Want to dig a bit deeper, stretch a bit wider, discover unique insights in your reading? So do I! That's why we literary nomads explore beyond the comfortable beach read. Subscribe for podcasts and video, fiction and poetry, essays and online courses, unexpected freebies, and ways to lever your literacy into activism! For students of all ages, educators of all kinds, and just plain out litterateurs!
On TikTok, Self-Publishing, & Wing-Clipped Victory
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10 November 2024 Time to Step Away from . . .Hello, all! The US government (under any recent administration) has had its battles with TikTok. And I'm certainly not one to say much about information privacy on that platform; I simply do not know, nor do most. But I can and do understand a great deal about cognitive and psychological damage. I've been on TikTok (and just about all social media platforms) for just about two years now. And while I have been skeptical about most of them for a variety of reasons, the recent news echoes much like tobacco and opiate industries: their own research demonstrates that TikTok is addictive and damages the cognitive strength of its young users which it fails to protect.
“compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety” (NPR, 10/11/24) There is much more in this recent article on the lawsuit brought by 14 state Attorneys General and its worth the read. As an educator active in movements for critical literacy, including digital, I cannot see Waywords participation there as anything but counter to my goals. There is a difference, I think, between engaging actively in challenging social and cultural environments and building upon a structure which inherently and by design creates harm. I will still create my videos (reviews and the like) for other platforms, but watch for some phase-outs from TikTok and X (which has shifted from a mainstream to bespoke platform). Will this hurt my numbers of followers? Better than the alternative of me participating in any harm to them. In the Meantime . . .Help me stay where you are:
A short bit on self-publishing Updates on Unwoven
A new audio booth: Now I can record the audiobook fresh with a new improvised sound booth that cleans up all that clutter my distribution company complained about! I had hoped to have some sample poems for you by now, but instead here are some test recordings outside and inside the booth! Early Recommendation from My Reading:First, I am not especially interested in most memoir. But this one struck me by its angle: Mendelsohn is a college teacher of a seminar in Homer's Odyssey. And his "difficult" father decides to audit the course. What follows is a challenging semester series of classes followed by a Mediterranean theme cruise with him. Along the way we learn about the qualities of the masculine, of heroism, and of vulnerability, along with some extraordinary readings of Homer's work that I had not considered even after so many years with it. Definitely worth the read or listen! bookRising: Challenging Us to Find World LiteratureLots of great podcasts out there, but my "ear estate" is limited, so I want listens that challenge me and push at my comfort. The Radical Books Collective podcast, bookRising, frequently hits that mark. Here is a recent episode taking a hard look at the NYT Best Books lists. For readers and teachers, a necessary listen.
And if so, what before us? I appreciate your being here! Looking forward to sharing more Unwoven news soon! Steve What's Ahead?
Post-Halloween 2024: |
Waywords Studio
Want to dig a bit deeper, stretch a bit wider, discover unique insights in your reading? So do I! That's why we literary nomads explore beyond the comfortable beach read. Subscribe for podcasts and video, fiction and poetry, essays and online courses, unexpected freebies, and ways to lever your literacy into activism! For students of all ages, educators of all kinds, and just plain out litterateurs!