Changes in Social Media To Go Beyond the Feed
March 11, 2021
Social media platforms are, perhaps regrettably, not going anywhere. They are evolving, however, according to “The New Era of Social Media Isn’t About Feeds” at OneZero. We have grown used to scrolling through our social media feeds, and advertisers have grown used to meeting us there. Writer Will Oremus observes:
“But while these feeds may be addictive, they’re also exhausting and numbing. When every post in your feed has been selected from a huge pool of possible posts for its attention-grabbing qualities, you can start to feel shouted at, manipulated, pandered to, and overwhelmed. Over time, it might dawn on you that the feed’s value to your life is less than the sum of its posts. Not to mention, the value to society of bombarding everyone with attention bait from all sides is, let’s say, mixed at best. I think that’s part of why we’re starting to see a new crop of platforms that operate according to a different logic — a logic of loyalty, intentionality, and deliberate payment (whether of attention or money). The Pattern: New digital media products are focusing on low-volume, high-attention relationships rather than high-volume, low-attention feeds.”
Oremus takes a look at some new and upcoming products and features that point in this new direction. For example, Twitter plans to launch Communities, which will form groups around common interests. There is also Super Follows, also from Twitter, which suggests a monetization alternative to advertising—the feature will allow users to charge for “premium” tweets or other content. We agree with Oremus that this might be a profitable avenue for celebrities, less so for journalists. See the write-up for more examples.
Whatever specific ideas sink or swim, this tinkering indicates a new direction for social media—more deliberate user choices and less aimless scrolling through whatever an algorithm sends our way. This sounds like a welcome shift, but will it be enough to combat filter bubbles and fake news?
Cynthia Murrell, March 11, 2021
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