What Game Are We Playing?
We've reached the stage of algorithm-driven social media and communities where everyone has a favor to ask.
The new way seems to be:
- Create or write something
- Ask AI to edit it
- Publish it
- Write a request for people to like/follow/subscribe/share
- Ask AI to edit it
- Publish it
Gross.
We can no longer just publish. We must request likes and follows and subscribes as favors, not because of authentic value to a reader/viewer/listener. We must beg for book and podcast reviews. We must say, "please share." This is the game we've chosen, not been forced into. And it sucks.
I was talking to my partner the other day, about how broken it all is. How disconnected we all are whilst being "connected." Why bother? Why write anything? Why hit publish? Why even participate?
What game are we playing for attention, for dollars, for ??? Mostly on platforms that make other people money.
"When you work at a carnival there’s nothing to be gained by being the person who’s taking their work seriously. When everyone around you is working a grift it’s really hard to do what you might consider “real work that helps people.” – Mike Monteiro
The open, federated web has promise, but is also currently a mess. Remember blogrolls and RSS? Those still exist. Let’s use them and make them better!
"RSS isn't ugly, it's brilliant, and shouldn't be fear-inducing, hence the promise: it's really simple." – Dave Winer
I've been on almost every platform, and usually waiting eagerly for its launch. I'm the guy who looks at Product Hunt and signs up for betas almost every day. I'm an early adopter. I've had dozens of websites and blogs and newsletters. And now I just want to shut it all down and go walk in the forest.
Note: Private groups are not much better – I'm on Slacks, Discords, MightyNetworks, Circles... all still closed silos and echo chambers, in many ways.
I'm not sure where we go from here, but here are some ideas:
- Own your content - publish to something you own, that you can take with you, first.
- Understand who benefits from the algorithms and the lies, and choose wisely.
- Think about access - who can even read/watch/hear your content - who's holding the key?
I'm asking myself, "what game are you trying to play, and why?"
☮️❤️
Some relevant reading:
Touch Me If You Can: Reclaiming Physicality in a Screen-Obsessed Era
"Have you ever wondered why every bit of information and experience feels so fleeting? In the digital world, overwhelm does not come only from the rush of data we face these days. There is another factor making us feel a loss of experience within ourselves: tactility."
What Doesn't Need to Be Done - Allen Pike
"But if it’s worth doing, it’s also worth finishing. And to finish, you eventually need to buckle down, simplify, and stop doing the stuff that doesn’t need to be done."