Iain S. Thomas
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realiainsthomas.bsky.social
Iain S. Thomas
@realiainsthomas.bsky.social
Founder of Sounds Fun. Writer of I Wrote This For You, What Makes Us Human?, and maker of stuff. Art, technology and random assortments. Is this thing on?
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
Stand up.
Not because you are called to stand up
but because others may need to see you stand before they do.

Iain S Thomas
@realiainsthomas.bsky.social
January 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
I write to remind you
of the truth
because it doesn’t last.

It floats away like petals in a stream
and each day
we must find it again
and say,
“This is beautiful.
This is beautiful.”

We forget and, each day,
we must remember.

Iain S Thomas @realiainsthomas.bsky.social
January 25, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
This is the stuff I'm a doomer about. Real journalism takes time - even a quick, original 700-word story requires a lot of legwork, relationships, etc.

It can never compete with instant slop, or accounts that just plagiarize news for free with more sensationalistic (and wrong) framing.
"Journalism...is built on the economics of attention"

Facts are boring. Conspiracy theories are exhilarating. Besides, fact checks are happening in spaces where the lie consumers aren't. No Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, NY Post, WSJ oped consumer is reading Politifact or Kessler. JFK is alive, after all.
I wrote about facts v. belief and belonging as the real crisis here:
medium.com/whither-news...
January 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
NEW: Meta changed its Community Guidelines today to permit "allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality" @knibbs.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/meta-i...
Meta Now Lets Users Say Gay and Trans People Have 'Mental Illness'
Meta rolled out a number of changes to its “Hateful Conduct” policy Tuesday as part of a sweeping overhaul of its approach toward content moderation.
www.wired.com
January 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Should I be here or Threads?
January 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
We should, as a society, all agree to start the run-up to Halloween on January 1. Just for one year to see how it goes. We won't know if it works until we try it.
January 5, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
A Bird Circling Up
By @realiainsthomas.bsky.social
#BeKind 🩷
December 11, 2024 at 3:53 AM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
posting reviews feels like the final boss of self promotion but we work so hard & have been making this largely on our own. it’s a tough industry & we’re up against a lot of famous & rich faces. so if any of this sounds like a show you or someone you know would like- try us out or tell a pal
November 22, 2024 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
Lots of fun stuff being made lately using the Jetstream, the firehose of all Bluesky posts. Here’s a growing thread of my favorites. (Send me more!)
See the colors of BlueSky, live!
www.bewitched.com/demo/rainbow...
This little visualization scans incoming posts and draws a stripe every time it finds a color word.
November 19, 2024 at 5:26 PM
November 21, 2024 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
im on every app. im in your city, in your neighborhood. the sales associate who handed you a large when you asked for a medium? that was me. i am now behind you.
November 20, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
I am thrilled to announce a *late edition* to the @wired.com Big Interview event on December 3rd.

In addition to Mira Murati, Jensen Huang, Mark Cuban, and many more, we're also very lucky to host Bluesky CEO @jay.bsky.team in conversation with @knibbs.bsky.social !!

www.wired.com/story/thebig...
Join Us for the WIRED Big Interview Event
On December 3, WIRED will be sitting down with some of the biggest names in technology, business, science, and beyond for a full day packed with in-depth conversations.
www.wired.com
November 20, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
What's the best way to report out the *definitive* story of our autonomous robotaxi future?

A daylong car chase through the streets of San Francisco, OBVIOUSLY.

www.wired.com/story/waymo-...
Get in—We’re Chasing a Waymo Into the Future
Tailing a robotaxi for hours and hours is weird. And revelatory. And jealousy-inducing. But a driverless world is coming for all of us. So shut the door and buckle up.
www.wired.com
November 20, 2024 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
We should write down the names of everything
and everyone
that keeps us whole,
that can never be blown away.

@realiainsthomas.bsky.social
November 19, 2024 at 5:25 AM
Reposted by Iain S. Thomas
I made a thing!

I was playing around with the AT protocol and as a little experiment I made a website that visualises activity around Bluesky: nightsky.hctr.dev

It listens to all new posts and shows them as little stars across a night sky 🌃

Every star is someone, somewhere, posting something
Nightsky | hctr.dev
See live conversations from all over Bluesky as a dynamic night sky
nightsky.hctr.dev
November 16, 2024 at 11:05 PM
May 7, 2023 at 7:14 PM
May 6, 2023 at 11:36 AM
Testing, testing, 1, 2
April 29, 2023 at 10:45 PM