If it was all about the money, I should be spending my time managing my assets, not writing. At least my hourly rate would go up astronomically. But, I do like the writing and I do like the earning rewards on the writing. don't worry, it isn't dirty to say that you like earning on the work you put in.
It is is kind of a weird thing to admit here though, isn't it, as most people will say that they would write for nothing - which might be true for a minority, but untrue of the average. It is the possibility to earn and get rewarded that provides incentive to create for most people here and, some do very well at it. We live in a world where most of us have to work at something we don't like all that much for a living and, also in jobs where we might not get to allow our creative selves do their thing. So, I find it refreshing to get rewarded for my craft.
Is it my craft?
I have never taken a creative writing course or even read that much - I didn't even get an "A" in high school English studies, so I am very much untrained in what others might study for years. Funny eh? How many people who study writing are able to earn on what they want to write, and how many are earning on what others want them to write? I would predict that most aren't earning on their personal art and craft.
Speaking of not reading much, I tend not to. I always feel like I don't have the time and then there is the more important reason - I don't want to lose my own voice. I don't want to be a parrot of someone else's words. It is not that I can't use a quote here and there, but they generally come up in one to one conversation and I recall them later, than from the consumption of the content itself.
This is the same with crypto and news in general - the majority of articles that I have ever quoted or referenced, have been handed to me through my network. I don't trawl the internet looking for content to write about, because I feel that the filter is going to return the algorithm desires, more than what is actually interesting. What I mean by this is the mass media tend to have "themes" that they follow and most of society tends to jump onboard.
Anyone watched Squid Game yet?
I haven't. From what I have been told, it might be of interest to me considering what it is based on, but just think about how it has been integrated into the common narrative over the last few weeks globally. How many other Korean series have you watched - if you are not Korean? Yet, viral. That isn't word of mouth, that is the media machine distribution mechanism at work. Netflix can hype any show they create and draw attention to it - no one "chances upon" anything in the centralized media these days.
However, I keep a diverse range of friends, acquaintances and clients - and this allows me to have a cross-section of society and culture in some way, where I am able to take the temperate of the environment and see trends emerge. It has been very useful in my business dealings over the years, as organizations tend to get stuck in their own narrative of awesomeness, without realizing others are doing pretty much the same thing - because, that is what the trend is. Very few are trendsetters.
The trendsetters are the distributors, the marketers, the corporations that make people feel like they are unique and special, while making everyone feel like they are special too. They are able to granularly target each as an individual, but get them to act as a group. It is obvious when it comes to something like a "memefied" show, but as we have seen, it is possible shift masses of people globally to follow other trends, whether it be political campaigns or social movements.
We see this often from people who are regurgitators of what they consume, talking about the latest trend topics, using the latest trend words, sharing the latest trend memes - and they call them selves creators. No, this is what the media does, it is about networking users to turn them into message relay stations. By identifying and profiling individuals, they are then able to send targeted messages, knowing with high predictive accuracy where it is going to end up, whose eyes it will reach, whose mind will be affected, and whose actions will be directed. It is an orchestration of behavioral hacking.
Yet, us, the relay stations, feel special, unique and as if what we are saying is our mind, our feelings, our creations. Nope - we aren't that special - the algorithms picked us, primed us and plucked us of value. When it comes to a show or some music, it seems harmless, but when we are moved en masse to support a cause, vilify a group, or enslave ourselves in a belief that this is the best we can have, it becomes far more harmful.
But, it is all just a tool and like a hammer that can build or break, or nuclear energy that can power lights or strip the flesh from bone - how it is used matters. Putting all of that power to move billions of people in one direction in a short timeframe at the will of the few, is ultimately going to lead to an abuse of power - as we have seen, are seeing and will see for the foreseeable future.
But, here we are doing something different and while it is far from ready, at least we are starting to see that it is possible to have more than we do, to use the tools that control us, to empower us to build something better instead. The narrative is changing, but don't expect a narrative coming from the narrow and powerful few to do anything else but keep them in front of the orchestra, leading them to play a tune in an attempt to hold onto their baton.
But, we are too smart to fall for any of this, we can see straight through it all - while we do exactly what everyone else is doing, because it is just so convenient, so familiar, and feels like it has been made just for us.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Is squid games all sub-titled, not sure but it think it might be.
I think so. I have no issues with subtitles and have watched with them as a kid, as I liked the weirdness of SBS programs :) Now, it is necessary at times as my Finnish isn't good enough to watch local movies.
Squid game, I have seen it advertised through NEWS headlines, so for me I have not looked any further or even really thought about it. In ten years when it is no longer a so called News worthy show maybe I'll take a look. It took me almost 20 years before I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, because it was one of those News worthy shows. (Even though I really enjoyed Angel when it came out I had zero desire to flip over and catch up on Buffy).
