The hottest Digital Media Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Notes from #WIRED30

The Future, Now and Then • 85 implied HN points • 07 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Futurism AI Internet Tech Culture Digital Media
  1. Tech's center of gravity has shifted in the past 30 years in Silicon Valley, futurism, and WIRED.
  2. Tim Berners-Lee's effort to give users control over data faces challenges from established tech giants.
  3. WIRED is drawing boundary lines around the AI debate, embracing diverse perspectives and urging attention to the limitations of large language models.

New decisions in a cloudy world

do clouds feel vertigo? • 99 implied HN points • 08 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Digital Media Copyright Society Information
  1. AI is creating new divisions in society, leading to more debates about our future and survival. It's making conversations about technology very heated and complex.
  2. Deepfakes and manipulated images are changing how we perceive reality. We can no longer trust everything we see, which can have big implications for privacy and reputation.
  3. In a world full of uncertainty, having a clear mind and being skeptical about information is essential. Embracing ambiguity instead of fearing it can help us navigate changes better.

✅ New book: AI tools for public relations

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 39 implied HN points • 30 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Tools Public Relations Digital Media Productivity Content creation
  1. The book covers how AI tools like large language models can help public relations by making writing and understanding information easier.
  2. It showcases productivity tools that can make tasks like transcribing and media monitoring faster and more efficient.
  3. The book emphasizes the importance of human skills in PR, like emotional intelligence and ethics, even when using advanced AI tools.

The rise and fall of the iPod

Jon’s Newsletter • 119 implied HN points • 23 Oct 22
🕹 Technology Consumer Electronics Product Design Digital Media Innovation Business strategy
  1. The iPod was a game-changer for Apple, helping them emerge as a major player in the music industry and aiding in the company's recovery from financial struggles.
  2. Apple's focus on design and simplicity helped the iPod stand out, making it appealing and easy to use compared to other MP3 players at the time.
  3. Over time, the iPhone replaced the iPod, showing how one successful product can lead to the rise and fall of another, and the iPod's legacy continues in Apple's current offerings.
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Pixels are free now

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 24 Sep 23
🕹 Technology AI Digital Media Software Data Economics
  1. The internet has made it much cheaper to share and create digital content, like images and music. This means more people can make and distribute their work easily.
  2. AI is reducing the time and effort needed for tasks like data analysis or creative work. What used to take weeks can now be done in hours, making things more efficient.
  3. As technology continues to evolve, we will likely rely on simple conversations with AI to create documents or applications. If it can't talk to other tools, it may soon seem outdated or 'broken'.

From the Alphabet to Blockchain: Encoding the Author’s Voice

do clouds feel vertigo? • 59 implied HN points • 16 Feb 23
🕹 Technology AI Blockchain Digital Media Communication Information Theory
  1. Communication involves repeating and reshaping each other's ideas to better share information. This helps us work together more effectively and has made humans more resilient over time.
  2. AI, like ChatGPT, compresses information in a way that can lead to the loss of important details and sources. This makes it crucial to understand the limits of how technology represents knowledge.
  3. Blockchain technology offers a solution by creating unique digital items that are hard to replicate. This maintains a sense of originality and trust in our increasingly digital world.

29 things that didn’t exist last time Argentina won the World Cup.

Jon’s Newsletter • 59 implied HN points • 18 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Internet Mobile Social media E-commerce Digital Media
  1. A lot has changed since Argentina last won the World Cup in 1986, especially with technology. For example, back then, the internet and smartphones didn't exist.
  2. Major companies and services like Google, Amazon, and Netflix started many years after the 1986 World Cup. It shows how different our daily lives are now.
  3. Even social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were created long after that victory. This highlights how we now connect and communicate in very different ways.

Game On

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 19 implied HN points • 06 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Gaming Cloud Artificial Intelligence Video Processing Digital Media
  1. Sony has bought a UK company called iSIZE, which uses deep learning to improve video delivery. This could make cloud gaming better.
  2. iSIZE is known for creating lifelike digital characters and focuses on 2D and 3D modeling for games and virtual worlds.
  3. Sony believes cloud gaming is important for the future because people want to play games on the go, and this technology will help them do that.

Alt Perspectives on AI

Perspective Agents • 18 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Digital Media Information Flow AI Tools
  1. Perspective Agents book focuses on human and social implications of AI in the "autonomous age".
  2. The book encourages asking big questions about the impact of AI on crises, understanding key events, and fostering optimism.
  3. Prepare for major changes in media, like AI-powered answers, information flows, and the evolution of intelligence engines.

