Have you watched
/the social dilemma_ on Netflix yet? It’s a fascinating look at how social networks and the largest technology companies of our age have been designed, from the ground up, to commoditize
us.
It’s called a “docu-drama” partly because many aspects of the film and portrayal of social networks are dramatized – there is no room full of guys who are personally watching everything you do and queuing up specific notifications or ads to control you. But it’s also fair to say that even the documentary portions of the film are complete with their fair share of drama.
The film is based on the commentary and testimony of a number of people – mostly engineers and ex-executives from the companies in question (Facebook, Pinterest, Google, etc.). As they share their experiences and observations, they also share quite a few conclusions and warnings which must be considered carefully. An opinion, even an informed one, is still just an opinion.
I completely agree with many of the observations, and was particularly interested in how the apps and experiences have been engineered based on human psychology. I’m also reminded of how many other people, for years actually, have preached about how toxic social media is.
Yet here’s the thing… social networks themselves aren’t toxic no matter how they’re engineered. When people say networks are toxic, or the experiences on networks are toxic, they’re really talking about their own unique connections. They log into Facebook and look at their feed and see post after post of complaints, rants, and general negativity, and so of course they conclude Facebook is toxic.
Imagine, though, if you only connected with people who choose to share positive, helpful, interesting posts and information. What if the people you followed were mindful of what they shared to social and sought to help you be a better person. How might your day and life benefit?
And the truth is, you can actually achieve that. It’s up to you who you connect with or follow on social networks. And when it comes to networks like Facebook where we’ve been conditioned to connect with literally everyone we know, regardless of how or what they share, there are Unfollow and Unfriend and even Block options!
Use them!
As we hurtle toward another U.S. election that really is the mist divisive and negative this country has ever experienced, protecting one’s own sanity and perspective is critical. I regularly curate my social connections and also carefully engage with only those people and posts that would want to see more of, and the result is an experience that is enjoyable and beneficial on every platform.
Oh, sorry, I’m Mike Allton, and this is my new newsletter and podcast!
Some of you have been with me for ages and it’s fair to say, have never received a proper newsletter from me, and certainly have never heard me record a podcast. That ends today!
What’s a proper newsletter?
Well, for starters, I have to commit to sending this, uh, newsletter, on the regular. I can’t just send one whenever I have something new to sell or new that’s published. This will be a weekly thing where I share some thoughts, some resources, and hopefully some tremendous value.
And that last point kinda stole the thunder from my second point, which is that this newsletter needs to share a variety of things. I’ve broken it out into some fun sections but the gist of ’em is that each week you’ll get some new articles to read or training to attend, some examples of how I’m partnering or collaborating with other colleagues or brands, some upcoming events, something funny, and some junk.
“This deal just keeps getting worse all the time.”
Please don’t sweat it if this doesn’t sound like your thing. Just hit that unsubscribe link at the bottom and I promise not to send a bounty hunter after you. On the other hand, you might just be thinking that this is the absolute best thing to hit your Inbox since The Mandalorian trailer, and you’d be spot on. In that case, don’t hesitate to forward this to all your mates.
Either way, enjoy the resources below and what’s left of your weekend.
Cheers!
Mike
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