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Having tweets published w/ commentary in-front of another's following makes me anxious. Sure, all tweets are 'public', but the presentation changes the reach.On Mastodon, @ replies are only openly surfaced to feeds of people who follow both parties. It doesn't have quotetweets.
I could deal with that change when it happened on twitter. I just avoided people who did that. But now twitter decides to show me random people's comments and likes. Combined together with quote tweets, it feels like 'bait'.I'm sure this moves some dial about higher engagement.
On Mastodon, I am not randomly shown things that I can't control. But more importantly, I don't have to worry about my own content being randomly pushed in-front of someone else because the system wants to boost engagement.I can reason about my content's visibility easier.
I can't fathom about opaque algorithms that decide when your like or comment on my content ends up showing me to random people who follow you. Before, I only had to worry about who followed you if you retweeted me. Now, I have to worry about everyone who follow's me's followers.
Before, I was able to read everybody who followed me. Learn about them. I could reason about what they cared about, and see what they RT'd. I could Gage what kind of response I get. I could prepare mentally for accidental dog-piles. I understood how my ideas spread.
I knew that late at night, my shitposts about electronic dildos would be nearly invisible. I knew that 3am on a Wednesday that I would be talking with people from Europe or my creative friends from Australia.I can't do this anymore:https://t.co/CciMxmHwcs
Yes, content I posted was always public. And I knew at any moment anything I wrote could go viral - could cause a 'big mood' and stir an avalanche of hatred, or spurn a mob. But the most part I felt safe posting. I could reason about how my ideas spread. I felt I had control.
The easy answer I often get when talking about this is "use tweet deck", or use some third party client that hides this stuff. But that's not the solution. The problem is what other people see. Its the way YOUR attention is being manipulated that I can't reason about anymore.
I haven't been sleeping well the past few days - maybe 4 hours a day. I was getting loopy and deranged from it. And I realized that I felt safe to post on Mastodon, but I didn't feel safe posting here. I've been really trying to dig at why this is.https://t.co/3vnX8R16bu
I think what I realized was: twitter is trying to cater to brands. To people who want their content to be shared. People come thinking its a stage they can sing on, to shout with. This new system gives an illusion your content is resonating.But I think it's a false allure.
But thats why we see all the bots running around. Why people build spam rings to boost their content. Why there is even a market for bot retweets. People think if the tweet more, the'll get noticed. But this is a feedback loop that ends in noise.https://t.co/rxDeG0XGJ9
So in a way, this engagement system does help with that. It gives the illusion that your content is resonating. It makes you feel that your tweets are getting shared outside of your social network. And maybe you won't feel the need to post more.A false allure.
It falls into the same trap that Facebook does. In twitter's infinite demand for growth, it mix-maxes toward Girardian status signaling. It optimizes for politics, for hot takes, for showing you things to get you engaged. That get you enraged. Screaming.https://t.co/aR9gPZymLK
Dumbing down the experience into a supranormal stimulus.Giving you an illusion that you are connected with others.Goading you on with the carrot of your ingroup, and sticking you with the hate of the outgroup.https://t.co/Z4pqP0Ax90
Slowly acclimaiting you to a new normal.One change at a time, incentive by the demands of shareholders.Look at how great twitter is doing!https://t.co/eDzwtEMwPa
The magic of twitter is being thrown under as bus in slow motion.At least the magic I care about.https://t.co/gf70Wx8I8f
Gotta keep twitter healthy! for brands.I mean, lets ignore that by shifting the feed to 'likes are rts', people who had a safe place to talk +hangout are now being shown the door. The shift in algorithms means their content is not wanted here. Gentrified https://t.co/Ee0BlrWo0w
How long until these metrics are used to purge people from the platform because it gives credibility to them causing an 'unhealthy environment'? I'm already seeing people silenced for expressing themselves about suicide b/c of new terms of service changes about health-and-safety. https://t.co/K5DBRvwzGV
280 characters and no more image links?It was too hard for brands to use this space.Don't like it? Find someplace else to hang out.https://t.co/70G1AnVWif
Hey, you kids. This mall isn't for you.I'm the mall cop. This place is only for customers.I am not a customer.https://t.co/31nEuMW9Lg
Twitter is a mall pretending to be a public commons.They invited in a bunch of people to make it look busy.Opened up a bunch of stalls and started charging rent.Gave out bluechecks to showcase celebrities.Then started policing the mall rats who made communities here.Get out.
