social media

The joy comes in the pursuit

On Google Plus, one of my muses, I saw that instead of Street photography someone suggested Village photography. I like the idea because villages are such an integral part of my life. Life in villages is a privileged one. Every time we go for a walk we cross people we do not know and say hello. We walk from field to field and along paths. We see which crops have been planted and which ones are being harvested.

Facebook engagement has declined since farmville distracted people away from conversations and towards mindless interactions with games, the sharing of tabloid content and emotional posts. These changes have had an adverse effect on social networks and the way in which we engage with people. I have noted a shift away from individuals towards following “celebrities” and “thought leaders”. Rather than interacting with 300 people on your timeline, becoming engaged and getting to know people well we have moved to a “yelling to be noticed” model.

An advert for Air New Zealand, Boeing 777-300, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, horse riding, New Zealand’s landscape, the three or four passenger classes and of course bungee jumping.

I have started to mute news sources that provide us with headlines that tell us how to feel rather than give us information about the content of the article. On Facebook the alternative would be to unfollow people I have met in person, friends. I prefer to mute news sources and get updates from friends. We will see when social media “experts” and headline writers go back to writing headlines that tell us about the content of articles.

The American blogosphere is corrupt. Google Plus is an excellent product. It provides it’s users with an elegant amount of control as to who sees which post and whom it can be shared with. It provides groups and communities. It allows you to create your own circles. In Essence Google Plus is an extraordinarily flexible space where community building should be encouraged. Why does the American Startuposphere and blogosphere hate Google so much?

Django Django - WOR from Jim Demuth on Vimeo. A well told, well edited short documentary about the people who drive the wall of death.

On the 27th of September CERN invited twelve Social media users to a tweetup. I was among those twelve. We had the rare opportunity to go down and see the tunnels where the LHC carries out it’s experiements. We met with World Wide Web pioneers and we got to listen to interesting experimental and theoretical scientists. This weekend anyone in the area can go to CERN and speak with the scientists in person and see the tools being used for the experiments we have heard so much about over the years.

Bitcoin Explained from Duncan Elms on Vimeo.

Vimeo On Demand: Sell your work, your way from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo. Equipment is going down in price and information on how to produce good quality content is spreading. As a result of both these trends people like Vimeo and youtube can take advantage of the shift. Applying to work for mainstream media is no longer a must. What you do need to find are the right people with the right motivation to work alongside you.