Hacker News Reader

Comment by burlesona | Hacker News Reader

I agree. To me, the definitive negative characteristic of Social Media is the "feed," where each person has a unique view of content. There's no good way to "curate" that for engagement (or monetize for advertising) without creating toxic incentives.

HN is a forum because everyone sees the same discussion.

View on HN

That's a really important distinction I hadn't thought about.

When you can make a feed that "feeds" you own preconceived ideas as reality, you get told the world is just as you imagined, you're always right, and those who disagree are obviously evil and/or stupid.

That's really insightful. Maybe that's one reason that I like MeWe: it has a feed, but it's so useless that I ignore it completely and use the chats attached to the various groups I joined. I use it like a hub of forums.

Do you think it's possible forums can make a true comeback? They are overall healthier, but can they be profitable? Also if anyone has more research on social media alternatives, I'd love some references.

Reddit is kinda-sorta a forum site. You can treat a single sub as a forum by ordering posts chronologically. phpbb style forums still exist and are the best place to discuss some topics. In the RV/truck space there are still many forums that have been bought and consolidated under a few holding companies. They still operate as distinct boards, however.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com