For what it's worth, I'll add some more anecdotal observations from my end.
In the past couple weeks, we have seen here in the Hudson Valley a number of very active community groups move from Meta to Signal (a foundation-owned, non-profit messaging app similar in function to Whatsapp, but with strong privacy systems), with most of the participants downloading Signal for the first time.
I have seen a number of discussion threads and new groups emerge to help small business owners who want to get off social media find each other.
All of a sudden, I have been getting contacted for advice by a dozen business owners who are planning to get their businesses off social media (I love it!).
There was a fair amount of talk in 2016 about the harms of social media, but nothing like what we're seeing today. I believe there's a really exciting opening for new ideas and networks to emerge around online and offline social connection!
These are such great developments!! And, wow, it does sound like an inflection point. You are the perfect person to give advice to these other businesses. I'm excited to hear how it goes!
There was some talk in my neighborhood's Facebook group about us moving over to another app, but the group decided at least for now that none of the other available apps offered the same combination of features and reach as Facebook has. The experience motivated me to start looking into neighborhood groups that have left the app, so if you come across anyone who'd want to talk about it, let me know :)
The other think this reminded me of is an called Hylo (https://www.hylo.com/) that I have used in the past and was quite impressed with.
It may be a little too heavy for that FB neighborhood group, but I could see it working well for a "Businesses and Creators Moving Social Media Coalition" (BaCMoSoMeC? Need to work on the branding a bit 😂)
Thanks for sharing Hylo! I hadn't come across it. It does look like it would be a good platform for the coalition. I've never been good with acronyms! But I like where the name is going.
I so wish we could get Front Porch outside of Vermont. It looks like a wonderful tool. I did just sign up for the waitlist though :)
I used to take part in a wonderful listserv. Since it migrated to a Facebook group, it's a shadow of its former self. The wonderful topical discussions are just gone. The noise is insane.
For people who want the convenience of news feeds, I highly recommend Feedly. You can see headlines from whatever sources you like in one convenient place. It aggregates blogs and websites, too, all of your own choosing. And, you don't get algorithmed at all!
That's so sad that the listserv is no longer what it used to be since moving to Facebook. I belong to a cross country ski group on Facebook where people used to post quite a bit, and even that has dropped off this year. It seems like something about the noise of the app takes the steam out of being engaged and involved in this groups?
"It's hard to believe, but social media actually used to be fun."
I think this encapsulates a key point - social media was supposed to connect us, not just sell us things. Now, not only are brands selling us things but it seems like every single person under the sun. And I'm sorry, but that's not fun. I think it's also selling us rage and discontent. I've cut back a lot in recent years and it's helped me to retrain my brain to think more deeply, lean into my meditation practice (takes 20 mins to meditate and oh, 20 mins to an hour to scroll mindlessly and I often wonder what I'm getting back). Not that I don't do that sometimes! But I think at least cutting back on it is something to consider and learn more about. Per the beginning lines of this post, I think the purpose of your writing here is partly to keep us updated and informed about the movement against social media which needs more voices and amplification. So, please keep it up Elaine!
Great roundup! Thanks for the shoutout.
For what it's worth, I'll add some more anecdotal observations from my end.
In the past couple weeks, we have seen here in the Hudson Valley a number of very active community groups move from Meta to Signal (a foundation-owned, non-profit messaging app similar in function to Whatsapp, but with strong privacy systems), with most of the participants downloading Signal for the first time.
I have seen a number of discussion threads and new groups emerge to help small business owners who want to get off social media find each other.
All of a sudden, I have been getting contacted for advice by a dozen business owners who are planning to get their businesses off social media (I love it!).
There was a fair amount of talk in 2016 about the harms of social media, but nothing like what we're seeing today. I believe there's a really exciting opening for new ideas and networks to emerge around online and offline social connection!
These are such great developments!! And, wow, it does sound like an inflection point. You are the perfect person to give advice to these other businesses. I'm excited to hear how it goes!
There was some talk in my neighborhood's Facebook group about us moving over to another app, but the group decided at least for now that none of the other available apps offered the same combination of features and reach as Facebook has. The experience motivated me to start looking into neighborhood groups that have left the app, so if you come across anyone who'd want to talk about it, let me know :)
Thanks Elaine — I will keep an eye out on neighborhood groups who have left FB etc.
I wish we all had access to https://frontporchforum.com/ !
The other think this reminded me of is an called Hylo (https://www.hylo.com/) that I have used in the past and was quite impressed with.
It may be a little too heavy for that FB neighborhood group, but I could see it working well for a "Businesses and Creators Moving Social Media Coalition" (BaCMoSoMeC? Need to work on the branding a bit 😂)
Thanks for sharing Hylo! I hadn't come across it. It does look like it would be a good platform for the coalition. I've never been good with acronyms! But I like where the name is going.
I so wish we could get Front Porch outside of Vermont. It looks like a wonderful tool. I did just sign up for the waitlist though :)
Great roundup on this salubrious trend!
I used to take part in a wonderful listserv. Since it migrated to a Facebook group, it's a shadow of its former self. The wonderful topical discussions are just gone. The noise is insane.
For people who want the convenience of news feeds, I highly recommend Feedly. You can see headlines from whatever sources you like in one convenient place. It aggregates blogs and websites, too, all of your own choosing. And, you don't get algorithmed at all!
That's so sad that the listserv is no longer what it used to be since moving to Facebook. I belong to a cross country ski group on Facebook where people used to post quite a bit, and even that has dropped off this year. It seems like something about the noise of the app takes the steam out of being engaged and involved in this groups?
And thank you for the Feedly recc!
"It's hard to believe, but social media actually used to be fun."
I think this encapsulates a key point - social media was supposed to connect us, not just sell us things. Now, not only are brands selling us things but it seems like every single person under the sun. And I'm sorry, but that's not fun. I think it's also selling us rage and discontent. I've cut back a lot in recent years and it's helped me to retrain my brain to think more deeply, lean into my meditation practice (takes 20 mins to meditate and oh, 20 mins to an hour to scroll mindlessly and I often wonder what I'm getting back). Not that I don't do that sometimes! But I think at least cutting back on it is something to consider and learn more about. Per the beginning lines of this post, I think the purpose of your writing here is partly to keep us updated and informed about the movement against social media which needs more voices and amplification. So, please keep it up Elaine!