Not using, not needing social media is the dream, right? It is plain to see you can generate attention for things through social media really well. Maybe they are the only effective way left. I can not think of alternative methods that come remotely close to social media's reach and impact although I really want to believe in the power of 'word of mouth'.
Social media always disgusted me. I remember spending an afternoon looking up old classmates on a Dutch precursor to Facebook, Hives, in my late teens. I felt depressed after. It struck me as a complete waste of time. I had learned nothing and was shocked to discover there was an old spinster in me that felt the urge to look into the lifes of people I used to know, but hadn't given any thought until the opportunity to be a peeping Tom arose. I was confronted with a part of me that I did not like at all and on top of that felt cheated.
I like to think we're all conctantly victims of circumstance in this sense. The internet gives us the opportunity to act in ways we would never act if someone was standing next to us or was looking over our shoulder. I believe there are things people only do because they can and there are no repercussions to do so. Is that what they 'really' want or are they just bored?Many people will happily admit that the time they spend on the internet is time wasted. Others are ashamed to do so and will pretend they only do 'important things' on their phones and computers even though this clearly is not the case. I remember catching one of these serious people playing Candy Crush on the loading dock while we were waiting for the next truck to arrive. Someone else was watching a short of how to make an apple turnover.
I mentioned Franklin Foer in a previous post. He makes the point that big tech corporations are redefining free will. Many decisions we make on the internet are thoughtless, led by boredom and emotion. We hardly consider them decisions at all. They are just clicks to distract ourselves from life. These clicks however are interpreted as the things we 'really' want. In many cases they are anything but. People would rather have done something else, but were not in the position or too lazy to do so.
I'm reminded of Pavlov's dog. Did he want to drool when that bell rang?
My favorite example of opportunity creating behavior was the phenomenon of young men masturbating in front of their webcam on Chat Roulette. Who would have thought that would be a thing? Definitely not me, but once given the opportunity to shock a stranger with one's penis, many young men did just that. It increased my respect for flashers - the Dutch word is 'pencil sales man' by the way. At least those guys went out into the cold to flash their junk. They had to take the wheather into consideration, buy an appropriate coat, think of their presentation and on top of that ran the risk of being punched in the face. It was a real métier compared to flashing your dick online. I wonder if those boys would talk about their practices with their peers. I doubt it, but maybe they did? 'Dick picks' are an ordinary thing today after all.
My point? We're all weak and pathetic at times and our 'free will' is easily manipulated.
I can go on and on about this - maybe you noticed... Anyway, looking for alternative ways of communication and promotion is something I applaud so hats of to you, sir.
