This, That, and The Other (Evil Amazon, VP for Little Tech, Substacks for ALL)
Notes from the underground.
Prime Day (Day 1 Sales)
$7.7 Billion spent on day 1 of Prime Day 2024. Brick & Mortar retail are circling the drain while mass online shopping breaks records, even though delivery has gotten worse and worse. The digital age of “staying in” really seems to be a thing. Mass anti-social behavior on a global scale. Why shop out there, when you can just shop in your device. Your order might be late but hey… It’s on the way.
We the People have sold our souls for efficiency.
Speaking of Amazon…
They are getting to be really trigger happy with killing author accounts on KDP. No reason given. No information as to what the transgression was. This Substacker’s entire catalog was deleted with no recourse.
This is not right. This is a grade A level asshole move by Amazon. At what point do “We the People” start hurting bad behavior by these Big Tech/Advertising/Media Corpo’s? Or is efficiency the excuse that absolves them of wrong doing in the eyes of the masses?
Regardless… The platforms for self publishing freedom are turning out to be way worse middlemen than the publishers of old. At least the good old boy publishing paid for editing, artwork, and advertising. What do these platforms do (Besides harass and deplatform people without letting them know why)?
People are going to have to start choosing what is right over what is efficient.
Trump’s VP Nominee J.D. Vance Draws a Line in the Sand for Big Tech vs Little Tech.
Vance’s position is to tear apart Google (Thumbs UP) and big tech while defending little tech (Thumbs UP) and the privacy for digital currency. This has sent shock waves through the normally leftist tech world. The Republicans are going to defend the individual and their privacy while working to tear down the big evil Corpo’s that are fucking everything up and are nothing but privatized arms of government authority. Theoretically… Of course.
Remember when the left used to rail at Republicans for being in the pocket of Big Oil? Democrats are in the pocket of Big Tech and likewise, Big Tech is the biggest lobbyist in DC. Many, many hundreds of millions of dollars over Big Oil. But Democrats are not only the Party of war now, they’re also the Party of Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Media, Big Finance, Big Business, and (insert your massive Corpo establishment HERE).
Meanwhile… Trump has become the champion for saving TikTok. The only reason Biden wanted to shut it down was because so many Gen Z’ers were starting to callout how shitty everything is now under this fraudulent Biden regime. So the Biden admin did what they always do… Move to shutdown and censor the culprits. Normal MO for the corrupt.
How to Fix the Internet Overnight.
The best way to even the tech playing field is through legislation. Specifically, we need a bill that says, “Any company that collects data or metadata on a customer, user, or person, is not allowed to sell, trade, barter, or give away that data or metadata to a third party.” Remove advertising from technology and the shit fixes itself. Google and any tech dependent on advertising will tank, but they should. The entire internet is cleaned up in one fell swoop.
What Stacks am I Reading?
I’m a dedicated reader of The Scroll from
as well as some of the other daily releases (some of the best meme drops out there). You get a little bit of everything here. So check it out and be sure to sub the stack.
Next up…
We’re only 2 chapters into Picking Stones by
on so read along as that is rolled out. Don’t forget to sub that stack too because you get some awesome content from John and over there.
And rounding out this weeks highlights…
I have to go with
by . I didn’t really run with the drama from last weekend because too many other places were doing a good job covering it, and this is one of those pieces. So grab a sub from there too.
As for me… That’s the the notes from the underground. Or maybe I should have a quippy or humorous sign off? I’ve got it!!!
That’s the Notes from the Underground. Consider yourself… BONED!!!
Wow, this Amazon stuff is scary. I've always been skeeved by the idea of giving them exclusive rights to my work. This proves that this was a good instinct.
Thanks so much for the mention!
Thanks for the mention. Hopefully us writers can still prevail. I’ll quote Ian Malcolm: “Life finds a way…”