David Merrett
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snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett
@snakeydave.bsky.social
85 followers 190 following 210 posts

Social researcher, runner, climber, silly gaming man

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Economics 35%
Political science 25%
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snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · Jan 12
Games completed 2025:

1. Lorelei and The Laser Eyes. Superb puzzle game with some narrative heft, improved no end by its use of survival horror aesthetics. Vivid, stylish, satisfying, I loved it.

snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · 9d
This is fascinating: laurenleek.substack.com/p/how-google...

In some sense it's obvious to say that algorithms mediate and influence our attention and decisions, but the fact they're opaque is horrendous. There ought to be public access for why facebook or google sending you this ad/video/etc.
How Google Maps quietly allocates survival across London’s restaurants - and how I built a dashboard to see through it
I wanted a dinner recommendation and got a research agenda instead. Using 13000+ restaurants, I rebuild its ratings with machine learning and map how algorithmic visibility actually distributes power.
laurenleek.substack.com

snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · 11d
Saw it a few months back with a director q&a, and I'm now annoyed I didn’t ask about that.

Reposted by David Merrett

duckvalentine.bsky.social
Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 11d
whats the best video game movie of all time and why is it Hundreds of Beavers

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, John R. Hutchinson, John Appleby , and 15 more

thegmcconnachie.bsky.social
Garry @thegmcconnachie.bsky.social · 13d
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people

Reposted by David Merrett

ign.com
IGN @ign.com · 15d
Rockstar has claimed the employees it recently fired were dismissed because they leaked game features for upcoming and unannounced titles in Discord, not because they were trying to unionize. https://bit.ly/48A0tTf

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Shannon Vallor, Ben H. Ansell , and 27 more

jonkingh.bsky.social
Jonathan Kingham @jonkingh.bsky.social · 20d
This is so disgusting.

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Gavin A. Schmidt, Elizabeth Stokoe , and 6 more

theguardian.com
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20d
Trans women to be barred from main Labour women’s conference in 2026
Trans women to be barred from main Labour women’s conference in 2026
All delegates will be able to attend fringe programme as party tries to find compromise while complying with supreme court ruling on gender Trans women will be barred from the main part of Labour’s women’s conference next year, the party has said, with entrance to the main conference hall and voting rights denied. All delegates will be allowed to attend a fringe programme, under the party’s plans, as Labour seeks to find a compromise position it believes will comply with the supreme court’s ruling on gender – while also being inclusive to trans delegates. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Jonathan Hopkin, Andrew Leyshon, David Merrett , and 2 more

writesbright.bsky.social
Sam Bright @writesbright.bsky.social · 29d
I'm constantly shocked (but not surprised) by how little we discuss the additional financial burden placed on young people by the Clegg-Cameron student loan regime.

@rmcunliffe.bsky.social is one of the few journalists who brings it up continuously - once again in the wake of the budget 👇
Rachel Reeves hits young graduates with a double stealth tax
The Chancellor plans to raise as much money from freezing loan repayment thresholds as from the mansion tax
www.newstatesman.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, David Merrett , and 1 more

cjterry.bsky.social
Chris Terry-Enescu @cjterry.bsky.social · 29d
The thing about "left on the economy, right on culture" is it's based on analysis of swing voters. Those voters are often low attention and their politics are often not especially coherent. Which is fine for them, it's not their job to run the country, but, you know, the government is

Reposted by David Merrett

chrisbratt.bsky.social
Chris Bratt @chrisbratt.bsky.social · Nov 25
Going to be on Novara Live later this evening (I think about 6:45PM?) discussing the Rockstar firings and the union's efforts to get those employees reinstated

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hjc...
Carer’s Allowance Crisis Leaves Hundreds Of Thousands In Debt | #NovaraLIVE
YouTube video by Novara Media
www.youtube.com

Reposted by David Merrett

fromarsetoelbow.bsky.social
David Timoney @fromarsetoelbow.bsky.social · Nov 23
"This is a government that was engineered by the politico-media caste to thwart the left, eject the hapless Tories before they did any more damage, and otherwise just sit tight until something turned up to give the economy a boost." More ...
fromarsetoelbow.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-to...
A Touch on the Tiller
This is a government that refuses to publicly choose between the interests of capital and labour and believes it can steer a course between the two.
fromarsetoelbow.blogspot.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, David Merrett

jorisbinned.bsky.social
Kate Garraway Enjoyer @jorisbinned.bsky.social · Nov 22
Sorry to keep banging on about it but it's literally *they are on Twitter and think it's the majority view*
benansell.bsky.social Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · Nov 22
This is pretty striking and makes me wonder exactly what Labour have been up to in making policy seemingly in response to / fear of the former rather than the middle group.
yougov.co.uk YouGov @yougov.co.uk · Nov 21
Why do people think England flags have been raised on lampposts?

White adults
National pride: 26%
Anti-migrant/minority sentiment: 49%
Both: 19%

Ethnic minority adults
National pride: 15%
Anti-migrant/minority sentiment: 55%
Both: 20%

yougov.co.uk/society/arti...

