20 votes

What Facebook has done to us

14 comments

  1. [2]
    0d_billie
    Link
    Disclaimer: I'm only about half an hour into this 3-hour long video. I really enjoy Tantacrul's work. He has some great videos on various musical topics, and takes a look at notation software...

    Disclaimer: I'm only about half an hour into this 3-hour long video.

    I really enjoy Tantacrul's work. He has some great videos on various musical topics, and takes a look at notation software through the lens of a software designer, and invariably humorously skewers the design decisions made for such big beasts of applications. Recently he's leaned away from critiquing visual design and has put his time into being the lead designer for MuseScore and (more recently) Audacity. Videos still come out from him, and I've enjoyed all of his most recent ones. They're very well researched and presented.

    While I haven't yet gotten to the stage of finding out how (if at all) this particular essay links to being a musician, I have a strong suspicion that it will be a lively presentation of key issues surrounding trying to build and maintain a social media following as an artist as the platforms currently operate. In short, it's pretty shitty, and you're never guaranteed that your content will be served to all of your fans in a timely manner (or at all). I hate the reliance on social media as a musician, and I hate that it's basically the only game in town for growing your audience.

    Thus far, he's been talking about the history of Facebook, and how it rose to prominence, differentiated itself from other social media of the era, and how its design morphed and changed over those early years. It's an interesting watch purely from an Internet-historian perspective!

    5 votes
    1. Habituallytired
      Link Parent
      I'm not a musician, but I do art, and I have such a hard time reaching my current fans, or people who would enjoy my content on social media, and I hate that that's the only way for people to get...

      I'm not a musician, but I do art, and I have such a hard time reaching my current fans, or people who would enjoy my content on social media, and I hate that that's the only way for people to get to know you as a creator as well.

      Just wanted to chime in as a non-musician that also struggles with how much social media sucks.

      5 votes
  2. BroiledBraniac
    Link
    Watched the whole thing, but it is definitely frontloaded. I wish he leaned more into the betrayal of a software that felt like a net good for our lives to become a nonworking platform that hung...

    Watched the whole thing, but it is definitely frontloaded. I wish he leaned more into the betrayal of a software that felt like a net good for our lives to become a nonworking platform that hung us out to dry and sold our data. I wish we could have stayed in the naive time where we just had some rudimentary way to connect with one another, expressing ourselves to our network. I enjoyed that 2007-2010 era quite a bit. It's just something that seems like it can never happen again.

    4 votes
  3. [11]
    gowestyoungman
    Link
    Even in hours of utter boredom, does anyone have the patience to watch a youtube that's over 3 hours long? A high budget, spectacularly directed Hollywood blockbuster rarely achieves that feat.

    Even in hours of utter boredom, does anyone have the patience to watch a youtube that's over 3 hours long? A high budget, spectacularly directed Hollywood blockbuster rarely achieves that feat.

    12 votes
    1. stu2b50
      Link Parent
      Sure. They’re very different experiences. I often watch long YouTube videos after dinner, when you’re in food coma mode. Unlike a movie, you’re not supposed to necessarily finish it one go, or pay...

      Sure. They’re very different experiences. I often watch long YouTube videos after dinner, when you’re in food coma mode. Unlike a movie, you’re not supposed to necessarily finish it one go, or pay all that much attention.

      16 votes
    2. sparksbet
      Link Parent
      I sometimes will watch a long video like this in parts depending on when I have time. Other creators I'd binge watch their content no matter how long it is because I trust it to be good based on...

      I sometimes will watch a long video like this in parts depending on when I have time. Other creators I'd binge watch their content no matter how long it is because I trust it to be good based on their past work. I'm less likely to watch a long video like this from someone I've never heard of unless the topic (or at least my perception thereof from the title) really appeals to me, but if I'm familiar with the creator or the video seems like it'll be suitably interesting? I'll be more likely to add it to my watch later. I work at my computer and there's very little difference between putting a youtube video essay onto a second monitor and listening to music or a handful of podcast episodes, in terms of both their effects on my ability to work and how much of my time they take.

