Today in Don’t Create The Torment Nexus news we remember Vernor Vinge’s 2006 novel Rainbows End, which features a big tech company shredding books to digitize them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow...

Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models

Company hired Google's book-scanning chief to cut up and digitize "all the books in the world."

arstechnica.com

Do you live in the Amsterdam area? Do you like live music? Please take note of Hidden Agenda, the new independent guide to live music, art & more: www.hiddenagenda.nl

HIDDEN AGENDA

Independent music platform, gig guide and magazine covering Amsterdam and the Randstad's alternative music and art scene.

hiddenagenda.nl

hell yeah, time to retcon the reason for my tattoos

alyssa mercante@alyssamerc.bsky.social · 3w ago

Just saw a TikTok saying that if you have a lot of tattoos, it makes it really difficult/nearly impossible for an AI to re-create your likeness, especially in video, and I just wanna say that’s why I got so many

got that dog in mu (I have activated the @mu.social canine companion)

I read the new EU Court ruling on algorithms and social platforms so you don't have to. Turns out to be the most consequential thing a European court has said about recommendation algorithms, and also it just breaks when you apply it to the atmosphere connectedplaces.online/the-algorith...

The Algorithm, Singular

A new European ruling on algorithmic amplification determines if an operator controls how content spreads on a platform. But applying it to open social networks turns out to be a problem.

connectedplaces.online

amazing things happening in the Atmosphere hope we'll get the option to autoplay 128kbs mp3s of classic emo bangers

Evelyn@kandake.africa · last mo.

Move over @mu.social I'm bringing the future of social media. Slowly getting to the point where I'd welcome testers. I've spent the bulk of the time on themeing and my page, powered by @robin.berjon.com DASL tiles, so everything else will need some tlc

‘ah shit, here we go again’ I have a write-up from the last round of logo discourse sitting on my desktop, but I haven't published it yet because I haven't been able to decide between @pckt.blog, @leaflet.pub & @offprint.app for my blogging needs... atmo' problems

Sherif EA@sherif.eurosky.social · last mo.

This is my weekly reminder that we need an Atmosphere logo asap. Should we run a competition? p.s. this is not a Eurosky thing

Inspired & energised, nice to meet all these people in and around Amsterdam trying to make being on da internet a better time 👌

Marleen Stikker@marleenstikker.eurosky.social · last mo.

De eerste Open Social Meetup met @sherif.eurosky.social in de Waag

Just wanna say I hugely enjoyed all the Atmosphere Logo discourse last Friday. Interesting subject with a loooot of strong opinions. As I see it, there's one big issue that's tough to solve, due to the interoperable nature of ATprotocol:

EC spokesperson on my question if the choice for W Social is related to use of the EU age verification-app. "On age verification: although we would love to promote it. W did not tell us black on white that they will use the age verification app." 3/3 #WSocial #Eurosky #Bluesky

"A risk assessment was made and we’ll keep on monitoring. It’s also a question of resources. W seems to have created a hype. We (DG COMM) saw that here we would reach a certain audience. ‘Let’s go for it and see how it goes'. It doesn't prejudge anything." 2/3 @robin.berjon.com #Wsocial #Eurosky

Kinda crazy for the @ec.europa.eu to say this about @eurosky.social. Pretty sure I read somewhere that their own advisorycommitte told them to invest in Eurosky a few weeks before? Seems like a very suspect false equivalence. We would've have the same questions, but the answers would've been better.

Marloes de Koning@marloesdekoning.eurosky.social · last mo.

@EUCommission spokesperson on the decision to move accounts from the #Bluesky server to #WSocial. "It was a decision to go for a European alternative. Not an endorsement of this company. You would have had the same questions if we would have joined #Eurosky There are no perfect platforms." 1/3

Another one for the Dutch readers, including a shout-out to @elenarossini.com's investigative work.

