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> "I still don't have any idea what Instagram or Facebook stories is." Since the author is familiar with Twitter, one can imagine it like a tweet that self-del

> "I still don't have any idea what Instagram or Facebook stories is." Since the author is familiar with Twitter, one can imagine it like a tweet that self-deletes after 24h, except with Facebook's and Instagram's version of a "tweet", i.e. post. Core concept is to get people to return to the platform (daily) because of FOMO. Calling it "stories" is quite misleading actually, one (or at least I) would expect a story to be rather something permanent compared to a post, but it's exactly the other way around.

morgengold 7y ago
From a user perspective: why do you want to participate in this kind of thing? I get why this is good for the platform. For me (1985) it seems to have zero value. I feel old more and more.
- dade_ 7y ago
  My friend in his 20s said to me 'You are old, but useful', and I responded with a gee thanks. At this point he realized I misheard him, and claims he said 'You are old, but youthful'. Anyway, it's now a joke between us and perhaps it is the best we can do: Old, but youthful and by intention or accident - useful.
- nl 7y ago
  What do you mean it has zero value? It's probably the most pure form of self expression available on social media because it's free of consequences (in theory at least). And the "return to the platform daily" thing is overstated - that's like saying a chat program makes people return to it regularly by delivering messages. It's technically right but shows a complete misunderstanding of how and why it's used. 1975. But very immature.
- Dumbdo 7y ago
  For me to understand Instagram stories, it's important to kinda understand the Instagram culture. Normal posts (not stories) are pretty "high-effort" (in terms of shooting and editing) and are posted not so often, maybe every two days at max for your average teen. This left a gap for short-lived stuff (I'm currently eating in this 5* restaurant, I'm currently hiking, I'm on this "cool" party etc.) you wanted to share to a large group of your "friends" (so DM like whatsapp is not a real option because it feels attention-whoring to write it to everyone). This was mostly filled by Snapchat stories, where you could share exactly that without having to fear to spam people because it's time-limited, everyone does it and it's a very casual format. This feature was basically copied by instagram and is a success for the same reasons, expect nobody uses snapchat stories anymore. Source: I have young siblings and I kinda use that stuff as well, although not that much.
  - morgengold 7y ago
    I get this. My problem seems to be one level deeper. I do not want to share my current plate or the hiking track I'm on. Neither am I interested in this kind of news of my friends. I'm ok with the youngsters doing that for fun. But where is the serious conversation gone? Did we share our latest meal in the forums back then? No. Where do the young people get their information when they are serious about sth?
    - Dumbdo 7y ago
      I'm not sure what you mean with serious in this context? Do you mean invested? I'm not really into sharing this info either, but I find it refreshing to see what my friends far away are currently doing and often use it as a possibility to connect with them.
    - nl 7y ago
      What is this "the young people" thing you are talking about? I've got a bunch of friends around my age (40+) who use stories heavily. Serious conversation happens on FB or here or Reddit. If you seriously think this is bad or something, then think of it as roughly analogous to the old finger command, where we'd all put random status things and ASCII art in our .plan files. Stories is pretty much this feature, just done much better.
bagacrap 7y ago
it's a story because you are encouraged to post several in a row that tell a story of your day. You can tell stories IRL without writing them down so why would something need to be in a durable medium to be a story? core concept is to give people a way to share something that doesn't have to be a perfect, a picture of cheetos or a license plate rather than a wedding or Yosemite, because it won't stick around on your profile forever. This is a good thing because otherwise what you see on there can make it seem like everyone else is having a much more exciting life than you (as you sit on the couch after work) and causes depression. Why is unbridled cynicism towards sm so prevalent here?
- dreamcompiler 7y ago
  > Why is unbridled cynicism towards sm so prevalent here? I open Facebook. I click on someone's story. I see a static image and try to read it, but it disappears after a few seconds. Often it's promoting an event, so I'd like to click for more info. But I can't. Sometimes it's a short video but I can't stop it or easily replay it. So my reaction is the same as it is when I encounter a website that shows an auto-playing slideshow that I can't stop. "This is stupid." And I hit the back button and don't return. Now I see FB stories as merely a thing to ignore that takes up 30% of my screen real estate when I visit FB.
- klingonopera 7y ago
  > "Why is unbridled cynicism towards sm so prevalent here? " You could argue it's an interpolation of the events surrounding the companies behind those platforms...
wruza 7y ago
>Core concept is to get people to return to the platform (daily) because of FOMO. Is that how it works? Hell, this is a whole new darkness level in abusing human behavior patterns. How far is it from an actual drug dealing?
- nl 7y ago
  This is written by someone who doesn't seem to like the feature, and doesn't really get it. As I said elsewhere in this thread: the "return to the platform daily" thing is overstated - that's like saying a chat program makes people return to it regularly by delivering messages. It's technically right but shows a complete misunderstanding of how and why it's used.

