Jason Butterfieldjasonbu.online

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Writing

Essays, fiction, and field notes about technology, culture, identity, and the systems shaping everyday life.

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The Win Was Never Bluesky. It Was the Protocol.

The better question is whether we can stop rebuilding the same landlord model with a different logo on the door. Right now, our social graphs are corporate hostage files. One model lets you leave a platform and take your world with you; the other forces you to download your history as a static zip file and start over from zero.

Jun 6, 2026 · 10 min read · 16 likes · 4 views

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03

The Gander Passport: Why a Sovereign Node Beats a Digital Bunker

Why is Gander connected to Bluesky, and why should you care? Explore the architectural shift of the AT Protocol and how Wingspan is building a "Third Way" for Canadian data residency. This is an early adopter’s take on the infrastructure required for true digital land back and the end of vendor lock-in for the human experience.

Apr 3, 2026 · 9 min read · 1 like · 2 views
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04

Gander Social Community Based New User Guide

This is a community-created guide, not official, not corporate, just here to help new folks get oriented and get comfortable faster. Gander Social is a Canadian-built social platform focused on Canadian conversation, civic literacy, and community-first interaction. It is currently in a closed BETA.

Feb 20, 2026 · 11 min read · 1 like · 3 views
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06

Wearing Too Many Hats (and Writing Anyway)

There’s a specific kind of exhaustion that comes from context switching—jumping from writing fiction to analyzing sales dashboards to scheduling posts.

Dec 18, 2025 · 5 min read · 0 likes · 1 view
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07

I’m not a Patriot

Why don’t Canadians call ourselves patriots? Because our pride sounds different. Born from Loyalists, peacekeepers, and quiet builders, Canada’s strength has never been in shouting, it’s in showing up. From Confederation to Canada 150, our patriotism has stayed humble, civic, and collective. In an age of loud nationalism, that restraint isn’t weakness, it’s wisdom.

Oct 28, 2025 · 7 min read · 0 likes · 2 views
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08

Chronicle #011: Post-Launch Signal Drift

It’s been a month since Pejorative left my desk and entered the noise. The algorithms have already decided who should see it and who should not. Every click feels like a vote of confidence, or a funeral rite.

Oct 22, 2025 · 2 min read · 0 likes · 1 view
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09

Memoir Fragment #010: Uneven Dystopias

Dystopia isn’t arriving, it’s already here, just unevenly distributed. For some, it’s daily survival; for others, a new shock. This memoir fragment explores how silence becomes complicity, why endurance is not apathy, and how writing can stand as witness.

Sep 11, 2025 · 5 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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Dispatch #009: Guardrails

The road wound higher than I remembered, climbing through high hills with just enough guardrail to suggest safety. On one side, forested hills stretched into layers of green and shadow. On the other, a drop, sharp and unforgiving, reminded me of gravity’s patience. Above it all, a clear sky stretched like a promise.

Aug 23, 2025 · 5 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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12

Transmission #007: Red Marks & Heatwaves

Proof copy in hand. Red pen out. Beta readers circling. This book’s a risky one, fractured timelines, testimonies, and media scraps stitched into a story I hope makes sense outside my skull.

Jul 29, 2025 · 3 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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13

Dispatch #006: Chapter One, Take Two

Hit a wall, and tore it down. After finalizing layout and hitting the halfway point in edits for Pejorative, I circled back to Chapter One and knew it had to go.

Jul 19, 2025 · 3 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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Memoir Fragment #002: Fall-in-May, Discipline-in-Chaos

May dressed up as November. Damp chill, grey skies, and the scent of fall. I stayed knee-deep in Chapter 20 edits while coffee pulled double duty, fuel and hand warmer. The world spun loud, but I stayed quiet. Some weeks, discipline isn’t loud. It’s just the act of showing up. One page. One fix. One sentence straighter than the last.

May 24, 2025 · 2 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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19

Fractured Futures - Alberta Conundrum

What happens when provincial frustration turns into separatist ambition? In this piece, I explore three stark what-if scenarios for Alberta’s future, each rooted in real grievances, legal limits, and the fragile fabric of Canadian unity. From constitutional brinkmanship to foreign interference, these aren’t predictions, they’re warnings. And they all point to the same truth: Canada holds together only if we choose dialogue over division, clarity over chaos.

May 9, 2025 · 13 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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21

The Poet, the Soldier, and the Haggis: A Legacy of Resilience

The connection between Burns and the military isn’t merely philosophical. At its core, it reflects shared values such as resilience, loyalty, and a belief in the power of collective identity. Burns’ works often touch on themes of unity and human dignity, ideals that resonate deeply in the military ethos before transitioning into the practical examples.

Jan 26, 2025 · 7 min read · likes not linked · 1 view
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