Facebook, OurNet and the Future of Social Media: Treat it Like Food
"I hate FB like millions but still can’t find a better alternative..." says friend 'Hitch Bo' on Facebook earlier today.
Another solemnly declares on her timeline: "Bear with me on this one please and read to the end. After careful consideration, I have decided I will be leaving Facebook. I do not want to be associated with any organisation that may have allowed my data to be used in election warfare, without my consent. I also continue to be unhappy about a lot of its tolerance of seriously questionable activity on its pages.
I know social media is relatively new on the scene, but it needs to be regulated and to be more responsible in its own right. It is possible that Facebook was not aware of what was going on behind the scenes with Cambridge Analytica, but in that case, they need to police content more carefully or face serious consequences.
These latest revelations are a BIG warning to us all about how we are unwittingly being used as pawns in the political and commercial fields. It’s also a BIG opportunity for social media and regulating authorities to sort themselves out."
As for me, I change my cover photo:
These are strange and challenging times in the early life of Social Media with #uncertainty, #cynicism and #mistrust being the keywords that might describe this wobbly toddler whose parent, the Internet, is itself barely out of its teens.
We are new to this. It's been fun. It's becoming un-fun. And no one really knows where to go next.
Facebook's latest revelations, are for some, the last straw. Other networks are available. More are destined to follow. But no clear course of action is presenting itself, because we're at the frontier, collectively laying the track as we go along - whilst the train is moving at high speed and we - the creators and consumers of social media - are the passengers. Those in the driving seat are watching us (to creepy levels, as well as selling the data to others) and all we can do is bang on the cab door, hoping to be heard, regarding direction, development and regulation.
To my #fexit-ing friend I say: "I fully support and applaud your course of action Annie." And by way of a shameless plug for my own project, shoehorn in: "...it further validates what we'll be doing at OurNet. I will be following you through the virtual exit."
I also add: "One thing I feel minded to say is that regarding regulation, I think WE are the ones we've been waiting for (to coin a phrase) to self-regulate this new world. The technology is emerging for what I call 'peer refinement', and one thing has become clear - we can't trust anyone motivated by lust for power and money to suddenly be good at regulation. We need to be able to regulate and govern ourselves as communities."
As OurNet's 'Town Crier', I'm predictably loud and attention-seeking. To counter my more dramatic and drastic sensibilities, I consult with Founder and CEO Michael Brodie, who's always good for a calming and wise perspective:
"There is nothing wrong with social media. It is one of the biggest gifts to take the world into an exciting new phase," he says reassuringly. "What doesn't work well is that our most popular social media companies are stuck with a paradox: Appearing to be focused on creating lovely social interactions, but actually being there to provide maximum return to shareholders."
He adds: "People who are wealthy and want to get their own way can surreptitiously manipulate and thus control the rest of us. Is this the road we should be going down?"
I think we can all respond with a big fat 'NO!' Unless of course we are wealthy, and want to surreptitiously manipulate and control others!
"OurNet is about doing away with big data, about encouraging powerful communities, and bringing forward a world based on human connection. That has to be a better way," he warmly concludes.
From my point-of-view, I think we need to see social media like food. We love, and need, food. We have loved the first iterations of social media and even though we might not need it, it does satisfy and fulfill many of our needs. The way I see it, both food and social media have become victim to the amorality of big business.
Where it took food hundreds of years to fall prey to cold, corporate malevolence - where fewer and fewer benefit at the expense of more and more - social media has done that in less than a decade. Or more accurately, that has been done TO social media and the consequences are becoming more obvious.
Those seeking to reclaim food into a shape and quality once again fit for human consumption have, over the last few decades, sought to make it - among other things - local, organic, trusted and kind. These, for me, are the foundational principles of the new social media; what I think underlies our approach at OurNet. And perhaps it'll only take months for social media to enjoy a similar renaissance given that we have a working , albeit work-in-progress, model from the revolution in food consciousness.
What we put in our hearts and minds must surely be comparable to what we choose to put in our bodies. Is it satisfaction, nourishment and well-being that we want from our social interactions online? Or will we tolerate and put up with the equivalent of diabetes, cancer and obesity? We know we can do better, be better. But will we?
It's up to us. The future of social media - and its values - will, I hope, be shaped by caring and powerful communities and not by rugged and self-serving individuals. We seem collectively sick of this metaphorical 1%. The cold-blooded minority who gain at the expense of we, who they see as 'Big Data', who can be manipulated and used as a commodity.
Tackling and defusing 'them', and their power, cannot be done alone. We need each other. We need to work together. Did someone say 'powerful communities'?! It's time to go local, natural, kind and trust-worthy. If it's good enough for food, it's good enough to restore our faith in truly social media.
More about OurNet here - http://www.ournet.news
OurNet promotional video:
The horror of 'Big Data and Psychographics':