I find I am increasingly disenchanted with what passes for “social media” today; more often than not, users game the hell out of any reputation or ranking system until the very notion of having one is all but lip-service. The administrators rarely do anything about it because, hell, it takes more manpower than they have to bring to bear and, usually, they’re either indirectly or (sometimes) directly involved in the corruption of “cult of personality” behaviors.
It seems most sites are oceans of noise with increasingly difficult to find signal, but even the sites with strong signal show signs of the usual dynamics that precede the arrival of “cult of personality” behaviors and herald the eventual and all too usual slide into the pattern by which any “noble goal” is foundered.
“And then, there was one…” and who knows how long it will last. In less than five years, I’ve gone from being one of the most active people online to all but a neo-luddite. Primarily because my tolerance for the dynamics in question are abysmal, but also because I firmly believe in letting my presence, my wallet, and my actions “do the talking”.
No, the irony of “talking” by silence does not escape me. Nor, frankly, does the reality that, increasingly, “social media” is more useful to companies than to individuals… irony, indeed.
Briefly, I ponder whether or not it has occurred more than intermittently to these varied outlets that they are actually setting themselves up for their own, eventual downfall; be it to the inevitable ennui that occurs when only voices of agreement remain or the equally eventual abandonment that happens as newer offerings present themselves. Of course, I chuckle because I already know the answer, “No, you silly goose of a woman, it hasn’t occurred; how could it when the longest business plan any of them have these days is 1 – 3 years?”
Somberly, I consider additional ramifications on matters ranging from diversity in discourse to long-term effects of its lack (hardly just “me” I’m thinking about here, mind). The axiom still holds true, you know… history repeats itself because rarely do folk pay attention long enough to really learn from it.
Ah well, more time to devote to hobby research, writing, and whatnot!