Looking for Conversations in the Age of Facebook Dominance

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A few days ago someone wrote something about chocolate croissants. I then wrote something about Chocolate easter bunnies. A third person then said "please don't have conversations, there are hundreds of people reading this exchange". This is on WhatsApp. WhatsApp is, or at least was, an IM client. For those of a certain age an IM client is a conversation app. It's the type of app that includes AIM, ICQ, Messenger, Skype and many, many more apps. Its raison d'être is to encourage conversations.

That we were told "avoid having conversations on a WhatsApp group is a post COVID absurdity. Before COVID we had communities for hiking, and climbing, and diving and more. It was expected that when we weren't in physical proximity, able to converse with each other, that we would chat via WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and more. Utilitiarians said, "Don't you ducking dare, this is for work, we must not have a high follow cost by posting too much, this should be to make money". Since 2007 or so I said "But what is the ROI for human beings, if social media is just for PR firms?

The Social Media landscape today, and WhatsApp use illustrates what happens when user ROI is forgotten about. ROI is Return on Investment. Now, the wrap on the knuckles didn't really bother me. It's ordinary. What bothered me is two voice messages, both 30-40 seconds long. If the person had written something with text I would have remained within the running group. Audio messages make me anxious.

WhatsApp is a written platform, not audio. I quit the group.

I don't want to repeat myself. For me WhatsApp, Instagram are social networks. For me, by limiting conversations on WhatsApp, and pushing user generated crap by strangers, WhatsApp and Instagram are not being used as they should be.

During week days I deal with solitude. Social networks, before they became social media, and WhatsApp before it became a cheap version of Meetup.com were great places for communities to chat, for single people, or people in solitude.

In the age of ever increasing loneliness I think that social networks, that temporarily became social media, were a fantastic place to chat, and forget about solitude.

I really miss having a place where I could discuss what to do with a group this weekend. I would love to have a full blown conversation, exploring ideas for a hike or two this weekend.

A week or two ago, if we could have discussed a hike for two weekend, and this weekend I am sure that the weekends would have been less solitary. This weekend just one hike is planned, which is why I want to try a bike ride.

And Finally

Yesterday I looked at the logistics for a hike tomorrow that I will not join, because I don't want to catch five or six buses and travel for two to three hours each way. While writing this blog post I looked at the logistics for another hike that I could do on Sunday, except that it is meant to rain from Midday onwards, with a chance of lightning. Light rain isn't an issue. A storm is.

And Finally, if it wasn't for the audio messages sent to me by DM in the running group I could have considered going for a run tomorrow, except that it would be absurd to make the physical effort to go and see a group that can't make the virtual effort to read a few IMs. There is a group doing a via ferrata but I am avoiding it for similar reasons.