SocialMediaPerformance
ThoughtStorms Wiki
One of the problems we're struggling with in SocialMediaThought is that we are all Dividuals.
We do all contain multitudes. And on different days of the week we want to perform different characters.
Sometimes I want to be the fiery orator, channelling righteous anger and commitment into devastating poetic weapons. Rallying the troops, convincing third-parties of the justice of my cause, and instilling fear and confusion into my opponents with my powerful words.
Other times I want to be the wise, pragmatic elder, persuading my opponents with my reasonable tone and obvious common-sense. Building bridges to allow them to easily join me as I negotiate small win-win compromises.
Sometimes it's simply urgent to get the message out before it's too late. And I'm slinging links to desperately important NEWS (perhaps without checking it as thoroughly as I should) because people need to know and react to this NOW!!!
Or I'm literally firing off a dozen tweets about JulianAssange to help keep up the clamour for his release. A pure numbers game as we try to outshout every other tweet to get heard.
The problem is I want to be all of these people, as and when the mood takes me. And they are not consistent with each other.
My mood won't necessarily align with my friend's. I advocate pragmatic compromise at exactly the moment she wants a statement, and a sign of commitment. Proof that I feel as strongly on this issue as she does. And when I don't give it, I become the enemy.
Or vice-versa. My rhetoric looks angry and unhinged to a potential ally who was trying to have a serious conversation. My impetuous forwardings undermine my claims to sense. My soft words undermine my credibility as a reliable fighter.
Every time we experience the shock of misalignment, we ratchet up our disappointment and disillusionment with others. The net becomes a slightly more hostile, less friendly and more stressful place. And TheToxoplasmaOfRage ramps up.
See also :