Social media and its chaos has a huge impact on public discourse. Corporatization of the internet has amplified the loudest, most uninformed voices. I propose a radical solution: make online participation harder. By adding friction, removing algorithms, and emphasizing thoughtful engagement, we can reclaim our online spaces from the "village idiots" and foster meaningful conversation. Can we fix our digital town squares?

Read the full post and show notes at: ⁠https://pauloflaherty.com/2025/07/07/participation-should-be-hard-social-media-and-democratized-publishing/

Subscribe and rate "Just The Posts with Paul O'Flaherty" on:

Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-the-posts-with-paul-oflaherty/id1755911904⁠

Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/39mlcB7U8AvryvmETbOEbG?si=xNvhIxNeR7O-Ur2jPfjqZQ

Amazon Music: ⁠https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/648c660e-ebfc-4419-9894-67df4c84bfc9/just-the-posts-with-paul-o'flaherty⁠

YouTube Podcasts: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Gk-7xrYW2cpPXBWYU8K6MSyp50hvxx0⁠

----- SOCIALS -----

Follow @pauloflaherty on Threads: ⁠https://www.threads.net/@pauloflaherty⁠

Follow @paulof.com on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/paulof.com

Follow @pauloflaherty on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PaulOFlaherty?sub_confirmation=1

Follow @pauloflaherty on Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/PaulOFlaherty⁠

Follow @pauloflaherty on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/pauloflaherty/⁠

----- CHAPTERS -----

00:00 Introduction

00:19 The Old Times

01:04 Then Came The Internet

01:28 Money ruins everything

03:00 Policy Makers Don't Get It

04:11 How Can We Fix This?

05:01 Adding Friction

06:52 I'm Proposing

08:38 The Repercussions

10:26 Outro

#technology #marketing #irish #paulof #pauloflaherty #podcast #socialmedia #society #proposal

Paul O'Flaherty: Consultant, Podcaster, Father, Gamer, Problem Solver, Opinionated, Sarcastic, Marketing and Business Nerd. Here to Help. Maybe.