In anticipation of the collapse of twitter I re-started my daily blogging habit. I fortified my RSS reader with feeds from my favorite sources. I write here mostly for myself, but am thankful for all the readers of this little corner of the Internet.

Social Media’s Three Challenges

I never actively set out to reduce my use of and presence on social media. I still use the apps to keep a pulse on things. However three challenges drive me away from using it as much:

• Many friends and family members that I care about do not post there anymore.
• The content becomes singularly focused. It’s not interesting to read the 20th person’s outrage at today’s political news.
• Links to external content are often paywalled. I am not buying a Bloomberg subscription to read a single article.

TikTok Moved Social Media From Friends to Influencers

I do not use TikTok, but one thing that was clear from listening to more recent Mark Zuckerberg proclamations is that it has shifted the consumption of social media from content posted by folks friends to content posted by influencers. For me Instagram is mostly a short version of watching television, not a way to connect with friends. I enjoy the short home improvement videos I watch there, but they do not inspire me to post or share. The bar feels high.

It’s Not Dead

Social media is far from dead. I will still post there and have accounts. However its usefulness and interestingness has waned. I am trying Mastodon but at the same time have removed the twitter app from my phone. I doubt twitter will die, but will not be surprised if it merely limps along.