Some argue that the wheels on much of human intellect fell off with the advent of Social Media.

It is likely a more successful argument that the big Social Media dogs created, operate, fuel and have empowered beyond comprehension, mostly sophomoric outlets that have cheapened and inexorably altered the social fabric. Most pretense of thoughtful, reasonable, informed and civil discourse has by and large been destroyed.

It is as frightening as it is pitiful that on account of God given right of masses to mindlessly pound a keyboard, and then FB, Twitter and their brethren having made possible for millions, no, hundreds of millions, no, perhaps a billion keyboard-pounders believe that they are capable of independent thought. Just to end up in solitary confinement with a keyboard and online connect. And believe, therefrom, that anybody cares in the least about them – other than themselves and possibly immediate blood line relationships.

Certainly, I encourage and respect anybody who really seeks and works at developing and formulating thoughts they believe relevant. Even if just new or indubitably different ones. And finally, worthy of public consumption. That of course, does not include gooblygobokansas124’s thoughts on Twitter on macro-economics or nuclear fusion, if she or he has zero relevant thoughts, or has some, but confuses volume (in all forms, including written “decibels”) with intelligence.

Regrettably, Social Media platforms have by and large become intellectual abominations with fantastic revenue generating raison d’etre. And power so unbridled as to destroy people, institutions, even fundamental theorems of life and science.

It has also given birth to now two generations of inexorably unserviceable, mindlessly self-engrossed wannabe-writers-philosophers-agitator freaks.

I recall sitting with one of the Twitter uber-geeks for a day in 2006, the year it was launched. By the way, his pre Twitter credentials were enviable. At the end of the day, he proffered that I was a high functioning idiot for not understanding the incredible potential of Twitter. For over ten years by then, we were major players in the online world. Actually since the inception of commercial applications on the net.

No. I did not see the commercial potential of Twitter. Nor its potential to wreck abject hell on, well, everything. Sure as hell do now. Wish I had then. But then, that might take me to self-loathing about it…

Parenthetic to the aforewritten, I had something to do with that 140 character thing. Admittedly, kinda like Al Gore having invented the Internet.

In 2009, Facebook uber-geeks and marketing people asserted that they were unable to, nor would they ever, target advertising to their members based on, well, anything. That is when we asked all female staff who had Facebook accounts to make entirely innocuous, non-specific posts about not feeling their best that day. Perhaps a tad indelicate; but that was a marketing test and it was 2009. Within minutes, all posters began receiving advertising messages from Midol. Just say’n.

The incredible social, political and economic paradigm at Facebook has been baked in since Zuckerberg begin walking upright in the space.

So. Somebody really smart explain all this to me. While I ponder how to explain Bitcoin to Buddhist monks.

©2021. Steven J. Manning. All rights reserved worldwide.