It was sunny, now it’s gloomy, I’m not sure the weather knows what to make of itself. Me either, weather.
On Spoutible this morning, it occurs to me that there are people who like to do things their own way and there are people who demand everyone does things their way. Given that choosing Spoutible as a social media home right now is a rebellion of sorts, that second type of person is facing, at best, a rough salmon run, and at worst, beaching or eventual scuttling.
Nothing about Spoutible is based on the numbers, really. I mean I guess “going viral” is, but what does that really mean in a place that isn’t about artificial trophies but real human interaction?
Is the extra attention that important?
Even if it’s fleeting?
It’s tough to get rid of our twitter habits, which trained us in Pavlov’s stats. Later on, tweets even told you how many people had seen them, with the paltry number of interactions right next to them for comparison.
I mean, what kind of emotional response is that supposed to provoke?
Nothing about Spoutible’s design is an accident or a coincidence. Christopher Bouzy didn’t stumble into anything. He started out studying the behavior of users, with a focus on troublesome accounts.
So the deemphasis on the numbers increases feelings of connection and community. You’re not competing with other people for likes and echoes and quote spouts, you’re not bracing for a flood of deliberately pedantic and abrasive replies, the underlying motivation is not rage.
And some people don’t like that.
There are plenty of places for them to be that replicate all of that, but the push to remake Spoutible into it is not only unwanted by the community, it’s impossible.
The structure does not allow for it.
By design.
I’ll repeat that, it’s by design. From the bottom up, with a person at the helm and a great team who watch in real time and adjust to keep it so.
So that second kind of person, who is already trying to herd cats and llamas and donkeys and any other mythically stubborn animals, will find forcing others to do as they choose isn’t going to be fun or satisfying or productive.
It’s a site that is thriving through authenticity. You can’t dictate other people’s authentic.
And that’s it for me this Monday, have a wonderful day.
A Bit to Read 
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