# Best of joanwestenberg.medium.com on Kiwi News Page: https://news.kiwistand.com/source/joanwestenberg.medium.com 8 stories from joanwestenberg.medium.com have been shared on Kiwi News since 8 September 2023, with 26 upvotes and 0 comments in total. The latest was shared on 16 November 2023. They are listed below, most upvoted first. Summaries are AI summaries of the linked article. ## 1. This is everything wrong with tech in 2023 (in no particular order) - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/This-is-everything-wrong-with-tech-in-2023-in-no-particular-order?index=0x653f8f5a84bcf29e58ae29ad2857435e057bd3bbf59ee905948fc74f7f763a77551f1ca0 - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/this-is-everything-wrong-with-tech-in-2023-in-no-particular-order-cfb189690d26 - Shared 30 October 2023, 6 upvotes, 0 comments Addressing the reckless pursuit of growth and profits is presented as the only way for technology to fulfill its potential as a force for human betterment rather than a catalyst for dystopia. This pursuit has produced a culture of hubris and impunity that disregards harms to users, workers, society, and the environment. Cited flaws include the obsession with speed and scale over responsible development, discrimination, and lack of diversity, which reflect callousness, indifference, and irresponsibility in the tech sector's drive for disruption. ## 2. How VC and startups became a hollow scam - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/How-VC-and-startups-became-a-hollow-scam?index=0x652dcf93a01d9f6b717ac72fe0f0274c88f60607a2d58a6d95031ecc6353ab164c0b504d - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/welcome-to-the-ponziverse-how-vc-and-startups-became-a-hollow-scam-cb64cadf2e80 - Shared 17 October 2023, 5 upvotes, 0 comments The article argues that startup culture and venture capital have shifted from building lasting companies around technological breakthroughs to chasing investor funding, quick exits and inflated valuations. It blames the change on a tech bull market beginning about fifteen years ago, which made capital abundant and left founders complacent, and says many VC investors now back replicated "for teams" startups and follow each other into rounds out of FOMO. It also says the end of zero-interest rates, the post-COVID tech market crash and costly proxy wars have left the VC and tech ecosystems short of cash and ideas. ## 3. Feels bad, man: how memes escape from their creators and fuel extremism. - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Feels-bad-man-how-memes-escape-from-their-creators-and-fuel-extremism?index=0x654b2f4aaa2f2623d73d5b0acc0ba3f3b7eb08a79898859dda53c46c3b7625bc51b36802 - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/feels-bad-man-how-memes-escape-from-their-creators-and-fuel-extremism-e0606190ba86 - Shared 8 November 2023, 4 upvotes, 0 comments Pepe the Frog's transformation from innocent comic character to extremist symbol illustrates how memes escape their creators' intent and can draw users toward harmful ideologies. The article tells the story of Barbara, a 67-year-old woman whose daughter described her move from a Pepe meme to QAnon content, which ended with her separation from her family. Matt Furie created Pepe in his "Boy's Club" comic in 2005, but alt-right groups coopted it during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, and the Anti-Defamation League later classified certain Pepe versions as hate symbols. ## 4. The Global Housing Squeeze: A Generational Wealth Apocalypse - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-Global-Housing-Squeeze-A-Generational-Wealth-Apocalypse?index=0x6528df3cf64c9560a229df95dbc928706188e24d6100b8f70c98ed3190c2cb1abe575d49 - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/the-global-housing-squeeze-a-generational-wealth-apocalypse-d01ceaab8905 - Shared 13 October 2023, 3 upvotes, 0 comments The article argues that housing unaffordability is a generational and global crisis that technology alone cannot solve, since it stems from wage stagnation, inequality and speculative investment that require policy responses. It cites a claim that over 1.6 billion people worldwide will face inadequate housing by 2025, and that at least 150 million face outright homelessness. Individuals interviewed, including Melbourne designer Sara and Austin resident Michael, describe owning a home as no longer a guarantee for their generation. The piece also points to the U.N.'s warning that financialisation of housing markets contributes to inequality and exclusion, and it describes startups such as Loftium, Domuso and Ori as band-aids rather than solutions. ## 5. Productivity Is Destroying Our Society. - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Productivity-Is-Destroying-Our-Society?index=0x65211f255c1ec0a8477f7d5e65f6ff55544c9ea607c44f4d58ca0e3575117be2f0dadbfc - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/productivity-is-destroying-our-society-5cf90a3659d7 - Shared 7 October 2023, 3 upvotes, 0 comments The central claim is that digital tools have not delivered the productivity and freedom they promised: knowledge workers report feeling more fragmented, busy and burned out despite having more tools than earlier generations. The article attributes this "productivity paradox" to always-on devices that fragment attention, to work that has no clear end point, and to employer expectations of 24/7 availability that spill work into evenings, weekends and vacations. Sociologist Richard Sennett is cited as arguing that flexible, project-based work often hides excessive demands and overwork, and Manuel Castells as arguing that informational work blurs time boundaries. The article concludes that solving the problem requires rethinking how work is valued and structured, not just personal time management. ## 6. 20 years of tech has made life easier, not better. - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/20-years-of-tech-has-made-life-easier-not-better?index=0x65509281c05ed2da3b3f2ef2295024863e4c26cf69071f1af513bc7d46d37a41711af871 - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/20-years-of-tech-has-made-life-easier-not-better-ef48adaca7ff - Shared 12 November 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments The author argues that 20 years of technology have made life more convenient but not measurably better, and that the answer lies in "technological mindfulness" and redefining "better" around relationships, experiences and engagement with the world. Streaming is framed as having cheapened viewing compared with the weekly video store rental, where a limited number of rentals created anticipation and pacing. The piece also cites rising loneliness despite greater connection, more time consumed by screens, and misinformation spreading amid the volume of online content. ## 7. It’s time to kill the algorithm. It’s over. - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Its-time-to-kill-the-algorithm-Its-over?index=0x64fb070720e34b3d9fdfe444e2c566982f2d73f0385c203bfa1e551fc0f4bfe20fa9c46c - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/its-time-to-kill-the-algorithm-e16ab1e3df9b - Shared 8 September 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments The article argues that social media algorithms are a failed experiment and should be abolished, with platforms returning to chronological timelines and dropping usage metrics such as watch time, follower counts and view numbers. It says algorithms personalize feeds to maximize engagement, promoting emotionally provocative content and isolating users in filter bubbles that fragment public discourse. It also contends that creators chase engagement metrics and self-censor, while the proposed alternative is chronological transparency, which it says would make misinformation easier to correct and restore a shared public square. ## 8. How does writing survive in down economy, bear market and subscription meltdown? - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/How-does-writing-survive-in-down-economy-bear-market-and-subscription-meltdown?index=0x6556a0f02fc4d1565264d32c24d1820414d38739c5d58a92805ba563d4d2da66a62336f3 - Source: https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/how-does-writing-survive-in-a-down-economy-a-bear-market-and-a-subscription-meltdown-f1b66f612b19 - Shared 16 November 2023, 1 upvote, 0 comments The writer argues that independent writing is becoming harder to sustain as advertising has shifted to Google and Facebook, book deals favor influencers, business leaders and celebrities, and subscription budgets shrink. The article is a personal reflection rather than reported news, and it does not say whether the writer's own income has changed. It cites streaming platforms raising prices by an average of 25% in the past year and says a Netflix subscription often costs twice as much as supporting a single writer on Patreon or Substack. The writer concludes that small, personal voices still have value and that patrons may still choose to support them.