4 ms·

A few years ago there was that blogs thing, with rss... all things that favoured federation, independent content generation, etc. Now it's all about platforms.

by narag 7y ago

A few years ago there was that blogs thing, with rss... all things that favoured federation, independent content generation, etc. Now it's all about platforms. I understand that "regular people" are more comfortable with Facebook but, other than that, why are blogs and forums less popular now?

arpa 7y ago
the problem is multiple actually: a) most internet-connected devices these days favor content consumption vs content creation (blogs vs instagram), b) mainstream culture > closely-knit communities (facebook > forums) c) big-player takeovers (facebook for groups, google for search) over previously somewhat niche areas and, actually, internet infrastructure d) if you're not a big player, you don't exist... and back to c)
- asark 7y ago
  > a) most internet-connected devices these days favor content consumption vs content creation (blogs vs instagram), You chose Instagram as your example, to make the point that phones favor consumption over creation?
  - arpa 7y ago
    Yes! Instagram has the appearance of a OC/creation platform, but, typically of such platforms (such as twitter/fb) the "content" is low-effort "convenient" opportunistic trivia, and the product consumed is likes, followers, etc.
JaumeGreen 7y ago
The problem with forums is that you end visiting 5~10 different forums, each with their own login, and some of them might be restricted at work (not that you should visit them often). So it's easier to have 2~4 aggregators in where all the information you desire resides, even if in each of them there are different forums. A unified entry point helps adoption.
- ajot 7y ago
  So, instead of platforms, other option would be a client software for different forums. Like Tapatalk. Is there anything like that but libre and/or desktop?
  - sosborn 7y ago
    Reddit really did a good job of moving the masses away from site-specific forums.
  - asdff 7y ago
    rss
r3bl 7y ago
I'd argue that forums and blogs require more effort. Read a cool blog post? Nobody around you will ever give a shit, because in order to do so, they'd have to read it too. Shared a photo from a vacation? It might start a conversation or two with people around you, while you receive dozens or hundreds of affirmations (in the form of likes). I don't like to use social networks, but that's what I fall back on when I have a few minutes to spare. I rarely look at my list of articles I've saved for later — who has time for that?
- asdff 7y ago
  >I don't like to use social networks, but that's what I fall back on when I have a few minutes to spare. I rarely look at my list of articles I've saved for later — who has time for that? Plenty of people. Ever push an article to a reader view service and see how long it takes to read? Most articles posted here on HN or the nyt front page can be read in 3-5 mins. Occasionally you'd get a 20 min slog. I used to use social media way more, and by far my biggest wastes of time on the platform were those spare minutes you get a dozen times a day. On the elevator, waiting for the bus, waiting on food, anytime I could sit still the phone went out and my head went down because that's what everyone around me was also doing while waiting on their coffee. Eventually I realized I was just idly scrolling and not retaining anything at all from those 30s-2m sessions on instagram. Just chomping visual popcorn. Now, anytime I have a spare 10 mins, I'll read an article or two from my reading list. Anytime I have less than a spare 10 mins, I'll twiddle my thumbs and keep the phone in the pocket. I used to be much more scatterbrained and had trouble winding down for the evening and getting good rest. Now, I feel like a monk.

by narag 7y ago

arpa 7y ago

the problem is multiple actually: a) most internet-connected devices these days favor content consumption vs content creation (blogs vs instagram), b) mainstream culture > closely-knit communities (facebook > forums) c) big-player takeovers (facebook for groups, google for search) over previously somewhat niche areas and, actually, internet infrastructure d) if you're not a big player, you don't exist... and back to c)

asark 7y ago
> a) most internet-connected devices these days favor content consumption vs content creation (blogs vs instagram), You chose Instagram as your example, to make the point that phones favor consumption over creation?
- arpa 7y ago
  Yes! Instagram has the appearance of a OC/creation platform, but, typically of such platforms (such as twitter/fb) the "content" is low-effort "convenient" opportunistic trivia, and the product consumed is likes, followers, etc.

JaumeGreen 7y ago

The problem with forums is that you end visiting 5~10 different forums, each with their own login, and some of them might be restricted at work (not that you should visit them often). So it's easier to have 2~4 aggregators in where all the information you desire resides, even if in each of them there are different forums. A unified entry point helps adoption.

ajot 7y ago
So, instead of platforms, other option would be a client software for different forums. Like Tapatalk. Is there anything like that but libre and/or desktop?
- sosborn 7y ago
  Reddit really did a good job of moving the masses away from site-specific forums.
- asdff 7y ago
  rss

r3bl 7y ago

I'd argue that forums and blogs require more effort. Read a cool blog post? Nobody around you will ever give a shit, because in order to do so, they'd have to read it too. Shared a photo from a vacation? It might start a conversation or two with people around you, while you receive dozens or hundreds of affirmations (in the form of likes). I don't like to use social networks, but that's what I fall back on when I have a few minutes to spare. I rarely look at my list of articles I've saved for later — who has time for that?

asdff 7y ago
>I don't like to use social networks, but that's what I fall back on when I have a few minutes to spare. I rarely look at my list of articles I've saved for later — who has time for that? Plenty of people. Ever push an article to a reader view service and see how long it takes to read? Most articles posted here on HN or the nyt front page can be read in 3-5 mins. Occasionally you'd get a 20 min slog. I used to use social media way more, and by far my biggest wastes of time on the platform were those spare minutes you get a dozen times a day. On the elevator, waiting for the bus, waiting on food, anytime I could sit still the phone went out and my head went down because that's what everyone around me was also doing while waiting on their coffee. Eventually I realized I was just idly scrolling and not retaining anything at all from those 30s-2m sessions on instagram. Just chomping visual popcorn. Now, anytime I have a spare 10 mins, I'll read an article or two from my reading list. Anytime I have less than a spare 10 mins, I'll twiddle my thumbs and keep the phone in the pocket. I used to be much more scatterbrained and had trouble winding down for the evening and getting good rest. Now, I feel like a monk.