Late Night Ramble: Media, Ideals and Accountability
I'll be the first to admit that I generally avoid the mainstream news and broader social media circus, but it's hard to avoid entirely. And sometimes I "fall into the rabbit hole" because someone sends a link, or I'm encouraged by a friend, and so on.
My avoidance of the MSM is not actually for some deeper or ideological reason, but simply because I quickly get exhausted by the way people so often just end up yelling at each other without even the slightest intention of listing to anyone else. And most of the time? They are debating opinions, not actual facts.
With sadness — generally — I watch as people blindly stand by some set of ideas or ideals they have adopted as their GOD, and those people are caught in the throes of some kind of cognitive blindness that precludes them from perceiving any alternatives to their own carved-in-stone ideals.
What's worse is that they also tend to be utterly unable to stand in any form of personal accountability for the impact they are having. I guess, because their ideals are "GOD," and Gods are infallible, right?
For example, I have never been fond of the Reddit platform, because even though there can be some useful information there, god forbid you somehow use some version of grammar or opinions that upsets some imperious Redditor or Subredditor who summarily erases your comment/inquiry and then bans you from some group/page for your transgression.
It's one of the reasons it always made me feel really anxious when — back in the early days of "Hive 1.0" — someone would gleefully exclaim that "we could become like a Reddit on the blockchain!"
Oh, hells to the NOH!
I find a small sense of relief in knowing that some of the troll-like creatures suggesting such a thing are no longer active here!
Humans Behaving Badly...
I owned and operated a retail store for many years, and it never ceased to amaze me how rude many people are to retail sales clerks.
Having spent far too much time studying human psychology, it was rarely an issue over actual bad service or incompetence when there was a problem... it was an issue of someone who perhaps felt powerless in their own life getting to "throw their weight around" with people they perceived themselves to be superior to.
Treating people badly does not make you powerful! It makes you an a$$hole, particularly when you're applying it to someone you know is bound by a "the customer is always right" service standard.
It was always revealing to see such people's demeanor change when they went from thinking I was just a salesperson to the store owner.
The reason I (at least temporarily) have higher than normal level of interest in external social media is primarily related to @leofinance's ongoing initiative to double Hive's active user base.
Hats off to them for attempting to do this... but are we standing in accountability — individually, and collectively — for what people will find here, when/if they do start showing up, in numbers? Are we being the sort of community that someone would wish to adopt and stay part of?
What's my point?
Well, my long stint in the marketing/advertising field taught me that it doesn't do you a lot of good to bring a large crowd in the front door if that crowd isn't offered an experience that makes them want to stay and come back!
Are we ready, as a community, to raise our efforts to engage with people, back to the levels we once enjoyed?
Standing in accountability: Yes, I admit it has been a long time since I just randomly surfed Hive in search of new content creators. I need to do better; get outside my circle of people and communities I typically follow. With the exception of a small number, we all need to do better.
@leofinance's efforts won't matter if those of us already here don't pull our weight!
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the remainder of your week!
Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT posted anywhere else!)
Created at 2023-09-20 23:46 PDT
0942/2197
I try to follow Lovesniper's welcome posts, greet new members, and delegate some resource credits so they can start commenting and posting. I don't always find folks to follow that way, but seeing who engages with the comment at least gives me an idea who is here to actually participate.
I sometimes follow those, as well. I guess a lot of people arrive on Hive with the impression that it is going to be a lot easier than it actually is. Hive is definitely not a "money for nothing" endeavor.
When time permits I visit a couple of new arrivals via introductory post, all comments I receive if new to me, I visit and greet it is social media, not so?
Good read to remember we all arrived as newbies floundering around until others assisted us 🙂
Sometimes it does seem a bit like people forget about the "social" part of social media. And, indeed, we were all newbies at some point. I had no clue when I first arrived and actually spent about a week lurking before doing anything.
!LOLZ I spent a lot longer than a week trying to learn before getting into the platform sharing content. Have a wonderful weekend.
lolztoken.com
It is slowly coming back to me.
Credit: reddit
@denmarkguy, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of joanstewart
(3/8)
ENTER @WIN.HIVE'S DAILY DRAW AND WIN HIVE!
Thank you @ewkaw!
It is actually hard to avoid all the things on social media
And most things online is full of lies, fake things and all...
But even though we try to run away from social media as a whole, it may not be successful because we have to be informed
A large part of it is, indeed, just noise and false information... often served up with less of an intent to actually inform than to somehow profit from people's gullibility.
I know it can't be outright avoided, but I try to stay with trusted sources.
Oh yeah, those trolls now doesn't feel the need to be so vocal about emulate the shenanigans & pitfalls of Reddit. They now operate in the shadows behind the "Code is Law" slogan just by clicking on that stupid red button to make themselves heard.
The whole "because the code allows it" line of reasoning gets rather tired after a while especially when it obviously ignores such thi gs as consistency and taking right action.
Yeah, consistency and taking right action. Two concepts they can't see & won't see inside their brain-dead foggy head, not even if these terms bite them in their sorry little ass.
MSM seems to become more littered with junk information as the days go by, anytime I come across a rabbit hole, I tried not to get into it since it always leaves me mentally exhausted and disarrayed. I did like what I found here when I joined Hive, the diverse content and authenticity resonated with me.
Having to sort through and fact check as much as we have to does get overwhelming and exhausting... but we have to get our information somewhere.
We're a tribal species, welcoming strangers doesn't come naturally, it's something we need to practice. I think Hive is doing this pretty well compared to crypto in general. It's disappointing to see that 'building in the bear market' is focused on incrowd favorites like friend.tech and Telegram trading bots.
And sometimes the whole welcome thing is further complicated by old timers having very set ideas about how and what newcomers should and should not do. It can be difficult to shake people out of their time worn patterns.