Missing Links and Unfinished Thoughts: dead internet, living video

The Dead Internet Theory lives

Written but not published in 2022:

There's a rather odd wee theory circulating called the Dead Internet Theory, which more-or-less posits that the human internet has been largely replaced by algorithmically-generated, commerical content. It's not true, but it feels true, as this piece explores:

When we are engaging on the web, we don’t feel engaged anymore. The clicks and swipes no longer spark joy (as Marie Kondo might say). We feel force-fed, manipulated, unfulfilled.

I supect that, much like the “social media is dead” idea we looked at yesterday, that this just marks a weariness with the attention-driven metrics of the big platforms. The interesting stuff is happening in newsletters, blogs and other platforms. We're riding the roller-coaster from big to small again.

Has the Internet Reached Peak Clickability?

Chasing swipes and clicks is now a losing strategy—the rising stars on the web have found a way to create a higher level of engagement.

The Honest BrokerTed Gioia

Figuring out TikTok

I also planned to link to this two years ago, but it still feels timely:

“With the amount of misinformation that is going bonkers on TikTok, it was almost like our civic duty to come back and try to pinpoint some races and some issues” happening during this election cycle, Anderson said

Vox’s short-form video strategy faces TikTok’s monetization issue, but fulfills publisher’s ‘civic duty’

TikTok and YouTube Shorts are two platforms that Vox is steering its focus toward this year in the hope of combating misinformation and growing a younger audience.

DigidayKayleigh Barber

Algospeak was already developing:

On TikTok, we say "le dollar bean" instead of "lesbian" because of a perceived ban on the word; we refer to suicide as "unaliving" and sex as "seggs."

Content moderation is changing how we speak — and dictating who gets heard

Le dollar bean, unalive, and seggs: The new internet lexicon serves the algorithm but not those who need it most.

MashableChristianna Silva

This feels like a Tweet that could still be published today (even though it's not called a Tweet any more…)

And here's the video:

@dw_nesia Tahukah kamu, Indonesia adalah produsen sampah makanan terbesar di ASEAN? #dwnesia #sampahmakanan #foodwaste #foodloss #awareness ♬ Funk It Up - Official Sound Studio

Time Capsule: Is social video the future of news?

Grace Braddock, now doing social video at the News Statesman, was asking about it's future back in 2020…

Is social video the future of online news?

With the launch of Instagram Reels to rival TikTok, more publishers are trying their hand at short-form videos to attract the under-25s

Journalism.co.ukGrace Braddock