Three raccoons in a trench coat. I talk politics and furries.

Other socials: https://ragdollx.carrd.co/

  • 9 Posts
  • 15 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 20th, 2023

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  • In early 2019 bittorrent’s website views fluctuated between ~6M to ~9M. Now it’s around 3M to 4M.

    In early 2019 utorrent’s visits fluctuated between ~26M to ~75M. Now it sits around 25M to 21M.

    The fact that there were far more captures in early 2019 for both of them might be an indication that this was their peak, and while visits have reduced since then they’re far from dying.

    Streaming services may be part of the reason, though I also think it’s because many games and software have switched to freemium & microtransactions so spending money is optional, along with the fact that free and open source alternatives to mainstream software have become more robust and popular. When I was a kid I torrented Sony Vegas, but now that’s simply not necessary since we have DaVinci Resolve.








  • I’d say the difference is convenience, brand recognition, and social media features.

    You only need to sign up to Substack and you can already start publishing, so the vast majority of people who just want to write and not have to bother with building their own website will opt for the simpler option. Even if it takes only a handful more clicks to publish a personal website, the very idea of having to build something will be daunting enough to turn off most people.

    Then there’s the fact that while many people are willing to sign up to a well-known website like Substack, not that many are willing to enter their email into some random blog. I’m willing to bet that if some famous online personality made their own website+newsletter to publish their writings they’d get a lot of responses along the lines of “Who cares for antiquated personal blogs nowadays? What is this, 2005? Just make a Substack!”

    And while the article presents Substack’s social media features as a possible negative, the idea that anyone could see your post if it pops up in their frontpage, or that you might be the next lucky writer to get noticed by the algorithm and be recommended to thousands of people, will certainly be tempting to many.



  • Literally. From a report by the Treasury Department:

    Unionization also has spillover effects that extend well beyond union workers. Competition means workers at nonunionized firms see increased wages too. Heightened workplace safety norms can pull up whole industries. Union members improve their communities through heightened civic engagement; they are more likely to vote, donate to charity, and participate in a neighborhood project. And, the higher pay and job security of both union and nonunion middle-class workers can further spill over to their families and communities through more stable housing, more investment in education, and other channels.