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I've also read The future of social media, Tim Hårek blog post about the video. Which made me even more excited for it. Today I finally had the time to watch it, so here's my opinion on it.

Main Points

The video addresses a range of topics including online polarization, the structure of social interactions, the role of the human brain in societal division, and the significant impact of social media. It presents a critical view of the commonly held belief in the existence of 'filter bubbles' on the internet. Contrary to this popular notion, the video argues that real life, rather than the Internet, is where filter bubbles predominantly occur. It points out that online environments often expose individuals to a diverse array of opinions, challenging the idea that digital spaces merely reinforce existing views.

Additionally, the video delves into the evolutionary aspect of the human brain, particularly its role in navigating and sustaining social structures. This is highlighted by the emphasis on the necessity of cooperation for survival in historical contexts. The video illustrates how physical closeness and shared cultural experiences traditionally served as bridges between differing worldviews. This perspective sheds light on the complex interplay between human psychology, social dynamics, and the modern digital landscape.

Smaller Communities

This is the main solution the author proposes - an internet built on smaller communities and not on the "Everyone you know or don't know is here" social media platform format we're so accustomed to.

I fully agree that we should have smaller internet communities. One of the biggest issues I currently see is Instagram. Basically, everyone has one and breaking that norm that everyone you know has to be on the platform for you to find it "useful" will be hard.

Another issue I currently see is people's perception of the internet. For a lot of people, Facebook is the internet, and changing the mental models of millions of people might be tough.

Also, people are so used to the current addictive nature of social media that one can argue they will have a harder time using a boring, non-curated Internet that has a limited amount of content. For example, following a few blogs writing about topics they enjoy. Once you've checked all the published posts, you're done for the day.

Mastodon and its federated approach with the ActivityPub protocol is one of the most promising projects in a long time. I'm not sure how many community-based instances there are, but I think the solution mentioned in the video is possible with the currently available technology.

I'm absolutely loving the idea of a smaller, more decentralized internet with niche communities. This is also one of the reasons why I still publish on my blog.

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There are many instances in my life where I use a product or service and have a lot of opinions about how it should be improved. In many cases, I even want to design/produce it myself because so many things are just off.

This happens to me everywhere in life, whether using a computer or when I want to buy a new pair of jeans. Things just aren't how I want them to be. It's usually the small details that make or break the product.

For example, I only use two pairs of the same jeans - because they're perfect, and if I were to design my own, I wouldn't change a thing.

I use my eBook reader almost daily. It works and gets the job done, but some of the design and software-related decisions just don't make sense to me.

First, let me communicate what an eBook reader means to me. It's a digital replacement for a book-reading experience. This means that you will have to sacrifice some of the positives of reading a physical copy, for an even better experience, that will hopefully make you read even more.

This is true in most cases. I can download a lot of books on it so I don't have to bring so many physical books on vacation. There's less friction to start reading a new book. I can highlight my books easier and everything else that comes with digital.

However, my Kindle does a really bad job of making you read more - or even be aware of the book you're reading.

Let me tell you the positives of reading a physical copy. You see the cover - with usually beautiful cover art, title, and author. When you open a book, you have a feeling of progress in your hands - since you can see and feel the number of pages you've read. And physical books just smell nice.

On Kindle, the default "standby" screen is just a generic image with the text "Your next great read is waiting". This makes no sense to me, why not use the book's cover as the standby screen?

It has happened so many times that someone asked me which book I was reading and I had to check to answer because after a couple of hours of reading, you just forget if you aren't constantly reminded every time you pick up the book.

In my opinion, the standby screen should also feature your progress in the book (visually displayed - not just percentages) and maybe even some kind of "daily streak" mechanics could be implemented to make you read more.

As mentioned, another amazing thing about physical books is the "feeling" of progress. This is something I don't have, and miss the most, with Kindle. Having a physical feeling of progress when holding a book in hand is greatly encouraging to read another page and to finish it as soon as you reach the "critical" mass to "push" for a finish.

This is something Kindle doesn't do well and it's not just because it's digital. The only indicator of progress on Kindle is the percentage at the bottom of the screen - which usually includes the sources and references as well. It has happened so many times that I've finished reading the main part of the book at 70 percent.

I would like to have some kind of visual progress, like a percentage-based bar at the top of the screen. This would at least give me some visual indicator of the progress. I would also like the percentages to be accurate based on the book's main reading material. It makes no sense to include sources in the count.

I guess these are just small little details that I would change about my Kindle. That's how I usually feel - the product is 80 or 90 percent there, but the details matter so much.

I wonder why designers and product managers at Amazon aren't asking themselves more about the leftover gap of experience between physical and eBooks. Yes, Kindle does some things better than the physical book, but some basics still aren't there.

I think the main point I'm trying to make is that we humans use tools. We should think deeply about how we design and create those tools. We should care about how we live our lives and we should "design" our tools and lifestyle by always questioning ourselves and trying to make things better, making products that we would be delighted to use.

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