I belong to some social (sic) sites, having joined in the hope of having some grown up conversations, discussions or arguments. What a laugh! Instead, I discovered the secret new rules of social sites:-
- Never say anything contrary
- Never make the mistake that free speech exists on the site
- Never post a question in response to a platitude
- Never play devil’s advocate
- Never post anything that requires thought
- If you have nothing to say – post an ad
- If you post an ad – do it every day
- Never answer what appears to be a question
- Never have an opinion, even if you have to say “Ooh Lovely” to opposing posts
- Don’t let one or two good conversations fool you into thinking they are the norm
- If you seek popularity, play all the available games
- If you have an opinion, keep it to yourself unless it conforms. Even then, count to a million before posting it.
- ABOVE ALL, DON’T BE DIFFERENT! Most of the other members won’t understand.
I have had a few, some ongoing, conversations and discussions but have been desperately disappointed in the shallowness of most of the content of these sites. It seems that people no longer want to engage in anything but that vainglorious hobby of internet marketing (aka – spamming) and even they cannot be original in their approach. So many of them post the same ads day after day after day after day.
In the real world when someone asks how you are, it is seen as polite to say “I’m fine, how are you” – this appears to be the level of engagement that is now required in social sites.
What a waste of two vast resources – the internet and the opinions of the people using it.