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> “Some writers are so well known that, despite having millions of followers, they literally don’t promote anything they write on social media. That is some str

by pavlov 4y ago

> “Some writers are so well known that, despite having millions of followers, they literally don’t promote anything they write on social media. That is some strong countersignaling.” This was every writer until about 13 years ago. That’s not a long time in a field where people can have 70 year long careers. It’s interesting to consider how “doing the thing I’ve always done” can quickly become seen as countersignalling when society changes around you.

jonnycomputer 4y ago
Yeah, and I don't think its counter-signalling either. Successful authors are likely to have people actively promoting their work for them; the one thing others can't do for them is write (unless they're willing to have other people perform the work they are known for).
- tgv 4y ago
  It's seems to be hard for people to imagine there are more channels than Twitter. They are on twitter, everybody they know is on twitter, and by that they judge everything.
  - zach_garwood 4y ago
    And people on Twitter vastly overestimate Twitter's importance. That some people think it's a "public town square" is just laughable. It's the trash-laden alley behind an Arby's, at best.
GauntletWizard 4y ago
"Tweeting, but not tweeting about your new book" is very different from "Not tweeting about your new book" when Twitter doesn't exist. One is lack of a signal channel, the other is spending time and effort on a signal channel and not transmitting your signal. Countersignaling relies on the SNR being biased against you; it's about noise floor vs signal and having no channel at all is very different.
YurgenJurgensen 4y ago
This could still be a conscious choice to counter-signal though. When society is changing, you can go with the flow or you can choose to stick to your guns, and if your position is solid enough, maybe you don't need to be on the front of every trend. Of course, like all the risky signals, you don't know if your position is actually strong enough until it's too late.
usrusr 4y ago
But how is "I can get by very well without that newfangled thing" not countersignaling? Even if it's completely devoid of deliberation it still is. And from the upstart's perspective this is written for, they can certainly try to cosplay grey eminence from the start, but that sure has its price. If they succeed nonetheless, good for them, but telling them to try would be bad advice.

by pavlov 4y ago

jonnycomputer 4y ago

Yeah, and I don't think its counter-signalling either. Successful authors are likely to have people actively promoting their work for them; the one thing others can't do for them is write (unless they're willing to have other people perform the work they are known for).

tgv 4y ago
It's seems to be hard for people to imagine there are more channels than Twitter. They are on twitter, everybody they know is on twitter, and by that they judge everything.
- zach_garwood 4y ago
  And people on Twitter vastly overestimate Twitter's importance. That some people think it's a "public town square" is just laughable. It's the trash-laden alley behind an Arby's, at best.

GauntletWizard 4y ago

"Tweeting, but not tweeting about your new book" is very different from "Not tweeting about your new book" when Twitter doesn't exist. One is lack of a signal channel, the other is spending time and effort on a signal channel and not transmitting your signal. Countersignaling relies on the SNR being biased against you; it's about noise floor vs signal and having no channel at all is very different.

YurgenJurgensen 4y ago

This could still be a conscious choice to counter-signal though. When society is changing, you can go with the flow or you can choose to stick to your guns, and if your position is solid enough, maybe you don't need to be on the front of every trend. Of course, like all the risky signals, you don't know if your position is actually strong enough until it's too late.

usrusr 4y ago

But how is "I can get by very well without that newfangled thing" not countersignaling? Even if it's completely devoid of deliberation it still is. And from the upstart's perspective this is written for, they can certainly try to cosplay grey eminence from the start, but that sure has its price. If they succeed nonetheless, good for them, but telling them to try would be bad advice.