I agree, I wish there'd be more positivity. Creating content is inherently a good thing, even if people happen to be wrong or if it's flawed, and it's one of the things I theoretically like about TikTok.
One of the things I dislike about TikTok is... everything else. Watching videos is incredibly exhausting for me. If I have the choice between watching a 30 seconds video and getting root canal treatment, the second option never stops looking more tempting (this is not hyperbole. I dislike it that much). It gets worse when there's audio content. Yes, I'll look at the cute kitten or the funny thing, and I'll often even like it and recommend it to others, but the moment I want information and I have to sit through a video to get it? Nope, nope, nope, nope. Brain doesn't comply.
NGL, I'm actually terrified that more and more content will get locked away behind videos, because it means that I won't be able to participate. It's already gotten to the point where people don't write down programming tutorials anymore but post them on youtube instead, and that's in a field where you literally expect people to copy/paste and tweak the code you share. Everything else doesn't even have that requirement, and it seems to be easier to make videos than to write text, so... it feels as if more and more things are vanishing behind animation reels with no search function, guarded by hyperactive influencers who are jumping around like galvanised frogs. (Not Every Video etc, but the initial energy threshold it takes me to even check if it's the case? That root canal treatment is looking better and better!)
TL;DR: I'm glad that you're writing, and I hope you don't wander off to TikTok.
Don’t worry! I have no intention of wandering off. I agree with you wholeheartedly that video content has a time and a place, but seems to have grown beyond those borders. The YouTube programming tutorials especially— I’m with you there.
Like I said in the article, I think that video content is great but doesn’t create a rigorous atmosphere. I want to have a conversation, not just an exchange of interesting tidbits
A computer, in some sense, is a box whose purpose it to show you something good.
How exactly that machine is determining "what is good" can change a LOT. Is "what is good":
- whatever you've asked the computer to show you?
- whatever will show ads sold by some giant corporation?
- whatever will most likely improve your patience? knowledge?
- whatever will make you support the favorite political candidates of some giant corporations nefarious owners?
I started work on a project so that one possible answer is "the output of an ML model trained on your own behavior, with data you control, including some combination of what other news sites think is good, as well as what your friends and trusted contacts think is good."
I didn't crack the network effects upon my first release and had to stop and think about what was really important to me. I'd like to try this again but have not the time nor bandwidth to do so.
I found you and the esov subreddit but not the article and feedback you mentioned.
Ah you could probably sort my submitted posts by "controversial" Here's the r/philosophy thread in particular:
https://old.reddit.com/r/philosophy/comments/v1ibic/the_great_filter_and_utilitarian_ethics_why_the/
Thanks. That's at least a week's worth of reading and pondering. ;)
Haha I wouldn’t follow what I’m saying in the thread with too much credence, I was over responding to harsh critics
I agree, I wish there'd be more positivity. Creating content is inherently a good thing, even if people happen to be wrong or if it's flawed, and it's one of the things I theoretically like about TikTok.
One of the things I dislike about TikTok is... everything else. Watching videos is incredibly exhausting for me. If I have the choice between watching a 30 seconds video and getting root canal treatment, the second option never stops looking more tempting (this is not hyperbole. I dislike it that much). It gets worse when there's audio content. Yes, I'll look at the cute kitten or the funny thing, and I'll often even like it and recommend it to others, but the moment I want information and I have to sit through a video to get it? Nope, nope, nope, nope. Brain doesn't comply.
NGL, I'm actually terrified that more and more content will get locked away behind videos, because it means that I won't be able to participate. It's already gotten to the point where people don't write down programming tutorials anymore but post them on youtube instead, and that's in a field where you literally expect people to copy/paste and tweak the code you share. Everything else doesn't even have that requirement, and it seems to be easier to make videos than to write text, so... it feels as if more and more things are vanishing behind animation reels with no search function, guarded by hyperactive influencers who are jumping around like galvanised frogs. (Not Every Video etc, but the initial energy threshold it takes me to even check if it's the case? That root canal treatment is looking better and better!)
TL;DR: I'm glad that you're writing, and I hope you don't wander off to TikTok.
Don’t worry! I have no intention of wandering off. I agree with you wholeheartedly that video content has a time and a place, but seems to have grown beyond those borders. The YouTube programming tutorials especially— I’m with you there.
Like I said in the article, I think that video content is great but doesn’t create a rigorous atmosphere. I want to have a conversation, not just an exchange of interesting tidbits
phew, bullet: dodged :D
A computer, in some sense, is a box whose purpose it to show you something good.
How exactly that machine is determining "what is good" can change a LOT. Is "what is good":
- whatever you've asked the computer to show you?
- whatever will show ads sold by some giant corporation?
- whatever will most likely improve your patience? knowledge?
- whatever will make you support the favorite political candidates of some giant corporations nefarious owners?
I started work on a project so that one possible answer is "the output of an ML model trained on your own behavior, with data you control, including some combination of what other news sites think is good, as well as what your friends and trusted contacts think is good."
That project is here: https://www.adze.network/
I didn't crack the network effects upon my first release and had to stop and think about what was really important to me. I'd like to try this again but have not the time nor bandwidth to do so.
I like it! Is the source publicly available?
https://github.com/neyer/ADZE