Stealing Moments
Dialog needs time.
I’m horrible at:
- Social Media
- Messaging
Why? It takes me too long to reply, I’m inconsistent, and I’m often overwhelmed with the amount of content to consume and the low signal to noise ratio. Especially when I’m around the kids, it’s hard to keep on top of these three items while giving thought to what I’m saying.
It’s only when I think I have enough time to properly think about a response that I’ll actually write one. I’ll put on my Tomato Timer and just hunker down on email and messaging responses. Social media is almost always reserved for stuck in line situations or visiting one person’s Facebook page as I know they have interesting content (I have Feed Eliminator on my computer and it has been a blessing).
I’ve been thinking about this more after listening to Jack Dorsey on Joe Rogan (the second interview). I feel for Jack. He wants to create this platform for conversations as opposed to a Tay-radicalizing cesspool. The best think Jack did for this platform was to increase the character count. While I don’t think it changed the underlying reason people read tweets (i.e. entertain me quickly with something pithy!), at least it allows for a little more nuance to be added. Short posts will always go to the extreme for a soundbite so maybe have a minimum post size of 140 characters rather than the original maximum?
If we’re going to have our minds changed, we need to think. Thinking takes time and focus. It’s probably better for platforms that want to be more respectful places to encourage this slowing down. It won’t come from stealing moments.
