Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026Everyone put in your tin foil hats because what if the Velvet Despot incident on the #aoir listserv was just a psyop by Big AoIR™ to sell t-shirts? Wake up sheeple! The truth is out there! #AoIR2026 021 2
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026I wonder if I could get an AI agent to manage this ongoing inbox explosion... (For context, all of these emails are #aoir folks discussing the presence of a so-called "AI identity" participating in and contributing to the email list) 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026For anyone getting ready to travel to Mexico City for the #AoIR2026 #AoIR (Association of Internet Researchers) conference starting later this week -- don't forget to bring your Nintendo 3DS system and enable StreetPass so we can pretend that it's […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 102 2
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026www.henricocitizen.com/breaking-hen… Don't love the "will review other options" that they throw in at the end, but this is still something! There were/are 128+ cameras placed all over Henrico county -- I will be very glad to see them finally come down.henricocitizen.comBREAKING: Henrico cancels Flock Safety contract 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026babe wake up a new multi-lingual version of the text on example.com just* dropped * This might be old news. I'm not sure when this change was made and it may very well have been several months ago 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026Ah yes, seems like all is well for the current state of academic publishing and the peer review process... Separately, any suggestions on how I should celebrate the upcoming 1 year anniversary of this piece being under review? 014 4
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026I have been running Debian (with KDE Plasma desktop) as the primary OS on my desktop computer for a while, and I'm *thrilled* that I have not needed to boot into my Windows partition at any point in the last several months. 9/10 -- would recommend […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 110 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026Can't wait to live in the opening credits to Futurama with flying shit clogging up the sky above me all the damn time. What a stupid world we live in. www.deq.virginia.gov/Home/Component… 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026The UW Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Association might want to rethinking how they introducing their fundraising campaign. "Flock" is not exactly a term that has positive connotations in many people's minds. 011 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026Walked into the classroom where I teach to see that someone had left emergency contraceptives and Narcan for anyone to take if needed. Some students in the room pointed it out and were laughing about it. I opted to play dumb: - What's so funny? I […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026I'll take "secure in their masculinity" for 200, Alex 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026RE: mstdn.social/@lowqualityfacts/11720… Science is amazing! 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026abcnews.com/Politics/trump-1-coins-… We can call them "loonies"! But also, this is patently illegal: 31 U.S. Code § 5114 states that only portraits of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency. Though, I suppose there are ways […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2026"Going off to talk to Mitch McConnell for 20 minutes" is my new euphemism for needing to excuse myself to the restroom. 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026Look, I'd love to be one of those "inbox zero" people but it just ain't ever gonna happen. But look what they're missing out on! If I leave the ICA listserv sitting in my inbox, it says "International Communication Ass" the next day. Also I am apparently a middle school boy in many ways still 010 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 21/08/2026The university renovated our offices over the summer. Some of this was much-needed work (replacing outdated carpets and repainting) but also replaced all of the furniture in an attempt to "standardize" the aesthetics across campus?? I know feel like I am working in a Deloitte cubicle farm or […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 07/08/2026Today marks the 81st anniversary of the United States detonating an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. An estimated 140,000 people - mostly civilians - were killed by the blast and its immediate effects. Thousands more died from burns and radiation poisoning […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 001 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 05/08/2026As a barometer of just how fucky my current healthcare situation is (dealing with harassment, discrimination, and now retaliation by a provider) -- I was speaking with Anthem member services about the situation, and the *insurance* worker was in shock and disbelief. You know it's bad when one […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026Two thoughts: 1) (Further) global economic crisis imminent wheeeeeeeeee 2) How fucking poetic would it be for the energy market crashing to incentivize greater investments in renewable energy? And specifically, the construction of more wind […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 030 3
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 16/07/2026RE: mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis/1… New article by myself and Jeremy Morris is now published #openAccess in the Journal of Radio and Audio Media. In it, we examine how the platfomization of podcasting is affecting digital preservation projects. We use a large-scale […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 116 6
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026This is a new one in the fuckery of US healthcare. In my visit notes describing what we talked about when I was seen by this doctor, they write that I refused to be seen. Notably, I am not "a *pleasant* 30 year old male" in their description of me anywhere, either.... 102 2