If you aren't paying for it, you are the product?Well, let me tell you something.You aren't even the product here. You are just something twiter uses to attract the product.The product is who they sell ads to.You're just content. The compliment.https://t.co/Yb4WGlDt8k
"layers of the stack attempting to become monopolies while turning other layers into perfectly-competitive markets"Competing with likes and retweets.Wielding my follower count like a club.Bashing each other with hot takes.With take downs. With shame.https://t.co/sOpPdCsnC9
Having tweets published w/ commentary in-front of another's following makes me anxious. Sure, all tweets are 'public', but the presentation changes the reach.On Mastodon, @ replies are only openly surfaced to feeds of people who follow both parties. It doesn't have quotetweets.
The magic of twitter is being thrown under as bus in slow motion. At least the magic I care about. Twitter is ceasing to be a swarm built for collective meaning making, it is now nothing more than a vehicle for brands to infect us with.https://t.co/7PppSBXtz7
It's going to get worse before it gets better.https://t.co/6HBpB6M0nN
It will keep getting worse, never better.https://t.co/IlcZ8p91k7
It keeps getting worse.https://t.co/B0X8Moa544
Fundamentally, we need to focus more on polluting the dynamics of conversations within twitter. We haven't paid enough attention to manipulating. Forced legibility, more artificial narratives, and helping to reinforce power/status. Gentrifying the ghettos. https://t.co/RXUqwBAP6C
"getting better"https://t.co/OewE2fjIJX
I am the shover robot. And I am the pusher robot.We are here to protect you. Please go stand by the stairs. https://t.co/8h1fqa7Lp9
"getting better"https://t.co/jqiw28uUDh
Whispers. Silent screaming.https://t.co/63KOwofcdT
My external brain is rotting.https://t.co/lijOk6uolZ
The ethics of archiving a meaning making network slowly dying due to lack of foresight."How can communities be engaged in a long-term effort of record creation, collection, and stewardship?"https://t.co/1hMtKa90J2https://t.co/vB1rY0Ildk
~Missing the Feed~ "been chewing on these aggressive thoughts a bit to try and understand them. Digesting my thoughts. Letting the ideas stew in my mouth for 29 days. And now I'm spitting them out." (4000 words on Facebook's Algorithmic Timeline + A Rant) https://t.co/WRG2JZbROl
I engineered my twitter in the environment that was given to me. Hidden to my followers, and retweeted by a select few curious travelers.Now that likes are RTs, I've gained more followers in a month than I did in a year.https://t.co/OjJ6nZDLqz
Now that likes are RTs, all my insight porn is leaking out to the wider masses.Riding the wave of Mimetic signaling goods, your likes?: accidentally weaponized by my threading -> retweeted to people in the network similar to you.https://t.co/CsqPQRM76T
I did not ask for this. I did not seek this out. I did not intend for my tweets to be used by a perverse system to boost engagement.But since I have been given your attention in a way I did not intend...https://t.co/XCI3OVUjhg
I have decided that I weaponizing my account to get likes.I shall become a gravity well of insight porn. 🕳️🐜🐜🐜🐜https://t.co/yrrmT74fCN
Likes are now RTs that infect your friends with my brand.https://t.co/EQGHgO5I5p
My tweets are forced, you see. Until I can uplift myself off of this platform, I have no choice but to play along.https://t.co/u8G8Dn0KGc
Instead of being angry, I'm going to embrace it. https://t.co/TnsUv5Yu39
And compete... compete I shall.https://t.co/UWnOCDWSWc
This place is no good for building a community anymore. The boundaries are too thin. The memes are leaking out. The identity signaling is a tasteless turgid mass of filth ridden with marketing parasites.https://t.co/hr7hwvuUSQ
I just don't care about it anymore.https://t.co/oroPYgsqpt
I actually don't like follower friday, but I seem to have found a group that isn't tarnished by marketing wonks. Most of these seem like real people too.I should just lock my account every friday. https://t.co/ZKh4KBBA3y
For me the damage has already been done. I have lost trust in this platform.https://t.co/eCEJ2QOLPS
I don't need to follow Eric because I think like he does. I speak in riddles, he speaks in koans. Saying the same thing in two different ways.https://t.co/XC0DKWLQm4