It’s not the infographics on the page that interest me, rather it’s the trend of emphasizing a user’s popularity on the network. Lamentably, I think this metric will come to define the experience for the next generation of social networks. I fear that the internet’s utility for many people will equate to constant awareness of one’s value, and the play of meaningless games to increase the sum. This in turn will render many networks impersonal and irrelevant. Like a candidate’s bid speech for high school class presidency, I fear my Tumblr dashboard will become padded with ‘popular stuff’ sure to garner votes rather than the intimate, vulnerable and quirky bits that I’ve enjoyed, and define Tumblr’s personality.
I’m disappointed by Tumblarity, and Ashton’s follower count for the same reasons. I liked the Internet better when it was nebulous, and now I’m depressed that it shaping up to be a social pyramid.
A very important point from Zach. Like it or not, the online trend of ranking as a measure of self worth is here to stay….largely beacuse it’s not a new concept. Man is a self conscious being. Since the dawn of time, he has judged himself through the eyes of others. The internet simply amplifies this phenomenon.
That said, there are some, and always have been, that rise above the noise and have a sense of self that is transcendant. The scholar, philosopher, teacher, rabbi, priest, oracle, yogi — every culture, religion, creed has them. I’m not going to get into specific examples here, nor will I debate whether these archetypes truly transcend, but the *idea* is certainly prevalent. And oftentimes it is actually found in those that appear simplest in their desires — the farmer, the traveler, the proud grandfather.
Most will fall prey to the allure of online popularity (myself included). But we will increasingly need a break. An intimate, disconnected, personal space — a Sabbath of sorts, pick your form or fashion — that allows for time to think, breath and reflect.
And I wonder whether part of that space will be found on the web or will it need to be entirely divorced from it. I expect there to increasingly be a fair bit of ‘contra-innovation’ on the web around this notion of intimate spaces. Curious to see what bubbles up here.
reblogged from zachklein
Post Notes
-
mhunter liked this
-
tylerhwillis liked this
-
gean liked this
-
triplep reblogged this from zachklein
-
xojana reblogged this from laruthless
-
laruthless reblogged this from zachklein
-
showsimissed liked this
-
momentsoftransience reblogged this from jessicabigarel and added:
My thoughts exactly. I’ve caught myself checking my tumblarity far too many times since it was introduced.
-
caseypugh liked this
-
trentoria liked this
-
protected6th liked this
-
trmw liked this
-
sunkenteeth liked this
-
tumbilarity reblogged this from zachklein
-
tumbilarity reblogged this from nrbd
-
headunderwater liked this
-
kevindavidcrowe liked this
-
sagittharris liked this
-
thegongshow liked this
-
nabeel reblogged this from langer and added:
The latest dustup...Tumblarity has my fellow office-mate Langer saying that by boiling...
-
bvp663 reblogged this from zachklein
-
singulus liked this
-
thewebbedfootcontessa reblogged this from somethingchanged
-
mark liked this
-
ksen liked this
-
somephotosofsomethangs liked this
-
brettwestnedge liked this
-
hiten liked this
-
marc10 liked this
-
atmachine liked this
-
darknessfalls reblogged this from caro
-
lepanopticon liked this
-
breakyoselffool reblogged this from caro
-
arabesque liked this
-
okaymeredith liked this
-
ink-on-the-page reblogged this from imjustlikeme and added:
My tumblr will never become this. I loathe the new “tumblarity” more than I can possibly say. I will ignore it’s...
-
jacob liked this
-
indieandyy liked this
-
devinahanna liked this
-
imjustlikeme reblogged this from somethingchanged
-
psychedenique reblogged this from zachklein
-
essayons liked this
-
jaundicedeye reblogged this from langer and added:
Quoted for truth, but...think that’s sadly fairly universal — not just limited to social...
-
skimmingthesurface liked this
-
lightstealer liked this
-
crowth liked this
-
electronicalrattlebag liked this
-
fuzzyrush liked this
-
lanipauli liked this
-
resoulution liked this
-
datatimesemotion liked this
-
somethingchanged reblogged this from zachklein
-
tjpytheas reblogged this from mokoyfman
-
jonascarlsson liked this
-
ghostheart liked this
-
blackwhiteandcolour reblogged this from unicornology
-
samsantos liked this
-
milkdrop reblogged this from unicornology
-
spinlighted liked this
-
justintang reblogged this from caitlinoppermann and added:
Thumbs up for this.
-
jmarie3 liked this
-
tumblaritysucks reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Zach Klein explains why...failing proposition
-
mopostal liked this
-
texturism liked this
-
webadd liked this
-
davemorin reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Zach has some good things to say here. And, after having given this some thought, I agree with what a lot
-
thakker liked this
-
randomjoey reblogged this from jessicabigarel
-
thresca liked this
-
iris-lee liked this
-
lessin reblogged this from jessicabigarel
-
zebrapoo reblogged this from zachklein and added:
is why Twitter sucks (now)
-
debbiestier reblogged this from jratlee
-
peterstichbury liked this
-
mikhailovna liked this
-
re-blogger reblogged this from alla1
-
ananthy liked this
-
chrasy liked this
-
dreamarchitect liked this
-
reillybrennan liked this
-
paulm reblogged this from zachklein
-
matthewvandoren reblogged this from caitlinoppermann
-
randyhaddock liked this
-
yummeh reblogged this from caro
-
cupcakenation liked this
-
lafuguedantoine liked this
-
escaperoutes liked this
-
mumblelard liked this
-
morgenstern reblogged this from langer
-
willw liked this
-
blondesnotbombs liked this
-
6ixpassions reblogged this from zachklein and added:
was not sure how...this new feature...Tumblr. The...