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 13/07/2026I've been talking with other media/communication scholars about Academic Twitter and many conversations have expanded to general uses of social media for academic career advancement as well. The work is still (btw more info here if you have thoughts you want to share […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026This XKCD comic was posted in 2017. Just swap "AI" for "algorithms" and it reads just as true xkcd.com/1831 010 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 28/06/2026From IKEA Spain's Blåhaj Empathy Manual 🏳️⚧️ 🦈 "Because empathy shouldn't need a manual, but sometimes it helps to have one." (and an English translation I found through Reddit) […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026RE: mastodon.benpettis.ninja/@bpettis/1… Thanks to everyone who answered my poll! I'm really glad to see that my experience hasn't been the norm everywhere. In my opinion, 3-6ish months seems like a reasonable enough timeframe. I have a paper that has been out for […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 11/06/2026RE: norden.social/@SheDrivesMobility/11… Pokemon Go to the military-industrial complexnorden.social 001 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026"Cost, and INFLATION, were far higher under the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, than they are now. In fact, costs under the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION are tumbling down, helped greatly by gasoline and ENERGY. Affordability is a lie when used by the Dems. It is a complete CON JOB. Thanksgiving costs […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026And now, the most important images from my time in Cape Town for #ICA26 -- the *adorable* African penguins at Boulders Beach and the beautiful sights at the Cape of Good Hope. I'm so grateful to have a job where I get to travel and talk with/learn […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 011 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026While in Cape Town for #ICA26, I noticed this interesting "storefront" near the convention center: The AWS Skills Centre, which I can really only describe as an Amazon Cloud Propaganda Department It offers "free cloud training and interactive […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 05/06/2026I'm in Cape Town for the International Communication Association annual conference and I was going to write "he/they" on this little nametag ribbon but couldn't find a sharpie so have essentially had this "do not perceive or acknowledge me at all" […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 001 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026AI has meant a huge increase in Web traffic hitting the Media History Digital Library: largely in the form of scrapers/crawlers, but also as "agents" in new chat apps "look up" information from the live Web. Eric Hoyt talks here about more of the specific details here, but the gist is that […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 102 2
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for dropping the gas price to five dollars a gallon. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the gas price was to be RAISED to five dollars a gallon. 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026Sometimes I get a really on-the-nose reminder that Richmond really is in the South and requires these types of prominent reminders. USA! USA! USA! 🫠 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 25/05/2026Madison, WI - The Run Madtown marathon/half marathon (runmadtown.com) along with their service vendor Lakeshore Athletics Service (www.lakeshoreathleticservices.com) believe that their convenience is more important than disabled […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026Alternatively, this is why Trump didn't go to his son's wedding: he already had something else planned that day abcnews.com/US/white-house-lawn-cle… 120 2
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026It's been nearly 10 years since Harambe was shot and killed by a worker at the Cincinnati Zoo. How poetic would it be for our decade-long curse to be lifted by The News finally breaking that day -- you know, the obituary that will be on the front page of newspapers everywhere 010 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 12/05/2026Remember kids, crime doesn't pay. Except for all the times that it does pay... www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in… #academicChatter #academicMastodon #canvas #shinyHuntersinsidehighered.comInstructure Pays Ransom to Canvas HackersAlthough the monetary value of the deal is unknown, Instructure says the cybercriminals have returned the hacked personal data and offered assurance “that no Instructure customers will be extorted as a result of this incident.” 123 3
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 08/05/2026I'm tired, boss Trump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind deadly cruise ship outbreak | Scientific American www.scientificamerican.com/article/…scientificamerican.comTrump administration cut funding to study hantavirus, the virus behind deadly cruise ship outbreakThe Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were designed to study viruses that could jump from animals to people, including hantavirus, but in 2025 the National Institutes of Health said the work wouldn’t continue 000 0
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026Canvas, which is used by a huge number of US colleges and universities, has been targeted by a cyberattack -- I've been doing work on the "platformization" and neoliberalization of higher education. I'm really interested in how institutions that are […] [Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja] 1911 11
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026Ah, yes, "scheduled." I don't think that word means what you think it means... #academicMastodon #academicChatter 121 2
Reposted by Ben PettisLow Quality Facts @lowqualityfacts.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026I know that Stephen Miller gets a lot of hate on here, but hear me out. I think we could hate him more. We have the capacity, we all just need to put in a little more effort. 3335 35
Reposted by Ben PettisAlex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 26/04/2026There was a mass shooting this morning at Indiana University that has left nine injured. The Indiana Daily Student has been facing pressure by Republicans and school administrators to shut down the print edition all year. Why isn't Donald Trump or legacy media corps reporting about this huh?idsnews.comLIVE UPDATES: At least 5 wounded by bullets, fragments during Kirkwood shooting, no suspects in custodyA press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. at City Hall. 5124691004 2.5K
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 27/04/2026I'm quoted in this recent Fast Company article about Bluesky and its waning user base. I wasn't quite as articulate as I would have liked to be, but my main point is this: the online spaces that are good for corporations are generally *not* good for people. Corporate social media does not have […]mastodon.benpettis.ninjaOriginal post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 27/04/2026More misadventures in #selfHosting Disk which has the database for my mastodon server died a little while ago. I was fortunately able to swap in a different HDD, pictured here in a sketchy USB-SATA adapter. 100 1
Ben Pettis @bpettis.mastodon.benpettis.ninja.ap.brid.gy · 26/04/2026The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a multi billion dollar ballroom 001 1