it’s amazing how hypnotising these small completely atomised videos are. I’ve deleted the app, but do find myself drawn back over once a week to just stare at these inane little snippets of bullshit.
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Digital marketing people will go on and on about how efficient and targeted it is, then target people who’ve just bought a telly with ads for more tellies (the only product in the entire world they are not in the market for).
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That’s exactly it! It’s fing garbage. Any interaction at all, even negative, that’s the algo got you bang to rights.
Absolutely sick of it.
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Interestingly (or perhaps not) this very direct-to-consumer, data driven, hyper-personalised approach was adopted by Nike when they hired a new CEO who was an ex-management consultant and it absolutely fucked them (and then they fired him).
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Leaving aside the politics and the spam, the biggest problem I have with instagram (actually, all SM) is the way it blurs the lines between mates and acquaintances. It’s not such an issue in a city when there are loads of hangouts and you’re seeing people IRL but when you’re remote and more dependent on communities to find what’s going on, it can all get a bit weird and paranoid with people you barely know. I am very lucky to have my missus who gives a grounded perspective on stuff and is pretty outdoorsy too. So we’ve got a new approach now, dipping into certain accounts for events and stuff but o’wise keeping it all at arm’s length.
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Been off them all since June last year, no ill effects to report so far. 
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I know this is a daft question ( i dont do facebook, instagram, snapchat, x, bluesky or anything that is traditionally SM) but is TP SM? I ask that as a genuine question as I have no idea. And if it is, how is it different?
It’s more social than media, which is good
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It’s how social media should be, a group of likeminded people chatting about cool random stuff with no advertising!
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i’d add that there’s no TP algorithm, so it’s different than social media which tries to connect dots.
it’s up to you to find something you like, or someone who’s taste you trust. social media is a lean back experience, test pressing is a lean forward experience.
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No, it’s a web chat forum.
As others have said, there no algorithms or other systems of control or advertising in place. It’s content is completely set by its users/organisers.
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Though to say if there is anything obvious we can do to improve things I’m always happy to try and make it better. Seems just fine as it is tbh saying that…
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Paul, I wouldn’t change a thing. As a non SM person I was just intrigued. I have learnt more here about music than I ever thought I could. And, most importantly, everyone is kind and generous.
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I spend a lot of time here, I probably check in at least half a dozen times a day, maybe more. I don’t use social media at all any more but when I had Instagram I would check that a similar amount each day. I also used to check out my towns facebook page as a lurker as I’m not on facebook.
The difference to me is massive in that I have never come away from this site feeling inadequate, upset at someone else’s politics, viewpoint, triggered or anything negative at all.
It seemed to me that most of social media activily tries to encourage those negative reactions.
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My mum and eldest brother still live in the small Cornish town (about 12,000 population)where I grew up, which is within a non tourist trap part of the county. The local Facebook group is an absolute sewer and seems to lack any form of moderation, and full of abhorrent racist views, paranoia and downright lies. The problem is, my mum and brother are actually believing this stuff.
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Facebook seems to be absolutely rife with Right Wing AI slop 
Was yomping round the lanes on my daily’ish walk before Christmas down here, met a neighbour, we were chatting about what we were doing for Christmas, said we were off up to London to see mates. He was genuinely horrified, and recounted how London was unsafe and we should hide our phones etc. then started on the whole immigrant thing, sharia law etc. Tried to explain to him how wrong he was but wouldn’t have it. All his views from FB. When I said I’d lived in Bethnal Green for 30 years with not one issue, he was at great pains to say it has changed. He’s never set foot in the place.
Should have sent him a pic from New Years, would love to have seen his face.
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It’s the same in my local FB group - endless anonymous posters with their right wing scare stories. racists, sexists, anti-trans efforts at provoking arguments and terrifying people - and this in one of the most leftie graduate, guardian reading, artisan bread munching suburbs of south Manchester.
None of this stuff is an accident.
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Genuinely scary to read. Orwellian.
Just reading Kingdom Come by Ballard which also covers this ground. I’ve been off Fscebook for about ten years or so now and it sounds as if it’s just getting worse
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I went to school in West London and we had Asians, Poles, Jews, Irish, and people for most part got on fine. There were always areas which were rough or where you didn’t wear your school colours, but was that so different to anywhere else? Later on, I lived in loads of flatshares and it was shit when you were skint, but that’s the thing, most of the issues were money-related. In the ignorant and malicious blogosphere doing down London, they never mention the basic economics that screws everybody over. My mother was an immigrant, who never scrounged off the system and did everything to fit in, working in health centres and banks, embracing English humour, art, parks and pubs, but if Reform got in, people like her would be deported on the next flight and all for what?
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