4 ms·

If Hacker News is just as much 'social media' as less literary platforms like Twitter or Facebook, then I don't think that social media is the problem per se. Y

If Hacker News is just as much 'social media' as less literary platforms like Twitter or Facebook, then I don't think that social media is the problem per se. Y-combinator has its own profit motive, but it doesn't take its readers for fools to be manipulated. (Well, maybe this happens a little bit, with people voting up trendy stories.) Yes, Hacker News has a 'share button'. I think what sets it apart from sites like Facebook is that it's not sufficient for the shared item to garner lots of attention; rather, it will be subject to written criticism, potentially leading to downvotes and flagging. Finally, Hacker News is moderated by very thoughtful people, ruling out a big chunk of the content that makes unmoderated social media little better than a tabloid magazine.

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
That sounds rather like "we can use this media because we're talking about clever stuff but people talking about trivial stuff clearly shouldn't use it".
- nicklaf 9y ago
  Yes, I agree reading back it sounds rather weak. That said, maybe the differences comes down to: are we being drawn in through manipulation to post beyond what we otherwise would have wanted to, for the benefit of others? To an extent, this is what karma is.
  - Trav5 9y ago
    Bingo, and I checked hacker news at least 10 times more than I would have just to see how many points I got for the above comment. I also spent way too much time carefully constructing the comment. 13 points, which is more than most of my recent comments. Now, who's fault is it for being drawn in more than I want to be? I take responsibility for it and also agnolage my weaknesses for distraction. Maybe you could equate social media to a liquor store. Fulfilling a demand, serving the community, and also praying on and enabling it, in a bad way. Most of the time I'm distracted by social media, I would be better served by sleeping.
    - nicklaf 9y ago
      Hopefully you'll survive the upvote I just gave you. :P

pbhjpbhj 9y ago

That sounds rather like "we can use this media because we're talking about clever stuff but people talking about trivial stuff clearly shouldn't use it".

nicklaf 9y ago
Yes, I agree reading back it sounds rather weak. That said, maybe the differences comes down to: are we being drawn in through manipulation to post beyond what we otherwise would have wanted to, for the benefit of others? To an extent, this is what karma is.
- Trav5 9y ago
  Bingo, and I checked hacker news at least 10 times more than I would have just to see how many points I got for the above comment. I also spent way too much time carefully constructing the comment. 13 points, which is more than most of my recent comments. Now, who's fault is it for being drawn in more than I want to be? I take responsibility for it and also agnolage my weaknesses for distraction. Maybe you could equate social media to a liquor store. Fulfilling a demand, serving the community, and also praying on and enabling it, in a bad way. Most of the time I'm distracted by social media, I would be better served by sleeping.
  - nicklaf 9y ago
    Hopefully you'll survive the upvote I just gave you. :P