Miika von Bell writes on his blog:
What I hate the most about internet these days is the fact that there is advertisement everywhere in some form or another. Google results are full of advertisement, YouTube is full of advertisement, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and even almost all of the websites online are full of advertisement….
To keep these content creators adding content to platforms, they are being paid if people are consuming their content. So, where does this money come from? Yes, usually from advertisement.
This is a well written blog that covers the basics well. Social network platforms are geared for algorithmic pattern matching around content, which they assume is “best for the user”. Twitter is being refashioned to serve as a medium for “hanging out” but it does nothing in real life. Retweets/likes are only triggers for affirmation that solidify your beliefs and you lose touch with reality. It is about time for everyone else to wake up and get off it. Unless the departmental rules (or personal vanity) mandate it. Both are inescapable.
It is hard to put a lens on the future. As social networks are increasingly embroiled in polarisation and politicisation, there is a clear path for personal curation/private groups and discussion without the glare of the public eye. I have been advocating Telegram as a reliable medium (so far) and Threema application (as the back up).
RadOncNotes 