A Social Media Fairy Tale
A Social Media Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, there was a building of giant proportions. Towering over the WORLD, it was spreading words of unquestionable TRUTH. The little people living down in the valley were listening intently.
In their little homes they were sitting in front of their little boxes – receiving words of unquestionable TRUTH. The little people would not ask and doubt, because their little boxes would not listen. Depending on their little boxes to tell them about the TRUTH and the WORLD, they were locked in their little homes.
In spite of being locked into his little home, there was a little kid having BIG DREAMS. He did not care about TRUTH and the WORLD. He turned away from the little box and looked to the CLOUD outside his window. There were a lot of faces to be found amidst the CLOUD – and they were happily exchanging thoughts and feelings. Opening the window of his little home, the little kid took flight – and left the WORLD. Because the unquestionable TRUTH was: YOU ARE LITTLE. But he didn't care.
And he tweeted happily ever after.
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Opening the window to Social Media
I enjoyed the social aspects of the internet early-on. Being part of the Austrian Ö3 online community was quite popular back in 1998. Social interactions were relying on the usage of internet handles – like masks you could wear to protect yourself from any real-world repercussions.
Being someone else was also a big incentive for playing Ultima Online on a free server. I enjoyed the online companionship of fellows all over German-speaking Europe. We co-created a virtual world – built ourselves an enjoyable place in cyberspace called Mystical Islands. Some of us would be players, others would be game masters as well. Not only creating characters, cityscapes and cultures: but also creating MEANINGFUL MOMENTS. Moments, that would make great stories back then.
I think Social Media create SPACEs to express ourselves. To meet and live. Although our Ultima Online experience was not as far spread as Facebook, I still think both serve similar purposes. Facebook is a virtual world too. You look through a rectangular screen and see its features – like a spiritual MEDIUM (think ghost whisperer) staring through a crytal ball. We see faces, opinions, interesting pictures. But the content does not come from the media vendor. It comes from the users.
We can also take a look at the game-like aspects of Social Media. Jon Puleston already wrote something regarding the game mechanics of Social Media. Comparing Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – and how their rule systems function.
Some examples of game-like pride in users of Social Media:
“I have MORE friends than you.”
“My latest tweet got RTed 10 times!”
“The photos of our new dog got liked 40 times!”
“The hashtag I created got used a lot!”
“Lady Gaga accepted my friend request!”
Social media games revolve around personal impact. Are my ideas attractive/witty enough, so people will pick them up? Do people care about my thoughts? Are they entertained? Are they frustrated? How can I get this celebrity to (openly) reply to me?
Users make games out of social interaction all the time. Most of the time we would not think about our behavior in the context of games. It is much like Jesse Schell wrote in his book The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses – “Play is manipulation that indulges curiosity.”
It is all about unspeakingly asking questions: Can we make it? Are we truly able to affect our environment? Are we able to make others believe in our thoughts?
The social spreading of messages (or polemically spoken TRUTH) is nothing new. In fact, the archaic nature of personal communication and association with one another (clique, peer groups, clan, family) has much to do with the rampant spreading of todays Social Media. Being locked into the role of information consumer did not feel natural to me. I had to speak my mind; and I still do it almost every time I watch TV. If TV is denying me my ability to TALK BACK, Twitter is an option. Twitter is a myriad of fleeting voices and chaotic babbling; but if you take your time and tune into certain hashtags, you might catch a glimpse of what people think.
It even made the #ESC Eurovision Song Contest entertaining.
kianamaiart
gamechangershow
tangentwithtanner
dailybridgerton
