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What I would have written

dcurt.is

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Re: What I would have written

#31

Post by coldtea »

pauly007 wrote: post #18
coldtea wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>*"Dustin's problem is similar in some respects to an addiction (which he alludes to), so perhaps the solution is treating it as such;" The issue I see with this is that it takes the way we use technology for granted. It's just like saying "that stuff is here to stay, learn to deal with it". Which it is true in practice, but doesn't have to be true necessarily. We could have opted as a society to not tolerate those k…

Placing the emphasis on society, I believe, dilutes the great importance of the decisions of the individual. In life you should take responsibility for your own actions first. The question is more "Is twitter a social problem?" or "Is my twitter use a problem?".

>Placing the emphasis on society, I believe, dilutes the great importance of the decisions of the individual. In life you should take responsibility for your own actions first.

I guess that's also a difference between different country's philosophies.

For me, taking "responsibility for your own actions" is a bad advice when there's stuff that needs to change at the societal level. We wouldn't say that about an issue we deem important, like racism.

We understand there that it's not just what some person believes or not, but also certain general norms, distractions, laws etc that effect this, and we strive to change those.

What I say is that technological change should be seen with the same critical eyes, not just as a inevitable constant each one should put up with or shut up, but as in "do we, as a society want to progress in this or that way? What world would we rather live in?".

Re: What I would have written

#33

Post by prawn »

bigiain wrote: post #7

'and every fucking thing I think about, I also think, “How could I fit that into a tweet that lots of people would favorite or retweet?”' That, as I see it, is the problem – not twitter or 140char limits or any of the other stuff Dustin raises, it's the desire for external validation (and I can't help but imagine him furiously clicking reload on his own blog post to see how fast his Kudos score is climbing…) My takea…

On external validation, I wondered about whether a social network or community with a karma system could fake that validation for each user to motivate content creation or positive sentiment?

e.g., if I actually got 5 upvotes on a HN comment, but HN showed it to me as 54, and then 78 and then 104 on subsequent comments, would I be more likely to contribute more? As a new user, would I be drawn in deeper?

It wouldn't work too well with public validation like Twitter, but it could for something like HN (and /. from memory) where the upvote count is now hidden.

Re: What I would have written

#34

Post by lmm »

snowwrestler wrote: post #19
bigiain wrote: post #7

'and every fucking thing I think about, I also think, “How could I fit that into a tweet that lots of people would favorite or retweet?”' That, as I see it, is the problem – not twitter or 140char limits or any of the other stuff Dustin raises, it's the desire for external validation (and I can't help but imagine him furiously clicking reload on his own blog post to see how fast his Kudos score is climbing…) My takea…

I liked what comedian Louis CK had to say on this subject recently: http://teamcoco.com/video/louis-ck-springsteen-cell-phone My experience is that writing long, insightful pieces of prose is just hard, miserable work. People do it because they feel compelled to, not because it's a fun way to relax. So it's easy to procrastinate or avoid it, especially if there aren't any external demands or deadlines to meet.

>My experience is that writing long, insightful pieces of prose is just hard, miserable work. People do it because they feel compelled to, not because it's a fun way to relax. So it's easy to procrastinate or avoid it, especially if there aren't any external demands or deadlines to meet.

Is it a problem if they don't? There are now many, many insightful essays on the internet; one could spend a lifetime reading them and barely scratch the surface. If you were actually writing for the attention it gets you, rather than for the sake of the writing (and the comment about favourite or retweet makes me think that's his real motivation here), and then you find a more efficient way to get that validation, isn't that a good thing? The internet won't miss what you didn't write.

Re: What I would have written

#35

Post by groundCode »

bigiain wrote: post #7

'and every fucking thing I think about, I also think, “How could I fit that into a tweet that lots of people would favorite or retweet?”' That, as I see it, is the problem – not twitter or 140char limits or any of the other stuff Dustin raises, it's the desire for external validation (and I can't help but imagine him furiously clicking reload on his own blog post to see how fast his Kudos score is climbing…) My takea…

Tricky though, for someone who probably gets paid at least partially because of his social media validation, to not care about it....