-
zzellers reblogged this from catbird and added:
Unfortunately, sometimes I feel like I subscribe to that mentality. Like when Jakob Lodwick started following me I got...
-
billybrown liked this
-
wiesen liked this
-
alla1 reblogged this from caitlinoppermann and added:
rarrmi:davidtrawin:zachklein:
-
jonhorwitz liked this
-
sostark reblogged this from zachklein and added:
second this. Arbitrary stats just lead...petty popularity contests where
-
caitlinoppermann reblogged this from rarrmi and added:
I wholeheartedly agree. I think this is a move in the wrong direction.
-
krislane reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Secret Enemy Hideout
-
annieisms liked this
-
rachiecakies liked this
-
hoppyamy liked this
-
jnrrrrrry liked this
-
coffeemakescreative liked this
-
purplediculous liked this
-
aparticularpath reblogged this from jessicabigarel
-
nerf liked this
-
dannywen liked this
-
autobhan liked this
-
jeffgiddens reblogged this from mokoyfman and added:
I guess this goes back to Marco’s recent post...“Why do you blog?” If I had
-
artistspaid liked this
-
mokoyfman reblogged this from zachklein and added:
A very important point from Zach. Like it or not,...measure of self worth is here
-
thebronzemedal liked this
-
stuffaboutminneapolis liked this
-
colinkloecker reblogged this from langer
-
nrbd reblogged this from langer and added:
Matt Langer, referring to a (great) post by...this new Tumbilarity mess:
-
razzle-dazzle liked this
-
justine liked this
-
cosmopsis liked this
-
webbunny liked this
-
marho liked this
-
gooseppie liked this
-
sometimesagreatnotion liked this
-
langer reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Zach makes an important point about...personal publishing
-
meganmcisaac liked this
-
grutty liked this
-
kushitokiku liked this
-
waffleghost liked this
-
meredithbklyn liked this
-
webravebees reblogged this from nerdology
-
sharibody liked this
-
moltenmich liked this
-
courtneyc liked this
-
ashliej liked this
-
davidwoods liked this
-
yvynyl liked this
-
lammer liked this
-
simpleagent liked this
-
ydek liked this
-
jasonmcc liked this
-
jessicabigarel reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Zach’s thoughts below. Also, Check out dpstyles’s thoughts...Feltronification
-
djnewstyle liked this
-
rand0mflora liked this
-
jeninla reblogged this from dpstyles
-
superamit liked this
-
mcahill liked this
-
fattynatty liked this
-
sasha-em liked this
-
rgrjnr liked this
-
halffiction liked this
-
ninakix liked this
-
wickedwickedmonkey reblogged this from nerdology
-
romeojulietsierra liked this
-
redorangeorangeonred liked this
-
yewknee liked this
-
zackgilbert liked this
-
misssilk reblogged this from dubliner and added:
I kind of feel bad still going...about this ‘cause I’m sure everyone’s sick of hearing...
-
nerdology reblogged this from davidtrawin and added:
Because I cannot say it better:...It’s not the infographics on the page that interest me,...
-
ericstrauss liked this
-
jon-kyle liked this
-
gschueler liked this
-
rinsespin liked this
-
brianvan reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Agree in spirit, but I’ll repeat...thought from yesterday which seems
-
deplorableword reblogged this from catbird and added:
What’s interesting is that Tumblr have revealed the mechanics of what makes us popular, I know that if you all reblog...
-
yeahmon liked this
-
hardcorefornerds liked this
-
standardgrey liked this
-
originalmaterial reblogged this from davidtrawin
-
lizistwentythree liked this
-
pgwp reblogged this from catbird and added:
This whole reaction of “tumblr’s lame now because I can see statistical analysis of whether people are reading my blog”...
-
angad liked this
-
jstn liked this
-
mfs reblogged this from zachklein and added:
tipped by markyb
-
darrellsilver liked this
-
catbird reblogged this from zachklein and added:
functions exactly like the internet as...whole (see Digg, Linkbait, Trolling, Obsession...
-
cantfocus liked this
-
peterfeld liked this
-
hereblog liked this
-
katiegeha liked this
-
goosebumpmusic reblogged this from caro
-
saucy liked this
-
kylewritescode liked this
-
markyb reblogged this from davidtrawin and added:
I agree completely. Placing the follower count on the dashboard was the first step in transforming what was once a...
-
jennifermorris liked this
-
sunlightandamocha liked this
-
adamiss reblogged this from caro
-
rarrmi reblogged this from davidtrawin and added:
Agreed. Measuring someone’s “worth” isn’t as simple as counting how many assholes have read your “deep” quote.
-
sarahchristine liked this
-
amandalynferri liked this
-
azspot liked this
-
dubliner reblogged this from zachklein
-
caro reblogged this from zachklein
-
davidtrawin reblogged this from zachklein
-
david liked this
-
jratlee reblogged this from zachklein and added:
i really didn’t want to bring this discussion into my blog but i feel like it’s important.
-
notentirely liked this
-
noraleah liked this
-
mattlehrer reblogged this from zachklein and added:
Zach Yes, exactly.
-
sailingonthesea reblogged this from zachklein
-
tightgrip reblogged this from zachklein
-
zachklein reblogged this from dpstyles and added:
interest me, rather it’s the trend...user’s popularity
-
christmasgorilla liked this
-
therealjanelle liked this
-
msg liked this
-
marsbot liked this
-
dpstyles posted this