Ethan Plaut
@ethanplaut.bsky.social
Research: Disconnection, tech refusal & beautiful, broken media. Sometime coder & dusty journo. Now Aotearoa NZ, always Chicago, formerly Stanford, SF, Phnom Penh, Fukui. Silence when I can. Music when I can't. Tangata Tiriti, Jew, he/him.
ethanplaut.com
ethanplaut.com
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Ethan Plaut
@ethanplaut.bsky.social
· Apr 29
Surveillance on Exhibit: Using Problematic Technology To Teach About Problematic Technology | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
doi.org
🚨 New Pub! 🚨 Our augmented reality museum installation about data surveillance & rights in Aotearoa NZ used by 128,000x visitors over 2 yrs — we interviewed visitors & present conclusions on how to get the public thinking about problematic technologies!
doi.org/10.1145/3706...
#OpenAccess #chi2025
doi.org/10.1145/3706...
#OpenAccess #chi2025
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
It feels silly but I just bought enough stamps to send out my business’ mail for ~4 years since they hold their value. 10 years ago it was 80c to send a standard letter in NZ, now it’s $2.90.
January 30, 2026 at 2:58 AM
It feels silly but I just bought enough stamps to send out my business’ mail for ~4 years since they hold their value. 10 years ago it was 80c to send a standard letter in NZ, now it’s $2.90.
“Each office within the skyscraper is a segment of the enormous file, a part of the symbol factory that produces the billion slips of paper that gear modern society into its daily shape”
- C. Wright Mills (1951)
- C. Wright Mills (1951)
January 29, 2026 at 8:05 AM
“Each office within the skyscraper is a segment of the enormous file, a part of the symbol factory that produces the billion slips of paper that gear modern society into its daily shape”
- C. Wright Mills (1951)
- C. Wright Mills (1951)
By absolute dumb luck we caught this Aurora Australis a couple nights ago — the largest solar storm since 2003! — from Motupōhue, at the very southernmost tip of Aotearoa NZ’s South Island. I’m not a good photographer but I’m loving the power poles in the foreground of this pic? 🧪
January 23, 2026 at 2:41 AM
By absolute dumb luck we caught this Aurora Australis a couple nights ago — the largest solar storm since 2003! — from Motupōhue, at the very southernmost tip of Aotearoa NZ’s South Island. I’m not a good photographer but I’m loving the power poles in the foreground of this pic? 🧪
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
January 22, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
BECOME UNPUBLISHABLE!
Wait, no, that’s not right
Wait, no, that’s not right
January 16, 2026 at 9:18 AM
BECOME UNPUBLISHABLE!
Wait, no, that’s not right
Wait, no, that’s not right
Raekwon fans at daiso HQ?
January 16, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Raekwon fans at daiso HQ?
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Here are some more examples of retronyms ⬇️
organic food
snail mail
British English
bike pedal
cloth diaper
scripted show
outdoor rock climbing
corn on the cob
live music
silent film
bar soap
conventional war
regular coffee
organic food
snail mail
British English
bike pedal
cloth diaper
scripted show
outdoor rock climbing
corn on the cob
live music
silent film
bar soap
conventional war
regular coffee
January 13, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Here are some more examples of retronyms ⬇️
organic food
snail mail
British English
bike pedal
cloth diaper
scripted show
outdoor rock climbing
corn on the cob
live music
silent film
bar soap
conventional war
regular coffee
organic food
snail mail
British English
bike pedal
cloth diaper
scripted show
outdoor rock climbing
corn on the cob
live music
silent film
bar soap
conventional war
regular coffee
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
MTV recently shut down their 24/7 music channels, this project has relaunched them.
Stream the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s, Yo MTV Raps, or Headbangers Ball, without any ads or algorithm
wantmymtv.vercel.app
Stream the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s, Yo MTV Raps, or Headbangers Ball, without any ads or algorithm
wantmymtv.vercel.app
MTV REWIND - I Want My MTV
Celebrating 44 years of continuous music videos. Stream classic music videos 24/7.
wantmymtv.vercel.app
January 6, 2026 at 10:28 AM
MTV recently shut down their 24/7 music channels, this project has relaunched them.
Stream the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s, Yo MTV Raps, or Headbangers Ball, without any ads or algorithm
wantmymtv.vercel.app
Stream the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s, Yo MTV Raps, or Headbangers Ball, without any ads or algorithm
wantmymtv.vercel.app
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
cop is rapping about history as he handcuffs you?
those are your lin manuel miranda rights
those are your lin manuel miranda rights
January 5, 2026 at 10:13 AM
cop is rapping about history as he handcuffs you?
those are your lin manuel miranda rights
those are your lin manuel miranda rights
“Wifi on planes has ruined everything that we know and love”
We need to abolish Wi-Fi on airplanes!! #airplane #wifi
YouTube video by SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma
youtube.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:43 AM
“Wifi on planes has ruined everything that we know and love”
pushing all my buttons
January 3, 2026 at 10:14 PM
pushing all my buttons
ACM Tech news roundup specially dystopian today...Heds include:
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
January 3, 2026 at 12:41 AM
ACM Tech news roundup specially dystopian today...Heds include:
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
I’ve thought about this article by @pankisseskafka.bsky.social every semester for a decade
January 2, 2026 at 2:33 AM
I’ve thought about this article by @pankisseskafka.bsky.social every semester for a decade
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
The syllabus for a course on the history of the syllabus would be a sight to behold.
Someone should write a history of the syllabus. You could learn so much about higher ed just from the changes in these documents.
In my lifetime syllabi have gone from a thing professors joked about in exasperation to a bizarre form of state surveillance equally loathed by faculty and students
January 2, 2026 at 2:18 AM
The syllabus for a course on the history of the syllabus would be a sight to behold.
"Today, it’s virtually impossible to board a cargo ship as a passenger."
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Inside the dying industry of cargo ship travel
Until 2020, it was possible to book a voyage on a cargo ship. Today, it's virtually impossible, despite being a greener, languid alternative to air travel.
thespinoff.co.nz
December 30, 2025 at 11:15 PM
"Today, it’s virtually impossible to board a cargo ship as a passenger."
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
“instinct is seen at its best in ants, bees, and Bergson”
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
December 29, 2025 at 12:21 PM
“instinct is seen at its best in ants, bees, and Bergson”
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
I made friends and gained confidence to become a professional artist on Tumblr. It hurt to leave.
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
December 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I made friends and gained confidence to become a professional artist on Tumblr. It hurt to leave.
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
December 26, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Best explanation of the liar's dividend that I've ever seen.
December 24, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Best explanation of the liar's dividend that I've ever seen.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
I love a new meme format
December 21, 2025 at 9:32 PM
I love a new meme format