Re: What I would have written

#36

Post by bowerbird »

you'll get over the addiction to twitter, and retweets, and likes, and favorites...

you'll realize it's a game, a _stupid_ one, and you'll taper off, and then quit totally, or close enough that you'll feel human again.

before that, you'll ramp up, and ramp up again, chasing dragons, hoping to get the feeling back, -- "smoking more, but enjoying it less?" is how it was put in a classic advertising campaign -- but it won't work, and you'll get sick and tired of the whole thing, and walk away, with a mix of tremendous relief plus an overwhelming sadness.

but walk away you will, and recover you will, and you'll end up older, smarter, and wiser next time.

your first revelation -- i am telling you this so you'll recognize it -- is that addiction made you far too preoccupied with yourself, what you "would" have done, or "could" have, or "should" have, and you'll recognize first that you should just _do_, and second (and more importantly) that you need to pay some attention to the other people around you, who you love, and not dwell so much on yourself...

-bowerbird

Re: What I would have written

#37

Post by bambax »

> And yet I see no solution to this problem.

How hard can it be not to tweet?? I came here just to say this, and saw that many others had just said the same thing, and yet I felt the urge to say it again, myself! O, irony!

Seriously though, Twitter isn't like TV or smoking. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substance there is; TV isn't really addictive, in a medical/chemical sense, but it's so easy -- you sit on the couch and you get distracted by funny/mildly interesting things with sound and images.

But Twitter? You have to make a conscious decision to tweet, it's not a default like TV... Reading tweets is boring, writing tweets is work... How can it be difficult to not do it?

I guess I just don't get it.

Re: What I would have written

#38

Post by jdiez17 »

bambax wrote: post #37

> And yet I see no solution to this problem. How hard can it be not to tweet?? I came here just to say this, and saw that many others had just said the same thing, and yet I felt the urge to say it again, myself! O, irony! Seriously though, Twitter isn't like TV or smoking. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substance there is; TV isn't really addictive, in a medical/chemical sense, but it's so easy -- you sit on…

Since when are TVs "a default"? I don't think I've watched TV in a big while, I don't even remember TVs being generally on around me.

Re: What I would have written

#39

Post by RobertHoudin »

bowerbird wrote: post #36

you'll get over the addiction to twitter, and retweets, and likes, and favorites... you'll realize it's a game, a _stupid_ one, and you'll taper off, and then quit totally, or close enough that you'll feel human again. before that, you'll ramp up, and ramp up again, chasing dragons, hoping to get the feeling back, -- "smoking more, but enjoying it less?" is how it was put in a classic advertising campaign -- but it w…

This is spot-on.

I feel like I have emerged from a long dream, and now I'm walking around, waiting for everyone else to wake up.

Re: What I would have written

#40

Post by pjc50 »

coldtea wrote: post #16
md224 wrote: post #5

"And yet I see no solution to this problem." Dustin's problem is similar in some respects to an addiction (which he alludes to), so perhaps the solution is treating it as such; forcing moderation on himself, or even complete detachment (the cold turkey approach). Of course, being involved in technology means Dustin is essentially an alcoholic working at a brewery, so disengagement may be especially difficult. But to…

>*"Dustin's problem is similar in some respects to an addiction (which he alludes to), so perhaps the solution is treating it as such;" The issue I see with this is that it takes the way we use technology for granted. It's just like saying "that stuff is here to stay, learn to deal with it". Which it is true in practice, but doesn't have to be true necessarily. We could have opted as a society to not tolerate those k…

There's something very Chinese about banning social media with the ostensible goal of encouraging people to focus on their work.

(Also, where do you stop with your "addictive and mind crushing" barrier? Other forums, like HN? Video games? Fiction books? Theatre? "Thought-negating" music?)

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