence. Though he did recently start using Instagram. Alas.
I'd love your input as I embark on yet another experiment. Sail on!
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EDGING →
• On Friday, Bandcamp held another artist-appreciation day, forgoing their cut of sales to pay out 100% to its artists and labels. With all eyes on racial injustice and this week's protests, many Bandcamp artists pledged their sales income to civil rights causes. When artists control their revenue streams, they can choose to direct those streams to support heartfelt causes and invest in a better community. It's a shame that seems like a radical and new concept. I'm confident and reassured that we'll get used to it.
• The interview with Derek Sivers on Yo! Podcast was what I needed this week. The topics are inspiring, and Derek is so upbeat that you can't help but feel good during the podcast's runtime. A welcome brain-escape during troubling times. I also love his thoughtful response to the innocuous question, "Hendrix or Bowie?":
Jimi Hendrix is like Charles Darwin. Darwin, he presents "The Origin of Species" to the world and it blows everybody's mind. But now the theory of evolution is common knowledge, so to read the book, "The Origin of Species" now, is not so impressive. So Hendrix presents the "Star-Spangled Banner," full of feedback and more sounds from a guitar than anyone had heard before, and it blows everybody's mind. But now, every kid in the guitar store can do the same thing. So to hear the original, is not so impressive. I think it's kind of the same with Stravinsky and the "Rite of Spring," it's actually kind of unfair that they're revolutionary contribution is diminished with time.
But David Bowie is like Josephine Baker, exotic and desirable in their time, and exotic and desirable now. And same thing with Claude Debussy's music. Like, David Bowie, Josephine Baker, and Claude Debussy, all of them stood outside of the culture. Their art didn't infiltrate the culture and culture didn't assimilate or adopt it. And so time doesn't diminish their allure. [LINK]
• If you have a business and use video for promotion or content marketing, then the Giants of Video Summit will interest you. Giants of Video is a free online summit with over 35 talks from experts in the field covering all aspects of marketing through video. I mention this because I'm giving a talk, too. Representing my licensing compnay 8DSync, I cover music placements in video — how to stand out with music, how to find music, and how to use music in your videos legally. Check out this teaser and my bright red glasses. The Giants of Video Summit starts on June 16, and it's free. Sign up at this [LINK].
• Finally, here’s an ambient music recommendation to help cure the nerves. Ralph Kinsella is a guitarist hailing from Fife, Scotland. His debut — the Abstraction EP — is stunningly beautiful with soft, layered tones and subtle shoegaze moments. He's offering it as a free download on Bandcamp. [LINK]
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I hope you enjoyed this episode of Ringo Dreams of Lawn Care. I got this one out a little late on this Sunday but I didn't think you’d mind. I had to run to the international market this morning to buy a bunch of boil-in-a-bag Indian meals (stocking up!) so that put things a little behind schedule. As you know, I'd love to hear from you. You can learn more about me, what I do, and contact me with your comments here.
If you can think of someone chill and friendly who would like this newsletter, then please pass it on. And, yes, sharing Ringo on your favorite social media bugbear is also appreciated despite all that stuff I said above. Getting the word out always means a lot more than you know.
Thank you so much for reading. It’s been a tough week in a long series of tough weeks. But there have also been many inspiring moments and inspiring people in the mix. There are a lot of good people fighting to make things right and I can’t help but be hopeful. Hang in there and I’ll see you next week! 🚀