June 16, 2023

Tech Leader Pro podcast 2023 week 24, active versus passive online discovery

12 minutes

There are two main ways to discover new knowledge online: active via research, and passive via social network feeds. This week I want to explore why passive is becoming the dominant way, and why this is undesirable.

Notes:

The ultimate goal of the internet, for me, is to discover new knowledge and get smarter. It was originally presented as the greatest library in the World.

At a high level, there are two ways to discover things online alone:

- Active discovery: here you are searching online for answers on a specific topic.

- Passive discovery: here you are no looking for new knowledge, but it is being recommended in your feeds regardless.

Most of the content we consume online now falls into the later category: we are being fed, by algorithms increasing developed using AI.

While this is now considering normal, the original incarnation of the Internet, Web 1.0, was not like that.

In those days, social networks did not exist, and the only feeds available were RSS feeds from blogs.

A web user had to work to find content, now no work is required if you simply want to be fed.

But where is our agency?

In the algorithms are not only feeding you with knowledge, but they are also instilling your needs and desires via advertising, then you should really question your own agency.

When you only know what you are told, you know nothing.

This is why I am building my own tools to break out of filter bubbles.

What I am working on this week:

- five.today : I have removed the firstname and lastname fields from the application.

Media I am enjoying this week:

- Silo on Apple TV+

- Currently reading: "A Case of Conscience" by James Blish.

Notes and subscription links are here: https://techleader.pro/a/595-Tech-Leader-Pro-podcast-2023-week-24,-active-versus-passive-online-discovery

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By John Collins