digital media ecology

It’s the social system technology is embedded in that matters

In complex, modern societies, the relationship between reality and our representations of reality—between what Lippmann called the “real environment” and the “pseudo-environments” that make up our mental models of the real environment—is heavily mediated by complex chains of trust, testimony, and interpretation.

Dan Williams • Why do people believe true things?

Although influencers are still closely associated with dance videos, e-commerce, and marketing, their role in shaping public opinion- especially around politics-is outsized. Influencers can harness attention, radiate trust, evoke emotion, and direct energy—all to great effect. They capitalize on atmospheric vibes and intuitions, giving people the

This phenomenon in the insect world is known as stigmergy : a mechanism of indirect coordination, where each action leaves a “trace” that makes it easier for a succeeding action to occur.

Adam Aleksic • banality of the algorithm

We are pantomiming our ideas and convictions rather than living them.

The Trad Movement Is Sputtering. Here’s What Comes Next

What You Get Is the World

L. M. Sacasas theconvivialsociety.substack.com

This majority illusion can trick you into believing that a minority opinion is the dominant consensus point of view overall when it’s really the viewpoint of the loudest or best connected members of a community.
Invisible Rulers

As Sean Illing, a co-author of “The Paradox of Democracy,” told me, “McLuhan says: Don’t just look at what’s being expressed; look at the ways it’s being expressed. And then Postman says: Don’t just look at the way things are being expressed; look at how the way things are expressed determines what’s actually expressible.” In other words, the... See more

Ezra Klein • I Didn’t Want It to Be True, but the Medium Really Is the Message

Technology doesn’t follow culture so much as culture follows technology. New forms of expression naturally arise from new media, but so do new sensibilities and new behaviors
Tim Wu, Attention Merchants

So: we have before us two distinct phenomena, both called “artificial intelligence,” both transformative, both rooted in attention, but profoundly different in their structure, effects, and affordances: