Who thinks this is a good opportunity to evolve ho...
# thinking-togetherc
curious_reader
12/12/2019, 9:10 AMWho thinks this is a good opportunity to evolve how programming works by bringing multiple cultures ( industry/end user) into a discussion about how social (online) meida could look like?
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Don Abrams
12/12/2019, 9:53 AMAs I understand it, the hard parts of designing social media aren’t very technical. Instead it’s considerations like:
• Do we verify identity? Who verifies? Why do we trust them?
• Can we support anonymity without giving bots/farms free reign (especially since it’s useful in dangerous/oppressive situations)?
• Who can communicate or get attention from me? Is it symmetrical?
• Will my employer fire me or family disown me if my real identity is tied to this posting?
• How can social media content providers be paid or is it all amateur? How much is appropriate?
• What are the consequences of theft (uncited copying)? How do we detect this?
• If I post about multiple topics (say personal, professional, hobbies), how do I tag/how do people “subscribe” to just one (without some crazy barrier to entry?
• How do we minimize and handle abusive behavior (most commonly affecting certain groups like women or trans)?
• What’s the point of social media anyway? Is it served best by large platforms?
I see it more as an opportunity to get people into sociology 🙂
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Stefan
12/12/2019, 3:18 PMI wonder what Twitter’s strategy play is here. The practically had something like that back in the day when 3rd-party clients were properly supported. Then they made them almost useless. And now they do another 180°…why?
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Stefan
12/12/2019, 3:21 PMFully agree with @Don Abrams — most really tough problems lie outside of the technical realm. We tend to overlook that too easily and try to solve people problems with technology.
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Brandon Hudgeons
12/12/2019, 3:39 PMThe question is: can they rid themselves of the burden of policing the bad actors by "decentralizing" while maintaining their ability to deliver ads? If the answer is "no," this will be a promising open source project that is abandoned.
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Don Abrams
12/12/2019, 3:50 PMI think twitter is feeling the same pressure as any publicly traded business that has super slow growth
Don Abrams
12/12/2019, 3:53 PMIn this case, I think twitter wants to be the largest player in the "commodity" of social media. However, I don't think social media is actually a mature enough product/market to be "commodified" yet and the monopoly effects are massssssive so really resist maturation.
Don Abrams
12/12/2019, 3:54 PMHonestly I feel like social media platforms only get better when a competitor is bought, such as Instagram
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curious_reader
12/16/2019, 1:47 PMHI @Stefan have you seen this? https://twitter.com/jack/status/1204766087281172480?s=20
curious_reader
12/16/2019, 1:48 PMI do think that Protocols ultimately provide better social scale-ability .
curious_reader
12/16/2019, 1:49 PMI'm uncertain if this is "just" a debate whether it is ethical to do "the right thing" or to make profits. But its about the relationship between those.
curious_reader
12/16/2019, 1:51 PMLets try this perspective: social media platforms provide a tool for people to interact (socially) but of course the tool shapes the people ( ads, engagement focus etc..)
curious_reader
12/16/2019, 1:52 PMSo I think twitter still wants to make profit, but in a more ethical way. And for that more control, even involvement of the people is necessary. What do you think?
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Stefan
12/17/2019, 1:08 PM@curious_reader Hadn't seen that, thanks for sharing!
The linked article is painting a rosy picture of a future that is actually our past. As much as I wish lots of these things to be in our future, it would probably be more helpful to ask some uncomfortable questions on how and why we abandoned that future and preferred what we have today instead.