I have never understood why a TV show or a Movie was "News Worthy", news use to be about important things and happenings in home towns, countries and world events. Now I am not sure what News is, just mostly Headlines and no real content no in-depth journalism like from the Watergate days.
I only recently, (the last 4 months), started looking at the News Headlines, nothing but pick a trend stories to push at the people. I am about to go back to ignoring the News Headlines, and the so called news stories. There just does not seem to be anything there, and when there might be an inkling of something, no follow-up stories to be found.
Like Squid Games I have seen News Stories of the "Metaverse", according to a few I have seen it is being created by FaceBook! according to the headlines. Whats real anymore for people to think about, the media moguls have it all figured out, feeding people table scraps so they learn to be good little Pavlovian people.
I do the same with some shows - especially the ones that are series. So many of them get hype in the first season, cancelled after the second.
Whatever generates clicks. They do not cater for people actually looking for content anymore - that is all left up to niche platforms.
And, the same "non-news" gets pushed across all of the networks - the same messaging, same phrases. It is a conditioning process.
Funny, isn't it? I am not sure if Zuckerberg was born when it was first described. But, this is what happens, terms are hijacks. Crypto and decentralization are others that are getting hijacked, and the majority of fools will follow.
That is a very interesting comment. Many, if not most, of us are both the product and the producers, slave and slave master. I see this to some extent on Hive, but the deviators, the true creators, are allowed to speak as well. I like it here, whether I make anything or not. Although a monetary reward does improve my mood
For most on social media, the content created is valueless to the platform, other than as a sorting mechanism to train the algorithms to profile better. The value lays in the network of relationships of profiled users, as that is what they want access to.
Here at least for now, we do get to have some organic discovery and unearths.
The rewards reward the effort.
I resemble that remark...
That looks like the redneck batmobile! :D
I think that is called hobbies where earning does not really matters directly but through reward .A hobbyist always focused on something which make them feel proud, little fame and reward.
For instance: Burger without bun does not taste and feel like eating burger , Splinterland playing without interest is boring, Same goes to hobby where your interest to drive the task matters and rewards glorify you.
I am definitely a hobbyist -but I might be a professional hobbyist, as I feel like all of my work is a hobby :)
You might not want to self-optimize to a point where you don't follow your passions anymore. I'd like to know if you hear your own voice speaking in your head, while you write these lines? If you don't mind telling us (the world) :p
Umm - yeah, I do hear a voice of a kind, but it has been different since the stroke. A lot of what I write is more a conversation with myself, than an article for others, where I play the audience too. I think this is why I am able to have "my own voice" in my writing, rather than the mimicking of words and styles of others.
That's really interesting actually, I noticed that a British accent in my thought voice lately and started suppressing it a bit. Maybe that should consider after all.
The line between writing and graphomania is not large ... But it seems to me that you are good at writing, interesting.
I have never heard of graphomania before, but I don't think I am that obsessive - yet! :)
I think it is no problem if someone writing for nothing rewards. They participate and add a value to the blockchain somehow. I also think that it is fine to get rewarded by writing, taking photo, playing game etc. What would wrong with it?
As for Squid Game, I watched the episode which was about hide-and-seek. It was a crazy episode, you should watch.
Yes, it isn't an issue at all, unless they are constantly rewarding themselves :)
I will watch it at some point, but I don't want to spend time on it and then have it cancelled. I hate starting something that doesn't have an end these days.
to be honest media pulp makes me annoyed, sometimes angry. they want to divide, they play on feelings, they dont have anything important to give.
Same with social media - which usually takes what regular media serve and chews it to spit out millions of dumb comments.
I used to be very active on twitter, but I've noticed it just annoyed me all the time: politics, politics, politics.
HIVE and crypto calms me down, it is like holiday🙃
Maybe this is why I started blogging🤔
Yeah, I am not a big fan of the politics. I actually coined a phrase for the social media politicians back in 2016 :)
Good Job
If not for the hype, I would not be able to know about Squid Game. So I watched it out of curiosity. It's kinda amazing, though still expected because of the hype, how a single show turned my social media feeds with tons of memes, reviews, merchandise, parodies, etc. of the show. And even more remarkable is that the local kids in our community have modified our versions of the "games" to resemble those of the Korean versions!
Sometimes, this "power" of algorithms gives me chills.
It is amazing how quickly culture can spread globally - in literally the space of a few weeks, people all over the world are doing the same thing... It is scary.
This is a beautifully written piece..Leaves you with the question is it your voice or perhaps you are a global media influence