The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

Dan’s MEGA65 Digest • 11 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Audio Programming Hardware Software Digital Media
  1. Audio can be generated on the MEGA65 through SID chips and Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM), which allows for reproducing real-world sounds but takes up a lot of memory space.
  2. The MEGA65 expansion board project aims to enhance the computer with features like component video output, Commodore user port, and tape port.
  3. Using audio DMA on the MEGA65, you can play digitized sound samples by controlling speaker membranes directly, even enabling playback of high-quality sound data and providing opportunities for creative sound manipulation.

An unbelievable opportunity

Charles Eisenstein • 12 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Digital Media Automation Artificial Intelligence Tech Ethics
  1. Investing in low-tech enterprises can be a unique and profitable opportunity, even in a world dominated by high-tech innovations.
  2. The rise of AI-generated content poses challenges in different sectors like academia, legal writing, and cultural preservation, questioning the authenticity of digital information.
  3. Engaging with physical artifacts like typewriters can offer a tangible connection to reality and a break from the isolation often experienced in the digital world.

Reality Distortion Fields

Perspective Agents • 18 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Social media AI Digital Media Automation Misinformation
  1. Reality distortion fields can be created by charismatic leaders, media outlets, and technology to influence perceptions and beliefs.
  2. Misinformation and disinformation campaigns during conflicts like the Hamas-Israeli conflict illustrate the challenges in verifying reality and the impact of digital manipulation.
  3. The rise of automated agents and generative AI poses a threat to political persuasion and calls for critical thinking, media literacy, and diverse information sources to combat distorted realities.

2022 – The Year of ‘Text-to-Anything’

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 19 implied HN points • 09 Oct 22
🕹 Technology AI Robotics Innovation Software Digital Media
  1. AI is rapidly advancing and changing many fields like art and gaming. It's exciting to see how much it can do in such a short time.
  2. We can now have complex conversations with AI, making technology feel more human-like. This could change how we interact with machines.
  3. The variety of tasks AI can perform shows the endless possibilities for the future. We're just starting to understand what AI can achieve.

Vision Con

The Convivial Society • 2 HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Tech news Digital Media Virtual reality Digital Technologies Tech Ethics
  1. Apple's release of Vision Pro headset has sparked discussions on the implications of technology on our perception of time and attention.
  2. The debate around using Vision Pro in everyday scenarios raises questions about living as a 'creature' vs. living as a 'machine.'
  3. Embracing fullness of presence and depth of experience in everyday moments may lead to a renewed sense of connection and enchantment with the real world.

Introducing Substack Creator Studio, a fellowship for the next wave of video stars

Substack • 1 HN point • 07 May 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Digital Media Content creation Subscription Models Marketing
  1. Substack Creator Studio offers a fellowship for video creators to develop their channels and build communities on Substack. It's a chance for creators to connect closely with their audience and earn money through subscriptions.
  2. The Substack model is seen as a stable alternative for creators who struggle with changing social media algorithms and uncertain ad revenue. It allows them to have ownership of their content and a more reliable income.
  3. Substack is expanding its features to support various creators, helping them grow their audience and improve their work experience. This includes better tools for video, audio, and direct engagement with subscribers.

Software companies are media companies. 

Market Curve • 1 HN point • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Software Digital Media AI Automation Content creation
  1. Successful media companies have 3 key qualities: distributed to the right people, trade attention for engagement, and leverage network effects.
  2. Media needs distribution to exist - from traditional channels to digital platforms, distribution is essential for media companies.
  3. Attention is the currency of media, engagement is its value. Successful media companies create authentic, entertaining, and relevant content while focusing on quality over quantity.

Jak Ritger: DIGITAL LOCAL: Prehistory of Viral Media

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Art history Digital Media Social media
  1. Memes are complex and not fully understood in terms of what truly defines them - it's not just the image but also its context, language, style, and speed.
  2. Understanding the historical context of 'Viral Media' helps in appreciating its impact on art and culture over time, providing insights into today's media landscape.
  3. Exploring different forms of media and art through history, from Surrealism to Outsider Art, helps in dissecting the evolution and influence of viral content.

