Social Media and Slow Media
Can we make the shift from "move fast and break things" to "move slow and fix things"?
Introduction
As I wrote about earlier this week, the recent changes at Meta and Twitter represent a unique moment in the history of social media and the internet at large.
Like all big moments, this one too puts us in touch with our emotions, fears, and hopes.
The cautious optimists in the room wonder if these changes might be for the better. Maybe we’ll get it right this time, they think.
Meanwhile, the experienced realists warn to proceed with caution.
Creators and entrepreneurs with large and small followings alike wonder if they’ll need Threads or its alternatives to stay current.
And still others, especially artists and writers, wonder if now is the time to say goodbye to all social media and focus instead on robust, IRL networks.
As someone who can identify with all of the above points, I’m not yet sure what to do.
But I’m curious about this: What if there is another opportunity here? A chance to not only reevaluate which social media platforms we engage with – but also to reimagine our fundamental relationship with content itself?
From “Move Fast and Break Things” to “Slow Down and Fix Things”
Much of the social media we use (and in fact, rely on) came out of the once-praised “move fast and break things” ethos made famous at Facebook, and adopted by countless other companies.
In response to this philosophy, there has been an anti-motto sometimes called “move slow and fix things.” Whereas the former values speed above all, the latter strives for holistic approaches when problem-solving or building new things.
This “move slow” philosophy shares core values with what is known as the “Slow Living” movement – of which “Slow Food” is a particularly well-known branch.
Recently, I learned there is also a “Slow Media” movement, summarized in this excerpt from the Slow Media Manifesto at their eponymous blog:
“Like ‘Slow Food,’ Slow Media are not about fast consumption but about choosing the ingredients mindfully and preparing them in a concentrated manner.”
[The Manifesto, penned in 2010 by Benedikt Köhler, Sabria David, and Jörg Blumtritt, is highly worth checking out here: http://en.slow-media.net/manifesto]
Of the Slow Media Manifesto’s fourteen guiding principles – which emphasize qualities such as sustainability, monotasking, quality, discourse and dialogue, and reliance on recommendations over advertising – the fifth point might be my favorite:
5. Slow Media advance Prosumers, i.e. people who actively define what and how they want to consume and produce. In Slow Media, the active Prosumer, inspired by his media usage to develop new ideas and take action, replaces the passive consumer… Slow Media inspire, continuously affect the users’ thoughts and actions and are still perceptible years later.
What an astonishing and inspiring portrayal of what media can be! I only wish I’d heard of it thirteen years ago, when this Manifesto was first published. But given the nature of the topic, I would hope the founders will forgive me for being “slow” on discovering this.
In this point about Prosumers, as in many other sections of the Slow Media Manifesto, I can’t help but think that this wonderful vision is at odds with our current experiences of social media. Of course, there are many successful examples of Slow Media “making it” with modern audiences (several high-quality, well-received indie podcasts come to mind). On social media though, the most intentionally-produced, highest-quality content tends to get drowned out.
Here's where the opportunity comes in.
We have a chance, particularly in this moment of tech upheaval, to demand better for ourselves as social media consumers – or better yet, Prosumers. Instead of passively frequenting platforms that purposefully reward incendiary “hot takes,” we can instead build (or rebuild) models that reward “slow burns” and even “deep dives” into content that refreshes, rather than depletes, our curiosity and wonder.
To me, this opportunity is well worth “slowing down” for.