facebook and the dilution of the blogosphere: what does this make you think of?

custom space odyssey vans - by sabin

it may have seemed like i forgot about posting a response to your post about crafting and the urge to share, but i hadn't. i've been carrying it with me, mulling it over for weeks. i think that urge to share, especially on my blog, used to be stronger. nearly an uncontrollable need. i fear that facebook has diluted that. i can share something interesting there quickly and with less fuss than opening a new blog post, uploading a photo, setting a link. facebook is the easy route and i choose it far too often. i think facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest have significantly changed the face of blogging. these days, there are far fewer comments on blog posts and fewer blog posts in general. many of the bloggers i used to follow seem to have quit blogging altogether. but they haven't stopped sharing - we're still interacting on facebook, instagram and twitter. and facebook dilutes even those, because i'll admit that i mostly favorite instagram photos when i see them on facebook, not on actual instagram. now that facebook owns instagram, i imagine they'll integrate it so a like on facebook equals a heart on instagram, but as far as i can see, they're not there yet.

i don't know what impact google+ will eventually have. i think their recent redesign is a good step and i'd love it if it came to replace facebook (mostly because i have the feeling that google is less evil than zuckerberg). that might be wishful thinking on both counts. i find that if i actually want to be able to find a link to something interesting again, i still blog it or put it up on g+ rather than on FB, with their endless redesigns and rejigging of how you can see content and their lack of searchability within one's own timeline. sharing on facebook is like dumping something into a black hole - you may never see it again.

all of this said, i think that still, when i have something really awesome that i (or sabin) made, i still want to share it on my blog. that desire is strong - to preserve it there, even if just for myself and the sake of my own memory, but also to share it with those who read/look. strangely it still seems like there are plenty of readers, but they seldom comment anymore. i'm guilty of the same. i'd say that's a product of us all reading via flipboard or feedly or whatever app on our various devices. i know that the thought of writing out a comment on my iPhone or iPad screen stops me many times from leaving anything of substance, so often i don't comment at all.

it's interesting to see how and where this is all evolving. and how technologies take us places we had never imagined.

crafting: what does this make you think of?

I think you're absolutely right about food being the new social currency; it's strange that something we make for ourselves suddenly becomes everyone's business. the mix of social currency and contentment made me think of crafting: I made the two paper balls in the photo, and I was really satisfied that I managed to follow the instructions and finish them. however, as soon as they were finished, I get this urge to take photos of them and share - what's that about? why is the personal feeling of contentment not enough; why do we need others to see and acknowledge what we're doing?
I do enjoy crafting very much - it's really pleasing to do something so concrete and tangible. but I wonder about the urge to display it - is it something innate to humans, or is it a by-product of our digital age?

contentment: what does this make you think of?

i've been pondering your theory on the food shots. it strikes me that food is the new social currency. people show who they are through food and instagram and the ubiquity of smart phones make it easy. daily cappuccinos and healthy, organic salads present a picture of us that matches the one we'd like to send to the world. so send it we do.

i'm largely a failed food photographer. i can't seem to master the ennui of the empty plate with only a few remaining crumbs and a sad fork and the light is just too bad in this house for proper shots of the food before anyone has eaten any (case in point above). but food remains, for me, the way to happiness. my most contented moments are in the kitchen, making food that will be served to guests.

so i'd say that photos of food make me think of contentment, laughter, happiness and friends....hygge.