My name is Alun and I'm just starting to get to grips with this platform. I joined something like 18 months ago but didn't really get it at the time, so I left it alone after just 1 post and forgot about the whole thing.
Recent developments in the independent media have kind of disturbed me, though - namely the behaviour of You Tube in the past week or so, totally erasing Richie Allen and Jordan Sather's channels (The Richie Allen Show and Destroying The Illusion respectively), with something approaching quarter of a million subscribers between them.
I was following both channels and as far as I can tell, none of their content merited this radical action. True, they were bold enough to regularly discuss subjects that are off limits to the corporate media, but so much the better for it. It seems to me that this action was taken because they dared to look at and publish evidence that questioned and/or challenged the official narrative about the Florida shooting.
As far as I'm concerned, whether you appreciate this kind of independent media or not, this is one of the boldest attacks on free speech yet seen on the Internet - at least, in the English-speaking world.
What You Tube did is of course outrageous, but more than that, it made me realise how necessary it has become to join the diaspora away from the orthodox platforms of social media. You Tube is shooting itself in the foot and I suspect that within a couple of years, the Independent Media will have abandoned it almost entirely. Let it stick to music videos and frivolities.
I particularly like James Corbett's recent suggestion to start referring to it as "Them Tube" and I'm going to call it that as well from now on.
I'm a Sci-fi/Fantasy writer and poet by creative inclination and I've been known to write the occasional blog post too.
I'm really looking forward to interacting and contributing on Steemit, and I'd be delighted if some of you might be kind enough to gift me an upvote or two and a follow here and there, just to get me started! Thanks in advance!
Laters,
Alun
(Bard of Andromeda)