After reading Shel’s post about Facebook buying Friendfeed, I’m inspired to write about broadcasting. The broadcasting I’m referring to is the (using Shel’s terminology) “one post gets you everywhere” method of a status update. These services let you make one update and it automatically posts to multiple social networks for you. It is in effect broadcasting an illusion of participation. It’s not about a conversation at this point, or a relationship, it’s just broadcasting. Or as Joseph Jaffe put it in a podcast with Jeremiah Owyang, it’s “communication not conversation”.
Because the broadcaster isn’t actually in the network participating in the conversation, it’s akin to broadcast email or texting. This is not genuine to me. I’ll cave to the fact that my definition of genuine in these networks is old fashioned in a traditional 2.0 sense, but right now, I still enjoy remembering when I’m on Twitter, that I am in fact “on twitter” participating in a conversation. I enjoyed the illusion of seeing a tweet and thinking there’s a person IN this conversation with me. NOT some social version of ‘man behind the curtain pulling levers’ and hitting the “broadcast” button.
Help me see the light here. Right now, I’m not getting it (and have many friend using such techniques). There are always exceptions. Give me some enlightenment here, please.
Sun, Aug 16, 2009
Facebook, Social Network definition, twitter