What I’d like in social media

[cjsmith]

I’m realizing this morning that social media isn’t social. It’s news, or at least the best most of us get for news. (And a poor and unreputable aggregator it is, but that’s another topic.)

What I miss most about social media of days gone by is social contact. There aren’t places like that now. Does anyone even have time for that?

Comments

[wcg]

I worry about people who use FB (or whatever) for news, because it's a terrible way to get news. I still use feedly to aggregate actual news articles, and I sometimes repost an article I get from there to FB in the hope of giving it wider circulation. But I sincerely hope the people who follow me on FB are also getting news from other non-FB sources.

As for social contact, this is about all that's left. Well, this and LJ, but the two are largely mirrors of each other for me. Fortunately I have dances several nights a week to get non-digital social contact.

[cjsmith]

I agree that it’s a terrible news aggregator. I am reminded of a discussion in school long long ago, about how in certain periods of history the vast majority of the populace formed their opinions of the world around them based almost exclusively on rumors. People who get their information mainly on a site like that have regressed to that state.

If this is all that’s left then I’ll use it to the best of my ability! :)