4 ms·

I never understood the charm of social media… why should I care about what people I couldn’t care less think about my life (hence share what I do) and conversel

by freedom2099 4y ago

I never understood the charm of social media… why should I care about what people I couldn’t care less think about my life (hence share what I do) and conversely why should I follow people I couldn’t care less. With the people I care I usually have real conversations… no need for social media.

viraptor 4y ago
For me that's half social banter, half discovering things I did not know about, but someone discovered and found fascinating enough to share. Pretty close to HN. I completely don't care what other people think about me on the internet, but I care about the things they do or appreciate.
probably_wrong 4y ago
But... you are here in HN with the rest of us. Why are you reading the comments of people you couldn't care less about? Of course, as someone who never uses Twitter and yet has been here since 2013 I have a good feeling of what your answer is likely to be. But my deeper point is: people get out of Twitter the same that I (and maybe you) get out of HN. Different strokes for different folks.
- raxxorraxor 4y ago
  I think we shouldn't call HN social media, I wouldn't even call reddit social media. Yes, there are discussions. But the topic is the focus, while many other platforms, including Twitter, are people oriented. People curate your content, on the other platforms said content is decided by topic. Maybe use social media if you want to, but there is an inherit difference between these platforms. I had good discussions on HN but I couldn't name you any user, not even their handle. It isn't of particular interest most of the time. There are a few exceptions of course but those are far and few between. A bus ride just isn't the same as a party, even if many people come together.
randomdata 4y ago
As a farmer, Twitter has shown to be the best place to keep abreast on what other farmers are trying in their operations. I've never met most of them, but insights into what they are doing is still useful information. It provides much the same charm as HN, where I've also not met most, for keeping abreast in what tech is doing. Facebook has been useful as a modern day telephone book. I don't see them as competing against real conversations. They serve a very different function.

viraptor 4y ago

For me that's half social banter, half discovering things I did not know about, but someone discovered and found fascinating enough to share. Pretty close to HN. I completely don't care what other people think about me on the internet, but I care about the things they do or appreciate.

probably_wrong 4y ago

But... you are here in HN with the rest of us. Why are you reading the comments of people you couldn't care less about? Of course, as someone who never uses Twitter and yet has been here since 2013 I have a good feeling of what your answer is likely to be. But my deeper point is: people get out of Twitter the same that I (and maybe you) get out of HN. Different strokes for different folks.

raxxorraxor 4y ago
I think we shouldn't call HN social media, I wouldn't even call reddit social media. Yes, there are discussions. But the topic is the focus, while many other platforms, including Twitter, are people oriented. People curate your content, on the other platforms said content is decided by topic. Maybe use social media if you want to, but there is an inherit difference between these platforms. I had good discussions on HN but I couldn't name you any user, not even their handle. It isn't of particular interest most of the time. There are a few exceptions of course but those are far and few between. A bus ride just isn't the same as a party, even if many people come together.

randomdata 4y ago

As a farmer, Twitter has shown to be the best place to keep abreast on what other farmers are trying in their operations. I've never met most of them, but insights into what they are doing is still useful information. It provides much the same charm as HN, where I've also not met most, for keeping abreast in what tech is doing. Facebook has been useful as a modern day telephone book. I don't see them as competing against real conversations. They serve a very different function.