4 ms·

Web forums are not social media, but I can see how they might be confused. HN is more link aggregator / web forum than what the term social media has come to r

Web forums are not social media, but I can see how they might be confused. HN is more link aggregator / web forum than what the term social media has come to represent. I will grant you that the term 'social media' literally could cover any media that is social, but that's not historically how it has been applied. Here there is no algorithmic bubble curated by engagement algorithm. Any attention is managed by the human brain, which is way healthier for the individual as they aren't being manuipulated into addictive engagement and groups as it tends less to form highly refined group think bubbles. He's right, social media is the a big cause of the current unrest, not something that must be saved. I would agree that communication platforms should probably not be open to spying or manipulation, but end-to-end encryption goes a long way there. The remaining problem is access being turned off, which can be solved by not relying on government controlled infrastructure (like electricity grid, networks, etc.). So the person is right. The answer isn't a new site, it is more in person comms as redundancy.

squigz 2y ago
How do you define social media? The use of algorithms to drive engagement? HN does use algorithms, though, such as upvotes/downvotes/flags influencing which stories/comments are seen more, and then there's the second chance pool. These algorithms may be more basic than those of, say, Facebook, but they are there. So what's the difference?
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
  The ability to 'follow', having 'followers', thereby creating feeds and incentives.
  - squigz 2y ago
    Incentives for what, exactly? Have more followers, which by itself only makes one feel good through validation of others? Validation other platforms that don't have followers still manage to achieve?
- gorjusborg 2y ago
  Well firstly, the term 'social media' is so broad and fluid that I don't blame people for having differing ideas about it. That said, my definition of social media is based on what is has become in recent history: 'internet-based surveillance-driven attention market'. It is a platform that divvies up users by demographics (determined by multiple forms of surveillance) and sells access to their eyes/brains. Because payment is tied to those eyes, there is an implied incentive to maximize 'engagement' (the number of times those eyes look at something). That is not at all how I'd describe Hackernews, a link aggregation site (like Reddit), or a web forum (where people can talk to each other), despite social media platforms having all of those sort of abilities.

squigz 2y ago

How do you define social media? The use of algorithms to drive engagement? HN does use algorithms, though, such as upvotes/downvotes/flags influencing which stories/comments are seen more, and then there's the second chance pool. These algorithms may be more basic than those of, say, Facebook, but they are there. So what's the difference?

LargoLasskhyfv 2y ago
The ability to 'follow', having 'followers', thereby creating feeds and incentives.
- squigz 2y ago
  Incentives for what, exactly? Have more followers, which by itself only makes one feel good through validation of others? Validation other platforms that don't have followers still manage to achieve?
gorjusborg 2y ago
Well firstly, the term 'social media' is so broad and fluid that I don't blame people for having differing ideas about it. That said, my definition of social media is based on what is has become in recent history: 'internet-based surveillance-driven attention market'. It is a platform that divvies up users by demographics (determined by multiple forms of surveillance) and sells access to their eyes/brains. Because payment is tied to those eyes, there is an implied incentive to maximize 'engagement' (the number of times those eyes look at something). That is not at all how I'd describe Hackernews, a link aggregation site (like Reddit), or a web forum (where people can talk to each other), despite social media platforms having all of those sort of abilities.