twitter – The Secret Garden

One of the most interesting things about the fall of Vine is that it was unable to keep up with the monetization demands created by other social media platforms. Advertisements have been seeping into every aspect of media possible since their creation. This really set in the true reason why Vine failed, and I remember when it was happening in real time. My friends were concluding that Vine sold out to a larger company, and the creator just wanted the money, but it’s definitely appearing to be more complex than that.

Our podcast research shows that the popular content creators rejected the proposed changes to Vine in a meeting with the executives to discuss the future of the app, causing the monetization of Vine to fail. There were other platforms at the time like YouTube that could house longer videos than the typical 6-second standard for Vine, so the need didn’t fit the wants of the creators. They wanted to keep using Vine for what everyone loved it for, and I wish this could be how “influencers” handled things today. They often utilized social media in ways that the audience loved instead of using it as income (though we all know of some Vine creators who moved on to YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok). And back then, 6 seconds was just enough time to be comical, and quotes from Vines are still used today.

Another thing I’ve been discovering while researching is how much influence Vines continue to have. People will comment on TikTok videos with the phrase “vine energy” and somehow, some way, we as the audience just get it. It makes total sense no matter the genre of video, too. And speaking of Vine in recent events, the hot goss’ in October last year featured Elon Musk proposing the return of the app after he bought Twitter. Of course, like he sorta always does, he talks a lot of talk about it then lets it die out. Does he do this for attention and buzz? Yeah, probably. Its potential revival is definitely something I didn’t know about Vine and learned in my research, so stay tuned for more details in Go Off I Guess: The Rise and Fall of Vine.

Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I hate logging into social media these days because the algorithms are ever-changing and disorienting. Instagram’s feed changed a few years ago, removing the chronological order from the timeline and switching to an algorithmic approach. Facebook has more ads than content when I log in even though I have over 800 friends that I could be reading about. Twitter is beyond unreliable since Musk’s takeover. If I want to learn about what my friends and family are doing, I’d be better off just speaking to them directly and cutting out the middleman that is social media.

We read a few articles this week that discussed the negative impact these algorithms have had on us. Sure, they curate a customized market with products and videos for us as individuals, but they couldn’t be driving us further apart if they tried. Algorithms create a bubble that we’re forced to live in because we can’t escape them. For example, Instagram is under fire for spreading misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether or not they’ll truly face repercussions, I’m unsure, but the only fault is our own.

Profiles following wellness influencers and vaccine opponents were served up posts with false claims about COVID-19 and more aggressive anti-vaccine content, the researchers found.
Shannon Bond, “Instagram Suggested Posts To Users. It Served Up COVID-19 Falsehoods, Study Finds”

We’ve curated the world we live in and if changes need to be made, it starts with us. More and more apps are using algorithms, and we’re slowly realizing that things haven’t improved for the better. Spotify plays the songs we frequently listen to instead of truly using a randomized system when we hit the “shuffle” button. Amazon filters and curates products that are related to previous searches rather than current searches when browsing. YouTube has a continuous loop of videos that slowly derail as we go through them, as seen on YouTube Kids where the autoplay feature cannot be turned off. Technology is being used in ways that have begun to creep into every aspect of our lives. Our phones make it easy to always stay connected, but we’re losing control of our ability to stop and reconnect to the world in front of us.

Automation and algorithms can make our lives easier in many ways, like finding the right item with one search or listening to fascinating podcasts that share knowledge back-to-back. Ordering groceries online and finding music that suits your taste are other great benefits to the developments in technology. Sadly, the reality of the world we live in overwhelms these small benefits. The greed and desire to maximize profit and cultivate recurring customers is a force to be reckoned with for us on the bottom of the food chain that is capitalism. For me, this begs the question: What happens to the billionaire CEOs if the consumers refuse to succumb to their schemes?

Tag: twitter

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