Reposted by David Merrett

soozuk.bsky.social
Sooz Kempner @soozuk.bsky.social · Nov 22
My friend just sent me this t-shirt design and I need it so much.
black tshirt with "Yeah I support LGBT" and then pics of Labyrinth, Green Hill, Bingo Highway and Twinkle Park zones from Sonic

Reposted by David Merrett

eurogamer.bsky.social
Eurogamer @eurogamer.bsky.social · Nov 21
Ubisoft boss believes generative AI is as big a revolution for games as the shift to 3D, as tech is embraced company-wide

www.eurogamer.net/ubisoft-boss...

Reposted by James Harrison, David Merrett

heraldscotland.bsky.social
The Herald @heraldscotland.bsky.social · Nov 20
For Women Scotland wins Public Campaign or Campaigner of the Year at The Herald Scottish Politician of the Year Awards 2025, in association with ScottishPower

www.heraldscotland.com/news...

#politicianawards25

Reposted by David Merrett

illusorywall.bsky.social
illusory wall @illusorywall.bsky.social · Nov 19
Showing up in the Epstein Files because you were a thorn in the side of one of his buddies is a serious flex. Rebecca Watson has been doing great work for a long time now.

youtu.be/VNLdyWPAz18?...
So I'm in the Epstein Files
YouTube video by Rebecca Watson (Skepchick)
youtu.be

snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · Nov 19
I remember being blown away by cod 2 on a 360 demo station, how the smoke seemed like it was thick and had real volume in a way I'd never seen before.

Reposted by David Merrett

gelliottmorris.com
G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · Nov 16
maybe if he takes more consultant advice to move to the right on immigration he can turn those numbers around

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, David Merrett, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham

gomizone.bsky.social
Gomi's Birthday Party @gomizone.bsky.social · Nov 15
just saw the worst gaming ad ive ever seen

snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · Nov 14
I finished Indika this morning. Deftly written, literate, with excellent performances. Understated mechanically, appropriately so, but occasionally its gameplay conceits feel underexplored or clumsily executed. Some superb bits of narrative design however, some overt, some wonderfully un-signposted.

snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · Nov 11
youtu.be/c9nOwjeznjI?...
The Rockstar Workers Fired Before They Could Finish GTA 6
YouTube video by People Make Games
youtu.be

Reposted by David Merrett

garethdennis.uk
Gareth Dennis @garethdennis.uk · Nov 9
Ignoring the pathetic, tragic jingoism of popping a bunch of nylon flags on the posts of road signage along a bypass, but these are such obvious hazards it should genuinely merit a national restraining order on the flag twats.
two flags attached to a large road sign, flapping into the road and causing - at best - a dangerous distraction

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Michael Barnett, Michael S. Rosenberg , and 30 more

brittanytrang.com
Brittany Trang @brittanytrang.com · Nov 8
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com

Reposted by David Merrett

pcgamer.com
PC Gamer @pcgamer.com · Nov 6
"Rockstar, Rockstar, you're disgusting, we charge you with union busting," the protesters declared.
'All you had to do was follow the damn law, Rockstar!': Workers are protesting outside Take-Two after GTA 6 dev's alleged 'brazen' union-busting
"They can get used to seeing us on their doorstep."
www.pcgamer.com

snakeydave.bsky.social
David Merrett @snakeydave.bsky.social · Nov 3
This article totally captured how I feel about Ball X Pit. It's totally empty, a pure lizard brain tickler, and nothing more. However, shamefully, I will finish it.
Beware of Falling into Ball x Pit
Ball x Pit is a hollow, repetitive roguelite that cynically preys on players' weakness and offers little in return--and I need to go play it again.
www.endlessmode.com

Reposted by David Merrett, David R. Miller, Steven S. Taylor , and 2 more

michaelhobbes.bsky.social
Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Nov 1
It is time to admit that Republicans won the 2024 election by running to the center.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/o...
Can Democrats Accept the Obvious? The most obvious thing in politics is often the hardest to admit: If you lose an election, the best thing that you can do to make sure you win the next one is to find a message that puts you closer to the median voter than you were the last time around.

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Steve Peers, David Merrett

jasonschreier.bsky.social
Jason Schreier @jasonschreier.bsky.social · Oct 31
BREAKING: Yesterday Grand Theft Auto VI maker Rockstar Games fired dozens of people, all of whom were involved in union efforts. A British union calls it "blatant and ruthless" union-busting. Take-Two Interactive says it was due to misconduct.

Here's the scoop: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
‘Grand Theft Auto’ Studio Accused of Union Busting After Firings
Union says 30 and 40 people were terminated. Rockstar Games’ parent company cites ‘gross misconduct’
www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by David Merrett

tenderchris.bsky.social
Chris B. @tenderchris.bsky.social · Oct 25
Please kill me

Reposted by David Merrett

michaelhobbes.bsky.social
Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Oct 24
It was an Issue on which serious people were expected to have opinions.

Over and over again we’ve seen the media refuse to create Issues out of anything related to right-wing radicalization. If they get any mention, they’re in stories about ‘polarization,’ a misstatement of the actual problem.

Reposted by David Merrett

michaelhobbes.bsky.social
Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · Oct 24
This is a huge part of the media’s role in a democracy, not simply reporting the facts but collecting them into Major Political Issues to which the citizenry and politicians pay attention.

In 2021 when homicide rates spiked, for example, we got a wave of stories about causes, fixes, fallout, etc.