There is a new trend that is piquing my interest and I think it is going to make a revolutionary change in social media that might even have the power to topple the mighty Facebook.
Source: Is Facebook Dying? What’s Killing It? | Kristen Lamb’s Blog
This is a fascinating article on several levels. I was most intrigued by her comments about the Pokemon Go phenomenon, but her observations of the way Twitter has been choked to death by automation, and Facebook is twisted about by ever-shortening cycles of toxic reaction over the next trending outrage also resonate.
I think Pokemon Go is just the beginning of Augmented Reality gaming. Many game franchises can be adapted to the geocaching quest style of play. And businesses are finding ways to get in on the game. Buying lures to attract pokemon (and players) is a huge payback for a dollar or so an hour. Becoming a PokeStop or Gym, even more so.
There is a PokeStop at the pool across the street from my home. I’m pondering how to take advantage of this geographic opportunity!
Having friends who suffer from depression and anxiety, and who struggle to make themselves get out into the world, the mental health benefits of this game are already obvious and immense. I very much look forward to seeing where Augmented Reality games take us in the coming weeks and months. And beyond!
I cringed at first, regarding Pokemon Go – just another electronic fascination to keep people tuned out and plugged in. But I’m eating crow, now. Since I began homeschooling my son, my daily walks had disappeared. It was just too stressful to get him to go with me, and I couldn’t leave him home alone. Enter – Pokemon Go. Boy have things changed around here! Every afternoon when the temperature outside begins decreasing, he’s all over me to go for a walk. And he walks far. Mom is out of shape. My son looks around, too. He’s not just focused on his phone screen. Thank you, Pokemon Go! I have my walks back, and they’re even richer having my more than willing son along who comments on trees and architecture.
I Just read the post on Kristen Lamb’s blog. I so identify with what she has to say. When I started using social media to promote my own blog, it didn’t take me long to discover that other parts of my life were falling by the wayside.
Recently, on Twitter, a new follower had a disturbing handwritten note pinned to his page – something along the lines of – your body is a museum and I want explore all the parts. Yuck. Needless to say, I didn’t follow him back. Let’s try the fancy blocking dance step, instead. Why would I want to spend time on social media for that kind of nonsense? I’m a big girl – I didn’t take in personally. He and his bots, or she and her bots, aren’t selective. But when I close my eyes at night, I resent that what I saw on Twitter is one of the impressions that streams by in my head as I drift off to sleep.
Interestingly, I’ve been enjoying my Facebook page, not my personal account – with the election and all, it’s become too political. I also want to change the intensity of my blogging voice. I care deeply about the environment, but I don’t want to sound mean. Taking a few steps back from posting so frequently while I’ve been working on the technical end of things has given me the gift of perspective. Thank for sharing this, M. C. Frye.
I identified with her comments about the nature of different social media platforms, too, Laura.
I have a few goals I want to reach on twitter and I’m nearing most of them. I also have some plans for a gradual shift of emphasis there. My facebook author page became more interesting to me after I crossed a threshold that allows me to see more statistical information about my posts there. I recently had a wall post go viral. It was liked thousands of times, shared over a thousand times, and was seen by over 250,000 pairs of eyes. Watching it cascade outward so far was fascinating, but also frustrating. The post was a meme and the exposure didn’t result in much engagement at all.
And now I wonder if it will ever happen again (quite possibly) or if it will happen in a way that furthers my internet presence as a writer (unlikely).
I need to remove most the electoral distractions and get back to work on my writing. But, this election cycle is amazing and terrifying. Campaigns will never be the same. The ugliness that anonymity allows has merged with the ugliness of the professional trolls who have become gravity wells in the social media universe.
Thanks for this. Very informative. Looking forward for 2017 what do you imagine to be the biggest change in the social media landscape? For me I’ll be focusing on gaining traffic from Twitter. Any tips?
No tips here! I’m a relative neophyte. So far, I don’t see twitter as much of a source for blog readers, but it’s useful to me in some other ways. I’ll probably put more emphasis on Pinterest in 2017.