A common theme here at Llama Towers is to talk about our changing relationship with the Internet as a whole, and with social media specifically. I was both an early adopter of the Web and discussion forums, and even moderated a very busy site for a couple of years, which helped Read more…
I have to admit that I have always been a realist, yet, when it comes to technology, I tend to side with the enthusiastic optimists. For many years, I shared the illusion (and perhaps common delusion) that the Internet was a force for good in the world, believing it would Read more…
At the start of the year, I wrote a blog post, committing me to remain on Twitter. This decision stemmed from an exodus of users following Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform, where, within weeks, dozens vanished from my timeline, compelling me to justify my sustained presence there. My decision Read more…
I like Twitter. There are many things not to like about the site nowadays, but to me it remains a very interesting and vibrant place in which to spend my time. But after Elon Musk’s takeover, it has often been difficult to justify the reasons why I’m still spending time Read more…
Elon Musk is buying Twitter for $44 billion USD. Surely. Certainly. Maybe. It’s complicated. Regardless, the news have exploded in tech and mainstream news, everyone has a take. Musk announced that he would be a champion of free speech, prompting cheers from the right (who think that this means that Read more…
The events of last week require no introduction. The world looked in shock as the QAnon-MAGA mob stormed the US Capitol, disrupting the certification process for the US election. Disbelief, anger, sadness, in some circles. In others glee at the decay of a once great democracy. For me it felt Read more…
Some time ago I was going through my social media feeds when something caught my eye. A person I barely knew posted a selfie with himself and partner, both facing the camera and making a surprised face, with an older lady in the background fanning her face and clearly suffering Read more…
There has been a lot of soul-searching in mainstream media in the past week, following Shane Smith‘s scathing health check at this year’s MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh international TV festival. The lecture should be obligatory viewing for anyone interested in media in general, but also for those of us Read more…
It may not come as a surprise that I have a lot of left-leaning liberal friends. During last year’s UK election, most of my social timeline was strongly in favour of Labour, and they were confident that there would be a victory for the left and Ed Milliband would be Read more…
We tackle the big issues here in Technollama. Do monkeys and cats own copyright? Will the UK government ban Whatsapp? Can you copyright a tweet? Can you knit a Dalek? The latest copyright controversy has arisen in the UK as a result of a written question posed to the Culture Read more…