Something Dissonant

David Yee, posting on Mastodon:

Something dissonant about the way that my Twitter feed is currently fully in desperation over the terrifying critical injury of Damar Hamlin, a 24-year-old football player, on a field in Cincinnati—a communally-experienced condemnation of the NFL—and how my feed here is… just not? I want to leave that place with an urgency, but the transition is teaching me a lot about network effects and the nuances of specific communities and the intention of spaces and I mostly just want that kid to be okay.

My heart goes out to Hamlin and his family. The footage is ghastly.

Had I not followed Yee on Mastodon from Twitter, I fear I would have no idea about this heartbreaking injury in such a timely and communial manner. I don’t follow sports much, and seemingly I don’t follow many sports enthusiasts on Mastodon. For as much as I praise Mastodon’s tech and positivity, the insight into periphery or even foreign communities through Twitter’s algorithm, its large userbase, and (dare I say) its “town square” ethos was a huge draw for me. I felt more informed about topical stories on Twitter than I do on Mastodon. This is a chilling insight from Yee.