Marloes de Koning@marloesdekoning.eurosky.social · 2mo ago

Even het interessante werk van @elenarossini uitlichten. Wat een opvallende ontwikkelingen binnen de atmosphere. #eurosky #wsocial #atproto www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

We need an Atmosphere logo

Benjamin@benjamin.network · 2mo ago

Which logo would you put in front of your ATprotocol handle if you had to put it on a poster or website? Mostly I've seen people using the Bluesky logo, but now there's mu.social, @eurosky.social, @blackskyweb.xyz and others, all with their own logo's, it's starting to get confusing.

Which logo would you put in front of your ATprotocol handle if you had to put it on a poster or website? Mostly I've seen people using the Bluesky logo, but now there's mu.social, @eurosky.social, @blackskyweb.xyz and others, all with their own logo's, it's starting to get confusing.

"Hey kids! Do you want all the horrors and problems of American Big Tech but now ✨e u r o p e a n✨?? Come to W Social!" (do -not- go to W Social, go to @eurosky.social)

Elena Rossini ⁂@elenarossini.com · 2mo ago

SCOOP: In early June the European Commission unveiled its Tech Sovereignty Plan, which emphasized their commitment to #OpenSource. Just recently, they migrated their main ATproto accounts to #WSocial, a for-profit network that has quietly gone closed-source. blog.elenarossini.com/w-social-pub...

cool, now let me battle other users social media is, after all, a PvP space

flo-bit@flo-bit.dev · 2mo ago

the newest and bestest way to scroll through your bluesky feed

For the Dutch readers: huge article in yesterday's @nrc.nl by @marloesdekoning.eurosky.social about #ATprotocol & #ActivityPub and which one the NRC newspaper should choose. Including interviews with familiar faces such as @robin.berjon.com. Great to have a big introductory piece to bring ppl along.

De technologie achter Mastodon versus Bluesky: welke past beter bij het sociale medium van NRC

Sociale media: Sommige sociale media zijn fundamenteel anders dan de grote namen uit de Big Techwereld, zoals Instagram en TikTok. Hoe werken die? Een deel van het antwoord gaat over het ‘protocol’. U...

nrc.nl

For everyone who missed it: @rude1.blacksky.team's keynote speech at @publicspaces.net conference 2026 in @pakhuisdezwijger.bsky.social is online for viewing now. highly recommended

Public Spaces x PdZ PublicSpaces conferentie 2026: Technology for democracy

Tijdens de zesde editie van de PublicSpaces Conferentie op 4, 5 en 6 juni 2026 buigen we ons over de impact van technologie op onze democratie. Op 5 juni vindt het conferentieprogramma plaats in Pakhu...

dezwijger.nl

why does Amsterdam have the stupid I AMSTERDAM letters for tourists when we could have a 1:1 replica of the Nether Gundam on Dam Square or perhaps along the IJ gundam.fandom.com/wiki/GF13-06...

having good open protocol social media alternatives isn't enough I need to see Instagram gain generational pariah status like Facebook has – absolute loser app, shameful to still be on

even putting this fresh hell aside: piracy remains a more ethical alternative to spotify, because you’re not pretending to be ethical while giving your money to the owners of a platform that only substantially rewards its already rich artists www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Spotify boss defends move to AI music, saying it is better than ‘slop’

Streaming platform says remix tool agreed with Universal Music Group will protect artists from piracy

theguardian.com

Looking for every #museum in #Amsterdam that has an active account on Bluesky? Look no further! So far, featuring: @rijksmuseum.bsky.social @oudekerkamsterdam.bsky.social @framerframed.nl @amsterdammuseum.bsky.social @allardpierson.bsky.social @huismarseille.nl @verzetsmuseum.bsky.social

"What Happens To Musicians Will Happen To Everyone": Good News Edition as @subvert.fm launches! May you all have many more cooperatively owned and operated digital platforms in your futures. If you previously enjoyed DESK RAVE, please enjoy my playlist The Continuum: www.subvert.fm/@aardvektor/...

Never before have I felt such seething hate combined with such helpless surrender as with people on Instagram in Amsterdam anno 2026 (at least, in my own culture/club/band/arts scene). Everyone despises it, but nobody is leaving because everyone else is there. A timebomb of malcontence.

[logging back in to Instagram] 📢 A new life awaits you in the ATprotocolonies! 📢 📢 The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure! 📢