Saved by Jilber Najem and
TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants
Innovating within an existing platform is always a challenge, because as media theorist Marshall McLuhan argued decades ago, ‘the medium is the message’. TikTok and Twitter/X have short-form content built into the design of the platform, which prevents depth. As I explore in The Bigger Picture, this also leads to what philosopher C. Thi Nguyen call... See more
Alexander Beiner • Myth and Metrics: How Social Media Robs Us of Ritual, and How to Revive It
If you’re lucky, perhaps something you post will temporarily spark a surge of engagement, but those same spectators, exhausted by the onslaught, will soon shift their weary attentions to the next recommended item flowing close behind. This relentless pace rewards passive consumption, not active interaction with individual creators. The winner-take-... See more
Cal Newport • The Rise of the Internet’s Creative Middle Class
TikTok is a good reminder for the generational turnover of social products. While most social networks have not proven to be durable over time (Friendster, MySpace, Orkut, ....) the ones that take over generational shifts or new content types and formats have become massive companies.
Elad Gil • Products I Wish Existed, 2020 Edition
This is the world in which every app can become a TikTok. I think that’s scary. TikTok uses a lot of clever behavioral signals like how long have you stayed watching a video and AI to quickly create a map of your preferences and then serve you up very, very compelling videos. I challenge anyone to go on TikTok for 10 minutes and not stay on for an ... See more