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It won't kill you, there is no permanent record and it's a painless way to support writers
Long before I began to cast pods (https://messytimes.show), I have worked in data science, machine learning and a range of big data analytics.
You know why producers of TV shows featuring otherwise vapid, boring “real” people pay companies to go to online platforms to create or gain “followers,” “likes” and “clicks?” Because the algorithms which choose what to highlight on platforms all reward “engagement.”
That’s the big thing to be aware of.
I find it hilarious when watching a YouTube video that has 800,000 views that it has 12,765 “likes” and 127 comments. Do people who bother to give a creator 20 minutes of their time really weigh in their minds, “Do I want to go on record as liking this video I just gave 20 minutes of my time to…? This is a big, very consequential decision…” No, no it’s not.
Hit the damned LIKE button. It’s literally the least you can do to reward someone who has taken the time to entertain you. Or if you are angry at the 20 minutes of your life wasted that you cannot get back, hit DISLIKE and leave an angry comment.
This was driven home to me recently. I wrote a piece critiquing assholes like some jackass named Laurence Tribe who - with zero evidence whatsoever - the moment the Paul Pelosi attack was announced began SCREAMING on Twitter and elsewhere that somehow “Republicans” were to blame. I called out these irresponsible twits spreading pointless partisan hate because their idiocy is damaging society.
As I am on a group list for another, but related sort of mission, I posted to that group a request that - if so inclined - I’d appreciate people on that list comment on my substack article.
The very nice thing was many of them did read and comment on the piece - but they did so by hitting “reply” on the group email list, NOT doing what I meant, which was after reading the piece on substack, to write a comment on the article in the comment field on substack. Not one person clicked “like” either.
My concern is not a tweenager popularity concern - it’s that the best way to amplify voices and opinions online is by demonstrable engagement; the ranking algorithms which at the microsecond level rank and re-rank articles don’t know to “value” an article if 500,000 people merely look at an article and nod in offline agreement if none of those 500,000 people who enjoyed the piece bother to move their mouse a bit to click “like” or “heart” or “share.”
It was informative to get their thoughts, but I’d also have liked their thoughts to be part of the public discussion for others to read and react to.
Now, are we all chasing the same “higher engagement” unicorn if everyone does what I ask? Sure, but to the extent you want any voice amplified that you agree with or even value for its intelligent opposition, how do you do anything other than instantly click “like” on it? Really - you’ve already navigated to the page. Do people think clicking like is a binding endorsement of their judgment and aesthetics which will be laid out on St. Peter’s Holy Totally-Judgey Clipboard when they die?
And if you REALLY HATE what the person has written or taped, hit “dislike” if available and write a long, scathing critique of the topic, author, speaker, his or her dentition - whatever. So long as the post or video gets ENGAGEMENT, it will enjoy greater dissemination.
As I wrote to my friends and colleagues on the purpose-driven group email list, I assume those who take time to write and speak publicly are doing so for a reason. Talking amongst ourselves is 99% of the time an intelligent echo chamber but from a larger view of having an impact on public issues of import, it’s useless unless my audience grows. My whole purpose in maintaining a public facing presence is to draw a line in stone, filled with steel to say “The Wuhan Panic was manufactured bullshit. There is an entire apparatus which delivers benefits to its insiders by lying to and manipulating the sheeple. Don’t believe the hype.” If that voice remains a mosquito’s fart in a hurricane, I can move on to other things.
If, say, very few people are interested in picking up what I’m laying down, then so be it. I only ask that if you have an interest in supporting any ideas or writers that you find valuable in the public square, that you at least understand the rules which guide how information is valued and prioritized on the platforms we use.
If you’ve made it this far, hit like, subscribe, forward to others and leave a comment.
The future of a Free Republic just may depend on it.