http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2010/09/cognitive-slaves.html
I have some trouble with Mr. Robb's logic, but I do feel that he makes a point.
Blogging, and it's retarded siblings twitter and facebook are, at their core, vanities. The create spaces where individuals can have a small audience. These are the dedicated core users that Mr. Robb speaks of.
But to say that these users create the value might be a bit of a stretch. In a sad way, the social networks are the emotional equivalent of beauty contests and high school student body elections. It is an arena where an individuals can carve out a readership and a following for their vanity. I am not at all certain that it creates worth.
The Trap Mr. Robb falls into is the one embodied in a crude viewing of labor theory of value, where the labor that someone puts into something defines it's value. There is no discussion of the skill of the labor, there is no discussion of the quality of the output.
I don't think that social networking is anything other than a fad. It will go the way of cruising and disco, a monument, carried on by some odd enthusiasts, imbedded an a culture that has moved beyond it.
1 comment:
You say social networking will "go the way of discos and cruising," but did either of those go away? Or are they just called different things now? And hasn’t social networking (and the internet in general) been the biggest boon to cruising since . . . discos? As to Vanity: I agree it’s a driving force behind social networking/ blogs, but Vanity’s not ephemeral. Vanity and the hunger for attention are constants, as are loneliness and the need to communicate. You can depend on them. The current platforms may pass and be superseded, but I expect social networking will carry on (in whatever forms) as long the internet is there to enable it. Kind of like Discos may fade, but all manner of clubs, pubs, nightspots and watering holes that fill similar needs remain. I do hope the Twitter fad passes, it’s the dumbest thing since Pet Rocks.
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