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Comment by not_a_cop75 | Hacker News Reader

Being the person who shouts loudest "I am somebody" on social media does not make you somebody worth listening to. This narcissism is the key problem of social media. Oddly enough, social media made it's big entrance via movie stars - I could not possibly be any less surprised at this.

It would befit social media to rate someone with importance not according to a check or star but according to actual real world accomplishment. I realize that creates a natural bias against the underachieved, but without such weights, anyone can say anything about anything no matter what the education or perspective, and have it essentially equivalent to a subject matter in the field, at least until further examination.

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There's a good Seneca letter, "On Quiet Conversation." It includes these lines:

"Philosophy is good advice; and no one can give advice at the top of his lungs...

Words should be scattered like seed; no matter how small the seed may be, if it has once found favourable ground, it unfolds its strength and from an insignificant thing spreads to its greatest growth. Reason grows in the same way; it is not large to the outward view, but increases as it does its work. Few words are spoken; but if the mind has truly caught them, they come into their strength and spring up. Yes, precepts and seeds have the same quality; they produce much, and yet they are slight things. Only, as I said, let a favourable mind receive and assimilate them. Then of itself the mind also will produce bounteously in its turn, giving back more than it has received."

So it's like concern trolling.

> but without such weights, anyone can say anything about anything no matter what the education or perspective, and have it essentially equivalent to a subject matter in the field, at least until further examination.

We began with institutions whose voices were the authority, period. With the internet, anyone could spread their own ideas and thoughts thereby decentralizing the power. We have now accepted the presence of fake news and voices with vested interests. Is the pendulum swinging back to the established individuals/institutions in response to this?

> Oddly enough, social media made it's big entrance via movie stars - I could not possibly be any less surprised at this.

Is this true? I don't recall that occurring, it seemed more like a young-techie-people, grassroots phenomenon when people started using MySpace and FB.

When fan pages gave way to official profiles was a watershed moment. It showed facebook wasnt just a teenage myspace replacement, but a commercial engine.

When user's information was leaked to third parties without proper management or oversight, while Facebook stock continued to go through the roof, that was another watershed moment. That was the moment people realized that Facebook is full of crooks and enables other crooks to boot.

Remember Twitter?

Facebook? I don't regard a company that sells people's information without their consent as "social media". There's nothing social about going behind someone's back and deceiving them.

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