morgengold 7y ago

From a user perspective: why do you want to participate in this kind of thing? I get why this is good for the platform. For me (1985) it seems to have zero value. I feel old more and more.

dade_ 7y ago
My friend in his 20s said to me 'You are old, but useful', and I responded with a gee thanks. At this point he realized I misheard him, and claims he said 'You are old, but youthful'. Anyway, it's now a joke between us and perhaps it is the best we can do: Old, but youthful and by intention or accident - useful.
nl 7y ago
What do you mean it has zero value? It's probably the most pure form of self expression available on social media because it's free of consequences (in theory at least). And the "return to the platform daily" thing is overstated - that's like saying a chat program makes people return to it regularly by delivering messages. It's technically right but shows a complete misunderstanding of how and why it's used. 1975. But very immature.
Dumbdo 7y ago
For me to understand Instagram stories, it's important to kinda understand the Instagram culture. Normal posts (not stories) are pretty "high-effort" (in terms of shooting and editing) and are posted not so often, maybe every two days at max for your average teen. This left a gap for short-lived stuff (I'm currently eating in this 5* restaurant, I'm currently hiking, I'm on this "cool" party etc.) you wanted to share to a large group of your "friends" (so DM like whatsapp is not a real option because it feels attention-whoring to write it to everyone). This was mostly filled by Snapchat stories, where you could share exactly that without having to fear to spam people because it's time-limited, everyone does it and it's a very casual format. This feature was basically copied by instagram and is a success for the same reasons, expect nobody uses snapchat stories anymore. Source: I have young siblings and I kinda use that stuff as well, although not that much.
- morgengold 7y ago
  I get this. My problem seems to be one level deeper. I do not want to share my current plate or the hiking track I'm on. Neither am I interested in this kind of news of my friends. I'm ok with the youngsters doing that for fun. But where is the serious conversation gone? Did we share our latest meal in the forums back then? No. Where do the young people get their information when they are serious about sth?
  - Dumbdo 7y ago
    I'm not sure what you mean with serious in this context? Do you mean invested? I'm not really into sharing this info either, but I find it refreshing to see what my friends far away are currently doing and often use it as a possibility to connect with them.
  - nl 7y ago
    What is this "the young people" thing you are talking about? I've got a bunch of friends around my age (40+) who use stories heavily. Serious conversation happens on FB or here or Reddit. If you seriously think this is bad or something, then think of it as roughly analogous to the old finger command, where we'd all put random status things and ASCII art in our .plan files. Stories is pretty much this feature, just done much better.

bagacrap 7y ago

it's a story because you are encouraged to post several in a row that tell a story of your day. You can tell stories IRL without writing them down so why would something need to be in a durable medium to be a story? core concept is to give people a way to share something that doesn't have to be a perfect, a picture of cheetos or a license plate rather than a wedding or Yosemite, because it won't stick around on your profile forever. This is a good thing because otherwise what you see on there can make it seem like everyone else is having a much more exciting life than you (as you sit on the couch after work) and causes depression. Why is unbridled cynicism towards sm so prevalent here?

dreamcompiler 7y ago
> Why is unbridled cynicism towards sm so prevalent here? I open Facebook. I click on someone's story. I see a static image and try to read it, but it disappears after a few seconds. Often it's promoting an event, so I'd like to click for more info. But I can't. Sometimes it's a short video but I can't stop it or easily replay it. So my reaction is the same as it is when I encounter a website that shows an auto-playing slideshow that I can't stop. "This is stupid." And I hit the back button and don't return. Now I see FB stories as merely a thing to ignore that takes up 30% of my screen real estate when I visit FB.
klingonopera 7y ago
> "Why is unbridled cynicism towards sm so prevalent here? " You could argue it's an interpolation of the events surrounding the companies behind those platforms...

wruza 7y ago

>Core concept is to get people to return to the platform (daily) because of FOMO. Is that how it works? Hell, this is a whole new darkness level in abusing human behavior patterns. How far is it from an actual drug dealing?

nl 7y ago
This is written by someone who doesn't seem to like the feature, and doesn't really get it. As I said elsewhere in this thread: the "return to the platform daily" thing is overstated - that's like saying a chat program makes people return to it regularly by delivering messages. It's technically right but shows a complete misunderstanding of how and why it's used.