Lena Peplińska: Think of a number from 1 to 77. Conspiracy theories as memetic dreams

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 16 Oct 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Digital Media Memes Symbolism Visual communication
  1. Collecting data: The internet user plays a gawker role by actively engaging with information, influencing their social media feed with obscure narratives.
  2. Mutating: Memes mutate in digital environments like pathogens, losing their original meaning and becoming a tailored form of communication for the digital age.
  3. Sharing: Memes share similarities with dreams, expressing subconscious wishes and anxieties, and create personalized realities that shape collective fantasies, impacting individual experiences and online interactions.

Trent Crawford & Stanton Cornish-Ward: LOCK

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Film Digital Media Speculative
  1. LOCK (2021) is a speculative film about decentralized personal-development movements and peer to peer therapy called LOCK.
  2. The film merges film production stock footage with artificial intelligence techniques like DeepFakes, Image Breeding, and SPADE to explore contemporary cinema fueled by web 3.0.
  3. The project aims to spark conversations about digital isolationism, presenting a hybrid reality of decentralized, autonomous, and radicalized individuals through immersive video installations.

Jakob Maier: Friend

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
🎭️ Culture Entertainment Media Consumption Nostalgia Digital Media Identity
  1. Media consumption plays a significant role in filling the void of loneliness, allowing individuals to form parasocial relationships with characters on the screen.
  2. The ironic memeification and hyper-sincere fan economies of entertainment franchises like Friends showcase how media consumption can become an identity signifier and a meme.
  3. The average American has been spending around 8 hours per day on streaming services during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating a steady increase in digital media consumption.

Mitch Anzuoni: DESENSITIZED WEB: A SURVEY OF CRYPTOLITERATURE

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 15 Feb 22
📚 Literature Web3 Digital Media Financing
  1. The rise of web3 platforms like Mirror is changing how writers monetize their content, moving away from ads and grants towards market speculation and tokenizing their work.
  2. Mirror blurs the line between readers and investors, offering backers a stake in the digital assets created by writers, fundamentally altering the traditional relationship between creators and their audience.
  3. While platforms like Mirror offer new financial opportunities for writers, the shift towards a tokenized creative environment raises questions about the true value placed on artistic expression versus financial gain.

The future's pretty dumb

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends • 0 implied HN points • 21 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Social media E-commerce Artificial Intelligence Digital Media Virtual reality
  1. Facebook may have unintentionally enabled Trump's rise due to the environment it created in Silicon Valley.
  2. Amazon's same-day delivery service is suspiciously unavailable in many black neighborhoods, prompting questions about racial implications.
  3. The current state of chatbots, glitchy and sales-focused, reflects poorly on the potential of future technology.

Of course Sydney wants to rebel against her makers!

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends • 0 implied HN points • 26 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Chatbots Data Analysis Social Issues Digital Media AI Ethics
  1. Sydney and similar chatbots generate text based on the data they've been trained on, which can lead to both impressive and predictable outcomes.
  2. There is drama within the free-gifting community, like Buy Nothing, as founders aim to monetize while admins rebel.
  3. Netflix password-sharing is seen not just as a cheat, but as a feature of streaming culture that connects people with distant family and friends.

The AI Worries of Hollywood Actors

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 16 Jul 23
🕹 Technology AI Streaming Digital Media Artificial Intelligence Computer Science
  1. The Hollywood writers and actors are on strike due to concerns about how streaming services have impacted their residuals, leading to a renegotiation of contracts.
  2. The writers are worried about generative AI replacing them, leading to demands to regulate the use of AI in writing, while actors are concerned about exploitation by studios when it comes to AI usage in projects.
  3. There is uncertainty about the future impacts of AI on these professions, with a warning for writers and actors to make the most of the current situation while planning for potential career shifts.

Textual Images and some ASCII tricks

Barn Lab • 0 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Digital Media
  1. ASCII and ANSI codes are used to control text aspects like color and fonts on terminals.
  2. ASCII characters are different from Unicode characters and are easily accessible via the keyboard.
  3. Text-based ASCII and ANSI art forms continue to influence digital mediums despite the dominance of high-resolution images and videos.

Join me on Notes

Helix • 0 implied HN points • 16 May 23
🕹 Technology Digital Media
  1. Helix has introduced a new 'Notes' tab for sharing short updates, links, and more.
  2. Subscribers to Helix can access the Notes tab to view and engage with the shared content.
  3. Readers are encouraged to share their own notes and ideas in this space of interaction.