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... See more
Human expression was perfected into pithy thought-capsules (Twitter, LinkedIn), glamour shots (Instagram), and performative soundbites (TikTok), all perfect carriers for human emotions and — most importantly — ADVERTISING, which we were also now expected to do, newly equipped with our “personal brands.”
The dominance of these formats and mindset... See more
McLuhan argued that, pushed to its limits, a medium flips or reverses its characteristics.
Internet scale pushes information into disinformation, connection into loneliness, and desire into apathy.
Still need a study on how YouTube comments became incredibly civilized and wholesome
While Instagram comments became the absolute meanest place on the internet
Digital affordances seem to often constitute what Marshall McLuhan would call ‘hot media’ (1967), which require little active participation on the part of the audience, and are of highly predictable nature. Rosa would insist that to achieve resonance, we would want to cool media down to encourage active participation – a prerequisite for resonant... See more
an interview about instant messenger that takes place on instant messenger. the lesson is simple: writing is hard because it forces us to improve our thinking.
.@jesslivingston’s blog post “The Sound of Silence” (2017) perfectly summarizes my frustrations and feelings towards social media.
At some point, you realize there might be diminishing returns to being public which is an unfortunate... See more