Online conversation is the attention system of society – and it's broken

This is a very interesting article.

I was thinking about this before and especially in the context of my history classes:

- At the beginning of the 18th century in France, Louis XIV ruled the country as a despot with absolute power. He is referred to in French as "Le Roi Soleil" - The "Sun King"? I'm not sure how you'd translate it. Anyways, this name highlights how he was supposed to be the only form of power but also the entity who you had to trust and listen to - he censored people he disagreed with.

- This period that followed was the Enlightenment - "Les Lumières" in French which means "The Lights". Instead of this form of one focal point for broadcasting, the right to broadcast was spread to many philosophers who voiced their ideas and suggestions for a new system. This was a renewal. Still, a select amount of people could broadcast because it required time and effort, not to mention someone who would publish you.

- Now, this "bar to broadcast" is almost non-existent. People can instantly share with the world without having to take a moment to reflect and think about what they're doing. This is the problem that the author refers to. In a way, we're in a period of "fireflies". Sparks of information and broadcasting everywhere, but in the same way a firefly is fragile and its light is weak, quality information is diluted and the signal to noise ratio is low.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, because it is important that the voice of everyone be heard, but I think some form of forcing people to reflect and think about what they're broadcasting would be nice.