We’re living in a society of super connectivity.
No, I’m not just talking about the accessibility to other people.
But, more from an idea standpoint.
An idea has a 1000 times potential reach today than what was possible 20 years back.
But, why does it matter?
It works in a way that the most popular idea or a concept or a trend reaches a huge number of people, in a really short time.
Not just because of the connectivity factor.
But because the social platforms we use today are incentivized in that manner.
Let me explain.
Any social platform we see today works in a specific manner.
Take, for example, Instagram.
Incentive – company level
Companies are incentivized based on the time users spend on the platform.
More users and more time on the platform, more ad money.
So, it will always take measures to increase the time users spent on the platform, just because its incentives lie there.
Incentive – creator level
Remember we talked about the super spread of ideas and trends. When the platform finds something that gets traction on the platform, it spreads it, I mean it really spreads it far and wide.
So, for a creator, it makes sense to go out, find and use the trending ideas and concepts, even start one, so that they’ll get a huge reach.
One metric of success on a platform is the number of followers.
And our creators are incentivized to do this.
Incentive – user level
The users/consumers constitute almost 90% of the platform.
If a user finds an idea/concept/trend share-worthy, he/she shares it with the network and it goes further and further.
Also, the platform makes it a point to show a share-worthy idea /trend to a maximum number of users as its incentive depends on it.
You might wonder what’s the incentive for the user?
A user gets to know what’s trending without much effort.
The platform makes sure that you see it somehow. You need not dig deep to find a trending idea/concept/trend.
The user gets a huge audience on the platform to share her skills, hence a potential big creator on the platform.
Oh, and a little rush of dopamine when you scroll through the feed.
The platform makes sure you get it. Because without that feeling, you’re not gonna come back. And without users, a platform is dead.
This is not to criticize any social media platform.
It happens on all major social platforms, be it Twitter, TikTok, Instagram,…
What’s the impact?
A popular idea can reach the farthest corners of the world, in a few hours. If the idea roots for something good, a larger positive outcome.
If it’s bad, a greater negative impact.
Mind you, popular doesn’t necessarily mean the best.
This thought goes in line with an earlier post, changes follow the direction of incentives.
I would love to know your thoughts.
Leave a Reply