I think that exposed social metrics are fundamentally bad, but also that they are generally harmless fun within affinity groups, forums and other places with the tribal belonging feel. It’s when enviuronments grow beyond this level that the metrics and technology of engagement start to dissolve social norms and reshape behavior in unpredictable and uncanny ways.
In the past, the “silent” problem of internet forums was that the technology was not broadly adopted outside of technical and middle-class audiences, so they tended to reflect a certain slice of society and its entitlements – they tended to be dominated by “Gilfoyles”, activists and people who live in the unevenly distributed future. But I think this problem is gone, now, internet access is in everyone’s pocket but for people so poor they are already broadly excluded from society.
So smaller communities are ready for revival and perhaps the web’s last hope, so long as they are self-governed.The challenge is to get people out of corporate social media before they permanently occupy the public space or collapse in a way that damages it.
