I choose, therefore I am

I've rediscovered some long forgotten joys since I signed up for SpaceHey yesterday, and even if my mind and thoughts are undoubtedly clouded by nostalgia and a longing for simpler times, certain ideas sprang up in my mind, and I think there is truth to them. I'd like to share these with you, hoping that together we can plant even more new seeds and promote healthier growth in our online communities.

One of the biggest takeaways is the difference when compared to the passive consumption on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (or basically any other social network out there at the moment). Here I am not presented with an infinite amount of content for me to scroll through, I actively have to seek it out. In doing that my relationship with the network and the content available throughout it changes from a reactive one to a proactive one. It becomes an experience more similar to browsing wikipedia for example, guided by curiosity and a genuine sense of exploration. I haven't been able to find the right words so far to explain it in writing, but experiencing it first-hand is a visceral feeling where the contrast between the two approaches is instantly felt, one feels empty and passive, the other engaging and exciting.

Adding the like button may have boosted engagement, MAUs (Monthly Active Users), profits and so much else. Algorithms that choose what content to show us did the same. Having tried SpaceHey which lacks these features, what's painfully obvious is that we didn't ask for them, they (and others) were imposed on us to promote the growth of these platforms while disregarding our real needs. They may have boosted some internal metrics and to some extent were justified as a "nice" thing for users, but because of their "success", these "features" were doubled-down on, optimized further and eventually led us to the AI-driven, mostly passive-consumerism, infinity pools that social networks are today.

Likewise, standardization (across the board) led to successes, many principally of business value, for the big companies dominating the space. It inevitably led to a loss of individuality however, a digital communism if you will. Users were forced to express themselves in pre-approved formats, that gradually got more and more standardized and limited to the point where today you can't even make the text in your Facebook posts bold (you can choose from a predefined set of stickers though!). To what end has it been? Moderation is as hot of a topic as it ever was, with no definitive solution in sight, in the meantime we jump on every new app that let us express ourselves more, only to fall victim to the all powerful algorithms that ultimately decide which content actually reaches people.

There's been a trend in the last few years of longing for the "old internet", places like Yahoo! GeoCities, personal blogs and yes, Myspace profiles, where individuals, rather than big organized groups, were the producers of content. Places where somebody with minimal technical knowledge could put pencil to paper and create something unique that reflected who they were, and where others were actually inclined to discover their creations. Nowadays everything is (or isn't) found through an algorithm (whether the almighty Google Search or a social network's own ranking algorithm) and the services that allowed this kind of content to be created in the first place have either shut down or followed the money and moved on.

SpaceHey seems to bring back what made those original services special, introducing both an instrument through which pages can be created and a vibrant platform that allows their discovery. My SpaceHey profile requires almost no scrolling, yet I get to convey my own message to you, in the format that I choose. There is an incredible sense of empowerment and liberty in this approach. I can see this as a place where I can connect with people, a starting point when it comes to connecting with the world at large, a place I can call home knowing full well that I will have to leave in order to explore, since after all, there is no endless wall to scroll through.

A massive thank you to An who, by bringing us back to simpler roots showed in such a powerful way how far we have strayed. Wow, can you feel how fresh the air is here! I wish you all the best on this adventure, luck in facing the obstacles that you'll encounter and on filling up those "coming soon" pages (let me know if you need help!).

I don't know how long it'll last, but in a way, it doesn't matter.