Sharing and Consumption

[kokopelle]

I seem to be writing a fair amount on Facebook (and elsewhere!). I share and share, but is this the real me? Does this really reveal who I am? These are interesting questions. Perhaps the whole of is best defined by both what I share AND what I consume.

I mention this because of the YouTube video “Hilary Mason on Data & Superpowers, a history of Big Data” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbMtmXjZIuQ). Hilary shared surprising research indicating a disconnect between what we share and what we consume on the Internet. She calls this the “chicken / kitten metaphor”. From her research…

What we share:
* Things that make them look good (news, photos)
* Things they feel strongly about (politics)

What we consume:
* Celebrity gossip
* Sports
* Dirty Jokes
* Stuff you read, but stuff you don’t want your mom to know you’re reading

Hmmm… I share stuff that makes me look good (I hope!). I share stuff that I feel strongly about. Check and check there. How about the consumption? My voluminous writing allows a few hints about my consumption to poke through. BUT would I really want all my FB friends to know the web pages I view and the music I listen to? Probably not. “The Lords of Acid” isn’t for everyone. But seriously, for the most part I view pretty boring stuff. This afternoon I was viewing YouTube videos about Big Data and looking up connection strings for AS400 DB drivers. Other times I am researching my articles. The rest of the time I am poking through web pages shared by friends. My consumption is mostly based on curiosity, and curiosity can take you interesting places.

Do your consumption differ from your sharing? Does Hilary have a workable theory? Feel free to share, and by all means, enjoy your private consumption.

Comments

[oceans_voice]

There is a great divide between what I share on FB and what I consume everywhere. And what I share on Tumblr is different from what I share on here. FB is where I am the most public. And so I share things that make me look good and things that typically will help me make money or interesting things that will help others or make them smarter. I also share quotes and things too. And I share pictures mostly of my cat and me because my personal life is no one elses business. On Tumblr I share more my desires through reblogging pictures or through my poetry or through the occasional journal post. But mostly is a creative outlet for me and a darker one sometimes too. It is like my spirit's creativity and my shadow's creativity express themselves through Tumblr which I would not feel safe doing through FB because it is more public and people know who I am. On Tumblr its public totally. There is no way to make it a selective audience. Its either all the way open or all the way closed, so I save the really personal stuff that I wish to share and have feedback on for DW where it is, for the most part, totally private. I partake in the most freely on Tumblr than I do on FB because most people share in limited amounts on FB ... they do not share who they really are so its the same old same old. But Tumblr is interesting and so I can view that for a long time. and here, I read posts but most people have their posts friends only and its hard to make new friends and I find even some people find it hard to really open up in a journal or have given up the idea of journaling as old school.

[kokopelle]

Only crazy people open up in a journal... oh my. I have to say that I have to respect people who speak their mind, even if I don't agree with them. I do get uncomfortable with "commercial blogs", ones that are done purposely for an audience. I suspect I am wrong, but I sometimes question their level of sincerity. That's my thing. Jealously? Probably.

[oceans_voice]

I didn't say only crazy people open up in a journal ... If that's so then I must be crazy :p

[kokopelle]

Crazy was my word... and you are not crazy.