I started thinking out loud about this on Twitter -
Sadly, this seems to be where Twitter is headed, creating an interesting problem. The average Twitter user isn’t likely to pay for Twitter. No killer feature will get leisurely users to fork over money. The ability to be on the For You recommendations targets people trying to grow an audience, brands, influencers, etc. Continue to make non-paying users irrelevant or subject to unmitigated harassment, and no one will be left to influence. So that monthly “Blue” subscription becomes a waste of money.
It’s not clear that Elon understands this. This is why we are seeing articles like this one - Twitter is Dying.
That could be true. It could also be true of Facebook and Instagram, as Meta tries to find ways to increase revenue to satisfy the ever-hungry shareholder class.
When we look back on how social media platforms became popular, we often refer to the network effect. Once a certain number of your friends were there, you joined. We might watch that work in reverse soon. This is why I greatly advocate having your website and using newsletters and RSS feeds. I have always had my site, and I started this Substack when it became clear that some people who had followed me on Twitter were leaving. I didn’t want to lose touch, so I allowed them to subscribe to this and started including most of the same stuff they’d get from my social media feeds here. They can get this by email or RSS and keep in touch.
Later this week, we’ll even start up a subscriber chat on Substack where we can keep in touch even more.
I don’t know what will happen to the current social media platforms, but I know where I’ll be. Where will you be?
Careers and the Workplace
Time is Money, and Employees Know it Too
If we wasted 300 hours per year, plenty of employers would point out how much money that "cost" them. It's only fair that workers do the same when the commute to the office is a waste of time too.
Using Your Passion Against You - This is a few years old now, but I go back and remind myself every so often. “At what point does being an engaged, passionate employee crossover into accepting less value for your time and efforts than you should? At what point is it actually detrimental to your health, life, and career?”
Legal, Security, and Privacy
Tech Press Slowly Figuring Out That Banning TikTok Doesn’t Fix The Actual Problem - the real problem is the lack of privacy protection in the US. It became obvious to me that the rationale for banning TikTok could easily be applied to any social media platform, and possibly most websites in general. TikTok is the target because it’s Chinese owned, but China could easily, and legally, buy the same information from US data brokers.
This, by the way is why the bill, as written is so scary, because the government will be giving itself the power to ban anything on the internet in the future based solely on one person’s discretion. Which, yes, sounds an awful lot like what China does - Senator Warner’s RESTRICT Act Is Designed To Create The Great Firewall Of America
Fake Images of Donald Trump Being Arrested Shows the Power of AI - We are not prepared to deal with this at all, are we?
Nor are we prepared to deal with ChatBots that lie.
We're about to find out just how many lies they can tell and how much of the internet will be full of them.
Mental Health in the Workplace
How to start building mental health awareness in your organization - actions you can consider during Mental Health Awareness Month, coming up in May.
This weekend is also Autism Acceptance Day. That might be a good time to brush up on Neurodiversity at work
It’s the end of March. First quarter of 2023 is over. Seems like a good weekend to recharge and get into April from a better place.