Why do people use social media?
How do people select and use technologies in an ever-growing ecosystem?
As always, opinions are my own, not those of Lichess.org.
Many people still aren't using ad blockers, password managers, or multi-factor authentication, and yet they still have legitimate data privacy concerns, even about "AI". Regulations like GDPR can help satisfy data privacy expectations, yet many people share data with Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Discord, Meta, Microsoft, Valve, X, etc. (actively and passively), or de-platform to minimize data sharing.
How we want to use technologies (or platforms) depends upon factors:
Am I reaching my intended audiences?
What new audiences am I missing out on?
Am I aware of my data privacy risks?
How do I want to control (revise, delete, limit commercial use of) my words, files, locations, etc.?
Is the overall experience pleasant and convenient?
Modern "AI" (machine learning) doesn't change these fundamental concerns, but does change how we think about them. Perhaps through careful examination of human history we can better understand what motivates our decisions...
... I had considered writing a full blog post, and indeed maybe someday I or someone else will do that. But so far I haven't found a reasonable way to financially support said work without creating some conflict of interest (between what is profitable and what I consider ethical). So I hope you enjoy my outline, which I spent several hours writing and carefully revising. My conclusion is simply:
It is possible to become a technology expert and learn everything there is to know about social media, but you don't need to do that in order to make virtuous decisions from available information. Now is a good time to de-platform from X in favor of Discord, Mastodon, Substack, and maybe even Bluesky until it goes the same path Twitter went.
At the same time, a good deal of watching online chess seems to revolve around enjoyment of music and a parasocial experience bonding with the streamer's face, voice, and body (any gender), or about their antics in time pressure, as opposed to being about learning or teaching the game itself. As an amateur musician I find it disappointing that intellectual property creators cannot sustain a living from residual income on their work, and many go unpaid and uncredited. As such I can't stay invested in an ever-escalating series of "online chess cheating" conflicts between those who profit from being disruptive while also profiting from others' uncredited music, artwork, etc.
I can further suggest that I tried online shogi and encountered similar paranoia, and now am trying riichi mahjong and go. I'd like to build an online community in an era where profit motives seem to corrupt good causes, but this problem seems related to the ability to draw a fair profit in an ecosystem which tends to do the opposite.
Maybe someday I'll figure out a proper funding model and research & write a full article. Perhaps this outline needs to be restructured chronologically, and with more details about the benefits and risks of each social media evolution. I wanted to use cave art for the blog preview image, but couldn't find anything suitable and settled with an excellent stonehenge image instead (image credit cited below).
Outline
History of social media
Art (cave drawings, other art?)
Commercial media "fine arts" (music, theater, writing, etc.)
Published media (printing press, telegraph, radio, telephone, Apple, IBM, Microsoft, YouTube, etc. products and services)
"Free" services (email, RSS, torrent, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Valve, X etc.)
Risk analysis (integrity - ability to understand media)
Ambiguity (ability for work to be understood)
Originality (was the author influenced by socioeconomic considerations)
Localization (inconvenience of adapting work beyond regional boundaries)
Anonymity (inconvenience of identifying authors)
Risk mitigation technologies
Authorship (author can explain their work)
Scholarship (experts are trusted to interpret authors' work)
Revision (publishers are trusted to issue clarifications/corrections)
Protocols (systems are trusted to regulate flow of information)
Photo credit: K. Mitch Hodge