Thinking more people are going to engage with you on mainstream social media “because everyone’s there” is like thinking people at a stadium concert are there to listen to you. It‘s only true if you’re one of the ones on stage. Not so much when you’re huddled in the nosebleeds.
Forget the numbers. Forget about “going viral” (leave it to the psychopaths in Silicon Valley to make virus-like behaviour aspirational). Embrace the joy of interacting with one another on a human scale.
@aral I totally hear what you're saying and agree wholeheartedly.
But as I reeducate my social media reflexes here, and revaluating my engagement on Twitter - I'm wondering whether it would be better to export new behaviours back into that world rather than turn away? Lots of internal conflict about this concept...
@yukinosaru I mean, by all means if you want to infiltrate/sabotage that system, go for it. Sabotage is the only legitimate means of changing such a system from the inside (but I’m not necessarily convinced of its long-term effectiveness).
Personally, I prefer to create. To work on alternatives. To try and help build the kind of world I want to live in.
I’ve railed against that system long enough and let me tell you, it’s a soul-destroying affair. I still call it out but my focus is creating.
Aral Balkan
Daniel Yeo
Eirliani A Rahman