      7 votes
    3. chundissimo
      Link Parent
      I like to have longer form second screen content that I can give 50% of my attention to while playing certain games that aren’t high octane

      I like to have longer form second screen content that I can give 50% of my attention to while playing certain games that aren’t high octane

      7 votes
    4. [2]
      Blakdragon
      Link Parent
      I play Old School Runescape... I LOVE a good way-too-long video essay to watch while I'm playing lol.

      I play Old School Runescape... I LOVE a good way-too-long video essay to watch while I'm playing lol.

      7 votes
      1. dhcrazy333
        Link Parent
        Long form videos on a second screen are how I get through my runecrafting and agility grinds!

        Long form videos on a second screen are how I get through my runecrafting and agility grinds!

        4 votes
    5. Notcoffeetable
      Link Parent
      Sure, it depends on the depth and density of the topic but either: low density content: background while working on tasks that allow for an extra language processing thread in my brain. high...

      Sure, it depends on the depth and density of the topic but either:

      • low density content: background while working on tasks that allow for an extra language processing thread in my brain.
      • high density content: Consumed in chunks of commuting, waiting for the sandman to visit, cooking, cleaning, etc.
      6 votes
    6. ebonGavia
      Link Parent
      Absolutely not. Never. Unlike many others, I do one thing at a time and I concentrate intently on whatever activity is current. (One exception, I do listen to audiobooks and, rarely, music while...

      Absolutely not. Never. Unlike many others, I do one thing at a time and I concentrate intently on whatever activity is current. (One exception, I do listen to audiobooks and, rarely, music while driving. I'm a very attentive and defensive driver, but in routine driving conditions, I have enough extra attention to listen to a book. In potentially dangerous conditions I pause it.)

      A creator has to be outstanding to hold my attention for 30 minutes. In truly exceptional circumstances I may watch a 45 minute video. Anything longer than that is almost without exception unfocused rambling, repetition, poor editing, poor writing, etc.

      If your topic is truly so complex that you cannot get to the point, give some demonstrations and examples, and state a compelling thesis within 10-15 minutes, you need to make a playlist to get engagement from me.

      6 votes
    7. Markpelly
      Link Parent
      For longer videos I'll split it up into many watching sessions, you need to watch the entire thing in one sitting. I actually stopped watching movies (mostly) because I want them to be longer. I...

      For longer videos I'll split it up into many watching sessions, you need to watch the entire thing in one sitting. I actually stopped watching movies (mostly) because I want them to be longer. I usually turn to longer form video and tv series.

      2 votes
    8. [2]
      TaylorSwiftsPickles
      Link Parent
      I, too, definitely do that, but it mostly depends on the topic or creator of the video. E.g. if it's from Mia Mulder or Contrapoints, of if the topic seems really interesting in first glance, I'm...

      I, too, definitely do that, but it mostly depends on the topic or creator of the video. E.g. if it's from Mia Mulder or Contrapoints, of if the topic seems really interesting in first glance, I'm probably going to actively make time to watch it as soon as possible. If it's a content creator or topic I'm less interested in, I'll probably postpone it for days or weeks.

      Yesterday, for example, I listened to a 4-hour video essay and then a 2-hour video essay while doing mundane tasks at work. The videos in question were hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" and Alexander Avila's "This Video Isn't Just About Taylor Swift, It's About You".

      How did I end up finding them? When I opened Firefox Focus to grab the url of this video to add it to my NewPipe playlist, it suggested the first video in the suggestions - and at the final minutes of that video, hbomberguy suggested some content creators to follow, including the creator of the second video. My username probably hints as to why I was interested in it.

      1. sparksbet
        Link Parent
        Yeah Hbomberguy is one of the creators where I know I'll be enthralled in his videos no matter their length, even if it's on a topic I have no interest in prior to watching the video.

        Yeah Hbomberguy is one of the creators where I know I'll be enthralled in his videos no matter their length, even if it's on a topic I have no interest in prior to watching the video.

        1 vote