(2023-08-02) Sloan A Summer Wind

Robin Sloan: A summer wind. Last week, I joined hosts V. V. Ganshanathan and Whitney Terrell on their Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast to talk about “social media after Twitter”. (2023-08-02 RobinSloanOnSocialMediaAfterTwitter)

I mention this in our conversation, and I want to under­score it here: where the internet is concerned, we are in a crisis of discovery

I suspect there is no easy remedy. Or, maybe I mean to say: if it’s easy, it’s not a remedy

The strategy is the same as it always was: cultivate small, sturdy networks of affinity and interest. Connect them to each other. Keep them lit.

Alexis Madrigal has launched the Oakland Garden Club, a newsletter that will grow to encompass publishing and apparel.

The Libby widget is simple but/and profound. It looks like this — nice and chunky... The widget shows the e-book that’s currently open. Tap, and you’re right back where you left off. One deep drawback of digital reading is that e-books are so quick to disappear. If you acquire an e-book, either through purchase or loan, and read it immediately and without stopping, you are probably safe. But … if you forget about it for a single day … that e-book will eagerly slip away onto the third page of a list you’ll never again review... In fact, I wish I could install three Libby widgets, each one showing my progress through a different e-book! I tried; unfortunately, the widgets all show the e-book that’s currently open. I’ll take what I can get.