Online Social Networking Contests and Contrived Community Competition
If you read any of the social networking books on how to promote an online community you'll find that the advice is rather run of the mill.
Have contests, reward individuals, but do not hurt the self-esteem of the new members.
How is this done? Well, one way is to have contest for the most blog posts or activity, but if the same individuals keep winning, then take it away from them and combine the winners by regions, states or countries without honoring the individuals.
This allows everyone to feel as if they are part of a team competition and participating in a community.
It will have a slight chilling effect to the hardcore producers, but in an attempt to bring everyone up and make them all feel important, make "everyone a winner!" After all, "The Individuals do not matter anymore!" or at least these online social networks would have you believe this to be the case.
Of course, there are some real problems to this in the long run.
So, what are the social networks trying to do? Well, it's all about control, controlling you the individual to serve their will to grow the network or what they call the "online community" so everyone feels all warm and fuzzy.
And in doing so, in only keeping score by the country, state or island they are from? That is a "purely" socialist view of the world and we also know or should know what happens when we mix "socialism" with "nationalism" right? I mean do you understand the precedence that this sets up with these online groups when we acknowledge folks only by state or country? Are they thus having "National Team Competition" is that what they are doing here now? There are undertones of the way these contests are being billed, and the direction they are taking.
Further, whereas this may not be intentional, the resultants are going to be similar, if this progresses, to that which always occurs with such scenarios.
Beware of the Internet's social communities and online manipulations to get you to do something for them, by way of contrived contests.
It's a trap, and once it has you, you may not even realize why you are doing it, but they sure know why they are hosting such contrived community competitions.
Think on this and as one famous Internet Blogger says; "The Matrix Has You!"
Have contests, reward individuals, but do not hurt the self-esteem of the new members.
How is this done? Well, one way is to have contest for the most blog posts or activity, but if the same individuals keep winning, then take it away from them and combine the winners by regions, states or countries without honoring the individuals.
This allows everyone to feel as if they are part of a team competition and participating in a community.
It will have a slight chilling effect to the hardcore producers, but in an attempt to bring everyone up and make them all feel important, make "everyone a winner!" After all, "The Individuals do not matter anymore!" or at least these online social networks would have you believe this to be the case.
Of course, there are some real problems to this in the long run.
So, what are the social networks trying to do? Well, it's all about control, controlling you the individual to serve their will to grow the network or what they call the "online community" so everyone feels all warm and fuzzy.
And in doing so, in only keeping score by the country, state or island they are from? That is a "purely" socialist view of the world and we also know or should know what happens when we mix "socialism" with "nationalism" right? I mean do you understand the precedence that this sets up with these online groups when we acknowledge folks only by state or country? Are they thus having "National Team Competition" is that what they are doing here now? There are undertones of the way these contests are being billed, and the direction they are taking.
Further, whereas this may not be intentional, the resultants are going to be similar, if this progresses, to that which always occurs with such scenarios.
Beware of the Internet's social communities and online manipulations to get you to do something for them, by way of contrived contests.
It's a trap, and once it has you, you may not even realize why you are doing it, but they sure know why they are hosting such contrived community competitions.
Think on this and as one famous Internet Blogger says; "The Matrix Has You!"
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